Nipigon

Parmacheene Station Nipigon Station Red Rock Station

Nipigon, often written as Nepigon in the 1800s, was located at Milepost 77.9/127.6. It was the major stop on the line between Jellicoe and Port Arthur, sporting a large siding, water tank, coal facilities, wye and station. Gradually reduced in size, the siding remained until prior to 2005. The water tank was removed in 1958.

Canadian Northern had originally asked for running rights on the Canadian Pacific line between Port Arthur and Nipigon. When the request was denied, the company was forced to find a route for their line in an already difficult area. Between Red Rock and Nipigon, there was no other option than to build outboard of the Canadian Pacific, which was already hugging the western shore of the Nipigon River. A tremendous amount of money and effort was required to place the rock fill required to support the grade.

Once in Nipigon, the line had to cross part of the Nipigon River on a lengthy rock causeway, which required diverting a section of the river. This created a shallow area known as the “Lagoon,” which was separated from the rest of the river, with water circulating via one small bridge in the causeway. From there, it passed under the Canadian Pacific bridge over the river, and headed north toward Parmacheene Station.

There are photos of the construction of the grade south of Nipigon in the following articles:

The Driving of the Last Spike on the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway by John Todd (Canadian Rail Magazine, November 1979)

The Nipigon Tramway by John Todd (Canadian Rail Magazine, October 1977)

Click here and here to see some 2009 Google Streetview images of Nipigon with the rails still in place.