dibber25

Here's a Ken Perry shot of the Dayliner at Shawinigan Lake station during the E&N's 90th anniversary celebrations. And a view of the Pacer 142049 on the BC Hydro Railway (once an electrified inter-urban line) when it ran between Vancouver and New Westminster as part of the EXPO 86 exhibition. BREL/Leyland hoped to sell the Leyland National-based units abroad but they were nowhere near suitable for use in North America. (CJL)

i haven't been involved in the Class 48 proposal in any way but I can guess what has happened. Heljan has offered Model Rail a chance to have some minor tooling variations to the new Class 47 model in order to create a Class 48 with minimum costs. There's no other way a Class 48 could be viable on its own but this makes it an easy job that's worth doing IF Sufficient people are interested. Hence the request for expressions of interest. Multiple units might be more desirable for a lot of modellers (and on a personal basis I'd much rather have a Class 120 than a Class 48) but the costs of developing and tooling ANY model these days are extremely high. The costs of developing and tooling a multiple unit are eye-watering! They are simply beyond the means of anyone but the major manufacturers, and only those who can expect to sell a large enough quantity over a long enough period to get a return on their investment. There is a world of difference between the cost of tooling a couple of slide changes in a mould, and tooling a complete three-car unit. It's, if you like, the difference between someone saying "I'm going to put a new front door on my house" and getting the reply " Why don't you demolish the whole house and build a shop instead?" (CJL)

There was one re-arrangement' of the catalogue numbers/guises late in 2019 in light of ongoing research and in order to group the liveries/detail combinations/catalogue numbers more logically, so that the factory could better organise the potentially small quantities of some guises. We were initially taken by surprise that the most support was for the non-authentic GWR green preserved example. I don't think anyone has attempted to give this much choice within a small production run before and we are trying to satisfy as many potential customers as possible. (CJL)

We have one, at least, of the Scottish ones in the listing and always have had. (CJL)

Delivery Q4 2020 is now expected. (CJL)

I've ridden the Canadian several times. Westbound journeys were ok but I generally had an overnight booked in Vancouver anyway. Eastbound in 2013 was a lousy journey from the outset with a near 5-hour delay in New Westminster because a freight ahead of us had a loco failure and had to be divided in the middle of the night, in the siding next to where we were standing! The car I was in - Stuart Manor - was in poor mechanical shape, rode badly and had wheel flats. This was particularly obvious next night when the engineer was trying to make up time and it became impossible to sleep and almost impossible to stay in bed as the car lurched around. We got in to Toronto after lunch (makeshift because supplies had run out) instead of after breakfast. I left a note of complaint in my compartment. The steward found it and said he would report the car, which he said he had ridden several times that summer and it was getting worse each time. Since then, of course, they have introduced Prestige Class which means that ordinary sleeping car passengers cannot access the rear lounge (the best place on the train) despite paying something like £1,500 for a ticket. Prestige class is unaffordable at about three times that price (and you still suffer the delays waiting to pass freights). I've stayed in (or near) Jasper, too, and loved the place but I get twitchy if my travel plan is disrupted. In 2018 I did Sudbury-White River and back on the RDCs. It was a super, faultless trip thanks to the Train Manageress and excellent pathing by CP Rail so that return arrival was actually early. Picture shows RDC4 and RDC2 forming VIA 186 after arrival at Sudbury. It was originally intended that the E&N would have a similar RDC pair, to accommodate cycles etc for up-island trips. The other picture shows a poster that was in Victoria Airport lounge, - an artist's impression of the E&N development at the Roundhouse. Note that the railway actually ends at the dark-coloured crossing right in the middle of the picture and that there is no provision at the site for a station, which, in any case would be too far out of downtown, as was the 1970s station which was replaced by the one close to the Johnson Street bridge. (CJL)

So sad that it's all gone. I dislike Rocky Mountaineer (well, actually I don't much like any tourist trains) but even considered a round trip using Rocky Mountaineer from Van to PG and VIA from PG to Jasper and Jasper to Van as I'd never got to PG on the BCR. It was the unreliability of the Canadian that put me off. Kicking my heels in Jasper for hours or even days, with no accommodation booked, didn't appeal. (CJL)

A couple of shots when the Alberni Pacific was operating back in 2011. They capitalised on the Harry Potter interest but presumably skirted around the fees by calling it the Millwarts Express. Their Platform nine and three quarters arrangement was very clever. A doorway was 'bricked up' with a piece of foam rubber. It had a slit in the middle, so when the kids pushed against it in the ticket office, they emerged on the platform. The train was fully booked, so I couldn't travel but I took some line side shots instead. The 2-8-2ST has since been withdrawn as I think its boiler ticket has expired. (CJL)

I thought 711 was eventually recovered by members of the local indigenous band and dragged ashore. They offered it back to BC Rail but the railway didn't want it, so they dismantled it and sold the scrap. Pretty sure I saw a picture of the wreck and the guys posing with it. Yes, the Cariboo Dayliner was six cars when I travelled, too. Four went forward to Prince George. (CJL)

All the classic corruptions - sellers acting for buyers, back-handers to support election funds etc. My goodness, it was all there. Never mind a book - it should be a film! It was such a fabulous railway with everything going for it and it would have been great to have continued opening up northern BC instead of turning Vancouver into a suburban sprawl and over-developing southern VI. I presume the new stations at Squamish and Lillooet got bulldozed? Quesnel preserved as a heritage building? Whistler used by the Rocky Mountaineer? The furthest north that I got was Lillooet. Rode in the cab with my two kids all the way back to North Van. I remarked to the engineer that the lead RDC seemed to have flats. He hadn't a clue what I was talking about. "Oh, you mean skidded wheels," he eventually responded. Here's Gary, the engineer on the VIA Budd car 6133 going up over the Malahat in 1981. This is the RDC now owned by Jason Shron of Rapido Trains. Gosh, that's nearly 40 years ago! And me trying to be 'arty' with reflections - same RDC same year. (CJL)

I knew I'd get that wrong if I didn't look it up! I have a feeling it was renumbered, too, when it was rebuilt and that it probably still survives as weren't most of BC Rail's fleet sold off after the dodgy deal that saw BCR sold to CN? If you're into corporate and political shenanigans, that's a story to make your hair stand on end!! (CJL)

The end of an era on CPR and the beginning of a new era on CN. The two VIA Rail Budd RDCs which had operated the E&N in recent years were wrapped to prevent vandalism in Nanaimo yard as they awaited eventual transfer to the mainland. And the Kinsol Trestle, the largest surviving wooden bridge in the Commonwealth under repair in 2011. I had first seen this magnificent structure in the early 1980s not long after the CN lines to Cowichan Bay and Victoria finally closed. It suffered dereliction, fire and water-bombing in the 20 years before its restoration as a footbridge/horse/cycle bridge, the last link in the Trans-Canada Trail. I like to think, hope, that I played a small part in the long campaign to save it from demolition. I wrote a piece for the Times-Colonist newspaper extolling its virtues and explaining why it was important. I still get a thrill every time I see it - 150ft high and 600yd long, it is truly awe-inspiring. An HO scale model of it forms the main feature of my layout. (CJL)

Here's a glimpse inside. It seems that CPR built these wooden shelters out of the remnants of the original proper station buildings. There was a similar one at Shawinigan Lake when I first went there in the 1970s. However, Cowichan is just about the only one that didn't get replaced with one of VIA Rail's 'rustic bus shelters'. What is certain is that the present Cowichan has never actually seen a passenger train, as it was built/rebuilt/smartened up AFTER the service ended in 2011!

Amazing to think that the Class 142 was sent in a genuine attempt to sell the British-built rail buses as replacements for the Budd RDCs on what was then the longest DMU run in the world, 456 miles from North Van to Prince George. I remember being told that the BC Rail folk didn't like the way the draughts whistled under those bi-fold doors! Here are two shots of mine - The Budd RDCs at the old Lillooet station waiting to return to North Van. The school train which brought native children from Seton Portage to Lillooet lays over in the yard awaiting the afternoon return south. The passenger car heated by a wood burning stove in winter (it was 95degF when I was there) was named Budd Wiser by the kids. A chop-nosed RS3 was the motive power. Joe McMillan's wonderful shot shows southbound train 14 picking up train orders at Pemberton. It has three 3,000hp MLWs on the front and three more as mid-train helpers. Finally (a BCR official shot) the recovery of M420 No. 808 from Seton Lake in 1981. Along with a six-axle unit, it had hit a rockslide and derailed into the lake. It was rebuilt and re-entered traffic by the year end but the larger unit was not so lucky. It was recovered eventually and cut up on site. (CJL)

The Pacific Wilderness approaches the Johnson Street bridge in Victoria. It was a tourist train which operated for just a couple of summers, from Victoria to the Malahat summit. It was American-owned, used chop-nosed GP9s and some lovely vintage passenger cars. On board, they served the most impressive sandwiches I'd ever seen. There were 'issues' however: There is, and was, absolutely NOTHING to interest or occupy tourists near the railway at the Malahat. ( as a railfan, the 'Vic Turn' freight did cross us there but photography was impossible) The train staff were not 'railfan friendly'. The Vic-West residents complained about use of the horn at grade crossings (there are several grade crossings and use of the horn is mandatory) The per-axle-mile track access charge made it near impossible to make a profit (particularly, I guess, with 12-wheel passenger cars). PW staff reputedly cut down some trees in one of the provincial parks to improve visibility ( to help engineers watching for trespassers on the line at the Niagara Canyon trestle). Canada has quite a few trees - ALL of them are protected. A once a day return trip to Chemainus with a couple of hours stopover would have been a better bet. It could have commanded a higher price and the little town with its murals is a tourist attraction in its own right. Equally, VIA could have done this with a slightly retimed Dayliner had the track not been in such bad condition that speed restrictions were making it difficult for the Dayliner to cover its out-and-back Victoria-Courtenay run before the crew ran out of hours. (CJL)

Victoria is very earthquake conscious. It sits on the so-called 'ring of fire' and is overdue the 'once in a hundred years' earthquake event - hence all the new earthquake-resistant construction - and the excuse to get rid of anything they don't like - such as the old Johnson Street (bascule) bridge. Maybe someone realised that a boxcar stuck up in the air on a plinth wasn't a great idea. Some of the other equipment - such as that green baggage car - remains in the same position it was when I was there. I think this equipment was moved down from a preservation group at Parksville while the E&N was still just about usable. It is probably now trapped in Victoria. They have the Island Corridor Foundation which is responsible for the preservation of the right-of-way but that doesn't necessarily mean keeping it as a railway. The ICF seems little more than a talking shop and a means for one or two peripheral politicians to be on a nice little earner. Here's a couple more pictures from 2018. Fascinating that Cowichan station (not used since 2011) looks in better condition now, than it did when it was in use!

The original Port Alberni station and the modern replica, betrayed only by its lack of chimneys. (CJL)

It was fascinating to 'discover' English China Clays vehicles in the paper mill yard at Port Alberni - presumably slurry that's come all the way from Cornwall. China Clay is used to produce the glossy coating on top quality 'art' papers. (CJL)

In Rail America days two RA GP38-2s and a Railink-liveried GP20 take the 'Port turn' over the trestles behind Cameron Lake. Included in the train were tank cars in English China Clays livery, destined for the paper mill at Port Alberni. (CJL)

Yes, that boxcar has become a rather 'elevated' gate guardian. Edited later: In fact, I was last in Victoria in 2018, so this must have been taken BEFORE Jim49's view, so I guess the boxcar has been removed from it's elevated location.?

I'll stick with Vancouver Island first and start in 1976 with the late Mrs. Leigh flagging the Dayliner at Shawnigan Lake. In the absence of a white flag (which used to be provided at flagstops) Diane asked me how we should stop the train. "Treat it like a request stop for a bus at home," I said, "just stick your arm out." That's what she did. It was the southbound train, so we had to get picked up by car from Victoria as there was no return trip till next day. The train would operate for another 35 years before that track was finally condemned as unfit for passenger trains.

Wow, Mike! What an awesome set of pictures that bring back many fond memories - and all of it gone now. I can see I'll have to do some more scanning! I corresponded with Ken Perry - mostly IIRC about the British Columbia Railway which was my obsession from the moment I first saw it (from the Royal Hudson trip to Squamish). I have some of his very fine photos. There is, of course, the Rail America period to cover and the Pacific Wilderness train - two more half-hearted and ultimately (defeated by the Victoria nimbys) unsuccessful attempts to make money out of the E&N. (CJL)

Good to see the Shay is out on show. It was locked away when I was there. I believe it needs a new boiler if it is ever to run again. Have you seen the logging equipment at Ladysmith? Sadly the town didn't care for its logging past, so much of what was here was destroyed in order to widen the highway, so that cars and trucks can race through the town quicker. Nevertheless, the E&N station was still there in 2018 (derelict) and these various items were just outside the maritime museum, below the highway. The yellow machine is the unique Humdurgin. The chassis of a Shay, driven by a diesel engine, it would move along a rake of logging wagons using the massive wooden frame as a lever to push the logs off the cars and into the water. Some of the equipment, including a boxcar and a Jordan spreader were gradually being engulfed by undergrowth. The Southern Railway of Vancouver Island GP9s were switching Top Shelf Feeds at Duncan, traffic that was lost because no one bothered to paint or maintain the bridges on the E&N. Finally, there's Budd RDC 6148 among the broom at the Malahat summit. Last time I sat in this car (with Jason Shron from Rapido Trains), it was stored in the Toronto Maintenance yard. It may well still be there. (CJL)

I will ask Jane to ensure that you are sent a copy ASAP. Unfortunately, as we don't have daily access to our office, routine jobs such as receiving bundles of mags and sending them out to contributors have become a bit hit-and-miss of late. I have received a subscription copy, so the subs copies are evidently in circulation and that should mean that it will be out this weekend. (Chris Leigh)

I, too, would have been on Vancouver Island this summer but for the virus. Sadly, railway-wise it isn't what it was. I first went in 1976 when the Dayliner was still run by CP Rail and in hockey-mask livery. Since then, the Port Sub has gone ( and with it the English China Clays freight cars) the Dayliner itself succumbed in 2011, and I had to go west to Port Alberni (to ride the 2-8-2T up to the mill) and north to see the logging trains at Woss Camp. The logging railway closed after an appalling accident in which several staff were killed, and I believe even the Alberni Pacific has folded due to lack of people to overhaul its locomotives. Even the local freight around Nanaimo has now been suspended because the bridges are unsafe. Last time I was on the Island (2018) I walked the remaining bit of railway from Victoria out to the roundhouse (even that is threatened with demolition and is now surrounded by new condos). I still have relatives on the island but my sister, who used to accommodate me) has passed away and I'm not sure I could occupy my time out there with so little railway interest now. These days I fly to Toronto or Halifax (I did New York once) and make my way across in either shorter flights or by train. Have used Air Transat - it was marginally better than Thomas Cook but these days I use scheduled airlines. Here are a couple of old shots to enjoy - the Dayliner was at the foot of my sister's garden, near Shawinigan Lake. The GP9 was one of a pair waiting at Port Alberni to take out the return 'Port turn' to Nanaimo. The other one was in CP Rail action red. One thing that has improved is that the station at Port Alberni has been rebuilt in original style. In this picture it had been reduced to a single storey 'box' and is hidden by the loco. The Dayliner was my first Canadian train photo - both were taken in 1976. (CJL)