Today's Train of Thought- Peace Through Superior FireHorsepower

Today's train of thought- perhaps unsurprisingly- brings us not only north of the border, but about as far north as one can get on the North American standard gauge railroad network (while Fairbanks, AK would be further north, railcars moving to and from Alaska actually have to travel by ship). Around a hundred years ago, it was determined that the Peace River region in northwestern Alberta was one of the few places remaining for settlers which could support agriculture under the dominion of Canada's land grants. The only problem was that there was no rail link to the rest of Canada, so a series of competing lines were awarded charters to build lines radiating north and west out of Edmonton. After WWI, many of these lines were struggling financially or incomplete and after a series of lease agreements with the province. Alberta would then continue to group these railroads under the Northern Alberta Railways umbrella and the line to Dawson Creek, BC would serve as the railhead to the Alaska Highway construction project following US entry into WWII. The NAR would see some postwar traffic, but it began to taper off when Pacific Great Eastern (BC Rail's predecessor) built a line into Dawson Creek from the south.

Already half owned by Canadian National, the NAR would cease to exist as a separate entity when CN purchased a controlling interest in NAR in 1981. In the late 1990s, much of the NAR lines were targeted for divestiture by the CN, only to have the separate entities (mostly operated by Rail America, Savage Rail Services and CANDO) be reacquired by 2007.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Tim Stevens caught CN SD40 #6001 leading a pair of battered GP40-2LWs as they cross a trestle in Peace River, AB with a slightly overpowered local bound for the Daishowa Paper mill west of town on August 29, 2008.

Also to the west of town is the junction where the line to Hines Creek, AB meanders west while the line to Hay River, NWT heads north. Hay River is terminus for the northernmost standard gauge line in Canada.

I thought I'd close out Canada day with this.

Today's Train of Though- Either Ore, Dec, 20, 2010

Today's Train of Though takes us to the nothern reaches of Minnesota and iron ore country in the grip of one of their notoriously frigid winters.

For nearly 70 years, the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range earned its keep hauling iron ore and later taconite from the mines to the north and west of Duluth, MN to the massive ore hauling ships waiting at the Twin Harbors. There also has been significant limestone traffic on the DM&IR as well.

The Canadian National reached the Twin Harbors from the west by way of its Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific subsidiary. In the 1990s, both Canadian railroads were looking to expedite traffic from Western Canada to Chicago. The CP had an advantage in that it had a wholly owned subsidiary in the Soo Line, which ran from the US/Canadian border at Portal, ND to Chicago by way of the twin cities.

Until 2001, Canadian National had to rely on agreements with American railroads to compete with Chicago-bound traffic from CP. In October of that year, the now privately-held Canadian National purchased super-reigonal Wisconsin Central, giving CN nearly direct access to Chicago from the Duluth-Superior area. The only hinderance at the time was a gap of roughly 10 miles on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range between the end of the DW&P trackage and beginning of the former Wisconsin Central rails.

For CN, this problem was resolved nearly three years later with the May 2004 Purchase of the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range's parent company, Great Lakes Transportation (itself a spinoff from US Steel). The Canadian National's acquisition of Great Lakes Transportation not only gave them the DM&IR, but also the Elgin Joliet & Eastern in Chicago and western Pennsylvania's Bessemer & Lake Erie.

The CN still serviced the mines, ore docks and steel mills on its respective former Great Lakes Transportation property, but it was becoming increasingly interested in increasing capacity on the DM&IR and EJ&E.

And like other railroads purchased by Canadian National, the locomotives and rolling stock bearing the DM&IR colors would be on their way out, either sold off or repainted into Canadaian National colors (see Wisconsin Central, BC Rail). However, railpictures.net contributor Scott Carney snapped Iron Range SD38 #205 leads two bretheren dutifully charging uphill and around Spirit Mtn Curve (featuring a commanding view of Superior, WI) with a load of empty ore cars heading back to the mines on a snowy March 2007 day.

Most of the SD38s would be gone from Iron Range property by the end of 2009, replaced by power from elsewhere on the CN system.

Iron Horse Roundup- October/November 2010 Edition

BBC Photo

INDONESIA: At least 36 people were killed in an October 2nd collision between two trains at the Petarukan station on the island of Java.

Officials believe that a signalling error one one of the trains was what led the Jakarta-Surabaya train to collide with the rear cars of the stopped Semarang-bound train.

That same day, another accident in nearby Solo resulted in at least one fatality.

UKRAINE: At least 43 people were killed when a train collided with a bus packed with commuters in the eastern part of the country on October 12.

Officials from Ukraine's interior ministry said eyewitnesses reported that the bus ignored warning lights and bells from the level crossing in the town of Marhanets in the Dnipropetrovsk region that indicated an approaching train.

All of the fatalities were on the bus.

Doyle Massey

UNION PACIFIC: Aside from it's regularly featured stint of hauling visitors between Denver, CO and Cheyenne, WY for Cheyene's annual Frontier Days, Union Pacific's 4-6-6-4 Challenger #3985 also got to stretch its legs hauling the Ringling Bros. Circus train from Cheyenne southbound to Denver at the end of September. The #3985 then continued on with the scheduled Missouri River Eagle excursion to Kansas City and St. Louis after briefly returning to Cheyenne.

Here, the 3985 is seen racing southbound through Platteville, CO with the circus train on its way to Denver on September 28, 2010.

Cody Zamostny

FT. WAYNE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The gem of the FWRHS's collection, 1944 Lima-built Berkshire Nickel Plate 2-8-4 #765, has been pretty busy since Labor Day. In September, she was deadheaded over the Norfolk Southern and Wheeling & Lake Erie to Akron, OH where she operated a series of excursions over the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

In October, the 765 powered a series of excursions out of Owosso, MI for the Steam Railroading Institute while their own Berkshire- Pere Marquette #1225- is being disassembled for it's 15 year FRA boiler inspection.

Upon completion of her whirlwind tour through the Buckeye and Great Lakes State, the 765 returned to the FWRHS facilities in New Haven, IN where she'll go into storage for the winter.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Aberdeen, Carolina & Western has acquired a pair of former Canadian National, nee Wisconsin Central SD40-3 locomotives for service on it's line between Gulf and Charlotte, NC.

CONNECTICUT: Six cars of an 80 car unit ethanol train derailed in the late night hours of November 9th at the Providence & Worcester yard in Willamantic, CT. The derailment took place within yard limits, which meant that the train was travelling at a slow speed. None of the derailed cars ruptured, and the contents of the tank cars were transloaded from the two that had actually hit the ground. The train had arrived from Rail America-affiliated New England Central and Brattleboro, VT.

There were no injuries and the FRA continues to investigate the cause of the derailment.

NORTH DAKOTA: Officials from the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western are disputing the FRA's findings regarding a March 2010 derailment in Washburn, ND that killed DMV&W conductor Jeff Heitzmann and injured the train's engineer. The FRA's report stated that an obstructed drainage ditch contributed to that saturation and undermining of the roadbed which in turn sent the lead two locomotives down an embankment.

The DMV&W, however, said that the stretch of track where the derailment took place had been inspected regularly in the weeks prior to the derailment and hasn't been a problem in their nearly 20 years of operating the line between Bismarck and Max, ND. Railroad officials insist that it was an underground spring located some 6 or 7 feel below the roadbed that undermined the track, causing the derailment.

Today's Train of Thought- Pumpkin Patch Doubleheader, October 31 2010

Shortly after Halloween, a shrill whistle pierces the quiet afternoon of a crisp autumn afternoon as a pair of Canadian National steam engines chuff past with a short freight train.

You might assume this scene took place some 50-60 years ago, but this was actually snapped by railpictures.net contributor Christian Signorelli on in the fall of 2007 on the 4 ½ mile Strasburg Railroad. The Starsburg operates in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, literally across the street from the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg, PA. The present-day Strasburg was established by a group of rail enthusiasts in 1958 after the original Strasburg fell on hard times when traffic began drying up after WWII and a series of storms washed out its right of way throughout the 1950s.

Although compact, the Strasburg's roster is primarily steam powered, with at least four operating examples of locomotives from Baldwin or the Canadian Locomotive Company. And with restored vintage equipment available from the museum, the Strasburg also operates occasional 'photo freights' alongside their year-round excursions (and infrequent revenue freight- the line still does have some customers). Here, Mr. Signorelli caught the Strasburg's two ex-CN steamers- CLC 2-6-0 #89 and Baldwin 0-6-0 #7312- on a rare doubleheaded photo freight making it's way past the pumpkin patch on an Amish farm at the Cherry Hill station site on November 5th, 2007.

The Strasburg also has an operating former Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 and an ex-Great Western 'decapod' 2-10-0 available.