Colony Memories - The colony and people

Abitibi Canyon web site index:

An introduction to Canyon memories

1943 colony panorama and WWII Civil Guard
The staff house and recreation centre - sports and other activites
School
Family and Friends
Abitibi Canyon Train
1969 - After the road - a picnic at the "landing"
Visits in 1989 and 2002

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Hydro Electric Power Commission Industrial Railway - "The Abitibi Canyon train"

I am looking for any information on the train that ran between Fraserdale and the colony. In particular, the coach or combine (passenger/baggage car). Where did it come from? I've learned that the coach originally belonged to the Illinois Central Railway. Where did it go when the train ceased operation? Any information you have would be much appreciated.

   Do you have pictures you would be willing to share?

   I am Richard Frampton, resident of the colony from 1939 to 1948. You can contact me at: rhframpton@yahoo.com

    Here are some images from the the 30s and 40s.

   The image on the right was taken shortly after a major part of the warehouse that separated the store from the train platform was torn down.

   I have no interior pictures of the coach but recall that the seats ran lengthways and on one side was a potbelly stove for heat.

picture by Richard Frampton - Canyon terminal of HEPC industrial railway
picture by Richard Frampton - Fraserdale terminal of HEPC industrial railway

The train at Fraserdale - waiting for the T&NO from Cochrane.

Note the open vestibule. Can you identify any of the people in this picture?

This picture was taken at Fraserdale. You can see the T&NO train on the left and the flat area on the right where the track Y was located.

It was not unusual for a group of us to ride the train out to Fraserdale. The T&NO train included a coach with a snack bar. Sometimes ice-cream was available.

photographer unknown - canyon train about 1940-44
photo by Richard Frampton - passengers waiting to go to Fraserdale Here are a group of people getting ready to leave for Fraserdale. Can you identify any of them?

Note the large lamp on the corner of the coach. There was no electricity in the coach so operation in the dark required lighting the large kerosene lamps.

 

This is another view of the coach, partially blocked by the speeder.

There is an interesting story behind this picture. Do you know what it is? Do you know what is in the crate?

Send me an email and I will tell you what I know.
rhframpton@yahoo.com

photo by Richard Frampton - speeder about to leave for Fraserdale
At times the speeder met the T&NO train at Fraserdale.

The car behind the speeder was also used as an ambulance.

It was not always possible to get an emergency flight into the colony, so this little train went all the way to Cochrane when an emergency required that someone got medical attention in a hurry.

    The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario RR - now the Ontario Northland RR - used mainly Pacific type 4-6-2 steam locomotives on the Cochrane to Moosonee run. During the time we lived in the colony, the one thing you could count on about the T&NO was it would never be on time. People called it the "Time No Object" railway.

    The picture above left shows engine 701 during a very rare event. It was pulling a special passenger train with VIPs and backed down to the powerhouse for some special event - I don't recall what it was. It would be 1946 or '47. That's my cousin Bert Frampton leaning on me beside the engine. Bert was a summer student who worked in the canyon for a couple years (just summers)

   Engine 701 was built in 1921 and retired in 1957. It is currently on display close to the old ONR Englehart Station. Apparently it is in very good condition.

   I'm not sure about the location of the engine on the right - number 700. It was also used on the Moosonee run. Like 701, it was built in 1921, but retired in 1956. There is no record of what happened to it.

.

    The train from Cochrane to Moosonee was always a mixed train. There were lots of freight cars and several coaches on the back end - followed by a caboose. Riding in the caboose was a rare privilege - and my turn came when I broke my leg skiing and went to Cochrane for medical attention.

HEPC Industrial Railway train at Fraserdale - sometime in the 1960s

The "train" near the end of its service. Soon the road will replace it. When I first saw the train in 1939, the Plymouth gasoline powered engine was dark green with red "H.E.P.C." painted on the side of the cab. The coach was light brown.

Someone has repainted everything Hydro yellow and somehow this diminishes the train's appearance. 

I am currently going through old photographs to find pictures from the days when I lived in the Canyon.
(1939 to 1948)  My father was a serious photographer and did most of his own developing and printing Unfortunately, many of the pictures he created have deteriorated over the years, but I believe I can salvage some of them. Eventually I will post them all on the web.

Richard (Dick) Frampton Jr. (Richie)
Vancouver Island, British Columbia
rhframpton@yahoo.com

Abitibi Canyon web site index:

An introduction to Canyon memories

1943 colony panorama and WWII Civil Guard
The staff house and recreation centre - sports and other activites
School
Family and Friends
Abitibi Canyon Train
1969 - After the road - a picnic at the "landing"
Visits in 1989 and 2002

Return to the [ Frampton's Home Page ]

Page updated on  December 15, 2016