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Longlac

Calong Station Longlac Station Suckle Creek Bridge

Longlac was a station on the line located at Milepost 99.9 (100.8)/0.

Prior to the construction of the railway, Long Lake was a thriving trading post belonging to the Northwest Company which opened circa 1800. The name Long Lake in the Ojibwe language translates to Kenogami, which is the name given to the river which begins at the north end of the lake. Canadian Northern was unable to use the name Long Lake for the station proposed in the area since it was already in use elsewhere. Initially, the plan was to name the station Kenogami after the river, but they eventually settled on the French equivalent of Long Lake, Longuelac. This was used for a number of years until a decision was made to change to its more Anglicized form, Longlac.

Originally home to a station, telegraph office, siding and water tank, Longlac took on much greater importance following the construction of the Nakina Cut-off. It was now Milepost 0 of the Kinghorn Subdivision and therefore an important junction point between that line and the newly minted Caramat Subdivision. As part of the realigment, the station was moved from its original location on the east side of the lake to just west of the junction between the subdivisions (the old site was renamed Calong, a corruption of Longlac). A turning wye was created by building a short piece of track northeast from the Kinghorn to form another junction point with the Caramat.

While Longlac still sees regular trains as it remains part of the CN mainline, its importance has declined with time and the loss of the Kinghorn Subdivision. Longlac Station has been moved back to its original location at Milepost 99.9/100.