Nostalgia & History > Train time at D'Arcy (a BC Rail break)

By March of 1985 British Columbia Railway had officially been renamed "BC Rail", but visually, little had changed yet. There were exactly two Locomotives painted into the new red white and blue "Hockeystick" scheme and for the most part, the sublime green/green scheme still ruled.

On this early spring day, I caught Southbound train number 14 (with MLW M630 #719 leading) making a meet with extra 712 north (note the white flags) at D'Arcy, BC. The southbound had stopped at D'Arcy to allow the Manned helpers to be cut into the train. They had just completed their air test when the X-north showed up. After allowing the northbound to clear, #14 would throttle up and head south. The helpers would be needed to shove the heavy train over two mountain grades between D'Arcy and Mons, BC.

Sadly, 20 years later, the Alco/MLW's are gone as are the manned helpers, the numbered train system and the railway itself. That totally Blows.

Brian E
BC Rail's Dawson Sub
http://elclip.net

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It not only blows but sucks as well, Good Picshur though !


TCS - fan of any bcr paint scheme except the sf blue b-36s

I visited D'arcy in 1988 and they had motorcars preceding every tain north of there. A beuatiful area, very cool operation.

SW1200

SW1200 Wrote:
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> I visited D'arcy in 1988 and they had motorcars
> preceding every tain north of there. A beuatiful
> area, very cool operation.
>
> SW1200


The motorcars were still doing their thing in 2004, too -- between D'Arcy and Lillooet and from Lillooet up the Fraser canyon, too (darn! I've already forgotten the name of the lake where that northerly patrol district ends!). Anyone know if the CN is continuing this practice?

BCR called those "patrols" and they ran them a couple miles ahead of their trains in three different places. Squamish to Garibaldi (Cheakemus Canyon), D'Arcy to Lillooet (Anderson and Seaton Lakes) and Lillooet to Kelly Lake (Frasier River canyon. The idea was to watch for slides and such and originally, they used speeders. Later starting in the 90's, they went to SUV's with a hi-rail kit.

The Practice didn't always work. In 80, A northbound freight hit a slide that had come down AFTER the patrol had passed and derailed into Seaton lake costing the life of a crewman and an M630 (a C425 went in too, but was recovered).


Brian

The patrols still operate, although with hi-rail trucks not motorcars. Two weeks ago I chased north out of Lillooet and the patrol went to Kelly Lake.

KG