Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway
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The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway was incorporated on March 17, 1902, by an act of the Ontario parliament, "The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway Act". The railway was to be a provincial Crown corporation overseen by the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway Commission. Construction on the railway started from North Bay in 1903, and reached New Liskeard, Ontario in the Lake Timiskaming area, by 1905. As it passed by Long Lac, near the 103 mile marker, the largest silver rush in Canada was sparked by workers looking for trees for railway ties. The town of Cobalt, Ontario grew out of the fortunes of silver taken from the grounds. The railway reached Englehart, Ontario in 1906, and Cochrane, Ontario in 1909. In the next few years, several branch lines were built (Porquis Junction).
In 1921, construction on a line north to James Bay was started. In 1923, the new Conservative premier of Ontario, Howard Ferguson, halted further construction, stating that it would be unprofitable. For four years the terminus of the line remained at Fraserdale, near Abitibi Canyon, where a hydroelectric dam was being built on the Abitibi River. Between 1928 and 1930 the railway was extended north at a slow pace. The pace of construction was quickened in 1930 as a make-work project due to the depression. The extension to James Bay was opened on July 15, 1932. The terminus of the railway was at a point at the mouth of the Moose River near the old trading post of Revillon Frères. It was named Moosonee, Ontario from the Cree meaning "at the moose".
A name change for the railway was first proposed in 1942 by Arthur Cavanagh, who was chairman of the commission between 1940 and 1944. He noted that it would have the advantage of associating the railway with the province, not just with the District of Timiskaming. A name change would also avoid confusion with the Texas and New Orleans Railway, which had the same initials. The Ontario railway would often have boxcars misdirected in the United States, while receiving invoices that should have gone to Texas. The railway's name was changed to the Ontario Northland Railway on April 5, 1946, when a bill amending the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway Act received assent.
