The West Coast Railway Association (WCRA) group sent FP7A 4069 and four WCRA cars (baggage-generator 9622 - MacDonald Creek, coach 5596 - Paul D. Roy, open observation 598 - Henry Pickering, and business car 0008 - Alberta,  over to Vancouver Island for the April 8th, 2016  launch of the rebuilding of the island rail service. The WCRA cars and locomotive are now in Nanaimo The ferry aprons on the coast and island have been rebuilt and there is a Kershaw ballast regulator working on clearing dirt on some sections of track so tie gangs can start. The multi level funding is in place so VIA service is coming and A&B Rail Services are going to do the track work. http://abrail.com/  

JLCX 136 arrived at WILDCAT MINERALS in ND

JLCX 383 is at MIDWEST LOCOMOTIVE SERVICES in Kansas City, MO

JLCX 713 is at MIDWEST LOCO coming from the Pas, MB

JLCX 888 is at MIDWEST LOCO

JLCX 908 (J&L Consulting purchased (Southern Railway of BC) SRY 908 in February 2016, and the unit will be moved in the coming months).

JLCX 1202 remains on lease to VITERRA.  

JLCX 1344 is at UNITED GRAIN in Vancouver, WA is prepping for transit to a brand new customer.

JLCX 200o is at MIDamerica car and locomotive

JLCX 2001 is at MIDamerica car and locomotive

JLCX 2049 is at MIDWEST LOCOMOTIVE

JLCX  2509 is transit to  MIDWEST LOCOMOTIVE

JLCX 2886 is leased to LONG CREEK RAILWAY

JLCX 3510 is at MIDWEST LOCO

JLCX 4004 is at RONSCO in Coteau-de-Lac, QC

Back on February 19th 2009 On the Newburgh & Southshore in Cleveland JLCX 2100 a former Milwaukee GP20 previously owned by Loram (Robert Warrick). 

At Metro East Industries, in Illinois in 2014, Mark Mautner (with MEI permission) shot JLCX 1238 wearing a special paint scheme for the customer. This EMD switcher is a former TRRA locomotive, nee-Lange Stegmann (LSCO).

CEMR 5396 (SD40-2, Ex-CP 5396, CN 5396, nee-CP 5784) and CCGX 5311 (SD40-2W, Ex-CN 5311) lead their freight towards the CEMR Carman Subdivision. The Central Manitoba Railway (CEMR), is owned and operated by Cando, and is a 67-mile short line running from East Selkirk north of Winnipeg to Carman MB using the former CN Pine Falls and Carman subdivisions. They operate the line with former CN GP9RM's and a pair of SD40 locomotives, and run trains twice weekly on the Pine Falls and Carman subdivisions.  The Pine Falls sub is now only 24  miles as the Pine Falls to East Selkirk trackage  was lifted a couple of years ago.  The Carman sub is 51 miles (82 km) long. (Taylor Woolston photo).

CentrePort Canada Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, is constructing a new industrial park at Manitoba's inland port. BroadGrain Commodities Inc., and 43 other companies have signed on as tenants.  BroadGrain unveiled plans to build a new bulk grain export and transloading operation and bean-processing facility on 29 acres at the park, according to a CentrePort press release, it will have full railway access.  The project is anticipated to cost up to $25 million (Canadian dollars).  The company's operation at the rail park will include loading 150-car unit trains with Manitoba commodities including wheat, canola, soybeans, corn and specialty crops. The new campus facility will include terminal storage, transloading and processing capacity.  BroadGrain's plan will trigger the construction of Phase I of the new park. CentrePort is investing $2.4 million to build the lead track and switches off the Canadian Pacific mainline (CP's Carberry Subdivision), which will connect to BroadGrain's dedicated track. CentrePort will own the lead track and switches, which also will service additional projects as the rail park develops. The Province of Manitoba will provide tax incremental financing revenue from the Community Revitalization Fund to help pay for construction of rail leads and switches. CentrePort Canada is Manitoba's 20,000-acre inland port and foreign trade zone. The new rail park is being built on 700 acres located south of the CP mainline and west of CentrePort Canada Way.  Read more here:  http://www.centreportcanada.ca/available-properties/industrial-parks 

Omnitrax has sold its Hudson Bay Railway Company to a group of northern Manitoba First Nations. Omnitrax stated that the 627 mile railway has not been profitable since its purchase from CN in 1997. It includes the 510 mile line between the CN connection at The Pas, Manitoba, and the terminus at Churchill, Manitoba. VIA Rail uses the line for its Winnipeg to Churchill service. Included in the sale is the Hudson Bay Port Company, which operates the Port of Churchill, Canada's only deep-water port on the Arctic Ocean. The port predominantly handles grain shipping.

The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (AKA PotashCorp), is a Canadian corporation based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The company is the world's largest potash producer and the second and third largest producer of nitrogen and phosphate, three primary crop nutrients used to produce fertilizer. By the end of 2007, the company controlled 22% of the world's potash production capacity, 2% of nitrogen production capacity and 6% of phosphate supply. The company is part-owner of Canpotex, which manages all potash exporting from Saskatchewan. (Wiki) These brand new Potash Corp cars built in Ontario were shot in mid-February. 

EMD-built SD9's that have seen service in British Columbia, CANADA:   Back in the 1990's, BNSF used an SD9 in their yard at New Westminster, BC. BNSF 6143 was later renumbered to BNSF 1724, with the patched numerals in  a larger font.  Aside from BNSF SD9's,  Omnitrax used OMLX SD9 1750 to switch at Roberts Bank, BC back in the 1990's.  Mark Forseille submitted photos of all three of them.

On March 7th, 2016 CCGX 5311 (SD40-2W) and CEMR 5396 (SD40-2), get ready to run light, heading south on the CEMR Carman Subdivision, having just come off the CN Rivers Subdivision. (Taylor Woolston Photo)

(By Mark Forsielle)

This shot was taken almost 30 years ago, back in 1988!  Kevin Dunk ventured deep into the coastal jungle around Howe Sound British Columbia seeking some Alco/MLW action on BCR's Squamish Subdivision.  Thankfully I found gold and bagged train #12 exiting the MP31.8 tunnel north of Britannia Beach with BCR M630 714 in company of SD40-2 757 and 744 (ex-O&W9951) and M630W 725 working their way home to the North Vancouver Yard. A time machine would be nice to go back in time and relive these days.

Winnipeg Water District Gas Electric work car (WWD #31) in  Winnipeg, Manitoba  on November 4th 1981. (Bill Grandin Collection)
One of the cool looking critters on the Winnipeg Hydro Railway was taken June 22nd, 1982 at Pointe du Bois, Manitoba.

Ontario Southland Railway received their newest locomotive on March 26th at Woodstock, Ontario. Former CP GP9u 1594 was shot by Walter Pfefferle at Woodstock Ontario and was moved to the OSR Salford Shop on the 28th 2016.

Earl Minnis took this great shot of Essex Terminal Railway switching out the Hiram Walkers plant at about 09:00 AM on August 21st, 2012.  ETR has rostered three EMD switchers an  SW14, SW1200, and SW1500 and two GP9.

The lumber industry as always been  an important contributor to Ontario Northland's economic health, and some of that lumber is captured being lifted and hauled out from Tembec's Cochrane Saw Mill by the afternoon yard crew utilizing Ontario Northland Railway GP9's 1603 and 1601 on March 4th, 2016 (Mike Robin photo).

Mike Robin shot Freshly 'safety striped' ONT SD75I 2105 arriving at Cochrane back in March 2014.

(OVR) RLK 3048 and RLK 3029 head east through the community of Bonfield, Ontario on the North Bay Sub.  The train is on its way to Grimmer yard in Temiskaming, Quebec, as business has picked up and the box cars are being filled with paper products at Tembec. March 18th, 2016. (Patrick McKie photos).
On March 23rd, an OVR crew moves the motive power back to the shop track, where they will tie down for the night. Saint Lawrence and Atlantic (SLA) 3804 was released from the Ontario Northland Railway shops in North Bay on the 22nd of March, and is now testing on OVR trains 431/430 for about a week.
SLA 3804 leads OVR 430 into the North Bay yard. This was SLA 3804's first round trip to Sudbury, ON since being worked on and released by ONT. The OVR will run a few trips back and forth to Sudbury before its shipped home.  March 23 2016

On March 7th, Francois Jolin photographed Quebec-Gatineau Plow Extra 2004, with QGRY Jordan Spreader 402876 crossing the St-Maurice River at Shawinigan on the QGRY St-Maurice Valley Sub.  In the foreground is Hydro-Quebec generating station #3, built in the 1940's. The railroad bridge was built by the St-Maurice Valley Railway back in 1906.

In the winter of 2012, David Sandor clicked the QGRY St-Luc to Ste-Therese Local, cresting the hill with four units.

QNS&L SD40-3 #311 was shot at CN MacMillan Yard Toronto on February  19th, during her move eastbound to the ferry at Matane QC,  to get her to home rails in Sept Iles.  Note the rebuilt unit still sports the original class lights, rooftop piping, unusual handrail behind the engineers door and huge extended fuel tank. QNS&L 311 has had quite a sour history. She was involved in two mainline rear end collisions. One in 1996, and the second one in 2014. She was built in 1972 at the GMD plant in London, Ontario as QNS&L SD40-2 #238

Bound for Farnham, QC, on February 4th, CMQ #1 passes under the bridge at Stuckely, QC. (Francois Jolin photo).  https://www.flickr.com/photos/31145333@N02/24820943445/in/dateposted-public/

After I started to lose hope, the SD40-2F Red Barn's purchased from Canadian Pacific Railway last fall began showing up everywhere on CM&Q (except the Northern Maine Junction to Searsport branch).  They are working from Millinocket to Brownville Junction, Maine; on the turn between Northern Maine Junction and Brownville Junction; and, of course, on the Brownville Junction -- Montreal trains. 

 Maine Northern is no longer working to Brownville Village over CM&Q rails.  All interchange is taking place at Millinocket, probably because of continuing traffic congestion at both Brownville Junction and Brownville Village.   There is plenty of room at Millinocket Yard, which is not true of BJCT or the small yard at Brownville Village.  The Maine Northern Railway local drops interchange for CM&Q at Millinocket, then continues on to BJCT with the eastbound cars, which then go out on the eastbound EMR/NBSR train to Canada.  Since there is no northbound component of this train (NMR carries its own cars from BJCT, CM&Q locomotives return light from Brownville Junction to Millinocket Yard and tie up for the night there.  Great place for photos mid-morning and mid-afternoon, not to mention following all three trains to or from Brownville Junction.

 Lately, the Millinocket locomotives have both been Red Barns, or one Red Barn and whatever else is available.  Here, CM&Q 9011 and 9023 have just been tied down for the night at Millinocket after arriving light on March 9th.

A front end shot of 9011, and a second shot of CM&Q 9023, all at Millinocket on March 9th. 

The "new to us" Red Barn SD40-2F's are a nice change.  They have a very powerful look about them - despite the fact they are aging SD40-2's at heart.

 On March 3rd, the CM&Q Millinocket - Brownville Jct. train rolls through West Seboeis, Maine on its way to BJCT, with PRLX SD45T-2 tunnel motor in the lead, trailed by CM&Q 9014.

As I previously reported, Central Maine and Quebec took over from Maine Eastern as the designated operator on the former Maine Central Rockland Branch on January 1st of this year.  The branch was operated for freight and passenger service by Maine Eastern Railway, a subsidiary of Morristown and Erie Railroad, for a number of  years.  Maine Eastern's ex-Maine Central Russell plow appeared at Brownville Junction, Maine on February 29th.  Probably missed being dropped at Derby, where some of the remaining ex-Bangor and Aroostook, ex-Montreal, Maine and Atlantic plows have been recently scrapped.  The Russell plows had character - something the industrial looking "Buffalo" plows do not.

New Brunswick Southern Railway has been busy this winter.  With no significant winter snowfall to deal with, the multi-day service interruptions of last winter are just a memory.

 A visit to Harvey Station, New Brunswick on March 23rd yielded this photo of NBSR 6319 West.  6319 is a former Quebec, North Shore and Labrador unit, complete with rock pilot.

A few moments later, NBSR 6319 West started along the shore of Harvey Lake (and yes, I could have got a better photo from out on the ice, but I didn't want to test it - isn't that what ice fishermen are for?).  The train is passing the town of Harvey Station's beach and park.  The CPR station still stands in Harvey Station.  Although it is a bolt-together, relatively modern metal station, it was built with an operator's bay.  It is, however, boarded up and not photogenic.

A visit to McAdam, NB on March 23 (no earthquakes this time - my last visit was on earthquake day) shows NBSR 6319, 611 and HLCX 6340 coming off the west branch of the wye after dropping cars for the St. Stephen branch. 

A few minutes later, with HLCX 6340 leading, the power off NBSR 6319 west backs past the McAdam CPR station en route to rejoin its train standing east of the Provincial Route 4 crossing.

EMR began some minor trackwork during our false Spring.  As previously reported, money totaling $20 million US received from the U.S. Federal Government as a 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, will be divided between Eastern Maine Railway, Pan Am Railway and Central Maine and Quebec to improve track speeds on specific routes - contiguous routes joining all three railways together. 

 The aforementioned railways will be kicking in $14 million U.S. of their own money to the program.  TIGER money will not be used on the Moosehead Sub of the CM&Q, only on the line from Searsport through Northern Maine Junction to Brownville Junction, Maine, on EMR's Brownville Junction to Vanceboro, Maine (although it continues on 7 miles to McAdam New Brunswick), and on PAR's line from Waterville, Maine to Northern Maine Junction. 

 Much of Pan Am is in very poor shape (10 mph) north of Waterville.  CM&Q from NMJ to BJCT is in better shape, but still mostly 10 mph. Eastern Maine Railway is in the best shape of all - benefitting from regular track work, including tie replacement, surfacing and new ballast in many areas.  I never cease to be impressed at how well-run NBSR and its sister roads are.

 I expect the work will begin early this summer.  However, the paper and pulpwood business in Maine continues in decline, at least on CM&Q and Pan Am.  Pan Am has seen two more mills close recently on its railroad:  Bucksport and Old Town, Maine.  Not true of New Brunswick Southern:  Much of the pulp and wood chips harvested from Irving's extensive forest holdings in Maine go directly to its own mill in St. John on its own railways, i.e., Maine Northern, Eastern Maine Railway, and New Brunswick Southern, including pulp and chips for another firm's paper mill in Baileyville, Maine serviced off the McAdam - St. Stephen, NB branch.  This makes for some big trains.  A recent EMR eastbound departure from BJCT boasted 134 cars.  47 had to be dropped at Hardy Pond, Maine to be picked up another day.  The size of the rebuilt siding at Bancroft, Maine, frequently used for meets between east and westbound jobs, is certainly the limiting factor.

 NBSR 8144, painted last fall, leads NBSR 8144 West through Bancroft, Maine on March 16th.

A sharp looking ex-CPR SD-40, NBSR 6315 leads an Oakfield - Brownville Junction, Maine MNR train on Central Maine & Quebec Railways rails at West Seboeis, following one of our few significant snowfalls this winter.

Sadly, Genesee and Wyoming has responded negatively to an organized effort to keep the Port Hawkesbury, to Syndey, NS section of the CB&CNS Railway in the minds of Cape Breton's residents.  A contest sponsored by The Scotia Rail Development Society called for submission of "selfies" of residents with the railway in the background.  In its first response to Scotiarail, following unanswered requests for information, Genesee and Wyoming cautioned the society on the dangers of trespassing.

 http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/railway-shoos-cape-bretoners-from-tracks-for-savecbrail-selfie-contest-even-though-the-line-is-abandoned

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