Sudbury-Sault Ste. Marie Trip:

 

Prologue:

 

            Aside from my Dallas Make-up Trip, 2020 was AWFUL due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In 2021, I began looking to travel again as things opened up and I got vaccinated. However, I still was limited to Canada as international travel wasn’t quite ready yet.

 

            I had been on at least one train trip each year and was determined that 2021 would NOT break this tradition. I eventually weighed my limited options and decided to go to Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

 

            I was interested in Sudbury because I wanted to ride the Sudbury-White River RDC run in its entirety; (my 2007 Sudbury Trip was short compared to the whole route). Second, I wanted to ride the Agawa Canyon Tour Train as it used former VIA Rail Tempo coaches; a type of coach I’ve never ridden.

 

            As a result of COVID, both the Sudbury-White River line and the Canadian were limited to one trip a week and the schedules didn’t mesh up without having to spend a week in Sudbury. As a result, my plan was to fly to Sudbury and spend two nights there. I would then take the Sudbury-White River train to White River and spend the night in a motel. The next morning, I would take a bus to Sault Ste. Marie. I would spend two whole days in Sault Ste. Marie with one day an excursion on the Agawa Canyon Tour train before flying home.

 

            Unfortunately, after I got the days off work and made the reservations, a number of departures of the Agawa Canyon Tour Train were cancelled including the day I would have ridden! If I had booked my trip a week later, I would have been able to ride! I did get my money back though. As a result, I am looking to go back to Sault Ste. Marie when I get four days off work and the train IS RUNNING! This is the first time I planned a make up trip weeks BEFORE the original trip where something got messed up!

 

            This trip was also the first trip after my friend Greg in Chicago sadly passed from Cancer.

 

            My Agawa Canyon Tour Train less trip unfolded as follows.

 

September 16, 2021:

 

            I got to Pearson Airport shortly after 11:30 am. I photographed a UP Express train.

 

 

            I checked in. I had some difficult checking my suitcase but I was able to get it sorted. I then cleared security within 30 minutes of arriving at the airport.

 

            I looked around and photographed various planes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I got lunch at an A&W in the terminal. I had remembered seeing it on my Alabama Trip and my 2016 San Francisco trip. After lunch I went to my gate and worked on this report for a bit. I also logged into the airport’s Wi-Fi.

 

            At 1:20 I got a text message from Air Canada (who I was flying with) that said my seat had changed from 3A to 10A. I soon found out the reason for the switch was to balance out the plane.

 

            I went and bought a bottle of Pepsi. I photographed an Air Canada Boeing 737 Max.

 

 

            The Boeing 737 Max jets have returned to the air after being grounded since 2019 following two fatal crashes.

 

            I made my way back to the gate and waited for my flight to board. It wasn’t long before we were allowed to board. I was flying on an Air Canada Express Bombardier Dash 8-300; a slightly longer version of the type of plane I flew to Cleveland on back in 2007 on my Cleveland Make-Up Trip. I photographed the plane before I got on.

 

 

            It turned out seat 10A was in the emergency exit row. I had someone sit next to me in seat 10B. He turned out to work for CN in Edmonton. I mentioned I was a railfan.

 

            The plane left on time. As we taxied out to the runway, I photographed various planes.

 

 

 

 

            As the plane took off, I filmed the take off roll. We took off to the North. We were flying parallel to Highway 427. I looked out into Brampton. A few weeks earlier I had been transit fanning in Brampton and had photographed an Air Canada Express Dash 8-300 which could have been this flight as it was around the time the flight departed.

 

            After a while, we were flying over either Georgian Bay or Lake Huron. The flight attendants passed out bags of pretzels. We were soon coming into land. I filmed the landing. We had arrived a few minutes early. I got off and photographed the plane as well as another Air Canada Express plane.

 

 

 

 

            I went into the small terminal. There is only one baggage carousel at Sudbury’s airport. My suitcase was the second bag to come out. I then went out to take a taxi. However, there were zero taxis at the taxi stand! I thought a taxi would show up in a few minutes but none did. An airport employee gave me the number for a cab company which I called. They said they’d send a cab in 30 minutes. I phoned home and let my mom know I was in Sudbury but still at the airport.

 

            A few minutes later the cab company called and said the cab would be 40-45 minutes. I cancelled and called another cab. By the time that taxi showed up, I had been at the airport for an hour! This is ridiculous! You would think there’d be taxis lined up at an AIRPORT!

 

            The taxi took me to my hotel which was the Quality Inn near the Sudbury station where the Sudbury-White River train leaves. This was the same hotel I stayed at when I came to Sudbury in 2011 for the charter before going onto North Bay.

 

            I checked in but found out the hotel no longer had a pool. They stopped having a pool in 2014; long before COVID. I went to my room and dropped my stuff off. I phoned home again and let my dad know I was finally at my hotel.

 

            I went online and hung out in my room for several minutes. I worked on this report some more.

 

            I then headed out. I photographed a Nova LFS in service. Since I was last in Sudbury in 2011, Sudbury Transit had rebranded as GOVA. The GOVA livery looks a bit more attractive. They seem to only have Nova LFS buses on the roster.

 

 

 

 I saw a freight train that was doing some switching. I photographed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I saw three VIA RDCs assigned to the Sudbury-White River run. I photographed them.

 

 

 

 

            Since 2011, the RDC-2s previously assigned to the Sudbury-White       River run have been retired. The RDC-1s assigned to Vancouver Island were also retired.

 

            Rapido Trains purchased one of the RDC-1s previously assigned to Vancouver Island from IRSI in Moncton which rebuilt RDCs in the past. They also bought RDC-2 #6215 from VIA. Those RDCs plus three others were later obtained by the VIA Historical Association.

 

            RDC-2 #6205 (Which I had rode in 2007 on my Sudbury Trip) plus the other two RDC-1 assigned to Vancouver Island were obtained by the Waterloo-St. Jacob tourist railway out of Kitchener (which connects to ION). One thing about #6205 was that in 2011, its interior had been removed and the car used as a straight baggage car as RDC-4 #6250 had been damaged in a grade crossing accident. #6250 has since been repaired and repainted.

 

            VIA has two RDC-2s and an RDC-1 plus #6250 presently assigned to the Sudbury-White River run. The RDCs were rebuilt by IRSI in Moncton.

 

            Meanwhile a CP intermodal freight passed being led by three locomotives. I photographed them noticing the second unit AC4400 #8529 was looking a bit toasted.

 

 

 

 

 

This unit got a little toasty!

 

            The train had a fourth locomotive running as a mid-train helper. I photographed it as well.

 

 

 

            I then photographed some more GOVA buses.

 

 

 

 

            I started looking for somewhere to have dinner. I eventually went to a Subway restaurant. After dinner, I photographed another CP freight as I made my way back to my hotel.

 

 

            I soon got back to my hotel and went online for awhile. I went outside looking for an open store but found none. I eventually returned to my hotel before setting the alarm on my phone and calling it a night.

 

September 17, 2021:

 

            I got up and got dressed. I went to the lobby for breakfast. After breakfast I went back up to my room and went online for a little while. I had been hoping to visit Science North that day but it was closed. Science North was open on the weekend though but the last two times I visited Sudbury; it was open on weekdays when I visited. I eventually headed out.

 

            I walked across a pedestrian bridge near my hotel across the CP line. I walked along a street and photographed a former CP caboose modified as a shoving platform and painted maroon.

 

 

 

            I remembered back in 2007 when I had photographed a CP freight which looked like a manned caboose as there was no end of the train device on the caboose and the train was a good size freight. That caboose was in the CP yellow as CP cabooses were in the late 80’s/early 90’s when they started vanishing from trains.

 

            I then walked under the CP line and photographed some murals.

 

 

 

            I then photographed the VIA RDCs as well as other equipment in the yard.

 

 

            I photographed the CP diesels I had seen switching the evening before.

 

 

 

            I then went to a candy store. As I left the candy store, I photographed the lead locomotive

 

 

            I anticipated that the train would have a helper locomotive. When it passed, I photographed it.

 

 

 

            The freight also had a second helper on the rear. I photographed it.

 

 

            I then walked to the GOVA bus terminal and bought a day pass. I then boarded a bus on route #1 and rode to the New Sudbury Center mall. This was where the Sudbury #943 charter had its lunch stop. I photographed the bus I had come in on.

 

 

            I looked around the mall and had lunch in the food court. After lunch I went across the street. The night previously, I had picked up a brochure for an indoor trampoline park called “Urban Air Adventure Park” However, it opened at 4:00 pm. I still had over an hour.

 

            I decided to catch a bus on Route #2 heading in the direction of downtown. On my taxi ride in, I had seen a Dairy Queen. While waiting for the bus, I photographed a Sudbury Transit bus stop sign that would have been the standard from when I was last in Sudbury.

 

 

 

            I boarded a Nova LFS on route #2 and headed out. I saw the Dairy Queen and got off. I was interested in the Dairy Queen because I was curious to see if this location had a Cotton Candy dipped cone.

 

            After I was fully vaccinated, I had resumed transit riding in full force to make up for lost time. I had gone into Brampton and saw a sign at a Dairy Queen advertising a cotton candy dipped cone. In the days after I wanted to try one but the Dairy Queens in my area didn’t have any cotton candy dipped cones. I ended up returning to the Brampton store thinking it was the only location that still had the cotton candy dipped cones.

 

            However, last week, I was in Scarborough and found a Dairy Queen there that also had cotton candy dipped cones! When my mom drove me to the airport, she gave me the idea to check to see if Dairy Queens had cotton candy dipped cones.

 

            When I got to the Dairy Queen in Sudbury, I was pleased to see that they also still had cotton candy dipped cones. I bought one and ate it outside.

 

 

            Once I was done, I walked to a bus stop and caught a route #2 back to the New Sudbury Center mall. I went into a Shopper’s Drug Mart and bought a few items before I left and looked around the mall for a few minutes.

 

            Shortly before 4:00 pm, I went across the street to Urban Air and waited for the park to open.

 

 

            Once the park opened, I went inside and bought a universal pass that allowed me to access all the attractions. I had to buy some special socks for use in the park. I also rented a locker.

 

            Urban Air had multiple trampolines, some climbing walls, a rope course, and a zip line. I got to go on pretty much everything multiple times. The zip line which is called “Sky Rider” was my favorite attraction. It had nothing to do with the name of the roller coaster that used to be at Canada’s Wonderland until 2014 when it was sold to Cavallino Matto in Italy and renamed Freestyle.

 

 

 

            After finishing in the park, I had a massage in a coin operated massage chair. I then looked around the mall before catching a bus on route #2 back to a McDonald’s near the Dairy Queen and had dinner. I then waited for the next route #2 bus back downtown.

 

            Once I was downtown, I walked to my hotel. I made a stop at a convenience store near my hotel and bought some milk. I then returned to my hotel and found my room key didn’t work. I went back to the lobby and got a new room key. I went online for awhile before I asked for a wake-up call at 7:00 am and called it a night.

 

September 18, 2021

 

            I got up and got dressed. I went to the lobby for breakfast. After breakfast, I went back to my room and finished packing. I then checked out of my hotel and walked to the VIA station. The train wasn’t at the station yet. When it arrived, I photographed it and filmed it pulling into the station.

 

 

 

            Today’s train consisted of RDC-2 #6217, RDC-1 #6105, and RDC-4 #6250. RDC-2 #6217 would be leading the train west. The rebuilt RDCs are painted with silver ends which don’t look as good as the yellow ends of the previous RDCs that served the run.

 

            I was seated in RDC-1 #6105. The train briefly moved forward to load the RDC-4. The train ended up departing 7 minutes early! As we departed, I photographed the CP GP38s that were switching the last two days as well as some equipment in storage.

 

 

 

            I was working on this report some more. Outside of Sudbury we stopped on a siding to allow an eastbound CP freight to pass. After the train passed we were underway again. The train stopped in Azilda and Chelmsford. The train stopped Cartier where there were canoes getting loaded. Unlike in 2007, I would be riding the whole route this time. The train departed Cartier. This was the start of new mileage for me.

 

            The train stopped in Spanish River. West of Spanish River, we stopped near a cottage that had planters by the tracks that were made to look like a train. The Sudbury-White River service exists to serve isolated communities and cottages.

 

            I overheard other passengers mention the Gimli Glider incident and I mentioned how I once saw the plane (on my 2006 Halifax trip). At one point, we stopped near a river so the people who loaded canoes back in Cartier could disembark.

 

            We took the siding for various freight trains. At one point we took a siding for a CP welded rail train that was led by SD40-2 #6013 and Former Central Maine and Quebec SD40-2F #9021. #6013 is one of the few remaining active CP SD40s while 9021 was reacquired by CP after it purchased the Central Maine and Quebec which was taken over from the Montreal Maine and Atlantic; the railroad behind the devastating 2013 derailment in Lac Megantic.

 

            I had heard they were selling snacks up in RDC-2 #6217, but the selection was extremely limited. I’m glad I had got some snacks the day before in Sudbury.

 

            After the work train had passed, we continued on to Chapleau. Outside of Chapleau, the RDCs were fueled. The truck refueled #6217, the train pulled ahead. #6105 was refueled, the train pulled ahead, and #6250 was refueled.

 

            After the train was refueled, we pulled up to the station in Chapleau. We were allowed to step off for a second. I photographed the RDCs, Former CP steam locomotive #5433, and a CP caboose.

 

 

 

 

 

            I then got back on the train and we soon departed. I photographed CP GP38 #3116.

 

 

            We would continue to make stops in isolated regions and take sidings for eastbound freight trains.

 

            The train passed through Franz around 4:48 pm. Franz is pretty much nothing but where the CP line crosses the Algoma Central line from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst. Until 2015, a passenger train running between Sault Ste Marie and Hearst ran on certain days. There was no feasible way to make connections between this train, the Sudbury-White River train, and the Canadian if either train was late. This train also served isolated areas along the line like the Sudbury-White River train.

 

            The train stopped at Lodge 88 which is at Mile 88. About 8 people got off. However, I heard that in the past up to 60 people would ride to Lodge 88.

 

            We then departed and took a siding. We had to stop to let one more eastbound freight train pass by. I saw there was a Union Pacific locomotive being used as a mid-train unit. We were soon underway again. The train stopped a few miles later to let two more people off.  We were underway after a few minutes and a double stop.

 

            Soon, we were approaching White River. We passed an eastbound CP Intermodel led by SD70ACU #7022 which is painted as a Navy tribute. We were soon at White River. I got off and photographed the train.

 

 

            I went to get a picture of the rear of the train when the RDCs started moving. I took one more photo.

 

 

            I then walked to the White River Motel. Along the way, I photographed a mural on a store and a former CP caboose on display in a park.

 

 

 

 

 

            White River is the origin of the character Winnie the Pooh. White River has built some statues of characters from Winnie the Pooh.

 

            I got to my hotel and checked in. I saw there was a picture of a CP freight in the lobby which I took a photo of.

 

 

 

 

            I went to my room and dropped my stuff off. I phoned to let my family know I was in White River.       

 

            I then went across the highway and had dinner at an A&W. I bought some milk and a Pepsi from a store next to the A&W. I then walked back to my motel. I went online and worked on this report for a little while. I set the alarm on my phone for 5:30 am and called it a night.

 

Click to read to my trip to Sault Ste. Marie:            Sault Ste Marie part 1