E&N trestle blaze stops rail service Sparks from Dayliner could have started fire, captain says Norman Gidney Times Colonist, with files from The Canadian Press Fireman motions to onlookers to stay away. CREDIT: Lou Fasullo photo FIRE HITS NANAIMO RAIL TRESTLE: Flames engulf a 35-metre-long wooden train trestle at the north end of Nanaimo on Monday. CREDIT: Lou Fasullo photo ADVERTISEMENT A spectacular fire damaged a 35-metre wooden trestle on the E&N Railway at Nanaimo late Monday afternoon, forcing the suspension of freight and passenger service north of that city. "The trestle is closed. It needs to be inspected," said Anne Venema, general manager of E&N Railfreight, which owns the railway running from Victoria to Courtenay. A structural engineer was to visit the site today to check the charred trestle, and the company is working with officials of the B.C. rail safety section, she said. "We're in that process right now," Venema said Monday night. The scheduled Dayliner passenger service of Via Rail was to leave from Victoria today as usual at 8:15 a.m. Passengers headed north of Nanaimo will switch to a bus at that point and the process will be reversed for the afternoon return trip. Flames burned furiously in the creosoted timbers and rail ties, producing huge amounts of thick black smoke visible from as far off as Parksville, 10 kilometres north of the fire. The trestle parallels the highway a short distance west of Woodgrove shopping centre in Nanaimo's north end. Capt. Norm Maybin of Nanaimo Fire Department said firefighters at the scene reported that the heat from the fire caused the rails and supporting structure to warp. "It got so intense it picked up the ties four or five inches. It warped the rails -- the rails themselves won't be straight," he said. The cause of the fire was being investigated but "all indications were it was the train itself," said Maybin. He speculated that it could have been a seized-up wheel bearing, dropping sparks generated by friction. "That still is under investigation. We don't know that at this point. Arson is not being ruled out," said Venema. Lou Fasullo was driving home south from Parksville when he first saw signs of the fire and was one of the first people at the scene. "There was this huge cloud of smoke coming up," said Fasullo, who pulled over on the highway when he got near the blaze and went closer on foot to take dramatic shots with his digital camera. By the time he got to the site, just as firefighters were arriving, "the trestle was fully ablaze," said Fasullo. The creosote covering the trestle created big clouds of smoke, and "a thick, oily, chemical smell." Assistant fire chief Wade Smith said it took only 20 minutes to douse the flames and they were hosing down the last hot spots about 5 p.m. There were no injuries, and no trains or railway equipment was at risk. One problem created by the fire was a creosote slick that formed on a nearby lake. Smith said city crews were bringing in booms to contain the oily surface pollution. The B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection had also been alerted, and headed to the site. The Dayliner passenger car of Via Rail Canada, which uses the E&N line, had passed over the trestle shortly after 3 p.m. The first calls reporting a brush fire came in about 4 p.m. A freight train had also travelled the same section of line earlier, Venema said. The southbound Dayliner coming from Courtenay -- already at Nanaimo station -- was checked before continuing its usual return trip down the Island to Victoria. Lantzville volunteer firefighters were first on the scene, answering an initial call from a resident of Clark Drive, just north of the Nanaimo boundary and about a kilometre from the trestle. The trestle carries trains along the east side of Green Lake and over a small stream that runs through Dunbar Park. Fire also spread to brush along the right-of-way. Nanaimo and Lantzville together had about 40 firefighters and four trucks on the fire scene. © Copyright 2004 Times Colonist (Victoria) (story with pictures - http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/story.asp?id=EC60C82F-C250-4656-954B-631BF2A71524) M. Hall http://groups.msn.com/CobourgRailfans
Seems a little bit confusing as reported. A "seized-up wheel bearing" is suggested by the fire department. But then the train is inspected. Apparently no problem was found? Tried the link. A newpaper page came up. But it said "invalid." Boxcab E50
Via Rail plans on closing the Toronto Reservations office and cancelling trains 50 & 51. This story should be in tomorrows newspapers.
Via shutting call centre Last updated Jun 15 2005 07:03 AM EDT CBC News TORONTO – Via Rail said Tuesday that it will close its Toronto call centre in September, eliminating 39 local jobs. The company says more than half of the employees will be eligible for early retirement or offered transfers to call centre jobs in Montreal and Moncton. Via also announced the cancellation of its overnight train between Toronto and Montreal because of a low numbers of travellers. Media report
What is the history of this train? Did it have sufficient ridership at one time? And since then has fallen off? Any thoughts on why? Boxcab E50
The trains are cancelled effective September 15. A local service will run between Kingston and Toronto departing Kingston (Mon - Fri train 651) at 05:30 and (Sat & Sun train 655) at 06:30. Toronto to Kingston (train 650)is daily at 22:00.
Thanks for the info, still have time to shoot 50 just have to get my sorry arse out of bed early enough. Heard they are subbing the Ren cars with stainless while they undergo another upgrade, haven't checked that out as of yet.
That kind of internal turmoil guarantees an unstable operation. More rough track is coming for VIA. Boxcab E50
Recent Via Rail News link to full story - http://tinyurl.com/2kdzwe Via dining car Plum Pudding recipe featured in National media story. http://www.thestar.com/living/Food/article/286677
What does VIA Rail own, in the way of physical plant? Other than shop facilities, and those associated tracks, stations, etc, do they own any mileage of rail lines? Boxcab E50
BoxcabE50 - Via operates on over 14,000 km of track and owns about 138 km of these tracks. Here is a listing of all the trackage Via operates on including a listing of the owning railway and the subdivision name - http://tinyurl.com/27h7p9 (HBR is the Hudson Bay Railway, and TTR is Toronto Terminals Railway Company Limited.) Via acquired a portion of the CN Smiths Falls subdivision in 1991/02 from MP 13.0 to MP 34.5. MP 34.5 is a junction with Canadian Pacific Railway. Here is a link to the CN abandonment notice with the reference to the Via Rail transfer - http://tinyurl.com/247ghl Via acquired a portion of the CN Alexandria subdivision in 1998/06. (the last CN freight train into Ottawa was 1998/12/11) I'm not sure of the mileages as the first link indicates Via owns the track from MP 0 to MP 72.4 while my CN timetables indicates Via owns from MP 7.5 (De Beaujeu) to 72.5 (signal 01 at Hawthorne). Hawthorne and De Beaujeu are junctions with the CN Alexandria subdivision. MP 72.7 is a junction with the Ottawa Central - Walkley line. Ottawa Central has running rights on the Alexandria sub. I have been on both Via sections, and the track is in excellent condition. The fastest passenger speed limit in Canada is on the Via Alexandria sub. The Alexandria sub is on the Via Rail Montreal to Ottawa route. The Smiths Falls sub is on the Toronto to Ottawa route. Hope this helps.
OK. Don't see it broken out thus, so I'd guess that total is mostly made up of VIA specific yard tracks? Boxcab E50
Right. I understand the operation on other RR owned lines. I was just trying to figure out where VIA's actually owned rails were to be found. If they had some, over which passengers were hauled. Or if that quoted total is their yard and service tracks. Boxcab E50
