Algoma Central Railway

The Algoma Central Railway (reporting mark AC) is a railway in Northern Ontario that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, with a branch line to Michipicoten. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads. The railway is well known for its Agawa Canyon tour train and also provides passenger train service along its entire route to canoeists, snowmobilers, cottagers and tourists accessing this high quality wilderness recreation region.

The railway was purchased by Wisconsin Central Transportation in 1995, which was in turn purchased by Canadian National Railway in 2001. It is now operated as part of CN's Eastern Division.

History

The Algoma Central Railway was initially owned by Francis H. Clergue, who required a railway to haul resources from the interior of the Algoma District to Clergue's industries in Sault Ste. Marie; specifically, to transport logs to his pulp mill and iron ore from the Helen Mine near Wawa to a proposed steel mill (which was later named Algoma Steel). The Algoma Central Railway was chartered on August 11, 1899.^[1] The railway's Dominion and provincial charters gave it authority to build north from Sault Ste. Marie to a junction with the Canadian Pacific Railway's main line, as well as a branch line to Michipicoten Harbour, on Lake Superior near Wawa.

In 1901 Clergue acquired the charter of the Ontario, Hudson Bay and Western Railway, who were intending to build a line between the CPR main line and Hudson Bay and then changed the name of the Algoma Central Railway to The Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway Company, anticipating a connection either to Moose Factory on James Bay, or to some point on Hudson Bay.

The Algoma Central fell victim to the bankruptcy of Clergue's Consolidated Lake Superior Corporation in 1903.^[1] At that time, the line reached 90 km (56 mi) north of Sault Ste. Marie with a 32 km (20 mi) segment running east from Michipicoten Harbour that did not yet connect with the main line. Construction was stopped, but was resumed in 1909 and the line was extended northward through to junctions with the Michipicoten Harbour branch (at Hawk Junction), the Canadian Pacific Railway (at Franz) and the Canadian Northern Railway (at Oba). In 1914 it finally reached Hearst, a town 476 km (296 mi) north of Sault Ste. Marie that was a divisional point on the National Transcontinental Railway.^[1] By that point, Clergue's dream of building a railway to Hudson Bay or James Bay had long been abandoned, and the railway's northern terminus remained at Hearst, around 240 km (150 mi) from James Bay. However, the phrase and Hudson Bay was not removed from the railway's name until June 30, 1965.

The Algoma Central was the first Canadian railway to fully dieselize, in 1952.^[2]

In the 1960s, the railway began to promote the natural beauty of the District of Algoma to tourists, especially the Agawa Canyon, a canyon around the Agawa River, 114 rail miles (183 km) north of Sault Ste. Marie that is not accessible by road.^[3] The Algoma Central developed a tourist stopover here, which was a great success for the railway. Owing to the popularity of the Agawa Canyon excursions, the Algoma Central would run the longest passenger trains in North America, often up to 20 to 24 cars long. During the 1970s and 1980s around 100,000 people per year would tour Agawa Canyon.

The railway had been in the shipping business since 1900, when it had purchased four steamships. Starting around the 1960s, the railway greatly expanded its marine operations and diversified into trucking, real estate, forestry, and mining operations. These operations were more profitable than the railway operations, and on April 30, 1990, as part of a corporate reorganization, the name of the company was changed to Algoma Central Corporation, and the Algoma Central Railway became a subsidiary of it.^[4] A few years later the Algoma Central Railway was put up for sale. On February 1, 1995, Wisconsin Central Ltd. purchased Algoma Central Railway Incorporated, operating the railway as a separate subsidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings. In 1998, Algoma Steel closed its iron ore mine in Wawa, and the branch line between Michipicoten Harbour and Hawk Junction was abandoned.^[2] Wisconsin Central Ltd. was acquired by Canadian National on October 9, 2001, whereupon the Algoma Central became part of CN's Eastern Division.

The railway is the subject of the song Algoma Central 69 by Stompin' Tom Connors.

Rail sidings

Rail sidings along the ACR route are named, from south to north: Odena, Northland, Wabos, Achigan, Ogidaki, Mashkode, Pine Lake, Mekatina, Pangis, Mongoose, Batchewana, Rand, Regent, Montreal Falls, Hubert, Frater, Canyon, Eton, Algoma Central, Agawa, Millwood, Sand Lake, Tabor, Anjigami, Perry, Limer, Hawk Junction, Alden, Goudreau, Wanda, Franz, Scully, Wabatong, Hilda, Mileage 210, Mileage 212, Mileage 215.5, Mosher, Price, Akron, Dana, Langdon, Norris, Hansen, Hale, Horsey, Mead, Coppell and Wyborn.

Schedule

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Wilson, Dale (1984). The Algoma Central Railway Story. Sudbury, Ontario: Nickel Belt Rails. ISBN 0-920356-05-2.  See also: Duncan McDowall, Steel at the Sault: Francis H. Clergue, Sir James Dunn and the Algoma Steel Corporation, 1899-1956, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, hb 1984 & pb 1988 ISBN 0-8020-5652-0
2. ^ ^{a b} Boldt, Hans; S. Grisonich-Boldt. "Algoma Central Railway". http://www.boldts.net/Sault4.shtml. Retrieved 2006-12-15. 
3. ^ "Algoma Central Railway FAQ". Canadian National Railway. http://www.agawacanyontourtrain.com/content/general/faq.html. Retrieved 2006-12-15. 
4. ^ "Algoma changes its name to inform investors it's more than a railway". Northern Ontario Business (Laurentian Publishing) 10 (9): 16. 1990-06-01. 

External links

• Agawa Canyon Tour Train
• Algoma Central Railway Passenger Train
• Algoma Central Corporation
• Unofficial Algoma Central Railway Home Page
• Algoma Central Railway System Map