EPISODE 95 ALGOMA…LAND OF MYSERY AND WILDERNESS AND THE ACR. 1964
alan skeoch
August 2020
EPISODE 94 ALGOMA…49, 000 SQUARE KILOMETRES…MOSTLY WILDERNESS, LONELY VILLAGES, ABANDONED MINES, LONELY RAILWAYS
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(bigger than some American states)
As I was putting the MILE 71, SPRUCE LAKE, Paradise Lodge story together I received this letter from friend Kent Farrow. He has captured the loneliness of
those railway flagstops that pop up as those lonely trains roll through the seemingly endless Boreal forest which covers most of Canada.
We live in the second largest country in the world, only Russia is larger, yet we are an urban people and most of us never see the real immensity of our
land unless we ride The CN or CP transcontinental railways through Northern Ontario. Or better still, take a ride on the Algona Central Railways which
is to me the loneliest railway I have ever travelled on. The Algoma Central Railway remains as only a fragment of its former self. And even that
fragment…the Agawa Canyon tour train…has now been cancelled due to Covid 19. Sorry, I spoke too soon, the ACR seems to be closed down.
HARD to believe but this railway junction is one of the historic sites in Canada. The place
is called OBA. Here is where the CN track crosses the ACR track. Isolated…barely noticeable.
LETTER FROM KENT FARROW
Hi Alan and greetings from Skootamatta Lake…. I look forward to your ‘life recollections’ and this one about the ACR strikes close to home for me. For the summers of ‘72 and ‘73 I worked as a brakeman for the CNR and was posted to Hornepayne, Ont, which at the that time, was a bustling railway yard and town north of White River. I worked the freight trains east to Folyet and west to Nakina. On occasion I worked the passenger trains which saw me going east to Capreol and west to Armstrong which is. Where the Central time zone begins. Just east of Hornepayne at a siding called Oba, the ACR crossed the CNR line and headed north towards who knows where. I remember the ‘Northlander’ well. Today, Hornepayne is half the size it was then servicing half the number of CNR employees as there is only one brakeman per train plus a conductor and of course, the hogger. Back then I was making 22 cents per mile on the passenger trains and 33 cents per mile on the freights…..that was a lot of money back then. I enjoyed all my trips especially the ones to Nakina, the birthplace of Jan’s Mom. I would stay overnight in a bunkhouse next to their homestead which was neat.
Anyways, all my railway experiences were memorable ones so thanks for relating the ACR story! Thanks and stay safe!
Kent Farrow
With the closure of the ACR all the tiny villages and ‘f” stops (flagships) were placed in jeopardy. I have no idea how
many remain. Below is the list as it existed in 1975. Today, in the year 2020, they have been forgotten except by fishermen
and fisherwomen.
ACR Local Timetable
Effective May 12th to October 13th, 1975
| * No. 1 Daily |
Miles from Soo | Km from Soo | SAULT STE. MARIE – HAWK JUNCTION | * No. 2 Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0800 lv. 0833 0850 0904 0914 0925 0940 0953 f f 1012 f f 1032 f 1047 f 1117 f 1128 1146 1209 1224 f 1242 f f 1308 f 1330 1343 1400 ar. |
0 14 25 32 36 42 48 56 57 62 64 69 71 73 75 80 85 92 93 96 102 114 120 122 131 132 138 141 148 150 156 165 |
0 22.7 39.8 50.7 57.8 67.3 77.4 90.5 91.7 100.4 104.0 110.7 115.0 117.3 121.8 128.4 137.4 148.5 149.6 153.7 165.1 183.1 193.3 197.1 210.7 212.9 222.8 226.6 238.9 241.2 251.9 264.9 |
SAULT STE. MARIE Heyden Northland Goulais River SEARCHMONT Wabos Achigan Ogidaki S. Branch Chippewa River Maskode Trout Lake Pine Lake Mekatina Pangis N. Branch Chippewa River Spruce Lake Summit Mongoose Batchewana Batchewana River Rand Montreal Falls Montreal River Mile 93 Hubert Frater Agawa River CANYON Eton Mile 122.5 Agawa Millwood Sand Lake Tabor Anjigami Perry Michipicoten River Limer HAWK JUNCTION |
ar. 1800 1735 1720 1703 1653 1643 1630 1615 f f 1600 f f 1540 f 1523 f 1455 f 1446 1430 1405 1347 f 1327 f f 1308 f 1249 1234 lv. 1225 |
| No. 1 Daily |
Miles from Soo | Km from Soo | HAWK JUNCTION – HEARST | No. 2 Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1415 lv. 1435 1450 1504 1513 1525 1535 f 1545 f f 1605 f f 1639 1659 1712 f 1741 1747 1757 1811 1821 1830 |
165 173 178 184 188 195 201 206 208 210 212 217 221 233 239 245 253 262 273 275 281 288 294 296 |
264.9 278.7 286.2 296.4 303.0 313.8 323.5 331.5 333.9 337.9 341.1 349.7 356.4 375.6 384.7 393.8 406.8 421.6 439.5 443.1 452.1 462.0 473.3 475.9 |
HAWK JUNCTION Alden Goudreau Dubreuilleville Wanda FRANZ Scully Wabatong Hilda Mile 210 Mile 212 MOSHER Price Oba River Akron Langdon OBA Oba River, Albany Branch Norris Hansen Horsey Mead Coppell Stavert(Jogues) Mattawishkwia River Wyborn HEARST |
ar. 1200 1140 1131 1119 1107 1057 1042 f 1030 f f 1010 f f 0935 0927 0908 f 0836 0832 0819 0805 0753 lv. 0745 |
Reference Marks
f – Flag. Stop on signal.
* – Dining Car service between Sault Ste. Marie and Canyon Only.
Baggage
Personal effects, such as clothing, etc. (except liquids and fragile articles), when contained in suitable sturdy luggage, trunks, etc., may be checked as baggage in accordance with tariffs. Up to 150 lbs. personal baggage may be checked without charge on an adult fare ticket, and 75 lbs. on a child’s half-fare ticket. Single pieces over 250 lbs. must be shipped in rail freight service.
A reasonable amount of personal hand baggage may be carried into the rail coach.
The railway assumes no liability for baggage other than as specified in its tariffs published and filed pursuant to law.
Train Tours for All Seasons
- One Day Wilderness Tour to Agawa Canyon, Mid-May to Mid-October
- Ride the Snow Train – One day Winter Wonderland Tour. January to March
- Tour of the Line – Visit the Frontier North. Available year round.
The ACR Agawa Canyon Tourist train has taken more than 100,000 people into the centre of Algoma…a one day trip. Passing some of the isolated
fishing camps like that picture above. Today, 2020, that trip has been cancelled due to Covid 19. Hopefully it will return as long as the federal
government provides a subsidy.
MILE 71, SPRUCE LAKE, PARADISE LODGE, … (MILE 71 ON THE ALGOMA CENTRAL RAILWAY)
When we arrived at Mile 71, Spruce Lake, the Lodge and cabins were not visible. All we
found was a trail that led down to the lake. No train station. Nothing. Just a bush
trail that weaved its way down to the Lodge and the tiny cabins that would be home
for the summer days of Geophysical Exploration. Why were we there? Because
airborne magnetometers has identified strange magnetic anomalies in a number of places
between Spruce Lake and Wart Lake and some even deep into the interior that could only
be reached by bush planes.
Our survey territory was hardly something newly discovered. The Algoma District
is home to a large number of abandoned mines through the 19th and 20th centuries.
Backpackers spend a lot of time each summer finding and exploring the mine sites.
The most recently abandoned is the Tribal Mine which may have contracted our
company to examine anomalous findings in 1963…a year earlier.
Old opening to an Algoma abandoned mine…of which there are more than a dozen in Algoma.
What I would like you to take away from this Episode is the unique character of Algoma…let me do this in
point form. My impression…
1) There was a big crack in the Canadian Shield millions and millions of years ago that allowed magma to move closer to the
surface of the earth. Algoma remains Rich in minerals.
2) Algoma is very sparsely populated in the interior…a wilderness
3) There are dozens of abandoned mine sites in this wilderness.
4) There are indications that other mines are possible…Some of the older mines
are rather shallow…250 feet deep. Others are deeper. Minerals may still exist
in these mines or in nearby intrusions that have not been discovered.
5) The Algoma Central Railway is (was) an unusual railway that cuts through the
Algoma wilderness. AN exciting railway. Doomed perhaps.
6) The regions is exceptionally beautiful…peppered with lakes…sparsely settled.
7) One man, Francis H. Clergue did much to develop Algoma….Wawa and the
Michipicoten Iron range were exploited making Sault Ste Marie home to a steel
industry. A most unusual character. Investing in his Algma projects made people
riche (some) and made others poor (man). He is a story untold.
8) Batchewana River and Bay can give tourists, backpackers, adventure seekers
an easily accessible taste of this land. Right on Highway #17.
In the next Episode 96, I will try to make things personal…this provides an overview
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BOTTOM LINE: ALGOMA IS RICH IN HISTORY YET REMAINS MYSTERIOUS…A LARGELY EMPTY WILDERNESS..
alan skeoch
August 2020
NEXT EPISODE 95: EXPLORING WITH A TWIST…THE SPRUCE LAKE JOB, ALGOMA 1964