MidlandMike Thanks for the info. I never would have guessed that there would be heat restrictions on the line.
Thanks for the info. I never would have guessed that there would be heat restrictions on the line.
You would be shocked at some of the heat and cold-related restrictions that we have to deal with.
At least some of the coal he mentioned is actually petroleum coke from the Koch /Flint Hills refinery just south of the Twin Cities. Last time I looked (it's been a little while) the UP power would run through to Thunder Bay on a regular basis.
From the late 1970s until the early 2000s CN shipped a massive amount of coal from western Alberta mines to the Atikokan and Thunder Bay power stations, as well as through the port. Most of this traffic disappeared when Ontario Hydro switched away from coal.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
436 isn't always a daily train and it originates in Fort Frances. It runs when needed. The traffic comes from Winnipeg is set off by a southbound train.
437 is daily during grain season and 3 or 4 times a week in the winter months. Often in the off season it terminates in Fort Frances with a westbound coming from the south lifting the traffic.
I would argue that it isn't a mainline operation as during the summer they do their best to not run traffic during the day because of the heat restrictions. The speed restictions for the daytime hours are too restrictive for a single crew to make it across the road.
10000 feet and no dynamics? Today is going to be a good day ...
In contrast to other lines in question, CN's run to Thunder Bay hosts two daily trains, A436 and A437 between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. It is definitely a mainline operation as opposed to much of the WC and ACR. Up until 2005, CN used to run east out of Thunder Bay to Longlac, but the loss of on-line customers and an agreement with CP to interchange eastbound traffic from Thunder Bay elsewhere allowed them to abandon that section. A combination of the remaining manifest traffic in addition to bulk hauls make this line compatible with CN's operation and it is unlikely that this line is for sale.
The grain to Thunder Bay comes in waves. There is next to nothing during the winter as the ports and Seaway are closed. All that grain goes to Quebec City in the winter.
Right now, there are quite a few grain trains going to Thunder Bay as CN is moving a lot of grain but that could drop off as elevators empty out and wait for this years' crop.
I find that midway through Saskatchewan seems to be the tipping point for where grain goes east/west. Most Manitoba grain goes east but more is starting to head west.
During the last summers there have been some coal trains from, I think, the UP in Superior that are coming up to Thunder Bay for unload. There were a few in the spring but I don't think there have been any in a little while.
Mixed traffic to Thunder Bay accounts for a small percentage of CN's Traffic.
One must remember that Thunder Bay is CP turf and CN would likely have nothing left there if it wasn't for the port.
Most grain goes to the west coast. CN's Fort Frances-Thunder Bay line now only sees one or two trains each way per day.
The grain flow over the years has changed. While Thunder Bay is not insignificant, a lot more export grain now goes to Vancouver on the Pacific coast.
NewsWire had a story about CN that showed traffic density on its lines. It showed that the Thunder Bay line was a low density line. I thought this was the line that carried much of the grain to the lake port. Where does the grain go instead?
https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/07/21-cn-to-sell-850-miles-of-low-density-lines-in-wisconsin-michigan-ontario
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