I was surprised to learn recently that this project has been quietly moving forward for some time, even though it does not appear to have official regulatory approval yet from Canadian authorities.
For those not familiar with the area, Baffin Island is located in the northeast part of the Canadian Arctic, between the Hudson Bay and Greenland. It is Canada's largest island, and the fifth largest island in the world.
If built, the Baffinland system will be the northernmost railway in the world.
http://www.baffinland.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_River_Mine
Latest news:
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/baffinlands-massive-railway-based-sealift-angers-pond-inlet/
Initial locomotive lease agreement:
https://www.stb.gov/recordations.nsf/f8e6632940c078dd85256b70005e5183/ea4f6c62512e7711852581aa00717409/$FILE/32759.pdf
If that link doesn't work this one should:
https://www.stb.gov/recordations.nsf/f8e6632940c078dd85256b70005e5183/ea4f6c62512e7711852581aa00717409?OpenDocument
A locomotive at the GE/Wabtec Erie plant:
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Oh, mining!
I've certainly heard of Baffin Island but had no idea there was mining going on up there. Learn something every day...
If that's the Baffinland locomotive paint scheme it'll sure be easy to spot!
Some more news updates that I didn't find at first:
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/baffinlands-railway-plans-under-scrutiny-at-review-board-hearing/
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/baffinland-hearing-abruptly-ends-with-sessions-cancelled-in-pond-inlet/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-impact-review-board-baffinland-mary-river-mine-1.5353482
It's a balmy -24 in Mary River tonight, but the good news is that it will have risen to a sunny -14 by Wednesday.
Of course, that's degrees C, so not quite as bad as it looks...
Overmod It's a balmy -24 in Mary River tonight, but the good news is that it will have risen to a sunny -14 by Wednesday. Of course, that's degrees C, so not quite as bad as it looks...
Good to see it's still summer up there!
We're almost two thousand miles south of there and we're going to be -14C (6°F) tonight. It's cold outside, and I don't care what anyone else thinks.
York1 John
York1 Overmod It's a balmy -24 in Mary River tonight, but the good news is that it will have risen to a sunny -14 by Wednesday. Of course, that's degrees C, so not quite as bad as it looks... We're almost two thousand miles south of there and we're going to be -14C (6°F) tonight. It's cold outside, and I don't care what anyone else thinks.
You guys probably have a hurricane prairie wind too!
I am sitting in the midst of a Chinook right now. It was -25°C last night, is currently just below freezing, and should be about +5°C tomorrow.
I think our advantage over you guys is that we will only have this for a day or two before we get back to just cold. You get it for the next four or five months.
Yep, last winter we had several weeks straight were the temperature did not get above -20°C. Nightly lows dropped below -40.
But we have it easy compared to those poor guys up north. A winter night on Baffin Island is about as extreme as it gets, and you also have to watch out for Polar Bears!
I have one grad student working up there. Luvs it. Surveyor.
FYI -19C here , -2.2 F , only downhill from here and it will start rising again in May.
I hope you gents are enjoying all that global warming. It was 67 degrees F here today. Virginia summers don't go without a fight!
SD70Dude Yep, last winter we had several weeks straight were the temperature did not get above -20°C. Nightly lows dropped below -40. But we have it easy compared to those poor guys up north. A winter night on Baffin Island is about as extreme as it gets, and you also have to watch out for Polar Bears!
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Miningman FYI -19C here , -2.2 F , only downhill from here and it will start rising again in May.
My personal HVAC doesn’t take a liking to hot and humid, so I like living in more northern climes. I don’t think I could hack the winters you folks have, though. What do you do, hibernate?
It is difficult to get up in the mornings when it's cold forever, especially as you get on in years. Another tough aspect is you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. We are way up there, sub Arctic, so our daylight hours are quite short. The cold is much harder to handle as well, it really can be quite uncomfortable.
Getting good attendance and motivating students daily is also a challenge.
Looking forward to a good home cooked meal gives you hope.
The float planes have converted to skis already.
Everyones in the same situation up here so we just buck up and keep going.
I learned a little rhyme recently to help us Fahrenheit users figure out the Celsius scale. By the way, does anyone still call it "Centigrade?"
Goes like this...
"30's hot, 20's nice, 10 is cold, 0's ice!"
That helps.
I've managed to memorize that 10C is 50F, 20C is 68F, 30C is around 90F (still to danged hot).
Of course, 0C is 32F, after that I don't remember until -40, which is the same on both scales.
This does come in handy if I'm listening to a radio station from across the River.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Tree: 30 C is 86 F. For us the interval is 5c = 9 F . So 0C +32F. so the 5C increments go in progression 32, 41, 50. 59, 68, 77, 86. 95, 104. For our medical gurus what is the "standard temp" in C for humans and does it make you wonder who came up with that number ?
blue streak 1Tree: 30 C is 86 F...
Hence, "around." Although I may remember that landmark now.
98.6F is 37C. I had to look that up - it's not something we in EMS usually concern ourselves with, other than the patient feels overly warm or cool...
Celsius is easy - freezing to boiling water. Fahrenheit is more arbitrary - zero was actually based on the freezing point of a brine solution, and Mr F used 96 as his best estimate of human body temperature.
Curiously, it appears that Mr F used the coldest temperature in his hometown that year (around 1724) as the zero point, and then tweaked the scale from there.
As we used to say on Lawn Gyland, "Hot enough faw yuh?" the reply was always, "It ain da heat, it's da humiddidy."
54light15 As we used to say on Lawn Gyland, "Hot enough faw yuh?" the reply was always, "It ain da heat, it's da humiddidy."
There's a lot of truth in that!
Back in 1976 I was at the Marine base of 29 Palms CA. Around mid-May the temperature at noon was typically 100 degrees, but since the desert air was so dry it didn't bother anyone at all, aside from the initial shock of walking out of an air-conditioned building into the heat. A minute or two, and I didn't notice.
The reverse is also true. One Christmas a few years back I was visiting my brother's home in Divide CO. I stepped out side for a smoke wearing nothing more than a flannel shirt and when I came back in he asked me "Guess how cold it is?" then pointed me to a window thermometer reading 14 degrees! Again, the air was so dry at that altitude (9,500 feet) I didn't feel the cold at all.
"It ain't da heat, it's da humididdy!" Truer words were never spoken!
tree68 Celsius is easy - freezing to boiling water. Fahrenheit is more arbitrary - zero was actually based on the freezing point of a brine solution, and Mr F used 96 as his best estimate of human body temperature. Curiously, it appears that Mr F used the coldest temperature in his hometown that year (around 1724) as the zero point, and then tweaked the scale from there.
The story I heard before (possibly apocryphal/urban legend) is Mr. Fahrenheit based 100F on body temperature but he wasn't feeling well the day he made his measurement. ;)
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
cv_acrThe story I heard before (possibly apocryphal/urban legend) is Mr. Fahrenheit based 100F on body temperature but he wasn't feeling well the day he made his measurement. ;)
Given the arcane standards he selected, I wouldn't doubt it.
Apparently 0°F is supposed to be the freezing point of a equal mix of ice, water, and ammonium chloride salt.
Here is a map of which countries currently use Fahrenheit (green). In Canada even the railroads have converted to Celsius.
So when you go overseas their thermometers have 37 as normal and above 40 is dangerous. ( 98.6 and 104 ) . For math gurus the conversion is 1C = 1.8F . To follow the ICAO standard the US weather service finally converted. When the US weather service changed their reporting system hardware the reporting stations now give temp in 1/10 of a degree C on the expanded format. so the math gets harder converting to F. conversion is .1C = .18 F. Example
METAR: KATL 121752Z 32024G33KT 10SM BKN020 03/M02 A3010 RMK AO2 PK WND 33033/1749 SLP196 60006 T00331022 10061 20022 51010
Report shown BKN020 the 03 is rounded temp in C. The M02 is the dew point, The next shown is T0033 giving the temp as 3.3C.
NOW METAR: KORD 121851Z 29004KT 10SM FEW030 M09/M17 A3046 RMK AO2 SLP329 T10891172
This ORD Metar gives temp as minus 09 (rounded) and the actual temp as minus 8.9 C. The 1 just after the T means a minus and a 0 means +
So tree your closes is Griffits.
METAR: KRME 121853Z 29017G23KT 10SM SCT037 BKN046 M04/M08 A3004 RMK AO2 PK WND 29028/1831 UPE06SNB06E17 SLP178 P0000 T10391078
SD70Dude Apparently 0°F is supposed to be the freezing point of a equal mix of ice, water, and ammonium chloride salt. Here is a map of which countries currently use Fahrenheit (green). In Canada even the railroads have converted to Celsius.
It doesn't bother me at all.
Price and demand for steel way down, not sure why anyone would be interested in iron ore out of Baffin Island now or into the forseeable future. But who knows.. maybe its one fo those "build it and they will come" scenarios..
From their website, Baffinland's current operations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfP4JheT8gw
Those haul trucks must burn a massive amount of diesel fuel.
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