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The National Transcontinental Railway
Location: The National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) is located in Northern Ontario, stretching from one end of the Province to the other (Manitoba to Quebec), for the most part in a straight line.
History: The background of the construction of the National Transcontinental Railway, truly one of the largest undertakings of its time, has its roots in the power-play matches that took place in the early years of this century amongst the railway barons, politicians and other interested parties of the day. In many respects, things were initiated by the expansionist minded Grand Trunk Railway, in particular its General Manager Charles Melville Hayes, who was looking to extend the company's influence beyond Eastern Canada and into the rapidly developing west. Accordingly, around 1901 surveys were conducted for a proposed line that would extend west from existing property in Chicago to Winnipeg. This move, it was hoped, would force the rival Canadian Pacific Railway to grant running rights over their existing line west from North Bay, perhaps in return for rights on GTR track in the east. When this attempt failed, partly for lack of support from GTR ownership, Hayes left the company for a period of time at which point GTR Chairman Charles Rivers-Wilson picked up the campaign, suggesting growth in the west could not be ignored.
At was at this point that Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier entered the picture, after being approached by Rivers-Wilson on the matter. Laurier viewed an additional transcontinental line to the west as an opportunity for his government to achieve many of the economic and growth goals they had set, in particular a direct, all-Canadian route east for prairie grain. At the same time, the Canadian Northern Railway, then based only in the Prairie Provinces, was suggesting similar arrangements for a cross-country line. Although it made sense that the two companies pool their resources and create together a complete national system, the competitive nature of each resulted in no agreement being made. Accordingly, GTR management suggested, somewhat as a bluff, that a line be constructed northwest from their Calendar terminus near North Bay, through the wilderness to Winnipeg and then beyond Yellowhead Pass to the northern Pacific coast. Much to the GTR's chagrin, however, Laurier viewed favourably on the proposal, knowing that it would be in keeping with the wishes of members in his Quebec wing of cabinet. In this regard, he countered that financial support would be made available if the line were to extend 400 miles further east to terminate at Quebec City, similar to a previous proposal known as the Trans-Canada Railway proposed by Quebec nationalists that had died on the books. The GTR management reluctantly agreed as an implementing bill to this affect was brought before the Government House in March 1903.
Within Laurier's cabinet, members remained divided as to how funding for the entire project should be handled. In May 1903, the GTR put forward a proposition of their own, suggesting that funding provided by the government vary depending on the section and the complexities of construction involved (Quebec to Winnipeg 1350 miles with northern construction, Winnipeg to Edmonton 793 miles with flat prairie construction, and Edmonton to the Pacific 950 miles through the mountains). It was at this point that Eastern Canadian MP's began to clamor that they should receive some benefit from such a massive project the remainder of the country was participating in, arguing the line should be extended beyond Quebec into New Brunswick. As things began to fall apart amongst the parties involved, Laurier chose to bring his divided caucus to heel and dictated a series of events that, in his mind, would resolve the situation to the satisfaction of all. Firstly, a new company would be formed called the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR), a subsidiary of the GTR, in which the Federal Government would hold a major financial stake. The Grand Trunk Pacific would then be fully responsible for constructing the line west from Winnipeg to the Pacific, including a 200 mile branch into Thunder Bay for access to Lake Superior for wheat (collectively known as the Western Division at 1,743 miles). Lastly, the Federal Government would be responsible for building the line east of Winnipeg (called the Eastern Division at 2,019 miles) which would then be turned over to the GTR at a set price for operation. The Eastern Division would extend beyond Quebec City to terminate at Moncton, New Brunswick. Reluctantly, GTR management agreed to the compromise placed before them in July 1903 and an implementing bill was taken before the House of Commons that fall. As expected, opposition to the matter was high with a number of alternative suggestions brought forward to reduce the cost of the project on the public treasury. Nonetheless, the legislation became law in September 1903 and the Grand Trunk Board of Governors in England placed their stamp of approval in March 1904.
With the political end of the project dealt with, it now became the responsibility of the contractors involved to construct the line. Within Ontario, the railway would extend east from the Manitoba border at White to Goodwin abutting the Quebec border. At two points, the route would intersect with projected lines, being the Algoma Central & Hudson Bay Railway (ACR) at Hearst, and the Temiskaming & Northern Railway (T&NR) at Cochrane. The branch line south into Thunder Bay was to be constructed from a point near Sioux Lookout. From a construction standpoint, the task at hand was herculean. The route in its entirety was desolate and remote from any form of settlement, an issue that would result in extreme difficulties in transporting men and materials. In addition, the climate through most of the year was severe given the potential for very cold temperatures, wind and snow, and the ravaging effect of insects. To compound matters was the varying terrain the proposed line would traverse that was for the most part poorly drained and full of numerous lakes and muskeg. The soil conditions were very poor while there existed a large number of watercourses that needed to be crossed, several more then once. It was anticipated that the combination of these factors would result in a line of considerable costs.
Surveying of the route commenced in the fall of 1904 with work extending into the spring of 1905. It was decided that a high level of design standard would be adopted for the line in respect of final grades and curvature to allow for maximum speed and load levels. Given the flatness of the terrain in many areas, it was proposed that the final route be as direct as possible. Upon the completion of surveys and the ordering and coordination of materials, construction within Ontario finally began in the spring of 1906 with contractors working feverishly along the entire route by October 1908. Work was concentrated at points where access could be readily gained to the intended right-of-way, this being primarily at the head of the T&NR, and close to the Manitoba border where there exists several navigable lakes. From these points, the line would radiate out to reach the next point where work had commenced. By October 1911, grading along the entire line had been completed. Given the nature of the clay soils that were encountered, however, much of the bridgework had lagged behind as proper footings for the abutments could not be established. At the beginning of 1912, most of the track work had been completed, much of it through heavy snow. Through Ontario, from east to west, the railway was ready for operation in the following manner:
Quebec border to Cochrane - 1910 (74 miles)
Cochrane to Groundhog - 1909 (50 miles)
Groundhog to Mattice - 1910 (60 miles)
Mattice to Savoff - 1911 (83 miles)
Savoff to Armstrong - 1912 (192 miles)
Armstrong to Superior Junction - 1913 (133 miles)
Superior Junction to Hudson - 1910 (18 miles)
Hudson to Manitoba border - 1909 (150 miles)
Superior Junction to Thunder Bay (GTPR Superior Branch) - 1908 (180 miles)
The route was completed in its entirety by November 1913 with the last spike being driven at Grant. Shortly thereafter, the first train to run the entire length of the Eastern Division through Ontario left from Winnipeg bound for Quebec. All that remained to be completed was the bridge crossing the St. Lawrence River at Quebec City, a situation that was not resolved until 1918 after two fatal collapses of portions of the structure. Throughout the process and into the early years of NTR operation, it was suggested that the manner in which contracts were let for construction, and the amount of money that was spent to fulfill those contracts, was full of corruptness and impropriety. To make matters worse, the Grand Trunk reneged on their part of the deal to operate the Eastern Division as originally setout in the deal struck with the Laurier Government before construction. The primary reason given by the GTR was due to the lean times then being experienced within the operation, compounded by escalating costs associated with the Western Division. Accordingly, the line was handed over to Canadian Government Railways (CGR) in 1915, a branch of the Federal Government that operated the Intercolonial Railway along with lines on Prince Edward Island. As part of these arrangements, the GTPR Superior Branch was leased by the CGR for a period of 999 years commencing in May 1915 to allow for a connection to the Great Lakes.
With the changes taking place in the ownership structure of the major railways in Canada during the Great War, management of the line was transferred to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Northern Railway in November 1918, by this time under Federal Government control as well. In 1919, the Canadian National Railway was formed to operate all lines that had either failed recently, or were already under the control of Canadian Government Railways. This move now included both the Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Transcontinental and, not in the to distant future, the remaining lines of the Grand Trunk Railway in Eastern Canada. To assess whether the line was a success is difficult. While the primary reason for its creation was to allow for the movement of grain and other products from Western Canada to Eastern Canadian ports along the most direct route possible, it resulted that products continued to flow to the Lakehead given the advantage offered by bulk carriers in transporting raw resources. In addition, manufactured goods from major cities did not use the line to transport products west given the lack of connections and inconvenience. Accordingly from Nakina east to the Quebec border, the line was forced to survive primarily on local traffic, a difficult situation given the lack of communities and people. While certain portions of the Great Clay Belt were opened up and some farming initiated, for the most part settlement was not a success and revenues along the line were generated primarily from timber and mining. The line east from Nakina to the Manitoba border has remained a success given the direct advantage it offered over other Canadian National routes that wound their way across Lake Superior and through Thunder Bay. This success was confirmed by the building of a connection in 1923 between the NTR and the former Canadian Northern Railway mainline, known as the Long Lac cutoff, to allow for improved access from Southern Ontario. To handle the increased traffic, many portions of the line west from Sioux Lookout have been rebuilt with many curves eliminated.
Approximate Milage: The total length of the National Transcontinental mainline across the Province was approximately 760 miles. The branch line south from Superior Junction to Thunder Bay was about 180 miles while the cutoff from Nakina to Longlac was 30.5 miles.
Current Status: While in operation, the NTR was divided into the following Subdivisions: Reddit (Winnipeg east beyond Provincial border to Sioux Lookout), Allanwater (Sioux Lookout east to Armstrong), Caramat (Armstrong east to Nakina), Pagwa (Nakina east to Hearst), Kapuskasing (Hearst east to Cochrane), and Taschereau (Cochrane east beyond Provincial border to Senneterre, Quebec). The branch to Thunder Bay was known as the Graham Subdivision while the cutoff formed part of the Caramat Subdivision. Abandonments have occurred in the following manner: portions of the Graham Sub south from Conmee to Thunder Bay in 1925, from Nakina east to Calstock in 1986, and the remainder of the Graham Sub in 1996. The portion of track between Calstock and Cochrane has been sold to the Ontario Northland Railway and is now operated as their Kapuskasing Sub. The tracks east of Cochrane to Mile 99 on the Taschereau Sub in Quebec are scheduled for abandonment.
Principle Stations: From west to east, major communities served by the National Transcontinental Railway include the following: Redditt, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Savant Lake, Armstrong, Nakina, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, and Cochrane.
Remaining Stations: There are a total of
fourteen stations remaining on the NTR. They are as follows:
1. Armstrong: In situation at King Street, building currently vacant.
2. Cochrane: In situation at 200 Railway Street (a union station with the ONR),
building now a hotel and Ontario Northland Station.
3. Farlane: In situation as a VIA passenger shelter.
4. Fauquier: In situation at 40 Government Road, now a private residence.
5. Kapuskasing: In situation on Government Road, ONR railway and bus station
along with leased commercial.
6. Malachi: In situation, VIA passenger shelter.
7. Minaki: In situation, leased commercial space and VIA passenger station.
8. Nakina: In situation on Railway Street, leased commercial space and VIA passenger
station.
9. Opasatika: In situation on Highway No. 11, leased commercial space.
10. Ottermere: In situation as a VIA passenger shelter.
11. Quibell: Moved not far from original location as a private residence.
12. Red Lake Road: In situation at Highway No. 1051 as a VIA passenger shelter.
13. Sioux Lookout: In situation on First Street, remains in railway use although
most of the building has been abandoned.
14. Wade: In situation as a VIA passenger shelter (may have been destroyed).
Last Updated: June 25, 2003
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