Site: FOX-Main

 


DEWLINE HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION

Topography

  • FOX-MAIN, HALL BEACH, Canada, is situated on 2880 acres located on a small point of land which forms the eastern most extremity of a broad coastal plain that extends from Foxe Basin to Hall Lake, 20 miles to the west. This Main Radar Station, headquarters for FOX Sector, is located at the summit of a knoll 15 feet above sea level. the surrounding terrain is flat with the surface being studded with numerous ponds and lakes. The maximum elevation as far west as Hall Lake is 50 feet. The general area appears to be an emerging sea bottom. The entire coast is lined with gravel bars that parallel the shore.

Climate

  • Annual precipitation, including snowfall, is approximately 7 inches, being heaviest in July and August and least in February. Snowfall is greatest in October and November and averages about 36 inches a year. the absolute minimum and maximum temperatures are minus 58 and plus 74 degrees Fahrenheit respectively.

Water

  • A round trip water haul of one mile is maintained summer and winter.

Building Layout Diagram.

Building Layout Diagram Hangar Area.


PHOTOS

Satellite Image – High level.

Satellite Image – Close-up.

Site Photos 1988.

Click to enlarge.

 

Full size photos (below).

View of the overhead heated walkway between building trains. Courtesy Dan McIsaac.

Old Power Plant Control room 1992. All this equipment has since been removed.

90 foot tall Tropo antennas. taken from overhead walkway. Courtesy Dan McIsaac.

The door to the Sauna. (In memory of Bob Tugwell.) Courtesy Dan McIsaac.

Aerial view of the site 1960. Taken from the top of the “AA Tower” 300 ft up. Courtesy Doug Consul.

“AA” Tower. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Construction Camp 1957. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Construction Camp 1957. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Inside the Power plant 1960. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Power Plant – Diesel, 1960. Courtesy Doug Consul.

External view of the Power Plant 1960. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Hall Beach Nursing Station 1960. Courtesy Doug Consul.

Alan McMillan(left), Alex Puritch (right) unloading fuel drums. Courtesy John Higenbottam.

Building Layout.

 


For even more pictures and information on FOX Main, Hall Beach, check out the following links:

  • Canada’s first Arctic community, Hall Beach (Sanirajak NU.) Jack Lupic’s tribute page.
  • Hall Beach (FOX Main), 50 Years later. Video. An old DEWLiner’s pilgrimage and stroll down memory lane. (25:08 minutes).

Construction Era Photos for FOX-Main.
The pictures below were selected from the extensive collection of Markham Cheever, the DEWLine’s Superintendent of Construction from 1953 to 1957, before the Line went operational. (Click on picture to enlarge.)


The People.
The people in the photos below, also from the Markham Cheever collection, are displayed in the hopes that someone may recognize a father, grandfather, or friend who was involved in the construction of this particular DEWLine site. (Click on picture to enlarge.)