Algoma Central Passenger Train in Winter

[SD70M-2Dude]

CMStPnP

Algoma Central used to have a special First Class charter car you could hook on to the end........gone now.

That car is named the Agawa, and it was sold a year or two ago to a private collector from North Battleford, SK.  It is now being stored and refurbished at the Alberta Railway Museum in Edmonton. 

I thought the Tour of the Line (SSM-Hearst, ON) quit running a year or two ago, with the Railmark fiasco and possibly CN sabatoging it in addition to the Canadian Goverment's lack of interest.  But lately I have been hearing rumours that it may be coming back again next year, and it should be classified as an essential service since there are many locations in that part of Ontario which are only accessible by rail.

[CMStPnP]

According to the website, CN provides the Diner in the Summer but the food is entirely catered by a Deli in Sault Ste Marie.   Also one of those stainless steel coaches looks like former Santa Fe based on the Indian motif drawings between the windows.    CN could do better with second hand cars in my opinion but at the same time Transport Canada almost yanked the train once and might do so again in 2017 or 2018.     Algoma Central used to have a special First Class charter car you could hook on to the end........gone now.

[MidlandMike]

Over the years, I rode the Agawa Canyon tourist train 3 times in the summer and once in the winter.  I also skied a couple of times at Searchmont, where you can see the trains from the slopes.  There were two passenger operations up until CN times: the tourist train of about a dozen cars (daily in summer, weekends in winter); and the local of about 2 baggage cars and 2 passenger cars, which made any stops and went the full length of the line.  It looks like in the video, the local was down to 1 and 1 with a generator car.

[CMStPnP]

Wow, not a lot of patronage in winter I guess.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjtkOD5EgQQ