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The Algoma Central Railway was initially owned by Francis H. Clergue , who required a railway to haul resources from the interior of the Algoma District to Clergue's industries in Sault Ste. Marie; specifically, to transport logs to his pulp mill and iron ore from the Helen Mine near Wawa to a proposed steel mill (which was later named Algoma Steel). The Algoma Central Railway was chartered on August 11, 1899. The railway's Dominion and provincial charters gave it authority to build north from Sault Ste. Marie to a junctionClapham Junction, in London, England A junction in the context of rail transport, is a point at which a branch line or separate route diverges from the main line. Track control to allow trains switch onto the branch, or remain on the main line, is via 'po with the Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway CPR AAR reporting marks CP CPAA CPI is a freight railway corporation in Canada, operating a rail network stretching from Vancouver to Montreal. It also serves major cities in the northern United States, such as Minneapolis, Ch's main line, as well as a branch line to Michipicoten Harbour, on Lake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of North America's Great Lakes. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area with Lake Baikal in Siberia having more volume. The Caspian Sea is larger, but contains salt water. Lake Superior has a surface are near Wawa.

In 1901Events January 1 World celebrates what is regarded as the start of the new century. Zero-ists' argument that new century should be celebrated in 1900 rejected worldwide). January 1 The six colonies that make up Australia are federated as under an act of t Clergue acquired the charter of the Ontario, Hudson Bay and Western Railway , who were intending to build a line between the CPR main line and Hudson BayHudson Bay is a large body of water in northeastern Canada. It drains a large portion of the northern areas of Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba and the southeastern area of Nunavut. A smaller offshoot of the bay, James Bay, lies to the south. The placename us and then changed the name of the Algoma Central Railway to the Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway, anticipating a connection either to Moose Factory on James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut. The bay first came to the attention of Europeans in 1610, when Henry Hudson entered, or to some point on Hudson Bay.

The Algoma Central fell victim to the bankruptcy of Clergue's Consolidated Lake Superior Corporation in 19031903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasn't had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. Events January 1 Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India. At that time, the line reached 56 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie with a 20 mile segment running east from Michipicoten Harbour that did not yet connect with the main line. Construction was stopped, but was resumed in 1909Events January 5 Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. January 16 Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole. January 28 United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War. February 12 The National and the line was extended northward through to junctions with the Michipicoten Harbour branch (at Hawk Junction ), the Canadian Pacific Railway (at Franz ) and the Canadian Northern Railway (at Oba ). In 1914 it finally reached Hearst, a town 296 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie that was a divisional point on the National Transcontinental Railway. By that point, Clergue's dream of building a railway to Hudson Bay or James Bay had long been abandoned, and the railway's northern terminus remained at Hearst, around 150 miles from James Bay. However, the phrase and Hudson Bay was not removed from the railway's name until June 30, 1965.

The Algoma Central was the first Canadian railway to dieselize, in 1952.

In the 1960s, the railway began to promote the natural beauty of the District of Algoma to tourists, especially the Agawa Canyon, a canyon around the Agawa River, 114 rail miles north of Sault Ste. Marie that is not accessible by road. The Algoma Central developed a tourist stopover here, which was a great success for the railway. Due to the popularity of the Agawa Canyon excursions, the Algoma Central would run the longest passenger trains in North America, often up to 20 to 24 cars long. During the 1970s and 1980s around 100,000 people per year would tour Agawa Canyon.

The railway had been in the shipping business since 1900, when it had purchased four steamships. Starting around the 1960s, the railway greatly expanded its marine operations and diversified into trucking , real estate, forestry, and mining operations. These operations were more profitable than the railway operations, and on April 30, 1990, as part of a corporate reorganization, the name of the company was changed to Algoma Central Corporation , and the Algoma Central Railway became a subsidiary of it. A few years later the Algoma Central Railway was put up for sale. On February 1, 1995, the railway was sold to Wisconsin Central Ltd., who operated the Algoma Central as a separate subsidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings. Wisconsin Central Ltd. was acquired by Canadian National on October 9, 2001, whereupon the line became part of CN's Eastern Division.

In 1998, Algoma Steel closed its iron ore mine in Wawa, and the branch line between Michipicoten Harbour and Hawk Junction was abandoned.