Canadian Railroads > Day #5 More QNSL and the IOC Electrics 22 years ago OTD

This was our last day in Labrador and we started out in Labrador City. Top shot of the IOC (Iron Ore Co. of Canada) Carol Lake Ore Plant. We caught QNSL 401,410 (C40-8M,C44-9W) shifting tank cars at the Irving Oil Terminal. Also found QNSL 405,402 (C44-9W,C40-8M) on a Loaded Ore Train in the Yard waiting for a crew. At the time QNSL was running 3 Trainsets on the Labrador City to Sept Iles route. 1 set of 240 cars and 2 sets of 210 cars in 2x1 configurations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/22 08:39 by perklocal.

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Also found QNSL 261 which was one of two SD40-2s left on the roster still in the old scheme (259 was the other one). As the sun came up we got a set of SD40-2s (306,314,313) on a freight heading out of the Yard. After that my buddy Mike Harting had a chat with the QNSL Labrador City Station Agent to see if he had any train info. He said that there wasn't going to be any real action until 11 AM. He then asked us if we had ever seen the IOC Electrics in operation. We said no because that operation was off limits to the public. He said he had some time and invited us for a guided tour. Wow ! This turned out to be the biggest surprise bonus of the trip ! Bottom Shot of IOC 516 SW1200MG (blt.1971 GMD)

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The IOC Electric operation is unmanned and automatic. It has been in operation since 1963. They have 9 SW1200MG locomotives in their fleet built by GMD between 1963 and 1971. They were rebuilt in the 1990s by Ateliers Wood. This Robot Railway runs on 2400 Volt 60 Cycle Single Phase AC. The SW1200MG (Motor Generator) locos have a Single Phase AC Motor driving the standard EMD Traction Motors. Each loco runs with a 20 car trainset on the 13 KM line from the Mine to the Concentrator in Lab City. The trains are unmanned,running themselves and advancing Block by Block based on the condition of the Block ahead. A horn blows every few seconds as a constant warning that this is an automatic operation. Top shot of IOC 516 with Empties making a pause at the mine waiting for the IOC 514 to clear with Loads. Bottom shot of IOC 512 coming out of the Mine Loadout.

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IOC 512 with Empties taking a pause at the same spot and meeting IOC 509 with Loads. Bottom shot of IOC 512 with another loaded train.

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Roster shot of IOC SW1200MG 517. Going away shot of the IOC 517 with 20 loads of raw ore heading for the concentrator. Bottom shot of IOC 514 getting closer to the Mill in Lab City.

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Top shot of IOC 516 pushing it's Empties back up to the Mine Loadout. We couldn't thank our host and tour guide Winston Holloway enough. This had been a rare opportunity to see the IOC Robot Railway in action close up. Back down at the QNSL Station I shot this rig on a flat car waiting for the Carol Lake Express. This time of year was hunting season up here and it looked like these guys had been successful hunters. A few sets of Caribou and Moose Antlers in the back of the truck.

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Great photos from the trip and I'd say getting to photograph the unmanned electrics (in good weather to boot!) is one big bonus for all of us in getting to view the results.

Thanks much for the series,

Rich

Another out of the ordinary piece of Rolling Stock was WLRY 351, Bi-Level Auto Carrier that was used on the Carol Lake Express-aka "The Shuttle".  A final picture of our Trusty Rental. By the time we got back home to Pennsylvania we had put over 4,100 Miles on this poor Lincoln. No flats,dents or cracked windows which was a first for us on long trips. We sure didn't do the suspension system any favors though ! We hated to leave this place but it was now time to head south over 200 miles of dirt road to Manic-5 and then another 135 miles of pavement to spend the night in Baie Comeau. When you are on Rte. 389 in Quebec, you have to pay close attention to your gas gauge and these road signs ! Tomorrow we would take the Ferry "Camille Marcoux" from Godbout,QC. on the North Shore over to Matane,QC. on the South Shore and continue our journey back home to PA. Hope you guys enjoyed this series as much as I did putting it back together and reminiscing about a great trip from 22 years ago. Thanks for Looking !

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Fantastic photos. Thank you.

Superb set and seies - The IOC electrics brought a big grin.
Bob

What a great run down of your trip and a great subject to boot.
Tom Klinger

Another great set of images.
Gary

Killer series; thank you!
Fred

Really enjoyed thus series. I got up that way back in early October 2015. The crews, MofW and other people were all very friendly but I didn't get invited to lunch! I know it was not intentional but that last day had to have to have been one of the best! Not many people get to see the IOC Automatic Train Operation (ATO).   

Jim

An amazing series of photos.   Thank you for sharing them,

Thanks for the pics...

Excellent.
JB

Great pics!

A bit of useless trivia: the MG (Motor Generator) means that instead of inverters, rectifiers and/or IGBT to control power, there is just an AC motor hooked up to the regular SW1200 generator.

Thanks for posting this great series!

So is this all still in operation?