Canadian Railroads > Sydney Coal Railway

Although the CBNS hasn't gone any farther east than Pt. Tupper since 2015, the Sydney Coal Rwy. is still operating on former Devco trackage in the Sydney area.  The railway's sole function is to shuttle coal from the International Pier to a NSPI generating station at Lingan.  By my reckoning, that's probably as far east as rails go in North America these days, although with the CBNS rails dormant, they're not exactly contiguous.

On August 6, 2014 the first shuttle of the day, led by GP38-2s 222 and 228 was leaving Witney Pier and heading for Victoria Jct. and eventually New Waterford and Lingan.  The GP38-2s still wear their Devco paint and feature distinctive small fuel tanks and no dynamic brakes.  SCR scrapped many of the older hoppers and sold 8 of the GP38-2s, including 3 that went to NB Southern.  5 of the Geeps remain and are the only units on the roster now.

When CBNS was still making regular trips to Sydney this was the connection between the two roads.  The International Pier was built with the idea of exporting coal from Cape Breton, but with the demise of the coal mines in Cape Breton, c. 2000, coal is now imported here and shuttled to Lingan, as well as trucked to nearby Pt. Aconi (which never had rail service).  Another coal import pier at Pt. Tupper receives fuel for a local plant and the one in Trenton, which is hauled by CBNS.

GTD

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Super catch - Fascinating back story.
Bob

Excellent catch.
JB

How many Ortner hoppers are left?  Do the shuttles operate 7 days a week?

Mike Root
Madras, OR

I don't think those are Ortners, although the gypsum hoppers on the DAR (and later WHRC) were built by Ortner.

Trains are typically about 20 cars.

The only builder's name I recall seeing on these was Trenton Works.  Although Devco was a Crown corporation, they weren't averse to spending money in Nova Scotia rather than Hamilton.  I think the Westray coal hoppers may have been the last built at Trenton.  In later years they concentrated on intermodal and box cars.

GTD

Did the surface strip mine that was opened in the Province of New Brunswick a few years a ago shut down??

Those rusty rails crossing the road there---do they serve any customers?

I think that is the interchange track to the Cape Breton & Nova Scotia RY

Mike Root
Madras, OR