Canadian Railroads > June 26: Last train to Lillooet, BC ?

CN suspended through train service between Prince George and Squamish, BC
on the exBCR mainline in early April.
Lillooet yard, the divisional point between the Squamish Sub and Lillooet Sub was completely cleared.

The only train known to have run to Lillooet since that time
was a long train of bare table intermodal equipment that was brought down from Prince George.
Those cars have been stored in Lillooet for over one month.

On June 26, CN sent a train 571 from North Vancouver to Lillooet to retrieve the cars.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/20 01:34 by Marcus.

1. Heading north up the Cheakamus Canyon toward Whistler.
2. North of Whistler along the Green River.
3. Across Rutherford Creek.

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4&5.  The weeds are starting to take over at Pemberton station.

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6. Along Gates Lake near Birken siding.
7. Swollen creeks this time of year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/20 01:26 by Marcus.

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A very slow trip due to a 10 MPH slow order
for 30 miles along Anderson Lake and Seton Lake.

8,9,10.  Approaching Lillooet at the north end of Seton Lake.
 

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11&12. Meanwhile at the Lillooet station, the Kaoham shuttle is delayed for over three hours.
First train in a month, and it conflicts with the shuttle between Lillooet and Seton.

13.  The shuttle foreman at the left throws the switch at south switch Lillooet.
 

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14, 15, 16.  CN train 571 arrives to clear Lillooet yard.  
Hard to know where to go.  
Almost every switch is locked out of service except the station track, and the back lead.

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17.  Finally went back and tacked onto the first block of well cars for tomorrow's train.
Tied down for the night.

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18.  At Lillooet station, a remnant of BC Rail.
Looks more like a tombstone these days.

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The death of a mighty fine line !

Hate to see weeds in the R O W.  You have to wonder why a 2nd lock on the switch.   Hell of a railroad going to waste.

By the way, what were all the cut logs for?  Will they get shipped by rail or truck?

Disgraceful what this line has become under the current operator vs. what it was when they took over in 2004. 

tomstp Wrote:
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> Hate to see weeds in the R O W.  You have to
> wonder why a 2nd lock on the switch.   Hell of a
> railroad going to waste.
>
> By the way, what were all the cut logs for?  Will
> they get shipped by rail or truck?

Used to be carried by rail....A steeply graded spur from the railyard served the mill. The sawmill has gone through a variety of owners over the years, and a series of closures. It could be that the mill is closed but being used to store cut logs.

That 1st shot is simply stunning.

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tomstp Wrote:
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>You have to wonder why a 2nd lock on the switch.  

Track is out of service so the second MOW lock prevents anyone from being able to unlock the switch lock.

Sad.  End of another great railroading era!

eminence_grise Wrote:
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> tomstp Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

> > By the way, what were all the cut logs for?
>  >Will they get shipped by rail or truck?
>
> Used to be carried by rail....A steeply graded
> spur from the railyard served the mill. The
> sawmill has gone through a variety of owners over
> the years, and a series of closures. It could be
> that the mill is closed but being used to store
> cut logs.

The mill is now owned by Savona Specialty Plywood, and its entire output (of veneer) is trucked to Savona to be used in the making of plywood forms for pouring concrete.  In earlier years some of its product was shipped south into U.S. markets, which was handled by BC Rail into Vancouver for interchange.

Savona is 78 miles away by road on a fairly direct route, so shipping by truck is a no-brainer. Reaching it by rail from Lillooet would involve a trip south to Vancouver and then east to Savona on CP, more than 400 miles in all and with two interchanges within the Vancouver Terminal area.  Some of the finished product from Savona is shipped by rail; the plywood company has a spur off the CP Thompson Subdivision, so it's not as if that company is anti-rail.

The Lillooet mill had been closed when it was bought by the Savona company in 2009, and was re-opened in 2011. It has been more than a decade since it has shipped anything by rail, so Lillooet had become nothing more than a crew change point for CN, not a source of any revenue. This is a big factor in its decision to redirect the remaining traffic from points north of Lillooet via Prince George.  



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/20 16:40 by railsmith.