If you want to talk transportation history in Timmins, you have to absolutely talk about Jack Dalton, the Porcupine Camp’s pioneering transportation entrepreneur.

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Jack was born in Kintail, Ont., and got his early training in the transportation business in Detroit, Michigan. In 1909, along with his brother Charles, he came to northern Ontario to take advantage of the silver and gold rushes, and to start his hauling business in South Porcupine.

Ever the astute businessman, Jack knew a deal when he saw it, and learned quickly how to capitalize in the mining camp. He tells a story about heading to Toronto in late June 1911, where he bought a huge tent for $90 and brought it back with him on the train.

He was approached by men working near the McIntyre claims who wanted to buy the tent. He agreed and it was sold for $500. He also managed to sell them the logs from one of his sheds, as they needed the lumber for the Jupiter Mine.

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“I would hate to tell you what I got for that shed. Lumber was scarce, of course, and then there was another fact to be taken into consideration. In those days, if you did not overcharge a man, he considered himself insulted. Naturally, I had no wish to insult anyone.”

In any event, the tent and lumber were lost a few days later when the Porcupine Fire went through – but Jack got his money, which was helpful because the fire wiped him out too. Luckily, King and Babe, his two western broncos survived the fire because they had enough “horse sense” to get into the lake and escape the better part of the flames.

Using the two horses and whatever else he could salvage, Dalton started up the business again. The camp was growing as were the mines, and the need for haulage between Golden City and the Mattagami River was great. The stables at Dalton’s grew to include over 150 horses. Those horses worked the trails and nascent roads pulling jumpers, which were made with two logs turned up at the ends with boards nailed across to make a platform.

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With business picking up, Dalton established liveries at South Porcupine and Timmins. He added buggies and sleighs to the mix, allowing for passenger service in the growing communities. But ever the innovator, Dalton remembered his days in Detroit and in 1913 snapped up three new Model T Fords, which had been on the market a mere five years.

He stored them in Timmins until 1914 when he brought them out for summer driving. Jack and his partner, Joe Sullivan, had many stories about the first trio of cars.

According to Joe, “Many pairs of arms were worn out cranking them. Often the strength and endurance of two or three men was necessary to get a car started.”

Joe Sullivan was the first man to drive a car in the camp

“We often got them started but we were never sure that we would get them stopped.”

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The headlights dimmed whenever the motor was pushed, and threw a single beam of light just a scant few feet in front of the car. It was hard to manoeuvre over the potholes and stumps that were still a part of the town roads. By 1915, Sullivan had secured the General Motors dealership and Dalton added three Mclaughlins to the fleet.

By 1922, Dalton added three buses to his ever-growing fleet. The buses helped keep the road between Timmins and South End opened during the winter – although many times the big brutes became bogged down in the snow and had to be dragged out. The buses became an integral part of the business as Dalton saw an opportunity in offering transportation to and from the many local mines.

Because the mines worked 24 hours a day, the mine service was also on 24 hours a day, leading to the motto “We Never Sleep!” Needless to say, the bus service for the mines proved to be both popular and lucrative, and by 1937, Jack Dalton was able to offer regular bus service for the people of the Porcupine.

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The Porcupine Advance editor was thrilled with the prospect: “In inaugurating the city bus service for Timmins, the Dalton Bus Lines are working along that way of making Timmins a city in convenience and advantage. Under the city bus service, Timmins will have adequate bus service to and from all parts of the town — a real city service!”

The initial bus service consisted of three routes running on the hour; tickets were purchased in bundles of four for 25 cents. Two daily “miners’ specials” were added (in addition to the regular mine service) and started to pick up men at 5:45 a.m. The new buses were of course “state-of-the-art” and when added to the existing fleet allowed Dalton’s Bus Lines to carry, on average 125,000 passengers a month – which makes sense as few people owned cars and relied on the buses to get around. And those buses were maintained by five specially trained mechanics who kept them humming along (apparently their services were needed frequently as the condition of the roads at times were dismal).

Dalton Bus Lines and Dalton & Dwyer Bus Lines would continue to provide bus service to the community for many years. Timmins Coach Lines would take over for a bit in the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1975-76, Timmins Transit, operated by the City of Timmins, would start service.

Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a writer of local history.