The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway (PADW) is a defunct Canadian railway that operated in Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the...

.

The PADW was built in 1889 by investors interested in extracting the mineral and timber wealth of the Whitefish River Valley

Whitefish River Valley

The Whitefish River Valley is located in the unorganized area of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, and is named for the Whitefish River that flows through it...

, Silver Mountain Range and beyond into the Boundary Waters region.

The line originated at Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Ontario

Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...

 in the east, ran through Fort William

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

 and onward to the Canada-United States border

Canada-United States border

The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 kilometers long, including 2,475 kilometres shared with Alaska...

. The PADW was constructed with the intention of connecting to an affiliated railroad in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 to provide a route to Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

, however this section was not built.

The PADW was abandoned in sections, and fully closed in 1938.