Canadian Railroads > CP's Little Current Subdivision. 1972

With the future of the G&W's Huron Central Railway in doubt, I thought I might share some images from the CP years operating this railway.

This Sudbury-Sault Ste.Marie ON line had a important branch, the Little Current Subdivision which originally ran south from McKerrow to Little Current ON. Little Current was on the north end of Manitoulin Island. Nearby was the deep water port on Lake Huron called Turner.

The Sudbury-Turner freight is seen departing the junction at McKerrow . The de-roofed box car is for the nearby pulp mill at Espanola, and the hopper cars are bound for Turner, perhaps with ore for shipment or possibly with track ballast as is fresh ballast in evidence on the tracks.

The second image shows the station at McKerrow, with the Little Current Subdivision behind the building. The third image shows a work train with an RS18 and an old Jordan spreader just east of McKerrow at Naughton. The red order board at McKerrow was protecting the work train movements. These images are from the fall of 1983. With the advent of radio Occupancy Control System, most train order offices in Canada closed in the early 1980's

The Little Current Subdivision was originally part of the Algoma Eastern Railway, with a common ownership with the Algoma Central Railway. The AER suffered financial problems, and CP leased it in 1931, taking full ownership in 1958.

Today the Little Current spur goes a couple of miles south to the pulp mill at Espanola, and the rest is abandoned.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/19 14:53 by eminence_grise.

Great photos of a rarely seen operation. 
Brian N.

Thanks for the information and photos Phil.  Went through McKerrow in July 2018.  We stumbled upon a westbound Huron Central train after leaving Sudbury.  Here are a few shots taken in the McKerrow area.
1.  A few miles east of town along the Trans Canada highway.
2.  At the yard in McKerrow.  I think the great looking station in your photo was where the ugly modern buildings are now.
3.  The crew is splitting the power in Mckerrow.  They told us that 6 axle power is not permitted on the track down to the pulp mill in Espanola which as Phil noted is the last remaining tracks of the Little Current Subdivision.  All photos taken on a humid and very smokey July 21, 2018.
Steve B.

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Interesting stuff, I did get to chase the Huron Central but not that far out of Sudbury.

It would appear that the Jordan spreader is whistling past the graveyard. t4p.

Great vintage shots; tuscan and grey always looks good, and the swampy terrain sure conjures up the area. The shot with the Jordan spreader is a neat one for modellers, with that bit of lumber on the flat's deck to keep something in place.
Fred