McKirdy
Crowther Station McKirdy Station Paju Station
McKirdy was a series of stops likely named after William McKirdy, a prominent official and businessman in the Nipigon/Lake Nipigon area at the time. It was composed of two stations/stops, located at Mileposts 49.7/99.4 and 50.1/99.8 respectively, and a ballast pit located at Milepost 52.3/102.
East McKirdy was a flag stop which first appeared on railway timetables in 1938 with a 10-car spur, while McKirdy was regarded as a “station” but only had a siding. Both appear on the 1970s edition topographic map but the spur at East McKirdy was removed in 1956 and siding at McKirdy was removed from service between 1965 and 1968. A section house was located a quarter-mile east of East McKirdy. Why there were two stops each with its own siding/spur located less than half a mile apart is unknown.
The McKirdy Pit was in operation for many years, likely from before the 1960s until the line was discontinued in 2005. A 1733/2500/2800-foot through spur serviced the pit, which interestingly does not appear in the 1979 edition topographic map (known officially as Pit Track KI-44). The pit became the location of a reinstated McKirdy Station in 1986 and was removed again prior to 2005.
Click here to see a 2009 Google Streetview image the grade just east of McKirdy with the rails still in place.
East McKirdy
- Grade south of Orient Bay at Keemle Lake, 1940s postcard.
- East McKirdy, September 1980. (J. McKirdy)
- East McKirdy, September 1980. (J. McKirdy)
- East McKirdy, September 1980. (J. McKirdy)
- East McKirdy, September 1980. (J. McKirdy)
- Last eastbound at Keemle Lake, May 2005. (J. Rice)
- Keemle Lake, October 2021.
- East McKirdy, October 2021.
- East McKirdy, August 2020.
- East McKirdy, October 2021.
- East McKirdy, August 2020.
- East McKirdy, August 2020.
- East McKirdy, August 2020.
McKirdy
- McKirdy, August 2020.
- McKirdy, August 2020.
- McKirdy, August 2020.
McKirdy Pit
- McKirdy Pit, circa 1996. (M. Ročnik)
- McKirdy Pit, August 2020.
- McKirdy Pit, August 2020.
- McKirdy Pit, August 2020.
- McKirdy Pit, August 2020.
There are several videos of the McKirdy area in the YouTube playlist below.