Picturing the Agawa Canyon Train Tour through the years

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library: 

Agawa Canyon is a stunning canyon carved by the Agawa River, located 114 rail miles (183 km) north of Sault Ste. Marie.

It is not accessible by road and so the railway is very important.

The Algoma Central Railway developed a tourist stopover area in this stunning area and began to operate summer and fall tour trains six days a week in 1952 and a winter ‘wonderland’ tour in 1971. The 150-metre-tall cliffs flanking the Agawa River remain untouched since The Group of Seven and other painters first documented them so many years ago.

You can still encounter the same rugged rocky spires, soaring pines and tumbling cascades aboard the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. Throughout the years, the Agawa Canyon Tour train has been a mainstay of tourism in Northern Ontario.

On August 30th, 1993, The Sunshine Foundation took a coach filled with disabled or seriously ill children on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train to spend a fun-filled Saturday. Rufus the Clown was onboard keeping the 20 children and their parents entertained with his jokes and antics. Algoma Central Railway donated the coach, refreshments and engineer hats for the day-long trip.

Snow train debut

The first winter Agawa Canyon Tour Train chugged its way along snowy tracks in January of 1972, carrying a whopping nine passengers. That was nine more than were expected according to ACR officials. The winter tour ran only on Saturdays and did not stop at Agawa Canyon, instead passing through it. A week after the pilot trip a group of Miss Bon Soo 1972 contestants took the winter wonderland tour in subzero temperatures.

Trudeaus on the train

In September of 1983, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his three sons were in Sault Ste. Marie to take the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. A private car for the Trudeau family was attached to the regular Algoma Central Railway Train. Trudeau and his sons spent approximately an hour at the Canyon before returning to the Sault by helicopter. The Trudeau family along with MP Ron Irwin’s daughter tried out a handcar on display at Agawa Canyon Park and enjoyed the scenic lookouts.

Fall Colour Tours brilliantly popular

The ‘Colour Tours’ as the fall Agawa Canyon Tours were known, have been hugely popular throughout the years, drawing a record number of passengers. On September 26, 1970, 1,200 sightseers were packed onto the train cars, loading the train to capacity. A further 200 people had to be turned away!

Yousuf Karsh comes to Algoma to meet Walter E. Scott

World-famous photographer Yousuf Karsh visited Sault Ste. Marie in August 1970 “to interpret the beauty, strength and vitality of Algoma and the Agawa Canyon area in terms of the people who have spent their lives there.” Karsh was on special assignment to photograph Walter E. Scott, a conductor on the Algoma Central Railway. The photographs were taken aboard an ACR train at Agawa Canyon.

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provide SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more "Remember This?" columns here.