Nicknamed the “Burma Road” by train crews, Ontario Northland’s Kirkland Lake Subdivision doesn’t have a straight or flat mile.
The Kirkland Lake Sub was built in the early 1900’s as a branch line by the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway to connect Quebec to the mainline, that was serving mines rich with silver further south near Colbalt.
Due to the line extending into Quebec, T&NO encountered hurdles trying to operate the line, and as a result, chartered the operations to the Nispissing Central Railway. But the NCR encountered hurdles too, and a jury ruled in favor of the railway to operate all the way to Rouyn-Noranda in 1926. The NCR still exists today, albeit on paper, but Ontario Northland is the main show. ONR operates a 6-day local out of Englehart to the CN interchange in Rouyn-Noranda, leaving Englehart shortly after lunch time and arriving in the French speaking province around sunset in the Winter months. It then returns back west and usually makes Englehart sometime before midnight.
ONR train no 211 tiptoes across a curved bridge spanning the frozen Fork Lake with a solo SD75I and 22 cars.
