How Railways Built Canada's Logging Industry (1900–1980)

Canada’s railways and logging industry grew together — and the timber trade helped push railway expansion deep into some of the country’s most remote forests. From the early 1900s through the 1980s, logging crews worked in harsh conditions to cut, haul and process the timber that fed sawmills and supported railway construction. At the same time, expanding rail lines gave the forestry industry access to forests that had once been almost impossible to reach. This documentary takes you inside the forgotten working world of Canadian logging: remote camps, timber crews, railway loading sites, log hauling, winter roads, sawmills and the demanding labour that connected the forest to growing towns. We explore the history of logging and railway expansion across regions including British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Alberta and the Yukon. This is not simply a story about trees. It is a story about workers, machines, railways, forests and the industrial transformation of Canada. Where are you watching from? Did your family have a connection to logging, railways or the lumber industry? Subscribe to Northern Timberline Canada for more documentary stories about Canada’s forgotten forestry and industrial history. #CanadianHistory #CanadianLogging #RailwayHistory #LoggingHistory #TimberIndustry