Canadian Railroads > Hudson Bay Railway in 2012

stlrailfan's recent post of the beautiful new Hudson Bay Railway locomotive prior to its trip to northern Manitoba has sent me back to the archives for some HBR images from 2012. I rode the Churchill trains in late October 2012, not solely as a railfan trip but also to avoid being attacked by polar bears. It was fairly rare to see a moving HBR train but engines and cars would come and go, presumably often at night.

1. You have to trust me on this one, but this Central Kansas Railway GP-7 713 is in Thompson, MB. OmniTrax moved its locomotives freely between its various operations. Thompson is the site of a large nickel mine (now a Vale operation) and is served by a 25-mile long spur off the mainline. The passenger train makes an extended stop in Thompson.

2. A vintage Hudson Bay Railway boxcar in Thompson, MB.

3. OMLX GP40-2LW 3003 seen during the late evening stop in Gillam, MB, the last town reachable by road. Just north of Gillam the rail line crosses the Nelson River on a substantial bridge.

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4. Upon the early morning arrival in Churchill on a misty, cold day, this was the power idling in the Churchill yard. HBR SD50 5004 and HLCX SD40-2 6298. The yellow geep in the background will be seen later.

5. Another day, another set of power in the Churchill yard, now HBR SD50 5006 and HLCX 6296.

6. HLCX SD40-2 6296.

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7. NREX GP15-1 in the Churchill yard.

8. The attractive and well-kept station in Churchill.

9. On the return trip to Winnipeg, we passed/met (I forget) this short HBR freight at the location of Parlee on the spur to Thompson led by HBR GP40-2W 4200 along with ex-CN GP40-2LW 9522 and Central Kansas Railway GP-7 713. Image captured through the window of the passenger train.

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Interesting images from a less-seen railroad.
Bob

Not the end of the earth but you can see it from there!