For almost three years the tug had sat idly on the marine railway twelve miles south of Longlac at the Camp 52 Landing. In the fall of 1991, after hours of work, the time came for the Tugalong to make its final voyage. The day started dreary, and by late evening as the tug neared Longlac, fog and drizzle reduced the visibility considerably. The tug arrived at the K-C yard and spent the winter moored to the dock. Keith Geno and Del Isaacs kept close watch to ensure the tug did not take on water or develop any problems. A section of the marine railway was relocated from 52 Landing to the shore of Lakeside Centre during the summer of 1992. After an exhaustive search for information on the current weight of the steel tug, the Society decided to be safe rather than sorry and hired a 100-ton crane to lift the tug from the lake. Water levels were extremely low all summer, and as September arrived, it appeared that the tug would be forced to spend a second winter at the dock. The call went ouot and the crane arrived from Timmins just is time.

On the morning of the big event, Tuesday, September 15, spectators began gathering at the waterfront at 7:00. Seniors, school children, loggers, photographers, men who had served on the tug-all stood by. The crane moved into position and three men leisurely attached cables at critical points around the tug. The operator took his place at the controls, and in minutes the Tugalong was lifted from the cooling waters of Long Lake and placed nicely in position on the marine railway. The project is far from completed, Fund-raising continues. In the summer of 1994, the entire exterior was sandblasted and given a fresh coat of paint. Plans include landscaping the area, erecting a steel-link security fence, and constructing stairs and ramps. Everything takes time and money-volunteers and donations. The Longlac Historical Society appreciates the support, encouragement, and patience of the public.

Some of the wood reached the lake through river drives. If the wood had to pass through an intervening lake, a winch-boat might have towed a raft of logs. Sometime a creek was dammed in order ot build up a head of water for driving, and the logs were sluiced though the dams. On Long Lake a crew made up each raft prior to towing. The make-up crew lived in a Wannigan scow or houseboat, which they towed with them from one storage area to another. In 1939, the Company employed the Lacalong to row rafts to the south end of Long Lake. The booms opened so that the prevailing wind and current could carry the logs the last 9 miles before the control dam. The Lacalong averaged 3,500 cords per raft. In 1940, a new tug named Tugalong, averaged 4,000 cords. In the year 1943, the Tugalong averaged 7 days for a return trip of about 60 miles. In a headwind, a tug towing a raft might even travel backwards for a while. The Company maintained five permanent drive camps on the Auguasabon River system between Long Lake and Lake Superior. Booms kept the wood in storage at the mouth of the river until a tug was available. Wood destined for the Hammermill Co. in Erie, Pa., was towed to either Jackfish Bay or Nipigon and then loaded on boats. Wood for the Nekoosa-Edwards Co. was rafted across Lake Superior to Ashland, Wis... Wood for the Kimberly-Clark Corp. was towed to the Slate Islands, loaded on boats and barges, and shipped to Green Bay, Wis.

RBF notes: Tugalong on display in Longlac ON, Aug. 19th, 2004.

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RBF notes: Tugalong, Longlac ON, April 25th, 2006.

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Tugalong on display, Visitor Centre, Longlac ON, April 23rd, 2007. (Beside Tauno).
RBF notes: Tugalong and Tauno are getting pretty beat up here in Longlac, seems the local youths
don't appreciate their history and are just interested in breaking windows and doors.

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Tugalong Engine Room
Matthew Carlson notes (Feb. 2017): inside the engine room on the Tugalong, you can see the 2 receiver units hanging, same thing as the Robert w would have just there would have been a third one for the second engine. When the one in the wheelhouse is operated it would move the pointer on the one in the engine room to another position, then the engineer would adjust the throttle or gearbox accordingly. Same for the warping set. The ones one the Robert w also had a "reply" system as it shows a handle. After the engineer does the order he would confirm it to the wheelhouse by moving the handle to the same position. That would move the separate little pointer on the unit it the wheelhouse, but some just have a simple bell so the wheelhouse knows they got the order. It's a simple yet complex system.

 

A 50 footer hull just off the rails in Longlac Ontario...
Lacalong (1939) or Tugalong (1940)? Photo from Don Loponen

 

Lacalong and Tugalong, Longlac, Ont., photo courtesy Don Loponen. Longlac, 1970's maybe. You'll notice the houseboat pulled up on the shore. That was a scow with a bunkhouse on it for the "sweep" crew who worked their way along the shoreline down the lake every summer gathering up stray logs. The logs piled in the background was the stockpile for the slasher. Saw logs went to the sawmill and the rest went into the lake.

 

Tugalong September 9, 2011 - Longlac Ontario Canada. Gerald (Wayne) Prout via flickr. Tugalong - Russel Brothers Steelcraft Winch Boat - Long Lac Pulp and Paper - Longlac Ontario Canada Along the Trans- Canada Highway 11 in a Northern Ontario community of Longlac Visitors Centre Park is a steel tug called Tugalong a Russel Brothers Steelcraft Winch Boat that was built in Owen Sound by Russel Brothers Ltd for Long Lac Pulp and Paper in 1940 and retired by Kimberly-Clark Pulp and Paper in 1996.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/73683441@N07/14423388377/in/photostream/

 

8/21/2014 Tugalong on display in Longlac (Ontario) Canada. Photo courtesy waymarking.com.
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMMACJ_Landlock_Boat_Longlac_Ontario_Canada

 

Tugalong in Longlac. Google Earth image saved by Don Loponen, Feb. 2017.

 

July 2020. Rob Farrow reports: Tugalong and Tauno are sealed up now with welded sheets of steel, can't see inside. Still in Longlac, ON.

 

Tauno and Tugalong are on display at the Longlac Tourist Information Centre. Situated at 10311 Highway 11, it’s the first building on your left when traveling west from Cochrane or Kapuskasing.

 

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