Algoma Eastern Railway

Algoma Eastern Railway
Map
Maximal extent of the Algoma Eastern Railway, including spur lines.
Overview
HeadquartersTurner, Ontario
Reporting markAER
LocaleNortheastern Ontario, Canada
Dates of operation1911–1930
PredecessorManitoulin and North Shore Railway
SuccessorCPR Little Current Subdivision
CPR Nickel Subdivision
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length87 miles (140 km)

The Algoma Eastern Railway (reporting mark AER) was a railway in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Manitoulin and North Shore Railway (M&NS) with a charter dating back to 1888,[1] the full mainline was opened to traffic in 1913,[2][3] serving the area along the north shore of Lake Huron between Sudbury and Little Current on Manitoulin Island. It and its sister railway, the Algoma Central, were originally owned by the Lake Superior Corporation, a conglomerate centered on Sault Ste. Marie which was founded by the American industrialist Francis Clergue.[1] Despite ambitious plans to expand across Lake Huron to the Bruce Peninsula using a railcar ferry, the company failed to develop further and was acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1930.[4] With freight traffic low during the Great Depression, Canadian Pacific soon abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline in favor of its own Algoma Branch. Remaining sections of the Algoma Eastern line were turned into spurs, with the longest surviving section operated as a branch line known as the Little Current Subdivision.

Today only two short sections remain, which are used as industrial spurs. The railway's most notable surviving piece of infrastructure is the Little Current Swing Bridge, which crosses the North Channel of Lake Huron to connect Manitoulin Island with the mainland; as of 2021, it is used exclusively by road traffic, and is planned to be decommissioned.[5]

  1. ^ a b Wilson 1973, p. 360.
  2. ^ An Act to incorporate the Manitoulin and North Shore Railway Company, S.O. 1888, c. 70 , later federally incorporated by An Act to incorporate the Manitoulin and North Shore Railway Company, S.C. 1900, c. 64 . Name changed in 1911 by An Act respecting the Manitoulin and North Shore Railway Company, and to change its name to "The Algoma Eastern Railway Company", S.C. 1911, c. 11
  3. ^ Wilson 1973, p. 364.
  4. ^ Wilson 1973, p. 373.
  5. ^ Aelick, Lyndsay (30 March 2021). "Preferred option to replace aging Manitoulin Island swing bridge is a new, two-lane structure". CTV Northern Ontario. Retrieved 4 May 2021.