... It was inevitable, that someday, someone in the Ontario provincial government would dream of having a seaport.
As politicians say today: Tidewater!
 |
| from: Confederation; 1967; Rolland Paper Company. |
Above, the result of the 1889 decision.
The ragged line follows the Albany River and other bodies of water.
Ontario's current boundaries were established in 1912.
* * *
The ragged line follows the Albany River and other bodies of water.
Ontario's current boundaries were established in 1912.
* * *
Here is a nice summary of some of the future Ontario Northland Railway's key historical dates. Give yourself 100 bonus points if you know why the railway was renamed ONR in 1946 - the answer follows below.
 |
| A History of Canadian RPOs; LF Gillam; 1967; self-published. |
 |
| Ontario highway map; 1990; Province of Ontario. |
Above is a roadmap which shows some railway lines - as all proper roadmaps should. You can follow the line of the ONR from North Bay (in the bottom right corner) and trace its route to Cochrane (in the top left corner).
After scrolling over to the second map segment, farther to the right, you can continue from Cochrane to 'Tidewater!' at Moosonee.
 |
| Ontario Northland Railway employee timetable; June 5 1977; ONR. |
The map above - from an employee timetable - shows the branch lines schematically.
Initially, and through ONR history, these branch lines were much more important to the railway than ... '_ _ _ _ water!'.
At this point, let's deal with the 800 pound moose in the room. Moose Factory was NOT the place where antlers were bolted onto the latest model of moose. The Hudson's Bay Company had two kinds of agents acting for them in the new world - traders and factors. A factor-y was where one or more factors could be found.
 |
| Canada Descriptive Atlas; Minister of Immigration & Colonization; 1933; Govt of Canada. |
In the 1930s, the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway was building toward its seaport - mainly as a Depression relief measure.
You can see the T&NO Railway line by scrolling far to the right.
This atlas from the Government of Canada shows the various riches to be found in the northern Ontario hinterland. WP (dev and undev) is water power. A northern clay belt is often flat and good for agriculture ... if you can find a crop which tolerates a short growing season.
In Canada, it often seems that it was accepted practice that railways were built into the wilderness of the Canadian Shield kind of blindly. There would be lumber, pulpwood and perhaps pockets that were arable. However, these activities generated mainly seasonal traffic. To pay the year-round bills of a railway, one needed to find mineral riches.
Fortunately, the T&NO ran into considerable mineral wealth as it was being built.
Another 'Canadian technique' used in the building and operation of the T&NO was to make it a crown corporation run by commissioners. Generally, the latter were from the private sector - rather than professional bureaucrats. The socialism of public funding (and the first debt taken on in the history of Ontario ... {but not Upper Canada: canals!}) kind of indicates that private money really wasn't interested in building blindly into the woods. It took 'vision' to do this.
Similarly, one can debate whether canals and wilderness railways benefitted citizens broadly. The capitalists who had a say in their building and operation often got more than a railway salary, a 'spinoff job' in a local hotel, or a nice steamboat ride out of their creations.
Another 'Canadian technique' used in the building and operation of the T&NO was to make it a crown corporation run by commissioners. Generally, the latter were from the private sector - rather than professional bureaucrats. The socialism of public funding (and the first debt taken on in the history of Ontario ... {but not Upper Canada: canals!}) kind of indicates that private money really wasn't interested in building blindly into the woods. It took 'vision' to do this.
Similarly, one can debate whether canals and wilderness railways benefitted citizens broadly. The capitalists who had a say in their building and operation often got more than a railway salary, a 'spinoff job' in a local hotel, or a nice steamboat ride out of their creations.
To spoil the ending, here is a current aerial view of the northern terminal area of the ONR. The railway townsite was built quite a distance from Google's blue saltwater.
The problem was silty, shifting sands - the same problem that caused the Hudson Bay Railway to abruptly reroute from Port Nelson to the mouth of the Churchill River. You can see how poorly drained and sluggish the nearby watercourses must be during most months of the year.
* * *
1993 Vacation Photos
By this time, I'd worn out my good camera and lenses and my life was so exciting
that I was content to use a snapshot camera on vacation.
that I was content to use a snapshot camera on vacation.
Our first point of contact is the Temagami station of the ONR.
A snapshot camera is handy if you suddenly have to hang it out the window.
The southbound Northlander.
Above and below: Englehart, Ontario.
The Superintendent and train dispatchers have been here for much of the railway's history.
While I went through three good books on the T&NO/ONR, I could not find out when Englehart became the railway's operational headquarters. Nor could I find any reference to when the Automatic Block Signal system was installed on part of the main line.
Engine 701 is a 4-6-2 built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in 1921.
Also at Englehart:
Extra gang riding car 1872 - built in 1919 by Pullman.
ONR caboose 110.
It is easy to pin this date down - it was the day Kim Campbell became
Prime Minister of Canada - June 25, 1993.
I remember this headframe as being behind our motel in Kirkland Lake.
... but I'm not certain.
* * *
Here, the sunset at this time of year is around 2125hr.
The line branching off to the left (at Swastika Junction)
meanders its way to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.
This is the station at Swastika.
This is 'why' ...
Swastika - visit for the name, photograph for the historical significance.
For some, this ancient symbol was lucky.
However, some others found that it didn't bring them good luck after 1941.
However, some others found that it didn't bring them good luck after 1941.
This company still has an internet presence in 2020.
It does mineral assays.
* * *
Above and below: Iroquois Falls
Engine 70 is a 3-truck Shay which was built by Lima in 1926.
Close to Cochrane the next morning - a moose.
The two of us hadn't travelled together along the former National Transcontinental route and that was our main reason for straying from our usual Lake Superior CPR routing. Evidence of the NTR will appear in the next post in this series.
* * *
Here are some historical photos and references,
in chronological order ...
in chronological order ...
 |
| Harvest from the Rock; Philip Smith; 1986; Macmillan. |
Above: Gowganda silver camp, near Cobalt - 1909.
You can see how accessible this wide and deep vein of silver was - no deep shafts were sunk in this case. You can also see the relatively primitive state of mining technology and worker safety.
 |
| The Ontario Northland Railway; Patrick C Dorin; 1987; Superior. Gift from E Gagnon. |
A southbound passenger train at Cobalt 1914.
 |
| Atlas of Canada; 1915; Government of Canada. |
A map from my favourite (but hard to scan) government atlas from 1915, showing the railway territories. The pink T&NO territory stops at Cochrane at this point. The pink territory south of North Bay belongs to the Grand Trunk Railway.
* * *
Below, the pages from the 1930s T&NO employee timetable are from:
Steam into Wilderness; Albert Tucker; 1978; Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
* * *
Why the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario changed its name - effective in 1946 ...
 |
| from: The New World Atlas; 1923; Collier. |
 |
| from: Steam into Wilderness; Albert Tucker; 1978; Fitzhenry and Whiteside. |
Arthur H Cavanagh was Chairman and general manager of the railway.
You may have noticed his name on the cover of the 'shinplaster' timetable, above.
You may have noticed his name on the cover of the 'shinplaster' timetable, above.
The Texas & New Orleans was thoroughly absorbed into the Southern Pacific
in the 1916 Official Guide - to the point that it is almost seen only in the index.
You might be sceptical that this was still a big problem in the 1940s.
* * *
The Ontario Northland Railway as shown in the June 1969 Official Guide:
* * *
from: The Polar Bear Express; Robert F Legget; November 1976 Canadian Rail; CRHA.
Left to right: Engine house, Polar Bear Express, Moosonee Station.
Facing timetable north.
Facing timetable south in March 2019, Google maps image.
The Moosonee station is beyond the green building.
Notice the roof of the Google photography vehicle:
'I heart Canada'
The Moosonee station is beyond the green building.
Notice the roof of the Google photography vehicle:
'I heart Canada'
* * *
For more on the ONR,
check out my brother Eric's two-part article
on the Northlander.