Video of the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway-Lake Superior Division, Canadian Government Railways-Fort William Subdivision, Canadian National Railways-Fort William/Lake Superior/Graham/Crest Subdivision at Millar, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Kaministiquia River and the CPKC Kaministiquia Subdivision with a 150-foot long, 50-foot deep washout with the remains of the wooden box culvert at the bottom of the creek bed.
Part 10 of 10.
Active, 1908-1925.
Video of the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway-Lake Superior Division, Canadian Government Railways-Fort William Subdivision, Canadian National Railways-Fort William/Lake Superior/Graham/Crest Subdivision at Millar, ON. Features the heavily grown in grade as it parallels the Kaministiquia River and the CPKC Kaministiquia Subdivision with cuttings and a 500-foot long, 60-foot deep washout.
Part 9 of 10.
Active, 1908-1925.
Video of the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway-Lake Superior Division, Canadian Government Railways-Fort William Subdivision, Canadian National Railways-Fort William/Lake Superior/Graham/Crest Subdivision at Millar, ON. Features the heavily grown in grade as it parallels the Kaministiquia River and the CPKC Kaministiquia Subdivision with numerous cuttings and a special visitor.
Part 8 of 10.
Active, 1908-1925.
Video of the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway-Lake Superior Division, Canadian Government Railways-Fort William Subdivision, Canadian National Railways-Fort William/Lake Superior/Graham/Crest Subdivision at Millar, ON. Features the heavily grown in grade as it parallels the Kaministiquia River and the CPKC Kaministiquia Subdivision with cuttings, great views of the Kaministiquia Valley and the story of a tragic derailment in the area.
Part 7 of 10.
Active, 1908-1925.
Video of the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway-Lake Superior Division, Canadian Government Railways-Fort William Subdivision, Canadian National Railways-Fort William/Lake Superior/Graham/Crest Subdivision at Thunder Bay, ON. Features the former Empire Avenue extension which travelled from Union Station (Canadian Pacific Fort William Station) along Empire Avenue westward to Empire Avenue Junction and the main trunk of the GTP line. This video covers the section from the station, which was built in 1910, to Bessie Street.
Part 1 of 3.
Active, 1908-1925.
Extra Credit is video series that examines topics related to history in the Thunder Bay District and exploring that history. Inspiration often comes from many places.
For 30 years I have been trying to preserve some of the history of the area for future generations. At first it was mainly via photography, but eventually I began to make videos as well. However, it was not until I saw a fascinating show in July of 2013 that my interest in recording history really began to blossom. Rocky Mountain Express is a documentary that debuted in 2011 which chronicles the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the mountains of British Columbia in the 1880s. Filmed in the IMAX format, the powerful combination of historical photos, descriptive animations and sweeping aerial shots coupled with the views from a real CP steam locomotive, 2816, make for a mesmerizing journey. In this episode I breakdown some of the key moments of the videos and why they inspired me to try and imitate them on my own productions.
*Apologies for the background sounds at times. Luna decided that she wanted to play and was dragging her toys around the floor.
Enjoy!
Throughout our history, many thousands of miles of rail lines were built across Canada. While those railways were an important part of our development, there was a high human cost to their construction. This sadly is one of those tragic stories.
November 1911 saw the commencement of construction of Canadian Northern Railway’s (CNoR) long anticipated eastern link between the Sudbury area and Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). Geographical issues locating a route meant that CNoR surveyors and engineers had no choice but to run an important section of grade on Nipigon Bay outboard of the pre-existing Canadian Pacific line. This required several miles of infilling right beside an active rail line, which created some very dangerous work conditions. When CPR trains passed, the workers had to scatter for any safe location to avoid being struck by the oncoming locomotives.
On November 28, two workers were unfortunately not quick enough and were likely killed instantly as an eastbound barrelled past the work site. While their identities are unknown, they were described as both being Italians. The exact location of the accident is also unknown, but it likely took place near these sheer cliffs approximately 2 kilometres north of the community Red Rock, Ontario.
Extra Credit is video series that examines topics related to history in the Thunder Bay District and exploring that history.
This episode , the fourth in sub-series on the former Kinghorn Subdivision, takes us to the area between Nipigon and Red Rock where the grade parallels the still active Canadian Pacific mainline for several miles (officially the CPKC Nipigon Subdivision). Here, one can witness the immense work that the Canadian Northern Railway (the original constructors of the line) did to build their grade outboard of the Canadian Pacific line. It was obviously very labour intensive and expensive, and as you will hear, not without human cost as well. This area contains some amazing geography and stunning views of the Nipigon River and Bay. In the links below you can see more of the area, including the video on the accident, and the full-length version.
Enjoy!
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 138.1-144.7) at Coughlin, ON. Features the grade west of Coughlin Station as it parallels the Canadian Pacific mainline with the remains of telegraph poles and culverts.
Part 7 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 138.1-144.7) at Coughlin, ON. Features the grade west of Coughlin Station as it parallels the Canadian Pacific mainline with telegraph poles and a special visitor.
Part 6 of 8.
Active, 1914-2005.
Poverty, Agony, Distress & Want! 