Canada Calling
November 1998

by Bryce Lee

VIA RAIL

Via Rail workers knew about a serious problem hours before a fatal train crash last year but disconnected the warning system because they thought it was faulty, says a recently released federal report. The Transportation Safety Board report puts some of the blame for the accident on Via Rail's training procedures. While passengers slept, the Canadian, with 220 people on board, derailed outside Biggar on September 3, 1997 killing one person and injuring 65 others. A lack of lubrication caused a bearing in the second locomotive's axle to overheat and it snapped, spreading the track apart and derailing the train. Crew thought the on-board warning device that showed the axle was overheating was faulty and disconnected it 27 hours before the crash.

Via has settled several lawsuits connected to the crash. Via is still facing a C$20-million lawsuit brought by the husband of an American woman who was killed.

Key conclusions by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board about the Via Rail train crash:

• Derailment was caused by a broken axle due to an overheated suspension bearing;
• Poor communications between the shop foreman and engineers led to disconnection of a warning system believed to be faulty;
• Via did not train locomotive engineers on the operation of the bearing warning system;
• A Via manager rejected a shop foreman's request that the train be given extra attention after the warning system initially indicated a problem;
• There are severe weaknesses in Via's quality assurance program;
• Via's emergency response training was poor;
• Via did not ensure that passenger safety, operations and maintenance policy were up to acceptable standards;
• Loose baggage and cushions caused injuries, which hindered attempts first aid and delayed evacuation of the injured.

Via Rail says it will restore checked-baggage service to eight communities in the Lower-St-Lawrence and Gaspe regions. The service had been cancelled earlier this summer in an attempt to save time and bring the trains in on schedule. Protesters blocked trains by piling baggage on the rails in an attempt to force Via to reinstate the service. They feared the cut to baggage service would lead to an abandonment of local stations.

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS

Canadian railroads are at a disadvantage in North America because of high taxes and regulatory barriers, the president of Canadian National said at a Transportation and Trade conference in Point Edward, near Sarnia, Ontario on September 11, 1998. Railway companies in Canada pay 40 per cent more in taxes than their United States competitors. Paul Tellier also said taxes paid by CN and other rail companies represent 14 per cent of their gross revenue, compared to only eight per cent for the trucking sector. Tellier wants Canadian governments to address these and other issues, including the fact that U.S. rail companies are allowed to depreciate their locomotives faster than CN can. The fact that truck size and hours of driving regulations vary between provinces should also be examined, he said, pointing out that U.S. interstate trucking rules are more consistent and stringent than rules in Canada. Tellier said CN supports free trade and is developing alliances with American rail companies.

Cost-cutting is the main reason the CNR changed to the controversial practice of running a locomotive and train with the front end reversed. Company spokesman Ron Smith told a recent Canada Labour Relations board hearing in Winnipeg the decision was made by engineers familiar with the trains and safety issues involved. The board is looking into an unsafe work application by Winnipeg engineer Jeff Johnston. Johnston made the application after he refused to drive a locomotive running in reverse position sixty-seven miles back to Winnipeg from Pine Falls on April 25, 1998. He claims the practice reduces the engineer's visibility on the track and on the controls, thus putting the crew and public at risk of an accident. Johnston says operating the train with a single engine facing the bulk of the train, rather than away from it, obscures sight lines on the track. He added this method also forces the engineer to sit with his back to the controls.

Canadian National announced September it has reached an agreement in principle with Quebec Railway Corporation(QRC) for QRC to operate rail freight service between Coteau, Quebec, near Montreal and Pembroke, Ontario, northwest of Ottawa. QRC will purchase (not lease) CN's 144-kilometre (89-mile) Beachburg subdivision, between Pembroke and Ottawa and the 9.3 kilometre (5.8-mile) Walkley Line, which runs through the city of Ottawa. QRC will also transport freight traffic over CN's former Alexandria subdivision between Ottawa and the junction with CN's main line at Coteau, Quebec.

#3:
Earlier this year, CN sold the 117-kilometre (73-mile) Alexandria Subdivision to VIA Rail for one dollar. The passenger railway will continue to operate its regular daily service between Ottawa and Montreal over the line. The 261-kilometre (162-mile) rail network between Coteau and Pembroke handled more than 11,000 carloads of freight traffic in 1997. Most of this traffic consists of forest products and metals.

A robust Alberta economy and a 37 percent increase in container traffic through Calgary in 1997 has prompted Canadian National Railways to invest C$8.7 million to double the capacity of its Calgary Intermodal Terminal. The expanded terminal covers 40 acres, and is lighted, fenced, and fully secured. It can handle up to 120,000 containers annually, and can store 3,000 TEU's of containers and 450 wheeled trailers. The terminal's two loading and unloading tracks of 6,000 ft. can each accommodate full length trains, and expanded and improved gate access makes the terminal more efficient for truckers. This benefits Calgary residents, as the addition of longer tracks reduces the need to switch trains over CN's Barlow Trail crossing near 50th Ave. SE. CN opening something in CP's back yard?. All's fair in love and war?<g>.

For those of you who are following the ongoing saga of the CN Newmarket Subdivision (Bradford to Barrie section). According to a recent local newspaper article, this section has received a stay of execution until October 15, 1998. Previous articles indicate that the selling price lies somewhere between one dollar to three million dollars.

CN has installed what appears to be an elaborate erosion detection system just west of the Port Hope Ontario VIA station between the south track of the Kingston Sub and the edge of the bluff overlooking Lake Ontario. It consists of an equipment shed at the east end and about 300 yards of equally spaced concrete highway median type blocks, each one mounted with a small relay box with two cables running into the ground.

Over the years considerable amounts of rip-rap has been dumped over the edge and some efforts have been made to improve drainage coming from the north side with a new culvert being installed. The siding that came off the south main and ran in behind the station has also been removed recently as it was even closer to the edge. This stretch of track was always in a precarious location and this is confirmation of that but the problem is these may well be only a stop-gap solution. Permanent measures such as right of way realignment or construction of a retaining wall are required.

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

The final 20 locomotives in Canadian Pacific Railway's record C$670-million program to purchase 262 locomotives will be supplied by the Diesel Division, General Motors of Canada Limited, the railway announced September 2, 1998. Specific terms of the contract were not disclosed. The locomotives shall employ alternating current (AC) traction motors, self-steering wheel sets, advanced microchip components and other features that will deliver superior performance over any other type of locomotive technology. The first SD90MACs assembled at Ogden when completed were unable to clear the doorway of the erecting shop so the doors had to be raised and widened before the new locomotives were able to leave. The 61 SD90Macs will be delivered with 4300 horsepower prime movers, to be upgraded at a later date to 6000 horsepower.

The 20 GM units, rated at 6,000 horsepower, will be the most powerful in CPR's fleet. The first 90 of the 262 AC locomotives were delivered in 1997. So far in 1998, 35 of the 81 AC4400CW units being delivered to the Soo Line and numbered in the 8500 number series had been delivered.

CPR will have 345 AC locomotives in its fleet by 1999. Their traction motors and other advanced technology make them equivalent in hauling capacity to about 625 conventional direct current (DC) road locomotives. AC traction motors adjust constantly. When they sense slippage, they ease the power supply to compensate. When no slippage is detected, they deliver the optimum power required to maintain or increase speed without inducing wheel slip. As a result of this and other features, AC locomotives have a hauling capacity that on some trains is almost twice that of standard DC locomotives. The new AC power, combined with a 60-per-cent increase in terminal capacity at Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, will make CPR the leader in the Canadian intermodal market. By the end of 1999, the average age of CPR's locomotive fleet will be just under sixteen years, compared with 23 years at the beginning of 1997. CPR will have effectively renewed fully 40 per cent of its high-horsepower road fleet and will have the highest fleet proportion of state-of-the-art AC locomotives of any major railway in North America. So far Ogden has assembled SD90MAC 9119 and 9120 and GM London has assembled 9102.

Canadian Pacific Railway has said the Canadian Wheat Board should have no role in a reformed grain transportation system, and it's taking that message to Prairie farmers. The wheat board says the railway's position paper presented in March to the Estey review of grain transportation but recently made is incorrect.

The railway maintains flexible car allocation programs would ensure the right grain cars are delivered to port at the right time. To make that happen, the national multi-party Car Allocation Policy Group has to be eliminated from the process, along with the wheat board. Those two agencies now direct the movement of Canadian grain to port. Last year the wheat board said the failure of the railways to move grain on time cost farmers C$65-million.

The board took its case to the Canadian Transportation Agency, who were to determine whether CPR failed to provide adequate service. Canadian National Railway paid an undisclosed amount of compensation to avoid standing trial along with CPR. With the wheat board and car allocation group out of the picture, grain shippers would negotiate directly with the railways.

The Canadian Wheat Board and Canadian Pacific Railway Co. both claimed victory September 30, 1998 after a regulatory panel ruled the railway had breached its duty and discriminated against grain going to the West Coast two years ago when the "winter from hell" disrupted bulk commodity shipments. The Canadian Transportation Agency found the railway "failed to meet its level of service obligation by not allocating to CWB grain moving to Vancouver its reasonable share of available capacity and resources." The judgment came after a 10-week hearing this year involving dozens of witnesses, hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of testimony. The CWB alleged other higher profit commodities such as coal, potash and sulphur were given higher priority and the poor service it received cost farmers more than C$50 million in lost sales and penalties. CWB chief commissioner Lorne Hehn said the decision is the first step in the quest for compensation for farmers over their unfair treatment in the harsh winter of 1996-97, when snowstorms, avalanches, floods and landslides caused chaos for the railway and its customers.

The CWB is assessing the decision as it plans moves in the continuing fight with CPR. An independent transportation analyst in Saskatoon, said the next step is an appeal by the CWB to the Federal Court of Appeal to recover damages. The board spent a lot of money for a partial victory since the CTA rejected a number of its requests. The CWB probably spent C$2-million on lawyers, expert witnesses, accommodations and food during the hearing. The bill does not include CWB staff time devoted to preparing the case. CPR can claim a win since the CTA rejected the wheat board's request for a finding of commercial harm against farmers. The three-person panel, said no relief was needed in areas where the railway breached its responsibilities. The transportation watchdog also turned down the CWB's plea for closer regulation of the railway, saying additional scrutiny is not needed at this time.

Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) announced September 21, 1998 it has signed a letter-of-intent to transfer its 290-kilometre (181-mile) Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Company (E&N) on Vancouver Island to RailAmerica, Incorporated. E&N provides freight and passenger rail service between Victoria and Courtenay, and freight service between Port Alberni and Nanaimo, on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. The transaction includes the sale of the 109-kilometre (68-mile) section of rail line between Port Alberni and Nanaimo. In addition, CPR has agreed to lease to RailAmerica the Victoria-to-Nanaimo and Parksville-to-Courtenay segments of the E&N network, about 181 kilometre (113 miles), to enable E&N to continue to provide freight and passenger rail service on Vancouver Island. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by year-end, were not disclosed.

In 1997, E&N moved approximately 7,900 carloads of freight, primarily forest/paper products, mineral and chemical traffic. E&N also operates a daily passenger rail service under contract with VIA Rail Canada, from Victoria to Courtenay. This passenger service will not be affected by the transaction. E&N, commonly known as E&N Railfreight, was established in March 1996 by CPR to provide a local management focus for its Vancouver Island operations. CPR announced in April it was seeking bids for the E&N. The transfer of the E&N will affect 45 employees. The employees, who were notified of the agreement, are protected by federal and provincial successor rights legislation.

RailAmerica Inc. is a diversified international transportation company, operating 12 railroads over approximately 3,840 route km (2,400 route miles) in eight U.S. states and the Republic of Chile. The company holds a minority equity interest in the transcontinental Australian passenger rail service and owns Kalyn/Siebert, Inc., a specialty truck trailer manufacturer with production facilities in Gatesville, Texas, and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

Canadian Pacific Railway announced September 25, 1998 it has sold its West Coast marine freight business, Coastal Marine Operations to Southern Railway of British Columbia Ltd. CMO, based in Delta, BC., provides marine freight service between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island. It carries trailers and containers for trucking and distribution customers, as well as railcars for Nanaimo-based E&N Railfreight and a small amount of other drive-on freight traffic. CPR announced in May it was seeking bids for the CMO. The approximately 80 employees of CMO were notified of the sale. It is anticipated that there will be no loss of employment as a result of the transaction.

Canadian National Railway Co.'s acquisition of Illinois Central Corporation may be initiating a fight over the Windsor-Detroit rail tunnel, a key rail link between Eastern Canada and the United States Midwest. Canadian Pacific Railway Co. wants the Surface Transportation Board, a U.S. regulatory body that must sanction the merger, to force CN to sell its 50% share of the tunnel to CPR as a condition of the takeover. The 2.5-kilometre tunnel under the Detroit River is jointly owned by CN and CPR. In a filing with the board, CPR says the tunnel needs costly upgrades but it is concerned that CN, which owns a tunnel under the river at Sarnia, Ontario, will prevent redevelopment.

The three-year-old Sarnia tunnel is capable of handling all types of double-stacks, while the century-old Detroit tunnel is restricted as the height of cars it can accept. CP maintains once the IC-CN deal is completed the consortium could block any desired updates CP would want to make to the tunnel at Windsor-Sarnia. Responding to the objections, CN dismissed CPR's concerns saying CN's ownership interest in the two tunnels is a pre-existing condition not caused by or related to the proposed transaction, Since the [US Surface Transportation Board] will not use its conditioning power to remedy a pre-existing condition or to aid competitors of the merging parties, the information CPR seeks concerning the tunnel appears to be irrelevant. Meanwhile, a third company, Ontario-Michigan Rail Corp., also wants CN's half of the tunnel. In a separate filing, the Detroit-based company asked the board to force CN to sell it the interest so it could build a new high-capacity tunnel adjacent to the existing one. OMR is a privately owned development firm that does not operate a railway, however it appear to have the capacity to raise the money for the project. CN's Sarnia tunnel cost C$193-million. A new tunnel dug on similar lines between Windsor-Detroit could cost C$250-million.

Coincidentally with the tunnel filing, CP is investigating the use of the lightly used ex-Conrail exx-Penn-Central nee Canada Southern line between Windsor and St.Thomas, Ontario. The lightly used line currently hosts an occasional wayfreight operated by the other owner of the line CN; both CN & CP own 50% of the line and neither railway is expected to yield to the other. CP is expecting a massive increase in traffic on its current Galt Subdivision, a single heavy-railed track line with passing sidings west of Guelph Junction running to London and onwards to Windsor. The Iron Highway, a new intermodal piggyback operation should be operating by the end of November; with four trains every twenty-four hours. Given the present increases in traffic, CP is concerned a single track line which is unlikely to be expanded will be insufficient to handle all the traffic thrust upon it, hence the alternate route proposal. The CASO Subdivision is expected to be used for eastbound trains, joining CP's St. Thomas Subdivision in St. Thomas and thus allowing trains to proceed in a roughly northeast direction towards Ingersoll and onwards to Woodstock, Ontario for connection to CP's Galt Subdivision. The St. Thomas Subdivision has 110 pound rail on average with some lighter section in places.

Presently the St. Thomas Subdivision hosts a daily except Sunday dedicated single-crew train which originates at the Magna frame stamping plant located within spitting distance of the CP Subdivision, on the CN Cayuga Spur. CP currently has control-cab locomotive 1117 (ex CP RS18u-1836) mated to CP GP9u 8243 on this run which usually has between 5-10 loaded flatcars with truck frames. The train usually departs St. Thomas by 08:00 and proceeds up the St. Thomas Subdivision to Woodstock, then east through Toronto to Oshawa and General Motors truck manufacturing facility. The train drops the loaded cars, picks up the empty cars and returns to St. Thomas; eastbound train 741, westbound train 742 all with the same crew.

On Thursday September 3 1998 St.L&H train 730 derailed 4 cars between mile 58.6 and 58.7 Hamilton Sub on the west track. On Friday evening September 4, the four derailed cars were moved into Aberdeen yard at about 2230. The car numbers were CR239801, CR238635, CR238744, CR221240, all hicube boxcars from Oshawa. The cause of the derailment is unknown still, but speculation is either poor train handling, or a broken wheel. Also at east end Kinnear Yard at 22:45 Train 730 CP5587, CP5419 finally arrived; 23:30 Hamilton Yard CP8131, CP8161 lite power from Aberdeen (moved the derailed cars into Aberdeen); and back at Kinnear at 23:45 train 523 CP5534, HLCX6221, CP5620 85 cars.

I don't know what geographic range this covered, but Canadian Pacific trains running out of Toronto on September 26, 1998 on CP were restricted to a 30 mile-per-hour slow order due to "surface condition." This was as a result of an earthquake at 15:52 EDT that measured a 5.4 (or 5.2 depending on which radio station you listen to) Richter Magnitude, or a IV on the Mercalli Intensity scale, in Toronto. The epicentre was somewhere in Pennsylvania. Track foreman, roadmasters etc. were busy hi-railing their territories performing track inspections checking for damage.

INDUSTRY NEWS

The federal government will spend almost C$400,000 to help improve safety at three railway crossings in the province of Saskatchewan. Ottawa provides up to 80 per cent of the money. The rest comes from railways, rural municipalities and provincial governments. The biggest chunk of money, this time, is for a crossing in Sherwood, near Regina; more than C$180-thousand. Another C$150 thousand goes to Moosomin, and about C$50,000 will be spent in Piapot.

Canadian Auto Workers union members who work at CN have voted 86 per cent in favour of new contracts with the company after a historic round of bargaining in which the CAW has established for the first time a pattern settlement, as it has done in the automotive industry. CAW members have ratified collective agreements at CN covering workers in shopcraft, clerical and customer service, intermodal and trucking owner-operators. The four agreements cover approximately 6,500 CAW members and expire at the end of the year 2000. While ratification meetings were going on at CN, the CAW bargained a pattern tentative agreement covering key issues such as pensions, key monetary and benefits items with CPR. The pattern was established during bargaining earlier this year at VIA. The CN agreement provides wage increases of two per cent in each of three years, pension and benefit gains. In the past, negotiations in the rail industry have featured forced settlements through arbitration or by federal government legislation instead through agreement at the bargaining table.

The Canadian Auto Workers and Canadian Pacific Railway Co. have also reached a tentative three-year agreement that includes improvements in pensions and wages. Previously, CAW negotiated similar deals with Via Rail Canada Inc. and Canadian National Railway Co. CAW members at Canadian National voted November 10, 1998 to accept their three-year contract. The CPR deal will be sent to 4,000 maintenance workers for a ratification vote. The major sticking points in all three settlements were pensions, which were improved in all cases, union spokesman Abe Rosner said. The CPR deal includes a 15 per cent increase in pension benefits over the three years. The deal also includes a two per cent wage hike in each year of the deal, which is retroactive to January 1 and runs until the end of 2000, when the average salary will be C$44,300. The raise is identical to what was negotiated with the other two railways, as the CAW introduced pattern bargaining a tool it uses in negotiating auto contracts to the railway industry for the first time.

As CPR was the last of the three railways to reach a deal with CAW this worked in the union`s favour, as customers were getting nervous about the prospect of a strike. All of CN's major Canadian unions have now ratified new contracts with the firm, which has 17,460 unionized employees in Canada. Talks are to resume shortly with the 300-member Rail Canada Traffic Controllers union.

For the second year running, West Coast Express commuters could get on board for the fastest classes in the West. Modeled on the Brain Trains program of last fall, this series of professional and personal development workshops is free. The series is designed expressly for commuters who like to travel at speeds of 120 km/hr while learning how to eat right, resolve conflict, or cut their tax bills. Workshop topics include career management, out-of-province travel, home security, helping your child get the most out of education, financial planning, and business communication skills. The 1998 program does not require registration or homework but will be first come, first served. Workshops started September 16, on Train 4 leaving Port Coquitlam Station at 07:34. 

The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool's move to close more than half of its elevators will make it more efficient, say analysts. The Pool, Canada's largest grain handler, announced it will shut down 235 primary elevators by 2000. About 170 communities will be affected by the closures, which are timed to coincide with local rail line abandonment and the opening of the Pool's new high-throughput facilities, the company said. By consolidating its grain handling system, the savings can be passed down to farmers through lower delivery costs. Company officials said there would be job losses but wouldn't give specific numbers. The Grain Services Union says about 145 jobs will disappear. Last year, the company started a $270-million construction program to build a network of 22 high-throughput grain handling facilities across the Prairies, including six in Alberta and two in Manitoba. On average, 12 elevators will be closed for each new facility opened in Saskatchewan. The elevator closures will cut the company's storage capacity on the Prairies in half, however the new facilities will have higher turnover rates.

The sale of Fairview Terminal to BC Rail could be good news for the province's northern economy. The Crown Corporation acquired the terminal from Canadian Stevedoring September 10, 1998. On the surface, things may not change much for the 125 employees at the terminal. The transfer still needs to pass the Federal Competitions Act and be approved by both the Vancouver and Prince Rupert Port Corporations. In the spring of 1998, BC Rail signed an interchange agreement with Canadian National Railways which allows for the joint usage of the CN line to the city. Canadian Stevedoring joins BC Rail, Vancouver Wharves and BCR Properties as a subsidiary of the BC Rail group.

Home Hardware is an extensive franchise system of retail hardware outlets in Canada. They had a contest for train travel this year. The contest had a number of winners from across Canada. First prize was trip across Canada, by train. Early in the year, Home Hardware utilized VIA F40PH 6429 as a rolling billboard and borrowed two VIA stainless steel coaches for filming the contest advertising campaign. Home Hardware's primary corporate colour is pale yellow, a somewhat cooler shade than that applied to VIA locomotives. The F40 remained in regular service across Canada after the filming. The Home Hardware transcontinental VIA train departed Prince Rupert, BC, on Monday, September 28, with a leisurely schedule. The train has extended layovers at Jasper, Niagara Falls, Ottawa and later Quebec City. Arrival in Halifax Nova Scotia is October 8, 1998. The train is powered by Home Hardware F40PH 6429, as well as 6444 and is known as passenger extra train #10. Equipment in no particular order: EM Coaches 5576, 5581, HEP Coach 8103, Sleepers "Chateau Iberville", "Abbott Manor", "Cabot Manor", "Franklin Manor", "Macdonald Manor", Diner "Imperial", Baggage 8610 and Sleeper/Dome/Lounge "Tremblant Park".

General Electric Co. Transportation Systems recently shipped 11 locomotives out of the Mountfort Terminal, further boosting efforts to revive cargo shipping at the Port of Erie. Pennsylvania. General Electric made its first locomotive shipment from the port in more than a decade last October, when it sent 15 engines to Brazil. The latest shipment of gray, orange and white Dash 9-44CW locomotives are destined for the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railroad in Sept Iles, Quebec. Conrail moved 11 locomotives from the GE plant to the Erie bayfront. The locomotives were loaded on the motor vessel Fairload (Amsterdam registry) over the course of several days, with scheduled delivery in Sept Iles Quebec in late September 1998 joining three Dash 8-40CM locomotives that GE shipped to the railroad in April 1994. On deck are five of an order of eleven Dash 9-44CW #407, 409, 411, 412 and 414, the balance were probably below deck. It was hoped the Port of Erie would have a chance to ship 50 or more GE locomotives destined for Brazil next summer.

A dispute over the ownership of old railway lands has returned to Prince Edward Island Supreme Court. Both the Island government and property owners believe they are rightful owners of the land. The province wants to develop the abandoned railway lands into a cross-province trail system. Property owners contend an agreement with Canadian National Rail indicates the land reverts to them, when no longer needed by the railway. They have told the court they don't want strangers walking through their property as would happen with the land turned into trails. Arguments are being heard from both sides; no verdict has been rendered.

National Steel Car in Hamilton, Ontario is expanding, again. Recent completion of a new paint shop conforming to the latest federal environmental standards will soon be joined by a massive reconstruction program on the west side of the existing rolling stock manufacturing plant. The project has been code-named "CPCPC". The site is former location of Stanton Pipes, and the former owner of the property, was Canada Pipe Corporation. The Code name CPC is for the former site owner, the "PC" stands for "passenger car." National Steel Car over the years has manufactured numerous types of freight and passenger rolling stock as well as carbodies for early diesel locomotives.

This new facility is 700 feet long and 200 feet wide and will have twelve tracks. NSC wishes to retain the old sawtooth style roof and is in the process of replacing all of the panes of glass in the roof. In addition the old brick and concrete block walls are being retained. I don't believe passenger cars will be initially produced however one cannot predict the future. With the decreased value of the Canadian dollar, NSC has a large number of orders to be completed over the next few years for both Canadian and United States railroads. At one time employment at the plant was down to 400 workers; these days there are over 2200 workers on three daily shifts.

A magnificent publication entitled Steam At Allandale by Ian Wilson would be my selection as the ideal railfan 1998 Christmas gift. The story of a CNR division point in the 1950's located sixty miles north of Toronto, the hard-cover book illustrates in exacting detail the 672 mile Allandale Division and network of rail lines serving the area. This is the author's first book in a planned series on a similar theme. Detailed line maps, superb black & white and some colour photography, as well as detailed notes round out perhaps the best historic Canadian railway publication of 1998. Suggested retail price is C$54.95, US$39.95. People are urged to try their dealer first, but if not available there or if they live in a remote area, direct orders will be accepted for retail price plus 7% for GST on Canadian orders and $3 for postage & handling (Canadian orders) or $5 US postage & handling (US orders). ISBN 0- 9683815-0-2. Payment by cheque or money order in US or Canadian funds, made payable to Canadian Branchline Miniatures. Mailing address is Canadian Branchline Miniatures, P.O. Box 2565, Orillia, Ontario L3V 7B1 Canada.

JUST FOR FUN

At West London's Shepperton Studios, in a room the size of an aircraft hangar, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends are being put through their electrically powered and rather sweet remote controlled paces. Wait a minute! Where are the actors? "Actors sweat, really, and they're nasty and get ill and stuff," says David Mitton, the director and co-producer who supervises cheerful, brightly coloured locomotives with names like Thomas, Edward and Gordon. Meet Stepney, an engine "He's the little yellow chap,'' Mitton says with a smile and the star of this week's 5 1/2-minute segment. In this particular plot, Stepney is chugging about the grassy valley when the fog descends and he loses his way.

"He's nearly smelted down," Mitton explains later. "The diesels are waiting to get hold of him to melt him down badly." (In the world of Thomas, diesels are usually the bad guys.) Then again, this is popular children's TV, not life. So all must end well, though Thomas tales often pack a neat little moral.

Set on the fictional Island of Sodor, the Thomas series began filming in 1984. This round marks the fifth spate of stories, with Alec Baldwin now narrating. Special effects supervisor David Eves is in charge of steam, fog and water. In addition, he knows the engines well, having helped his father, Peter, build the originals. "When you see a lot of the rubbish the kids do watch," says Eves, looking up from his work table in an adjacent studio, "Thomas has got a lot to offer. Adults watch it as well." He is not worried about competition from British rivals like Teletubbies, now demanding their share of the children's market. Says Eves: "That's a bit of a passing fad." Much of the work on Thomas falls to chief model-maker Brian Rutland, who built such new characters as The Paxman Diesel and Harry Topper's Biplane. Rutland's team includes Martin Gaskell, a senior model-maker who works from some sketches provided by Britt Allcroft. As the series' original creator and producer, Allcroft has turned the late Reverend Wilbert Awdry's tales into an international franchise.

The show airs in 121 countries, including Canada, and has been translated into nine languages, including Norwegian, Korean, Welsh, and Estonian. Last month, an amusement park with a Thomas theme opened in Japan. Gaskell is busy moulding silicone rubber into beguiling, open-faced expressions so beloved in Britain and abroad.

He comes to the series after helping build the main spacecraft in the film Lost In Space. Now marking his third Thomas series, Gaskell is adamant "I never do anything that's the same. Every job is different." So, too, is every expression, including 30 faces for Thomas alone. And though viewers often assume the engines' features move, only the eyes dart as a 12-volt current powers the engines down the track. Barrels of gravel, sand and stone are evident on the set, as is a periscope lens that allows Mitton and colleagues to view everything from the engines' eye level. Mitton knew the Rev. W. Awdry, the English cleric who wrote the Railway Series that gave rise to the Thomas phenomenon.

SHORTLINES

People uprooted from their homes because of a potentially explosive train derailment sought answers September 8, 1998. Some 250 people were evacuated on Saturday evening October 5, 1998 after 14 railway cars on track leased from Canadian National Railway by Railink of Edmonton derailed between Hagersville and Caledonia Ontario. Eight cars involved in the weekend derailment carried liquid propane gas and posed the risk of a possible explosion. Specialty workers from the United States transferred the volatile propane to other undamaged tank cars. Faulty track is the suspected cause of the accident which tied up RaiLink's line from Nanticoke to Brantford until Thursday morning September 10, 1998. Evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes during the evening of September 9, 1998. Given the seriousness of the accident, the Canadian Transportation Safety Board is investigation the incident.

CBNS received two ex-Georgia Southwestern GP7 or GP9's. They are not CF-7's. They are painted white and blue, are non dynamic, have chop noses and the rounded top of the cab was changed to a dash-2 style. The roof angles are sharper then the regular dash-2 cab so it was likely a homemade project. It looks better then it sounds. Neither unit has remote control or deadman controls so that work will have to be done before they can enter service. The GP50 fleet is getting the large Burlington Northern numbers on the long hood painted out and small CBNS letters put in their place. The IORY has been removed from under the cab windows and 5000 series numbers put place. 3107 has become 5007 and 3100 was in process of being lettered and renumbered. It appears that the six GP50's are leased and will not be getting repainted.

RS-18 #3842 was in Sydney yard 09/04/98 shut down beside the shop. RS-18 #3716 was being used in the yard. GP50 #3102 was the Sydney switcher. In Sydney at the shop were 2160-2176 plus 3842. Off to the side apparently awaiting a date with the torch are ten MLW's in order 2028; 3675; 2029; 2003; 2016; 3627; 2032; 2039; 2035 all with parts missing and in general disrepair.

Train 305 left Sydney on 09/04/98 with 16 empties and loads power was GP50's 5007 and 3109. Devco hasn't been producing coal due to equipment problems. The CBNS didn't expect coal for two more weeks but on 09/05/98 there were about a dozen loads on the Devco interchange for the CBNS. The renumbering as of September 20, 1998 now includes three units: 3104,07,09 are 5004,07,09. Looks like Railtex numbers will be based on models, ie, GP50's are now 50xx like some GP38's (38xx). Food for thought: if Alco's smoked, did they also drink coffee and maybe even dunk donuts?

The Moccasin Line is the branch line running from Mattawa 65 kilometre line to Temiscaming. This line may have once had a passenger service, however by the 1960's it had been terminated. Railink picked up this line as part of the CP Smiths Falls to Sudbury operation; service on the line is now referred to as the Tembec Turn, in honour of the major mill in Temiscaming.This fall, some enterprising Mattawa and Temiscaming business people, railway and community leaders have created the Timber Train, a 6 1/2 hour round trip passenger excursion which is nearly sold out every day.

#14:
On Monday September 28, 1998 at 23:25 a westbound Goderich- Exeter freight train to Goderich derailed fourteen empty covered hoppers about one-quarter mile east of Seaforth, Ontario. Until the air dumped the crew was unaware that the last cars had derailed on the switch leading to the north passing track. In the process the derailment blocked the main line as well as partially blocked Seaforth's main street. Hulcher Canada had the accident cleared up in about a day. C4th is about halfway between Stratford Ontario and Goderich, on Lake Huron. Motive power was GP9 179 and GP35m 3834 (renumbered from 66 in July 1998) and GP7 Slug 4161.

CANADIAN NATIONAL MOTIVE POWER

Units retired by CN automatically end up as property of Canac; as such the following units were on September 21 and became property of Canac: M420Ws 3532; 3533; 3538; 3539; 3540; 3541; 3543; 3544; 3546; 3547; 3548; 3553; 3555; 3556; 3557; 3558; 3559, and SD40 5240. On September 29, 1998 M420Ws 3530, 3549, 3550, 3551, 3554 and SD40 5209 were retired. M420W 3554 is still leased to the Gaspe line and 5209 is still leased to CSXT, however it is possible to retire a unit and still have it leased.

On September 30, CN retired SW1200RS 1391 and the last GP40s owned by CN, these were the original first order of chop-nosed higher horsepower locomotives ordered by CN in 1966: 9302, 9303, 9307, 9308, 9309. All were in dead storage in Montreal. 21 MLW-built ALCo powered former CN M420W's were sold by Canac the third week of September. Four to the Carlton Trail Railway, 3532, 3540, 3541, and 3549, in western Canada and seventeen to the Hudson Bay Railway (both Omnitrax roads), 3530, 3533, 3538, 3539, 3542, 3543, 3544, 3545, 3547, 3548, 3550, 3551, 3555, 3556, 3557, 3558, and 3559. Five of these units were already on the CTRW or HBRY on lease; 14 others are enroute, and units 3542 and 3545 must return to Montreal from lease to the Gaspe Coast Line in Quebec. As of October 5, 1998 most of these units had been delivered to their new owners.

Three Canac-owned M420Ws 3500, 3501, 3504 are enroute to the Gaspe Coast line to replace the 3543 and 3545 which now belong to Omnitrax. It was planned, to operate these last two M420Ws as working motive power from Montreal to The Pas and will be the last MLW's to operate on Canadian National Railways. In addition The St. Lawrence & Atlantic has purchased M420Ws 3516; 3517; 3519; 3562; 3569; 3573; 3578; 3579 with two more to be selected. National Railway Equipment has purchased the remaining MLW-built Alco powered HR616's: 2100; 2113; 2114; 2115; 2117. SD40 5209 will eventually enter the KCS program at ACIT, and there are six more to retire for the program. SW1200RS 1348 and 1350, leased to RaiLink are now working at Brantford, Ontario.

ACIT (the new name for Alstom Canada Incorporated Transport) MBTA 1119 was finally released in September 1998. The following Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX) units are being done for Union Pacific. In order, the revised UP numbers will be 2383-2389 and 2201-2202 from: CN 9305, CN 9317, EMDX 198, TNER 3082, IORY 3083, and NS 2816, 2772, 2763, and 2733. One unit, UP 2384, was released September 15, however was returned to ACIT for adjustment. Also there was a frame from General Motors, London, Ontario noted at ACIT during an open house on September 27, 1998. This frame is the beginning of the order for 35 additional SD75Is to be assembled at ACIT for CN, numbered 5766 to 5800 with completion scheduled for June of 1999. In addition 35 retired CN SD40's are at ACIT, with seven more to be retired. These will be rebuilt and be equipped with micro-processor controls as well as painted and lettered for the Kansas City Southern. CN is probably entering a partnership with KCS to have these locomotives spend six months on CN and six months on the KCS; much like the agreement with Conrail for LMS GE locomotives. So far the financier behind this project is not known. SD40's 5025 and 5046 failed on CSXT and have been returned, leaving 53 units leased to CSXT.

CANADIAN PACIFIC MOTIVE POWER

Due to numerous complications, the trade and sale of units between CP and Helm has still not been finalized. It would appear CP will not be getting all 18 of the Helm, exxGuilford, exb&M GP40-2's, since some of them had major failures before going off CP lease and will not be back. For example, one of them, HATX 509, has been released from VMV and has been leased to the Vermont Railway. In addition more RS18us have been sold; 1812 to the Minnesota Commercial, their third in recent months from CP and 1822 to the Cyahoga Valley Scenic Railway in Ohio.

Thank you to the following individuals for contributions and advice regarding the November 1998 Canada Calling: Brent Best, Reg Button, Bruce Chapman, Douglas J. Fear, Freelton Friend, Stan Feldman, Jim Harrison, G. Bruce Hollett, Randy Kotuby, Mark Liddell, Jim Mungford, Randy O'Brien, Ian Platt, Stephen Reeves, JDBR, Earl Roberts, Jim Sandilands, Blair Smith, Mike Swick, Al Tuner, Morgan Turney, Ian Wilson, Mac Wilson, Gordon Webster.

Please continue to send contributions by snailmail to Bryce Lee, 1377 Eden Place, Burlington, Ontario L7S 1J9 Canada or by e-mail to brycelee@globalserve.net. Alternate e-mail shpbur@passport.ca

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