Ontario Northland/Northern Ontario Transportation

[Garuda]

It is interesting that the section from Oba-Hearst was not mentioned. I assume that CN intends to retain that section to maintain their interchange with ONR. Although Hawk Jct. - Soo has been dormant recently, Oba-Hearst has been active.

https://flic.kr/p/2kGBerM

With the pandemic and more people staying home and doing work on their home. Demand for lumber has skyrocketed. So Hearst’s lumber industry is booming. Probably their best year since before the 2008 recession.

 

[Fritter]

Looks like some of the Polar Bear Express equipment found a home with the York Durham Heritage Railway. Photo taken in Uxbridge on March 31.

 

[Allandale25]

I don't think this article was posted back in February. Just saw it referenced in the latest edition of Branchline.

Ring of Fire rail head named

SUDBURY – Capreol native and veteran railroader Tony Marquis came out of retirement to take on a project he believes could “give a real kickstart to rail in…

www.saultstar.com

The person mentioned in this, Tony Marquis, is on the Metrolinx board.

 

[micheal_can]

I don't think this article was posted back in February. Just saw it referenced in the latest edition of Branchline.

Ring of Fire rail head named

SUDBURY – Capreol native and veteran railroader Tony Marquis came out of retirement to take on a project he believes could “give a real kickstart to rail in…

www.saultstar.com

The person mentioned in this, Tony Marquis, is on the Metrolinx board.

I wonder where they will tie into the existing network.

 

[Allandale25]

^ Article mentions the CN connection.

 

[micheal_can]

^ Article mentions the CN connection.

I read it and didn't see a named location. Did I miss it?

 

[lenaitch]

Without doing checking back I believe it would be at Aroland, just west of Nakina on the CN mainline. It is interesting they claimed a corridor north from there. If you look at a top or sat map, a large swath north of there leading toward the RoF is defined by a series of eskers (glacially deposited sand and gravel) that run north-south. The challenge is, between the eskers is muskeg.

 

[micheal_can]

Without doing checking back I believe it would be at Aroland, just west of Nakina on the CN mainline. It is interesting they claimed a corridor north from there. If you look at a top or sat map, a large swath north of there leading toward the RoF is defined by a series of eskers (glacially deposited sand and gravel) that run north-south. The challenge is, between the eskers is muskeg.

So, North of Oba to Hearst doesn't look like it will get any more traffic on it.

 

[lenaitch]

So, North of Oba to Hearst doesn't look like it will get any more traffic on it.

From the RoF rail proposal, should it go through, no.

 

[Allandale25]

I read it and didn't see a named location. Did I miss it?

I was referring to this part:

The CN line through Northern Ontario already reaches Nakina, located about 60 kilometres north of Geraldton, so the new railway would link up with this route and facilitate transport of ore from the KWG deposits to processing facilities farther south.

The project is a major undertaking — the line would run 330 kilometres and cost as much as $2 billion to construct — but Marquis is excited by the challenge, not to mention the chance to expand rail infrastructure in the region for the first time in decades.

 

[micheal_can]

I was referring to this part:

So, south of Oba.

 

[DSC]

From Mights Directory (Toronto) 1908

 

[Bordercollie]

View attachment 309450

Looks like some of the Polar Bear Express equipment found a home with the York Durham Heritage Railway. Photo taken in Uxbridge on March 31.

That equipment would have needed to pass through Toronto and then would CN be the one to deliver it to Uxbridge? I guess they dont need those cars even if the Northlander came back.

 

[dowlingm]

The date is June 2022 - Vic gotta deliver a choochoo by then no matter how it looks or how long the trip is.

A shame ACR wasn't acquired by ONR but I guess that was unlikely with this provincial government.

The "what if Barrie-Orillia being extant meant we would have GO to Orillia" comments such as those always makes me wonder how it isn't "if CN didn't let go of Barrie-Orillia maybe they would never have sold to Metrolinx, ended up ramping service back up now that capacity is tighter, and the Newmarket GO service would look more like Milton's peak only weekday only". Too negative?

Have ONR already started using their F40PH APCUs on the Polar Bear? Might have looked slightly more streamlined to have APCU-coaches-loco than coaches-APU-loco-loco on that demo.

I don't know if VIA have announced what locos they will dispose when the Siemens arrive but my suspicion is that it will be the P42DCs, and that they won't be bought into service by the ONR for the same reason VIA aren't keeping them - the GE power is reportedly more difficult to get electronic parts for, and therefore parting out the P42s electronics, trucks and other valuable bits and pieces for sales to US P40/42 operators might be easier than sticking with EMD power in Northland's case and only having two power vendors in VIA's. What's in it for ONR to buy power from VIA vs the rest of the market anyway, other than currency differential?

 

[christine]

That equipment would have needed to pass through Toronto and then would CN be the one to deliver it to Uxbridge? I guess they dont need those cars even if the Northlander came back.

That coach was former Polar Bear Express rolling stock and was slated to be retired even before they cancelled the Northlander.

Have ONR already started using their F40PH APCUs on the Polar Bear? Might have looked slightly more streamlined to have APCU-coaches-loco than coaches-APU-loco-loco on that demo.

Yep the APCUs have been used on the PBX (that's pretty much why they got 'em). With the newly refurb coaches the look is decent compared to whatever they could've done with those old APUs.