Canadian Railroads > Gypsum Leaving the Mine

The Gold Bond (formerly National Gypsum of Canada) open pit gypsum mine in East Milford, NS is reputedly the largest in the world. East Milford is about a mile or so east of Milford Station, Hants Co. on the CN Bedford Sub, although the mine itself is across the Shubenacadie River in Halifax Co.  CN generally runs train 511 to the mine 6 days a week, and when demand is up, a 513 train may run 5 days a week in the evenings too.  On November 17, 2021 I was at Woodworth Rd. in Hants Co. when the crew got verbal permission from the RTC to re-enter the main line at mile 36.6 of the Bedford Sub.  The switch on the main line is a dual control, self restoring type, apparently one of only two on CN's system.  In the first picture, the conductor has used the push-buttons to reverse the switch, and climbed back on the the lead engine after it had entered the main line.  Once the whole train passes, the switch will restore itself to normal position.

In the second frame, 2306 and 8888 have most of the train out on the main line, but are still moving slowly until the last car clears the switch and the crew can see that the next signal is showing something other than "restricting".  The westward signal at the east end of Milford can be seen faintly over the top of the loaded train, showing "stop".

In the last picture, train 511 is tipping over the crest of the hill and starting down the .9% grade towards Lantz.

GTD

---

---

---

Nice series, informative, and the last shot is really a nice example of seeing a possibility.
Fred