We were back up in Newfoundland again this summer. Unfortunately it was a quicker trip than we wanted and I only had a couple of opportunities to see anything, not that there is that much left of the old 3'-6" narrow gauge Newfoundland Railway. There were a couple of old diesels in parks in St John's that were badly in need of care and new homes. I believe, but I'm not sure, that one was in Bowring Park and one in Pippy Park. In any case, the folks up in Clarenville (an old division point) raised enough money to get one moved there. Here's number 900, an NF110, built in 1952 (delivered in 1953) by General Motors Ltd of Canada, and the first road diesel in Newfoundland. She's been cleaned up and given a coat of paint in the original as delivered CN paint scheme. Could still use some body work, but at least they've stopped the major deterioration and she sure looks good. Here's a head on view, showing the narrow track gauge. The other unit was moved to the Railway Coastal Museum in St John's. It's also an NF110, but until they finish the repainting (or until I get busy and check info on the Yahoo Group for the Nfld railway) I don't know what number she is. Also repainted in the original CN paint scheme. She has a mail car and (what I think is) a diner behind her. That is the old station/museum in the background. Blank number boards. Has to be between 901 and 908. I'll find out sometime. Couple more photos on the next post. Regards Ed .
Here are a couple of shots of those two cars behind the diesel in St John's. First is what I believe to be a diner. (Corrections and additional info welcomed). Looks like they have just done exterior cosmetic restoration. I have no info at this time if they have any ideas of restoring the cars inside. And here's the mail car. Here's a better shot of the museum building. This was built as the headquarters of the Reid Newfoundland Company, and new St John's station, in 1903. The Reid Newfoundland Company was the firm that built (most of) the railway and operated it up until government takeover (by mutual agreement) in 1923. It was refurbished a couple of years ago and now houses the archives of the City of St John's on the second floor, and the Railway Coastal Museum on the main floor. At the back of the museum these two old railway cars have been built into the museum. Inside they have been opened up and reworked, and now present a diorama showing sections of different railway cars, including a sleeper, coach, diner, kitchen and mail car. The museum in general is very well done, even if it doesn't have a lot of rolling stock. That's about it for this year. Maybe I'll have more time next year. But in reality, I've already been to the two main railroad museums in the province (St John's and Corner Brook), and seen several of the displays of rolling stock (Clarenville, Bonavista, Avondale, and Whitbourne), so new pickings are getting slim. Regards Ed .
Ed, it looks like the Canadians do a better job of preserving old artifacts than we do in the states. :tb-sad:
I was actually disappointed when we made our first trip up here three years ago to see the relatively sorry state of several of the locomotives and cars still on display. I think I remarked on that in my first report on railfanning in Newfoundland, but maybe not. The Clarenville group is one of the more active local associations and they have done well raising funds and caring for what they have. Both the locos in these photos were deteriorating and completely uncared for before their recent moves. Of course the government tore up the entire railroad (with the exceptions of very short sections at stations where rolling stock was left on display) and scrapped or sold off most of the equipment. I wish I had become interested in the railroad 20 years earlier......... Regards Ed .
Ed, I just got back from Newfoundland a week ago. I spent a couple of weeks there. Still no number on the one in St. John's. Didn't get to see the insides of the train at Port aux Basques, it closed on Labor Day. The woman in the gift shop offered to open it up on the way back to the ferry if we could give her a day's notice to find someone to come in. What really blew me away was the train in Corner Brook. The museum there is non-profit and also closes after Labor Day. However, Winnie Hickey is a relative of mine (distant), and she came down herself, with a retired engineer to show us around, to open up for us. The amount of work done on and in the train is astounding. You'd swear that it just came out of the shop, brand new. There was even china on the tables in the dining car and pillows and blankets in the beds. The diesel on display (CN931) is the one the retired engineer (Ray, can't remember his last name, think it was Davies, or Davis) used to drive. I'll post some pics when I get them out of my camera. Dave.
We were probably on the rock at the same time Dave, although probably at the other side, as we flew out of St John's on the 19th. Did you get any farther east than Corner Brook? We got to Corner Brook last year and saw the great setup that the group there have with the #593 and the passenger train. First class. I think you've already seen my thread on that visit, but for anyone else who wants to see more of trains in Newfoundland, including the only surviving Nfld Railway steam engine, you can look at: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=91363 or the previous year's trip: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=80570 The museum there is non-profit and also closes after Labor Day. Yeah, the tourist season in Newfoundland is very short. Several places we visited on this trip told us that they were getting ready to shut down. Next year we're planning on going in April or May, and I've been surprised when checking those dates to see just how many places still won't be open. Port aux Basques is on my "To Visit" list, but it's real long haul from Trinity Bay where the family is. I actually came through there on the ferry/train back in 1956. But back then I had neither a camera nor a good memory! Best regards Ed .
Are those the original radiators on the NF110s? I didn't think EMD radiators looked like that in the 50s.
I don't know, but they look as close as I can see to the photos of NF110's on page 136 of "Diseasel Locomotives: The First Fifty Years" by Louis Marre, which is the main source I have. Note that the side bottom louvers were slightly different on the NF210's, which were more numerous. Since Dave reminded me of them, I also looked through my Mort Lingard books on the Nfld Rwy. While his pictures aren't all that sharp, I don't see any 110's or 210's with notably different grille arrangements. Regards Ed
A moment of silence.... On the night of September 30/October 1, 20 years ago, the last regular train ran on the Newfoundland Railway. It was the end of common-carrier narrow gauge in Canada, and the end of an era for CN.
We took the ferry over on the 6/7 Sept. and came back on the 18/19. We covered most of the island and were in St. John's from the 11th to the 14th. Dave. Triplex, good catch on the date. I didn't think of it. Dave.
Dave, sorry for the late response. The man you speak of is Ray Boyd, who took the last wb train from Bishop's Falls to Corner Brook on Sept 30 and unofficial eb train back to Bishop's in the wee hours of the morning of Oct. 1. Winnie passed away just recently and now I believe John Parsons is looking after things now. His grandfather was Sam Ezekiel who retied as an engineer on the 47-tonners years ago. Edit; Did you know you posted your msg at 9:31?
