Canadian Railroads > Hull Chelsea Wakefield Memories - 2007

Hull Chelsea Wakefield Memories from a trip in 2007

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What is this thread all about?  Are we in Canada?  That looks like a Swedish loco.

Rick

Yes we’re in Canada.....and the thread is all about memories of a trip on the Hull Chelsea Wakefield Steam Train that operated between Hull and Wakefield Quebec (near Ottawa) in the 1990s-2000s. It used Swedish equipment. There was a major washout of the railway in 2011 and it hasn’t operated since.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2014/01/30/is-this-the-end-of-the-line-for-wakefield-steam-train.html



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/16 07:54 by ghCBNS.

ghCBNS Wrote:
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> Yes we’re in Canada.....and the thread is all
> about memories of a trip on the Hull Chelsea
> Wakefield Steam Train that operated between Hull
> and Wakefield Quebec (near Ottawa) in the
> 1990s-2000s. It used Swedish equipment. There was
> a major washout of the railway in 2011 and it
> hasn’t operated since.
>
> http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2014/01/30/is-
> this-the-end-of-the-line-for-wakefield-steam-train
> .html

I had visited Wakefield in April 2011 with my future wife and future in-laws, we had all planned to ride the train that coming summer.... Unfortunately we were not quick enough as the 2011 season didn't last very long with that washout you mentioned.

Michael

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The whole train is/was ugly in my humble opinion.  No way a proper replacement for CPR #1201.

4489 Wrote:
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> The whole train is/was ugly in my humble opinion.
>  No way a proper replacement for CPR #1201.

CPR 1201 operated regularly on this line?  When was that?

I think the train looked unusual, but it was not ugly.

Sweden kept a large fleet of "strategic equipment" in reserve during the Cold War years, including steam locomotives. As tensions between neighbouring Russia decreased, and the equipment in reserve got too old to be of any stategic advantage, much was scrapped or sold off.

Only a few knew of this equipment, and much was scrapped before it could be saved. However, someone in Ottawa had the connections, and a large amount of Swedish equipment was secured for an undisclosed price.

Previously, the Wakefield steam train operated with equipment from the National Museum of Science and Transportation, a Canadian Government Institution.

Someone in the Canadian Government chose to have an independant operator with their own equipment operate the Hull to Wakefield train, and this was the outcome.