In 1926, there were no roads into Red Lake to transport heavy equipment that the developing mines needed. After the Howey discovery, further testing was required. Dome Mines, who had optioned the Howey and the McIntyre Porcupine Mine (Timmins, ON), decided to bring in diamond drills to test their properties. In March 1926, bringing a heavy shipment (200 tonnes) over the ice was a new endeavor, and it took a couple tries to get from Hudson to Red Lake. The supplies were first sent to Hudson by train along with five tractors to haul the freight. The plan was to have the tractors pull sleighs loaded with cargo over the frozen lakes and rivers to Red Lake.

​ The trail needed to be widened for the shipment of mining equipment and supplies. People were hired to expand the trails and create paths for the shipment. Frederick Carroll, a trapper, was contracted to lay out the tractor road to avoid the uncertain and dangerous ice on Lac Seul. The tractor road was good, but the weather conditions in early March 1926 were not ideal. There had been a lot of snow that winter and when it started to melt early the conditions created a deep slush.

Tractor Being Pulled Out of the Ice by Pully, Date UNKNOWN 

Boilers being freighted ​to
Howey Mine by tractor train, UNKNOWN Date 

Tractor Train Travelling on Winter Road to Red Lake, 1941-42

Horses Pulling Supplies on Ice

Kenneth McDougall
​outside his store in Red LAke, ​​1982

 Fordson Ready to Pull
​Mine Equipment, 1927

Boilers being freighted to Howey Mine
​ by tractor train, 1927

Tractor went Through the Ice,
​Being Hauled Out, ​1934

The first of the shipment went out on March 8, 1926, but the tractors had difficulty pulling the supplies in the slushy conditions. The tractors were stopped on the trail by March 15, 1926. There were diamond drills, boilers and rigging of all kinds stretched out in a line on the ice from Hudson for almost 48 km (30 miles).

Douglas Wright of Dome Mines went to see Kenneth
McDougall at McDougall’s Mills, ON in hopes, he would take over the freighting contract. Kenneth McDougall, his brother Sam McDougall and George Wardrope agreed to take over the freighting contract. The McDougall brothers sent out an advanced party of horses on March 19 from Hudson before the contract was signed. Because it was so late in March, McDougall was unable to guarantee the delivery. If the shipment was delivered, they would be paid $200/ton, but if the shipment was not delivered, Dome Mines would cover the costs the group put in, plus 10% of the agreed price.

Tractor Train Hauling Fuel from
​Jackson Manion to Gold Pines, 1935

There were approximately 50 teams of horses (100 horses)
to pull the freight. A couple of teams went ahead to gather the supplies while the rest were shipped to Hudson. As soon as the horses were ready and the cargo loaded, the drivers set out. The teamsters (men who drive teams of horses) pulled 200 tonnes of mining equipment. They also hauled 30 tonnes of oats, 3 carloads of hay and extra supplies in case of emergencies. The large amount of oats and hay were necessary to feed 100 horses for the 2-4 week journey there and back.

​On the trail, there was a team of horses referred to as the
cookhouse team, which carried the supplies for meals. In
case the drivers were too far away from the cookhouse team or separated from the rest of the teams on the trail, they were all equipped with necessary supplies. This included blankets, lantern, axe, chain and rope and emergency rations (ex. eggs, bread, tea, a portion of bacon, cooking utensils, oats and hay).

At first, the trail was challenging, a week into the journey, a much needed cold spell froze everything solid making travel easier. The group was making good time until they reached Ear Falls, where they met the men widening the road into Red Lake. The first teamsters that reached the construction joined the workers to help complete the roads. While the trip was so close to break-up, McDougall and partners successfully delivered the last of the shipment on April 10. The trip home was more difficult as the snow and ice had started to melt. However, this did not deter McDougall from forming the Red Lake Transportation Company.