Eastern Railroad Discussion > AC4400 to P&W

With the end of iron mining by Cliffs in Wabush and Bloom Lake, Quebec the Wabush/Arnaud locomotives are leaving Pointe Noire by ferry and being dispersed to new lessors.  Some of the blue CEFX AC4400s are going to INRD.  Two are going to Providence & Worcester.  The first of the P&W units, CEFX 1016, departed Montreal yesterday for St Albans, VT on CN train 324.  At St Albans the New England Central will move the unit south to the P&W. 

Presumably it will be used on the P&W summer stone trains.  An SD60 was acquired for this service and was to have been shared with VRS during the winter.  But the SD60 expired and has been out of service for months.  The AC4400 should take its place.

CN 324 is shown in the photo approaching the border near Cantic, QC.

KG

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Thanks for the Pic and info, even down here in CSX country I have 6 P & W loco's

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

 Is the ore mined out, or just a response to market conditions?

bob

Market conditions. The Bloom Lake mine was opened less than 5 years ago.

Five years ago there was talk of building a third railway to haul iron ore from the Labrador Trough.  The existing railways were QNS&L and Cartier.  The former, being a common carrier, was obliged to accept shipments from other mining companies.  Ore from Wabush had been moving south over the QNSL for decades.  QNSL had to maintain the infrastructure to move ore for its parent company and unaffiliated producers such as Wabush Mines, Bloom Lake and a reopened Schefferville mine.

Wabush and Bloom Lake have now folded. The owners of QNSL are not pleased at having invested in costly infrastructure upgrades that are no longer necessary.  Even more displeased are Wabush Mines pensioners would just learned that their medical, dental and life insurance benefits have been eliminated.  

KG

So is there anything operating around Wabush or do you have to drive over to the QNS&L to see anything moving if visiting Wabush? I'll be visiting Wabush later on this year but this may change how long I stay there. plan on flying in and renting a car.

Jim

tq-07fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So is there anything operating around Wabush or do
> you have to drive over to the QNS&L to see
> anything moving if visiting Wabush? I'll be
> visiting Wabush later on this year but this may
> change how long I stay there. plan on flying in
> and renting a car.
>
> Jim

QNSL's primary business of moving ore for Rio Tinto (Iron Ore Company of Canada) from Labrador City to Sept Iles remains unchanged.  Likewise Cartier continues to move ArcelorMittal ore south from Mount Wright to Port Cartier.

KG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/15 20:03 by kgmontreal.