 The height of construction - April 1930 | In 1899, Francis Clergue's Lake Superior Corporation sought a source of sulphur in the Sudbury basin, for their paper mill in Sault Ste. Marie. They bought two small nickel mines, built a smelter, and began producing both nickel (considered a by-product) and sulphur. Transportation of ore and finished materials required rail transportation, and as the Canadian Pacific Railway seemed uninterested in providing service, Clergue purchased the M&NS charter and commenced construction in 1900.
By the end of 1901, 14 miles had been completed from Sudbury beyond Creighton Mine. Also in that year, the Spanish River Pulp & Paper Company built a paper mill at Espanola.
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To service this mill, a 1.5 mile spur was built under the M&NS charter from McKerrow Station on the CPR's Webbwood Subdivision, to the mill at Espanola; this spur was leased to the CPR until the M&NS reached Espanola. Construction, halted in 1903 due to financial difficulties, resumed in 1907, and reached Espanola in 1911. Also in that year, the name of the railway was changed to the Algoma Eastern Railway. Construction continued south through the La Cloche Mountains, reaching Little Current on Manitoulin Island in 1913. The completion of this section of the line included the construction of the 600 foot swing bridge between Turner and Little Current, which still stands today. | |
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From 1913, the AER enjoyed sixteen years of prosperity. However, they (along with most other businesses) were hit hard by the Great Depression of 1929, and the Lake Superior Corporation looked to unload the fledgeling railway. In March of 1930 the CPR leased the AER for 999 yeards, leaving them holding two parallel rail lines from Sudbury to Espanola. In 1931 the section between Espanola and Turbine was abandoned. More cutbacks followed in 1935 and throughout the 1940s. In the 1950s the remainder of the AER main line was abandoned back to Creighton, leaving the line from Sudbury shorter than it had been in 1901. In 1958 the AER was dissolved and incorporated into CPR. By the 1970s, only two parts of the AER had survived, both still in service today. The CPR Nickel Subdivision is the former AER line from Sudbury to Creighton. |  Cutbacks and abandonments - current status |
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The CPR Little Current Spur runs from McKerrow south towards Little Current. All rail service south of Espanola has ceased, and the track is being removed south of Whitefish Falls. The Little Current Swing Bridge is now road only.
But what if the economic difficulties of 1929 had been resolved differently? What if another suitor had been found? READ ON to discover the story of the LA CLOCHE & MANITOULIN RAILWAY!
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