Well it looks like the initial article on the 09 provincial budget was wrong. There currently is no money for the E&N coming from the province. Rumor has it though that the Island Corridor Foundation may be going directly to Ottawa for some money as the Feds seem more open to funding the upgrades on the E&N. Southern Railway of BC has also launched a major tie renewal program using untreated yellow cedar ties. They're more environmentally friendly than creosote treated ties and last almost as long. SRY will soon have access to the BNSF barge slip downtown Vancouver and will be able to avoid the Tilbury bottleneck with the CPR. Traffic off the E&N will no longer have to rely on CP Rail for shipment, SRY will be able to send the cars via CN or even BNSF. The CPR bottleneck is a major obstacle in getting more freight customers on the island as currently a carload off the E&N takes weeks to get out of Vancouver. Motive Power Updates: SRY GP9's 110 and 119 have returned to the E&N sporting the new "Red Meatball" Washington Corp logos. They were the 2 units that were vandalized last year. Units 124 and 129 have been returned to New Westminster VIA Rail: VIA is currently running the Malahat with the 6148, adding 6135 if a second car is needed. 6133, the last RDC in the old paint scheme and the last RDC with Detroit Diesel engines is currently stored until either the 35 or 48 break down. Nanaimo Station Not much work has been done to the Nanaimo station. It is still a burned out hulk, however most of the burned out sections have been removed. The Island Corridor foundation is still trying to raise money to restore the building.
What all is ongoing, that it takes so long for a car to escape Vancouver? What stations survive on the Island outside of Nanaimo? Thanks for the news update! Boxcab E50
Parksville still has a station, used it Febuary. Also the station is at Quailcum Beach but I think it is not used.
Any other depots or train order offcies preserved or still trackside? Chemainus, Courtenay, Duncan, Ladysmith, Lake Cowichan, Port Alberni, Victoria, Wellcox, Wellington? Boxcab E50
The cars are pulled off the barge at Tillbury and hauled to Coquitlam. They're switched out at Coquitlam where they sit until CP has enough traffic to move them, then hauled to New Westminster to be interchanged with either CN, BNSF, or SRY, and switched out again. A process that takes about 1-2 weeks. When SRY gets the Vancouver barge slip they can interchange directly with CN or BNSF downtown Vancouver and have a carload off the E&N leave Vancouver going east or south the same day. Making the railroad much more competitive to truck. The remaining E&N stations are at Duncan, Lake Cowichan on the abandoned Lake Cowichan Branch, Ladysmith, Nananimo, Parksville, Port Alberni, Qualicum Beach and Courtenay, all except the Ladysmith and Nanaimo stations have been beautifully restored. The old Victoria yard office and train order office was torn down in the mid 1990's and the yard office was moved into the roundhouse. The original yard/trainorder office/scalehouse at Wellcox was torn down in 2005 after sitting empty for 5 years and the old CP express building is being used as the railway's headquarters and wellcox yard office. The remaining E&N stations all had their operator's offices removed many years ago. The VIA Rail station in Victoria is the only staffed station on the entire line, staffed by 2 VIA Rail ticket agents.
It used to, CP Rail knocked the original Victoria depot down in 1972 after getting pressure from the city to provide better road access to the Johnson Street bridge. CP Rail built a new depot north of the yard in Vic West. In 1985, VIA Rail, along with the City of Victoria built the current depot on the Store Street lead near the site of the original E&N Victoria depot. The 1972 depot also served as yard office and train dispatcher's office(before the dispatcher was moved to Vancouver and later Calgary). This is the current VIA depot in Victoria.
Nice looking little depot. If passenger ridership ever increases, that station will quickly become inadequate. Boxcab E50
What's this? Has the E&N been wet noodled?? No, it's Vancouver Island Railtours' ex-CN GP9RM 7059. R Parlby caught it at Wellcox after arriving from New Westminster. The first CN engine to set a wheel on Vancouver Island since CN abandoned the Cowichan Sub in 1990. GMD-1 1070 was the last one.
E&N Update: Oct. 29, 2009 Looks like some upgrades to the VIA passenger service coming. http://www.timescolonist.com/Rail+D...from+Nanaimo+heading+south/2157558/story.html and... Development of the new coal mine near Union Bay, BC is underway with a target date of early 2011, which could provide some much needed freight traffic for the railway.
I see some interesting comments from readers. Hope those doing the planning are looking in... Boxcab E50
