Churchill, Canada and the effects of its lost rail line

This is a fascinating article. I had always hoped to take a train up to Churchill to see the polar bears, as I had seen numerous documentaries going back to my youth. I was always fascinated by the role played by the railroad in sustaining both the town as well as people living along the route, similar to the Alaska Railroad.

The corporation justifies its position based upon the "force majeure" clause in its contract. Fine. If that clause has been invoked improperly, there are legal remedies. Let the courts have at it.

The decision has to made, by both the federal and provincial governments, as to whether it is important(for any reason) for Churchill to continue its existence. If it is important , fund the repairs to the railroad. If not, let it die. (My recollection is that road building up there is impractical for conditions on the tundra.) It wouldn't be the first city in the world lost to changing conditions. (The cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii come to mind, which were lost to an abrupt change of conditions late in the first century. With all the power and wealth of the Roman Empire at the time, they were not rebuilt.)

I feel very sad for the difficulties of the residents. 

Thanks for posting this article!

Single track for most of the line; no access roads, harsh unforgiving climate. The repair window is only a few months of every year.  A massive rebuilding is necessary and washouts have to be have individual engineering plans drawn and repaired sequentially; not simultaneously.  Massive amounts of fill and gravel required and equipment not currently on hand in Canada.

jay jay posted:

This is a fascinating article. I had always hoped to take a train up to Churchill to see the polar bears, as I had seen numerous documentaries going back to my youth. I was always fascinated by the role played by the railroad in sustaining both the town as well as people living along the route, similar to the Alaska Railroad.

The corporation justifies its position based upon the "force majeure" clause in its contract. Fine. If that clause has been invoked improperly, there are legal remedies. Let the courts have at it.

The decision has to made, by both the federal and provincial governments, as to whether it is important(for any reason) for Churchill to continue its existence. If it is important , fund the repairs to the railroad. If not, let it die. (My recollection is that road building up there is impractical for conditions on the tundra.) It wouldn't be the first city in the world lost to changing conditions. (The cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii come to mind, which were lost to an abrupt change of conditions late in the first century. With all the power and wealth of the Roman Empire at the time, they were not rebuilt.)

I feel very sad for the difficulties of the residents. 

Thanks for posting this article!

Or a nuclear reactor blowing up!

Not railroading per say.  But this is a question after Harvey.  Here in Houston, many places flooded which never flooded before.  We got arount 40 inches of rain in many spots.  That I can see.

But there are spots in Houston which seem to flood it one spills a Coke can.  These are places where the property should be bought out and the area made a flood plain.  I do not hug trees, but in the long run this might be cheaper for the taxpayer.

There is a case where there was an attempt to move a city.  Three Rivers TX tended to flood.  Why?  Look at the name.  After several floods, there was a move to er, to move the city .  The citizens did not like it.  So a dike  was build around it.  The UP has to pass through two flloodgates, one on the north and south sides of town.  I has worked so far, but when it is a really bad flood, and the dike is overtopped, the city is a bowl.

And those are the ares the railroads need to upgrade, if they have not done so.

Oh, bad news...everybody has heard of riding a train to Churchill to pet the bears...hope that proves financially feasible to rebuild..

Yep, the railroad should be forced to pay $20-60,000,000 so residents can save $4,000 on groceries, makes sense to me.

Not really.

Doug

I think it'll be a tough argument, with a few parties waiting for the problem to slowly fade away. Interesting angle here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...ident-rail-1.4269053

The line was still using 40' boxcars for for the lower axle loadings years ago, and had some interesting prototype hopper cars . Later on the line was upgraded for full-size hoppers. http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.ca...hopper-cn-39800.html

Is this the Algoma Central, that also had fall foliage trips?

colorado hirailer posted:

Is this the Algoma Central, that also had fall foliage trips?

Churchill is way up north in Manitoba, the Algoma Central ran from Sault Ste. Marie Ontario to Hearst Ontario.  Probably over 1500 miles between Churchill and Sault Ste. Marie.

Rusty

If Churchill has a warm water port, or at least open as much as the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway ports, it might be worth it.

It would be cheaper to close down the town, and give a subsidy to grain farmers use other lines than to keep this line open.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...-rail-line-1.4273012

I think the line will eventually get fixed..... Living in a remote community  is a different way of life, The railway is the life line to the south.... no roads and most can't afford to fly although the govt.  does fly the   really sick   out to the  southern hospitals,

They're not going to close the town down, if any thing these northern ports may be the way of the future.   (providing on the weather)    This has to be the coldest summer here in Ontario in  a long time... 1 day over 90.  As a kid I remember  the summers were really hot..June July & Aug... Something not quite right. Oh well next year we'll see what happens. (wouldn't you know it, my daughter just put in a pool.)

.

Wow, GREGG, sounds like global warming...NOT!!   Snicker, sneer....

Gregg,

That's an interesting link.  The mayor is certainly sounding optimistic by citing having things up and running by the end of fall.  For obviuous reasons, ready in time for winter seems to be critical for the community.   As someone with a modeling interest in intermodal rail, I was surprised to read  that the port hasn't been used in years.   So, yes, reactivating that along with the rail seems to offer hope as you and the article suggest.

Tommy, thanks for the photos.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

I can think of no concievable way, if money were to be available in unlimited quantities, for this line to be rebuilt in less than a year.  Think two years. Maybe three. The engineering plans for every break and washout, deciding about culverts, headwalls and trestles are labor intensive and must meet strict load bearing criterion. You are talking coffer dams, pumps, trestles, pile-drivers, cranes, and fill (from where? We need a nearby quarry and rock crushing and loading equipment, plus side-dump cars) in the middle of nowhere in sub-zero temperatures with the only access the railhead from the south and a compromised roadbed. By the way Canadian authorities frown on new quarries for environmental purposes. They will probably find a new species of bacteria that will be endangered by the rebuild. My buddy has property. He can't cut a tree down without a six-month environmental impact study to be approved at seventeen levels of Canadian bureaucracy. And a short work window due to climate. Shipping material from the north is another problem. Limited access window due to ice. Shortfall of ships. Will we bring in gravel and fill by ship?Work in the snow season? Forgetaboutit. Plus even relatively undamaged roadbed may have to be rebuilt to support heavy loads of fill and rock. The mayor of Churchil is in la-la land. The rebuild is possible, but it will take a long time. I would estimate a full year's worth of engineering surveys. The work cannot progress simultaneously. There are what are called in civil engineering significant "critical path" issues. There are few sidings to hold construction equipment. Building these sidings in areas that are essentially open water and mud are a massive undertaking.

Maybe some polar bears will sue to have the town moved because it is on their migration route.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...-rail-line-1.4170059

As for the polar bears.... They have only one thing in mind.......You for supper..

https://www.winnipegfreepress....ilway-442904263.html

A little more info, seems if using internet explorer I have to log in to read it... no so with google.