It’s been 50 years since CN’s 3’-6” gauge ‘Caribou’ completed its last run across the Island of Newfoundland between Port-aux-Basques (Port oh Bask) and St. John’s overnight on July 2-3 1969. This was North America’s last full-service narrow-gauge passenger train with coaches, sleepers, diner and lounge. A sample consist from the ‘60s:
GMD NF210
Steam Generator
Storage Mail (wood boxcar)
Baggage/Express
Diner (as lounge)
Coach (Corner Brook set-out/pick-up)
Coach
Diner
Sleeper (as Crew Dorm)
Sleeper
Sleeper (Corner Brook set-out/pick-up)
CN had introduced a new fleet of ‘Roadcruisers’ six months earlier and passengers soon abandoned the ‘Caribou’ for the frequent and faster bus service that now covered the 900 km run in 14 hours vs the 22 hours the train took. Although the ‘Caribou’ was gone…. you could still ride narrow-gauge mixed trains on several routes on the island for almost another 20 years until 1988 when the railway was abandoned. At lot of the narrow-gauge passenger equipment found its way into work train and company service. At Corner Brook…..the Railway Society of Newfoundland has a nice display of ‘Caribou’ equipment on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track. And a bit of a play on paint scheme here: Locomotive #593 would never have hauled cars painted in the CN 1960’s scheme as steam was gone by then. (nearby….the divided Trans Canada Highway through the Humber River Gorge is on the old abandoned CNR right-of-way) A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1. And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
CN had introduced a new fleet of ‘Roadcruisers’ six months earlier and passengers soon abandoned the ‘Caribou’ for the frequent and faster bus service that now covered the 900 km run in 14 hours vs the 22 hours the train took.
Although the ‘Caribou’ was gone…. you could still ride narrow-gauge mixed trains on several routes on the island for almost another 20 years until 1988 when the railway was abandoned. At lot of the narrow-gauge passenger equipment found its way into work train and company service. At Corner Brook…..the Railway Society of Newfoundland has a nice display of ‘Caribou’ equipment on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track. And a bit of a play on paint scheme here: Locomotive #593 would never have hauled cars painted in the CN 1960’s scheme as steam was gone by then. (nearby….the divided Trans Canada Highway through the Humber River Gorge is on the old abandoned CNR right-of-way) A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1. And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
Although the ‘Caribou’ was gone…. you could still ride narrow-gauge mixed trains on several routes on the island for almost another 20 years until 1988 when the railway was abandoned.
At lot of the narrow-gauge passenger equipment found its way into work train and company service. At Corner Brook…..the Railway Society of Newfoundland has a nice display of ‘Caribou’ equipment on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track. And a bit of a play on paint scheme here: Locomotive #593 would never have hauled cars painted in the CN 1960’s scheme as steam was gone by then. (nearby….the divided Trans Canada Highway through the Humber River Gorge is on the old abandoned CNR right-of-way) A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1. And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
At lot of the narrow-gauge passenger equipment found its way into work train and company service.
At Corner Brook…..the Railway Society of Newfoundland has a nice display of ‘Caribou’ equipment on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track. And a bit of a play on paint scheme here: Locomotive #593 would never have hauled cars painted in the CN 1960’s scheme as steam was gone by then. (nearby….the divided Trans Canada Highway through the Humber River Gorge is on the old abandoned CNR right-of-way) A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1. And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
At Corner Brook…..the Railway Society of Newfoundland has a nice display of ‘Caribou’ equipment on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track. And a bit of a play on paint scheme here: Locomotive #593 would never have hauled cars painted in the CN 1960’s scheme as steam was gone by then. (nearby….the divided Trans Canada Highway through the Humber River Gorge is on the old abandoned CNR right-of-way)
A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1. And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
A Sleeping Car in Newfoundland was an 8&1 (8 Sections – 1 Drawing Room) whereas on the mainland a Standard Sleeper was a 12&1.
And you can still cross the island by bus today. (CN sold the Roadcruiser service to DRL in '96) At Port-aux-Basques the bus loads along the platform area where the ‘Caribou’ once departed from….. and still connects with the Marine Atlantic (former CN) ferry on the 150 km crossing over to Nova Scotia.
Sorry about the underlined text with the photos above. How do I get rid of that? I've tried to clear formating.
Ah, yes, the Newfie Bullet!
FYI.
NDG FYI. S S Caribou. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Caribou https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/caribou-sinking.php Thank You.
Here’s Marine Atlantic’s ‘MV Caribou’. It served on the North Sydney to Port aux Basques run from 1986 to 2010. It was replaced by the ferries in the photos above…..then scrapped.
Really good photography. Terrific stuff.
Lady Firestorm and I were in Argentia Nfld. in 1992 and saw one of those ferrys arrive and dock. The ship-handling was superb! We were VERY impressed!
Newfoundlanders had a joke about the "Bullet," which really wasn't much of a bullet, as far as speed went. Goes like this...
A woman riding the "Newfie Bullet" yells at the conductor "Mister Conductor! MISTER CONDUCTOR! I'M GOING INTO LABOR!"
"Well Missus," responds the conductor, "If you knew your time was comin' why'd you get on the train?"
"WHEN I GOT ON THE TRAIN I WASN'T PREGNANT!"
I went looking and found a 23 minute film on the Newfoundland Railway, pre-abandonment. Not dated but I'm guessing it's from the '70s from the way the people are dressed and the very annoying graphics at the beginning of the film. It's pretty good though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXi0U1f7DKA
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