The Ontario Northland Railway

Photo by Jamie Toeppner - November 7, 2005

Plaque Location

The District of Nipissing
The City of North Bay
At 195 Regina Street, in front of the The Ontario Northland Railway's 1908 building, North Bay

Plaque Text

In 1900 the Ontario Government ordered a survey for a railway from North Bay to the head of Lake Timiskaming to encourage settlement and provide access to mineral deposits. Construction of the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway began in 1902, and the following year silver and cobalt were discovered in what was to become the Cobalt mining field. By 1908 the main line had reached the site of Cochrane, and branch lines were built to other new mining areas. Between 1928-32 the railway was extended to Moosonee on James Bay. Renamed the The Ontario Northland Railway in 1940, this provincially-owned line was primarily responsible for the development of northeastern Ontario.