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Laying the Tracks North

Black and white photograph of the construction of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. The railroad tracks lie on flat ground between the blasted rock of the Cambrian Shield. The railroad gang stand in the background.

Title: Building the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, ca. 1906

Photographer: Unknown

Museum of Northern History Collection

The railway gangs building the railway worked seasonally. They were exposed to long hours of hard labour in the summer heat with many biting insects.

Construction of the main branch of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway started at North Bay in 1903 and would last until 1909 when it reached its destination of Cochrane.

Several other branches would be built in the following years, but this main branch helped to bring thousands of newcomers to the region.