Canadian Railroads > Current Traffic on today's BC Rail

Good Morning Y'all,- 

In about two months time I will be flying into Vancouver to trek across BC for 10 days, with at least 2/3s of this time planned to be spent on what is left of the active BCOL north of Exeter, mainly on the PG/Chetwynd/Tumbler Subs., as well as some potential time spent between N. Vancouver & Squamish for the L546 if running. Given the northern lines are certainly shot less now than they were up to 20 years ago, I have found it difficult to do extensive research on operations on today's BCOL.  

My main questions lie around the operations themselves- 

• Is L546 still Mon-Fri or is it now as needed?
• What is the general mixed freight traffic between Exeter north to Ft. St. James & Dawson Creek?
• How frequent & what are the symbol(s) for locals in the area, particularly the local between Exeter & Williams Lake?
• When can I expect to see RCO Ops. outside of the yard in Williams Lake?
• What are the current active mines on the Chetwynd & Tumbler Subs.?
• How consistent has Coal from the Chetwynd & Tumbler Subs. been lately?
• What frequency and when does the PG - Chetwynd road freight run?
• Scanner Frequencies & latest public timetable 

Many Thanks,
J.F. Smith - Roanoke, Va. 
Conrailfornia@gmail.com 

jforrestsmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> My main questions lie around the operations
> themselves- What are the current active mines on the

• > Chetwynd & Tumbler Subs.?
• How consistent has Coal from the Chetwynd &
  > Tumbler Subs. been lately?

There are two active mines, both operated by Conuma Resources -- Willow Creek, which ships from Falls on the Chetwynd Sub., and Quintette, located at the far end of the Tumbler Sub.

Quintette was the largest of the two original operations that opened in 1983. It had been mothballed since 2000, but was purchased by Conuma in 2023 and shipped its first coal under Conuma ownership in September last year. Restoration and renewal of the Quintette operation is ongoing, so production should ramp up. https://www.nsnews.com/resources-agriculture/bcs-tumbler-ridge-seeing-steelmaking-coal-revival-10280299

In February, Conuma purchased another mothballed operation, Peace River Coal, which operated the Trend-Roman mines near Tumbler Ridge. Those had started two years after the CN take-over of BC Rail, with a loadout at Mile 80 (station namesign Trend), near the end of the Tumbler Sub, just a few miles short of Quintette. Conuma aims to restart them next year. https://www.nsnews.com/resources-agriculture/conuma-resources-buys-idled-bc-mine-from-anglo-american-10231021.

(Technically, Mile 80 is the official end of the Tumbler Sub. mainline. The track extending from there to Quinette (formerly Mile 82.3)  is now designated as non-main track.)

As for train frequency, I have no firm information, only railfan gossip that Quintette had been running one train per week when it re-opened last fall.  That's a far cry from the three loads, three empties daily that the Tumbler Sub was designed for.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/25 18:32 by railsmith.

546 is out of North Vancouver in the afternoon, Sunday-Thursday.
Last I heard, the Williams Lake yard job went to Exeter on Thursday evenings.

- LF

Hi JF. I've done my best to answer your specific questions below with information current within the past 6 months from firsthand experiences, or from some friends whose notes and information I trust.

jforrestsmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
My main questions lie around the operations
themselves-

Q: Is L546 still Mon-Fri or is it now as needed?
A: I understand it to be Sunday-Thursday, going on duty at 14:30 last I heard. Departs north out of McLean Yard in West Vancouver. A track patrol Hy-Rail runs in front of it, and is a good indicator of when the train is going to leave, and where it is during the run. This is OCS control territory, as is almost all of the former BC Rail territory. If you are unfamiliar with the nuances of this dispatching/train control method please say so, and myself or some of the others on here can read you in on it.

Q:What is the general mixed freight traffic between Exeter north to Ft. St. James & Dawson Creek?
A: There are no symbols running the entirity of the route between those points. CN operates a number of 'L' symbol local freights running portions of the subdivisions, handing off traffic to each other, all being forwarded to the yards in Prince George. As a generality the traffic is still very similar in nature to when these lines were BC Rail, just with far fewer mills running. The LPG traffic from FSJ and Chetwynd area has been significantly up as a bright spot though.

Q: How frequent & what are the symbol(s) for
locals in the area, particularly the local between Exeter & Williams Lake?

L508 is the Williams Lake yard job. Typically powered by two ex-WC geeps, as CN doesn't have many dynamic brake equipped four axle units. On duty M-F around 15:00, it switches out the cars L592 brought in from Quesnel and switches the local mills and industries. M-W-F they then build the train for the next days L593. On Tuesday and Thursday they run south to Exeter to switch the West Fraser mill there, typically heading south AFTER switching the local Williams Lake industries. Their time southbound out of Williams Lake will vary based on how much work they had in town, but I wouldn't expect them to depart until 6pm at the earliest. They typically return close to midnight.

L592 is the daily southbound Quesnel to Williams Lake train. Typically powered by a pair six axle units. The trackside guide indicates an on duty time in Quesnel of 22:00, but I've seen it twice arriving in Williams Lake mid day.

L593 is the daily northbound Williams Lake to Quesnel train. It departs WL early in the morning around 6am. Power is the same two six axle units as L592.

L570 is the daily southbound Prince George (south yard) to Quesnel manifest. Runs with 3 six axle units. A typical length is 40-50 cars. They will usually drop empty pellet hoppers at Colebank, as well as empty centerbeams at Dunkley. On duty in Prince George mid afternoon.

L571 is the northbound counterpart to L570. On duty in the mid-late afternoon in Quesnel, they typically will double up their train and be ready to go fairly soon after going on duty. Listen for radio chatter between them and the 15:00 Quesnel yard job. If this is a day that the northbound Rocky Mountaineer is running, the Rocky's arrival can sometimes delay L571's departure. The L570 and 571 will typically meet at Greening, or Colebank. A late departing L571 may lead to the RTC bringing the L570 down the hill and meeting the two trains at the east end of the 'Quesnel switching zone' at MP 386. Again, this is OCS territory, so the communication between trains, and rolling up limits on the fly will be your best indicators to what is going on. L571 will usually work Dunkley as well as Colebank. Their switching at Colebank is often very time consuming.

Sometimes there will be a need for an additional train; the L590 to perform switching and spotting at Dunkley if the two trains above are unable to. The only times I've seen this has had this train depart south out of PG south yard AFTER the late evening arrival of the L571 into PG. Both times were well after dark.

L580 is the southbound Mackenzie to PG local. Runs on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. On duty early afternoon. Often powered by a single six axle unit.

L581 is the northbound local to Mackenzie. Departs PG (south yard) in the early evening on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I've seen them work the mill at Fraserview on their way out of PG. Often one six axle unit.

L584 is the Fort St James to PG local. On duty mid day on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Works the two mills in town, then heads east. Two units for power.

L585 is the PG to Fort St James local. On duty late afternoon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Two units for power.


Q: When can I expect to see RCO Ops. outside of
the yard in Williams Lake?
A: I don't believe the Williams Lake yard job runs RCO. The yard jobs in Quesnel, and the Prince George South Yard have RCO.

There are two daily Quesnel switch jobs, on duty at 07:00 and 15:00. These yard jobs also switch the local mills and industries. Typical power is 3 four axle units. Until recently these were predominantly GP9rm.

Q: What are the current active mines on the Chetwynd & Tumbler Subs.?
A: The Willow Creek, and Brule mines load out at 'Falls' at MP 629 of the Chetwynd Sub. Railsmith answered in detail regarding the Tumbler Sub mines above.

Q: How consistent has Coal from the Chetwynd & Tumbler Subs. been lately?
A: The loadout at 'Falls' at MP 629 on the Chetwynd sub seems to be turning out a loaded train daily. Most of these are the C765 running to Prince Rupert.

Q: What frequency and when does the PG - Chetwynd road freight run?
A: The A473 from PG to Chetwynd runs daily, going on duty in the mid afternoon. The train can run quite long, and often gets a mid train DPU.
A472, the southbound Chetwynd to PG counterpart goes on duty in Chetwynd mid afternoon also. Look for these two trains to meet at one of the three longer sidings on the Chetwynd sub.

Also keep your ears open for a U753 symbol on the Fort St John, and Chetwynd Subs. This is a unit train of LPG loads running from Fort St John to Prince Rupert. The returning empties get added to A473.

Q: Scanner Frequencies & latest public timetable.
A: The Canadian Trackside guide by the Bytown Railway Society has the most current, and up to date information on both timetables, radio frequencies used on each sub, plus current train symbols and rosters. It is an absolutely invaluable resource for anyone doing any railfanning in Canada, or around either the the Canadian Class 1's US operations.

​https://bytownrailwaysociety.ca/index.php/sales-desk/canadian-trackside-guide

Which week are you planning on arriving in BC? If mid April or later, the Rocky Mountaineer ‘Rainforest to Gold Rush’ service will be running from North Vancouver to Jasper, via the former BC Rail route as far as PG. It only runs two days a week, and is worth a chase in my opinion as it traverses some of the more scenic parts of the BCR that don't see any traffic otherwise.

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