Dynamic-braked SW1200RSs on Canfor Englewood Logging Railway Nimpkish June 1997
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Canfor (now Western Forest Products) operates four rare dynamic-braked SW1200s (three have now been re-engined with CAT 3612 prime movers. Note the shops are at Nimpkish NOT Nimkish as the video captions say. Sorry!
This video, taken in June 1997, shows empty logging trains, the log cars being loaded and loaded logging trains with both one and two locomotives. My wife & I then took a ride from Woss to Beaver Cove with a loaded logging train in the cab of 302 and then, after changing locomotives and crew, in the cab of 303. Our sincere thanks to Canfor and their employees who made us so welcome. Without their help this video would not have been possible.
Information on our DVDs can be seen at http//users.eastlink.ca/~othen/video.html
Thank you for preserving this piece of history. This was late in the game for the logging railroads but fortunately the technology had improved so we could go out and record these fast fading things in relatively good quality. Excellent video !!!
Thank you David. Now, more than ever, this video is so important. (because of the railway's removal, in summer 2020)
So true. The tracks are all ripped up, nothing left but these videos.
Well you where lucky enough to see and record it.
In Québec we lost the Thurso & Nation Valley (T&NV RR) 1926-1986 that was 56 miles long. Only the first 26 were in use in the last years behind GE 70 tons. Some log cars with truss rods and arch bars trucks dated back from the begining and used as idlers betwen two loaded ones. Trees were longer than flat cars needing those idlers. Some had K brake valves. All cars had hand brakes removed. One had even an axle wheel with rivets for tire replacing. May be from a tender, i don´t know. 1 scrapped GE unit was transformed in a crane with fuel tank reused in Duhamel for speeders. Their GE 45 tons and Office car 27, a short 35 feet long former CPR business car builted in 1907 was purchased in 1929. Both are preserved by Bytown Railway Society in Science &Technology museum in Ottawa ON. Original rails were 60 pounds, replaced by 80 later on. Connecting with CPR, they purchased a lot of things from them, including 2 wood cabooses.
If you Google Collin Churcher you´ll find history, sort of log book, photos, etc...
Funny notes. In the last week of planned railroad operation, 2 loaded flats derailed while leaving loading point 26 and fall on embakment. Delays for trying to salvaged them and failed on soft ground, made the last train on saturday instead of friday.
When the last one left for good, the flashing signal stayed on long after train departure.
The.T&NV RR ghost tryied its best to keep it alive refusing to die !
Really miss that line.
Thank you ! I never worked around logging trains, but I did a lot of mountain logging in Idaho, and Washington, I loved every minute, and every memory.
#303 looks and sounds so good here. Sorry to see it yrs later after sitting out in weather and windows and doors left open. Was rusted and sad sight but was saved to go on display there finally. Rails all gone too now. Was a good rail operation for long time.
It was all torn down because of an accident. And then switched to shitty fucking trucks. Trucks that ruin the roads.
David thank you for the memories l drove up there many times from Campbell River and watch them onload at Beaver Cove to make booms to towe them down to the mills. Love all your vids good job.
Many thanks. Glad the videos brought back good memories.
EXellent vid TY. ! The last logging RR on Van.Isle from a vast network that once existed. I studied the Comox Valley R.R ; they even had Shay locies that would climb hills in a sort of 4 wheel drive steam mode. TY! good stuff.
EXCELLENT HISTORICAL VIDEO. THANKS!
Nice sounding engines with the dynamics.
Seems alot quiter in the cab than I would imagine. Dynamics; option "premium" trucks nice sounding horn to scare bears with.
Would be nice to see this video enhanced.
Cheers!
Thanks for the video David , giving me lots of information to build my HO gauge model railroad logging line.
Another super one David!!! Thank you!
You are most welcome
Thanks for the video.
I enjoyed it.👍
thank you for great detail real operation on short line railroad and share this other
For those of you who have never been to Canada, this is a typical urban downtown area. Wait till you get to the outback!
I really enjoyed watching this! Very cool train and beautiful scenery.
Thank you. Yes unusual locomotives and a well run railway operation that has successfully survived for many years.
I've seen better locomotives, but the scenery is breath taking
Beautiful forests
To Mykhaylo Slobodyan: Glad you enjoyed it. There is a similar bridge at gypsum mine in
Milford, here in Nova Scotia. I guess they are more common on industrial
properties.
I'm a retired engineer. I noticed at 27:10 he made a brake application, and his independent brake handle has a wedge in it!! That's a no no really, only if the road foreman saw it. I wonder why he is stretch braking, and not using his dynamic brake?
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
Well I can’t imagine the dynos are that great on an SW1200, it seems he’s going uphill so I wouldn’t want to bunch up my train going uphill, and maybe he is one of those old heads that uses air and that’s it. As for that “automatic actuation feature”, the newer GE’s will dump the train (or suppress, I can’t remember) if the actuator is held down for more than 90 seconds. I’ve never had it happen to me, but I know someone that has! That’s on the ES/ET 44AC’s. Not sure about the new EMD’s, haven’t ran one yet (SD-70ace-t4).
He may already have the units in dynamic brake, can't tell....
Because dynamics are a crutch and stretch braking is cool 😎 lol
@@michlo3393 You are not an engineer, are you, lol.
Wonderful video great job
great video have a good day
Nice job, would like to see more of this railway!
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
this would have been my neck of the woods in the 1960s both steamies and deisels working together .. in the end ,, all were replaced by trucks that couldnt go on standard highways and later regular trucks.
+allan egleston I thought that some of the SW1200s had been rebuilt and were still in operation.
this would have been the old pickering and west side lumnber co in tuolumne california 60 years ago
+allan egleston Not quite Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada!!!
@@david-othen - Yup! Obviously, these are CanFor trains.
@@allanegleston13 - I do hope you meant this is what it would have looked like in California sixty years ago... This is a Canadian railroad - CanFor.
Great video, really enjoyed that thanks. I've been to Vancouver Island and traveled on the Via Rail RDC. Long time ago now. Really sad to see that this railway is abandoned. What will happen to it? What will happen to the locos? Sad to see trucks taking over with all the concerns about carbon footprints etc. etc.
The entire strain system was ripped up. There’s nothing there anymore.
This is really really cool!
I guess a shared bridge at 30:27 is pretty unique. Good video, thanks.
at the first crossing, I counted 30 log cars, plus the caboose, with one midsized locomotive!? wow, can that haul all those cars fully loaded?!?! that's amazing
well.....it's all downhill !!!....Vernon Lake sits at about 1000' elevation....Beaver Cove is, of course, at sea level
i thoroughly enjoyed this.
Great. Glad you did!
The caption at 1:47 is wrong. They were en-route to Woss Reload, not Siding 4. They are just going past the "Junction" switch. The through route would have them going up "K-Line" to Maquilla or Vernon.
captainrogergcam Crossing Gold Creek Bridge caption should be Ann Creek Over Pass.
captainrogergcam Thank you for the corrections. I am afraid I do not know the area and I had to rely on maps for the captions.
David Othen Sorry for the delay. Hi. I am one of the engineers on this railway. Unless we are shut down for heat, or they set me RTC-ing. You should check us out. We are friendly and a ride can be arranged. Let me know if you are interested in coming this way. Summers are sketchy, as dry weather shuts the woods down and we have nothing to haul. Already lost last week due to the weather, though we are back again this week. Day by day.
David, nice video!! I have not been up there since the 1980's. I think though you will find that it is Nimpkish not Nimkish
Thanks Paul. You are of course correct. Another senior moment.
Interesting image in this movie from min : 29:07
30:15 - bridge for car and train like trams
Not much has changed. There are about a 3 hour drive from me. Still going strong.
Nick A Thanks Nick. There were rebuilding one of the units (304 IIRC). Have the other units been rebuilt?
Just was up at Ida lake noticed they started ripping up the tracks by hyw19 To bad they closed this rail line down going to miss it
Could you tell me .What does that place look like today? After 18yrs...Are they still logging.And is it by rail...When I see something like this,it's new to me.Like it was just filmed the other day....lol It's so beautiful.
C.N.R. 42032 I live about 3000 miles away so I have no direct observations! However I believe the company is still logging on that part of Vancouver Island and that a few trains still operate.
C.N.R. 42032 Yes. We are still in operation. I am off of the Night shift, and in 4 hours the Day shifts will be working. Today! Now.
Thanks for the update. Great to know that the railway is still doing what it was built to do.
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
Was this narrow gauge track? The ties were very close together in some places so wanted to ask.
wow!! This is interesting !!
BNforever2009 This railroad is still operating.
3612?! That's a huge motor. I'm guessing it was a 3512. The 3512 is about 1500HP's. The 3612 is just too massive in physical size and its around 5000HP.
I thought this was an awesome train action video!
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
Speeder Cars Leaving Duncan,Vancouver Island Canada
Nice spark arresters
A shame they are shutting this down, very sad.
nice video
Thank you.
Why did they rebuild the locos with cats? The EMD 567 could easily be rebuilt with 645 liners heads and Pistons
Emissions?. I have nothing against cats but just curious?
Retired Boston & Albany railroad engineer
Thanks
Loggers like Caterpillar. Finning is strong on North Island.
@@gangesexcavating true that Finning has always had a large presence on Vanc island, I remember when i started at island Copper in 72, Finning was very big there. Many other suppliers too, but they owned the tracked dozer market until Alice Chalmers brought in the HD 41. The haul trucks came with Jimmies, but were being replaced with Cat engines quickly. The new 170T trucks came with cat engines.
@@als1023 - Hey, fella, that's "Allis-Chalmers"! No girlie-boy names on that orange stuff...
So, what is the small "car" behind the locomotive(s) or sometimes at the caboose end? Is that for loading/unloading crew or some such?
It appears to be a transfer caboose
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CR_18065_IN_Porter.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
Those cylinders on top of the
diesels are they gas cylinders?.
+bob hoswell They are the air reservoirs for the braking system.
Air reservoirs
THANKS VIDEO AS GREAT SEE HOW LOGGING RAILROAD WORKING LINE
David Othen what was the schedule for these trains
K Trainz We ( I work here ) don't have a schedule. Though arguably the third largest railway in Canada, we have to be flexible to the woods operations. This includes weather. Road construction ( blasts ). Helicopters ( Yeah, that one catches a few by surprise..they log with them and sometime carry the logs over the tracks ) and a whole bunch of other surprises that we don't even know of yet.
Does anyone know if there are still in operation?
As far as I know they still are in use and at least three of the four now have CAT engines
CarolinaRailWorks
Thanks for the update.
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
Is that near Port Hardy?
Yes It is about 100 Km South East
What is the horn at 2:00
Seems like it's some kind of Nathan M5.
very good!!!
StumpjumperVideos Thank you - glad you enjoyed it.
Nice
All scrap metal and shut down now after a tragic multiple fatality wreck. Then went to trucks only to be shut down in a labour strike. And that’s where the operation sits.
This is amazing! man I wish they hadn't killed this railroad.
I wish the railroad didn’t kill the work crew!
@@gangesexcavating Deferred maintenance by WFP helped in no small part creating the conditions at the reload that caused the tragedy. WFP wanted the railway dead, and they got their wish.
@@jamesd2128 what happened?
@@elonmust7470 Runaway loaded log cars at the reload site ran downgrade and killed three railway workers a short distance down the tracks. WFP immediately shut down the railway after the incident, first calling it an indefinite closure and then dropping the bomb months later, saying they were switching solely to truck hauling for economic reasons. I call bullshit on WFP's decision making process, but that's what they wanted and thats what they got.
strange looking caboose.
It's called a transfer caboose
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CR_18065_IN_Porter.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
It's called a transfer caboose
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CR_18065_IN_Porter.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
All scrap metal now and shut down.
Shold be replaced with shays.
+Dr. Jak G. Cogsworth I am not sure the crews would agree!
Sorry, I'm a Railfan. Ether way steam has more power.
Not necessarily
Tractive effort. Steam is more powerful but diesels are more efficient. Can we keep it like that before we start a war?