Bringing forward...
This will not be the first time a commodity would be trucked to Northgate as I b elieve IMC trucked potash to Northgate for unit train loading. The cars were stagged in the old yard in Minot and brought up when needed. I believe thier is an Elev at Northgates that loads oats from Canada.
tnx
bradgilSo how will the oil and grains get there, esp the oil - by truck?
You have to understand that the definitions of short- and long-haul trucking are very different in Saskatchewan. This is due to the very low population density and the surprisingly good road network helped by the flatness of the terrain and low yearly rainfall totals.
The Canadian portion of the Bakken oil field probably wouldn't extend more than a 100 miles around Northgate, putting such moves into the short-haul category. Truckers could likely make two round trips a day, including loading and unloading. When it comes to trucking grain, transiting distances akin to crossing smaller US states is pretty routine.
In his first book, Lee Iaccocca former President of Chrysler Corporation, tells how up until the 1980's all of the big three automakers used to buy back Saskatchewan traveling salesman's cars after one year for study purposes, because these fellows could normally put a 100,000 miles a year on their vehicles. This was before computer simulated testing and such knowledge enabled all three builders to fight off import cars for years, because foreign manufacturers could not come close to building a vehicle that could do that. Nissan(Datsun) and Toyota finally put that belief to rest.
There is a very good possibility that BNSF should have success with this project.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Thanks. So how will the oil and grains get there, esp the oil - by truck? Are there other short lines that might connect?
It won't connect, since CNR is no longer there. BNSF is establishing the terminal to compete for the grain and oil traffic from the surrounding region in Canada. The south end of the terminal is at the border where the still surviving BNSF trackage remains. CN would see little advantage in rebuilding to connect since they already have other suitable long haul routes and won't want to see any of their traffic syphoned off by the BNSF.
John
any update now that bnsf/ceres is building facility? how will connect to cn rail? tnx
Northgate was actually on the Northgate sub 39.4 miles from Lampman. There was/is a large gas plant at Domex. The Lewvan sub ran from Minard Jct. 0.6 mi from Lampman to Regina. All that is left of the Lewvan sub is from Rowatt to Regina. In the 1980's the Lewvan sub as well as the Glenavon sub and CP's Tyvan sub were relocated as part of a program to get rail lines out of the city. A new line was built from Rowatt to a Jct with CP's Tyvan sub. If you are familiar with Regina, Lewvan Drive is built on what was once the Lewvan sub. A bridge just burnt down on the Lewvan sub just before the Jct with the CP.
CN had a weekly freight from BN at Northgate that was scrap cars, GN, NP and other BN cars, for Ipsco. I don't have exact dates but the Lewvan sub as a whole was used at least into the 1990's.
When CN and BN proposed a merger there was talk of fixing this up from Minot to Saskatoon!! Wouldn't that have been something.
There was a terminal at Northgate at one time. An uncle was an engine watchman, another uncle was a section foreman. My grandfather started with the Grand Trunk and he hired my dad who ended up being a roadmaster for these lines.
There was a diamond with the CP at Frobisher at mi. 19.3. One of the nicest slides my brother has is of a pair of GMD1"s going through the Souris River valley just north of Northgate.
Doc Murdock Any chance of this rail line being converted into part of the Trans-Canada Trail?
Any chance of this rail line being converted into part of the Trans-Canada Trail?
Not unless you want to go south to Chicago? I don't think Chicago is in Canadaland.
The 'Town" of Northgate is in the U.S. and according to google the track ends at the border, there are a bunch of grain cars at Northgate. Farther North in Sask. just up from the border on the abandoned rail bed you can see a large wye slowly growing over on as the abandoned line heads North to Frobisher, Sask.
What surprised me was to see many prosperous grain farms in the S.W. corner of Saskatchewan, I thought it was desolate, nice small treed river valleys also.
While I don't know the last time anything was interchanged, we are talking in terms of decades, probably 50 or more years ago. Very light rail (GMD1s only). The rails remained in place for many years just in case the situation changed.
Talk about being in the middle of nowhere. I never knew CN had a border crossing from Sask. into the US.
From what I can see in the 2011 Canadian Trackside Guide, CN has filed to abandon the 106.8 miles from Northgate to the end of operated track 4/10 mile south of Rowatt. Rowatt and Whitmore are the only two stations left on what was once the Lewvan Sub. This 8.7 mile stretch is now accessed from CP's Tyvan Sub.
I've got to say it is not often you see that much blank white space on Google Maps!
I was wondering if Canadian National still exchanges railcars with BNSF at Northgate in Saskatchewan.
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