NBEC 1821

In my recent survey, someone posted they liked MLW locomotives and would like to see more. For those who don't know, MLW was the Montreal Locomotive Works, originally a subsidiary of the American Alco company and later owned by Bombardier. Alco/MLW engines are revered by many railfans for the smoke they produced as well as a certain sound the diesel engines made.

My personal exposure to MLW engines comes from two main sources: the former New Brunswick East Coast Railway's extensive roster of MLW locomotives and the Salem and Hillsborough Railroad's pair of MLW locomotives.

I've decided to feature NBEC 1821 in this post, as it was the NBEC RS-18 locomotive I happened to see the most, and also one of the two NBEC locomotives I saw first.

I first saw NBEC 1821 on July 5, 1999 in Miramichi (Chatham) paired up with NBEC 1866. I took some truly bad photos of the pair of them at sunset.

Well before I learned how to pan

These were the among the very first railfan photos I ever took. The very first ones I took were on May 3, 1999 I believe.

The best of the lot

If you're familiar with the area, you can see that the latter photo shows them crossing Water Street in Chatham in front of the Lafarge facility.

I didn't see 1821 again until January 9, 2001 when she was paired up with 1840 and 1864 for local switching. By then I think my film camera was broken so I really had nothing to photograph with.

The next photo I have of NBEC 1821 dates from July 22, 2003 when I was using the 1 megapixel digital camera in my Sony DCR-TRV25 video camera. I still hadn't learned to stand on the sun side of the train.

I'll take a moment to explain what type of locomotive NBEC 1821 was. MLW produced a series of locomotives designated RS-18 (Road Switcher 1800 horsepower). It was essentially the Canadian version of the Alco RS-11. CN bought the vast majority of the RS-18s (225) and ran them long-hood forward, while CP bought 72 and ran them short-hood forward. The PG and E (which became BC Rail) bought 29 and various resource railways bought a few each. All of these were delivered with high short hoods like CP 8743 here (Greg Brewer slide):

CP 8743 in Fredericton, slide by Greg Brewer

NBEC 1821 was built as CP 8741 in April 1957. It soldiered on for years until 1984 when it was rebuilt, the short hood was cut down, and it was renumbered to CP 1821. It continued in service on CP until the New Brunswick East Coast Railway bought it in April 1998.

OK, moving on. My next photo of NBEC 1821 was from October 6, 2003 in the Miramichi yard. 1821 was paired up with NBEC 1849 and was nicely parked in the sun.

Still only a 1 megapixel photo

I next photographed it down at the port of Miramichi on January 8, 2004, doing some switching with leading engine NBEC 1814.

Note the long string of BCOL and CN boxcars. This was after the CN-BC Rail deal was announced...

Later that month I photographed it and 1814 in the Miramichi yard on January 28, 2004. I was taking some detail photos, I guess.

Note the class lights above the number boards, the bell mounted right in the middle, the red safety stripes (some of NBEC's engines had black stripes) and the "NBEC" painted over the CP in "CP Rail".

On February 18, 2004 she was paired up with NBEC 1867 as yard power in Miramichi. The yard power tended to change fairly frequently as they went back to Campbellton for servicing and reassignment. The only constant seemed to be that black NBEC 1857 stayed close to Campbellton most of the time.

Hadn't really mastered night photography...

My next photograph of NBEC 1821 was taken on March 29, 2006 and here I have a different camera! The Fuji FinePix A210 was/is a 3 megapixel camera and takes decent photos as long as nothing is moving.. kind of like today's smartphone cameras.

So much better quality

Here 1821 was coupled up to derelict NBEC 4219 and 4243, locomotives used for parts. They were apparently moved to Miramichi for final scrapping and languished in the back of the yard for months before finally meeting their doom.

Next we fast forward to May 28, 2007 with NBEC 1821 at the head of an empty ore train in Bathurst, NB. You'll note yard power NBEC 1845 to the left and a string of blue ore cars to the right.

Finally, NOT Miramichi!

By this time I was using my Canon S3.

Here's a video from 2007 featuring three RS-18s including 1821 in Bathurst, pushing some ore cars back across Golf Road.

A few months later I was photographing the loaded ore train in Bathurst from the St. Anne Street overpass on September 14, 2007.

Ready to roll!

I took video of this train leaving. THIS is why people love Alcos... that chugging noise.

I chased this train... I caught it on a curve at Madran on its way to the smelter in Belledune.

A little pop of fall colours..

My next photo of NBEC 1821 was at Belledune on February 21, 2008.. apparently it was cold as there is some fog on the lens.

Note the black box behind the cab. This is new and I believe NBEC 1821 was one of the engines to get retrofitted with smart start but I could be wrong. 1821 was behind two SD40 engines on the main line train. For some reason I was back to using the Fuji camera on this trip so the resolution is not as good.

I saw 1821 again the next day (February 22) in Bathurst by the station.

I didn't know it but NBEC 1821 had less than a year of operation before she would no longer grace these rails. In fact, I would see it only for three more months.

Here's a Bathurst video from the spring of 2008 featuring NBEC 1821 and 1819.

Here it was on May 26, 2008, the last time I saw it. It was on the empty ore train, heading out of Bathurst toward Brunswick Mines.

But 1821's story doesn't end there. My friend David Morris photographed it in Gaspe meeting the Chaleur on December 2008, after CN bought the NBEC and its sister railways back.

Photo by David Morris

Michel Boudreau caught it in Bathurst, NB on February 7, 2009, paired up with a CN GP40, presumably on the ore train.

Photo by Michel Boudreau

But that still isn't the end of 1821.

It was purchased by the railroad of Le Massif de Charlevoix (together with NBEC 1868) and pulls the tourist train in Quebec.

Still operating, after 57 years. Not too shabby.

Growing Opposition to Northern New Brunswick Rail Plan

Following last week's announcement that the provincial government would invest in most of the northern New Brunswick CN track, but leave the Bathurst-Miramichi segment out, opposition is growing to the government's plan.

Members of Parliament Yvon Godin (NDP, Acadie-Bathurst) and Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal, Beasejour) are both opposed to the government plan, according to this CBC article. The other eight MPs, coincidentally all Conservatives, have not said anything on this issue that I am aware of. I'm especially curious what Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, MP for Miramichi, has to say on the matter, and I have emailed her to ask.

Some accuse VIA Rail of "deliberately attempting to discourage ridership". Ted Bartlett, acting president of Transport Action Atlantic says that VIA's decision to cut the Ocean back to three trips/week and VIA's lack of marketing have led to reduced ridership (almost precisely half what they were prior to the cut, according to some accounts), and the recent CN-New Brunswick announcement "has presented VIA with a golden opportunity to get out of a service that they really don't want to operate."

Transport Action Atlantic's report "Revitalizing New Brunswick's Rail Sector" was released on December 30, 2013 and recommends a number of key points:

• Explore options to retain CN's Newcastle subdivision;
• Restore the Ocean to daily operation and establish VIA as a full Crown corporation with stable funding;
• Revive Industrial Rail Services in Moncton.

CN has said that it would cost $10 million to restore the missing segment from Bathurst to Miramichi. A "spokesperson from Economic Development" (presumably the New Brunswick government) was quoted as saying it would cost $50 million to reroute the Ocean over the Edmundston-Moncton line. The cost to VIA was said to include the cost of buying land, building at least 5 stations, and installing signals. That cost sounds high to me but it would have to be studied and probably is being studied by VIA Rail.

I understand that VIA Rail does not have $10 million to spend on the Bathurst-Miramichi segment. Their budget has been squeezed by the federal government for the past few years and extra cash cannot be found.

I believe the federal government needs to step in and provide this capital cost to upgrade the line and retain service, just as they have stepped in to join provincial governments for a rail underpass in Winnipeg ($22.2m), rail widening in the Greater Toronto Area ($8.3m), port upgrades at Belledune ($26.4m, jeopardized by the soon to be very long rail connection to the rest of the world), rail upgrades for NB Southern ($9m), and on and on... the federal government needs to come to the table.

The Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt (Conservative, Halton), has been ducking this challenge. She spoke on February 3 to the Canadian Club of Ottawa as the Minister, and her notes contain not one word about VIA Rail. When asked by MP Bruce Hyer (Green, Thunder Bay-Superior North) about the future of passenger rail in New Brunswick and Sault Ste. Marie (also in jeopardy), she said, "We are monitoring closely. We are working with VIA Rail and with everybody who has an interest in these lines to get to the right place. That said, it is incredibly important to note that VIA Rail is an arm's-length corporation that makes its own business decisions."

With respect to the honourable minister, at the end of the day, VIA Rail answers to the federal government. They might be at arm's length but it is the federal government's arm that holds them accountable.



Time to step up. Write your Member of Parliament. Contact the Minister of Transportation. Get involved and make some noise, or this rail line will be gone forever.

NB Government Invests in MOST of Northern New Brunswick Rail Line

The CBC is reporting that the New Brunswick government has agreed to give CN up to $25 million to upgrade and maintain most of its rail infrastructure in northern New Brunswick, with a matching investment by CN. This is a most puzzling announcement.

You may recall that in August 2012 CN applied to abandon the section of track from Catamount (the junction with the CN Napadogan subdivision) to Irvco (in Belledune), citing poor economics. This would have resulted in no rail service to Bathurst, Miramichi and Rogersville. CN would have retained the section from Irvco through Campbellton and into Quebec.

Today's announcement shortens the amount of track to be abandoned, but does not eliminate it. The entire Campbellton to Catamount track is to be upgraded and retained, with the exception of the section from Nepisiguit Junction to Nelson Junction just south of Miramichi which is to be offered for sale in February.

CN's own maps show it best. These photos were taken by Marc Genuist of CBC and kindly sent to me.

The double blue line areas are to be retained and upgraded. Both the southern and northern portions will have ties and ballast replaced and bridges remediated as required. The Loggieville spur (shown in the inset and below) will also have turnouts remediated and will have a "new Moncton connection". I'm told this is an east leg to make a wye at Nelson Junction so trains to/from Moncton don't have to cross the Miramichi, as they currently do.

So... what does this mean?

VIA Rail's Ocean will not be able to run through northern New Brunswick any more. Understandably, local mayors and residents are very upset.


The agreement also means that existing shippers will continue to have rail service. To my knowledge, these are the major shippers on the northern portion of the line and their locations. Note that not all of them may be active rail shippers at this time.

• AV Cell, Atholville
• Irving Oil Limited, Campbellton
• Chaleur Sawmills, Belledune
• Xstrata Smelter, Belledune, Irvco spur
• Port of Belledune, Irvco spur
• NB Power Generating Station, Belledune, Irvco spur
• Superior Propane, Beresford
• Holcim cement, Nepisiguit Junction
• Fornebu Lumber, outside Bathurst, near Nepisiguit Junction

What this also means is that traffic from northern New Brunswick will have to go all the way across Quebec before it rejoins the CN main line at Rivière-du-Loup. Effectively northern New Brunswick would be at the end of a long, long spur. This does not bode well for the future of rail freight in New Brunswick.

There are no shippers between Nepisiguit Junction and Miramichi, nor have there been for quite some time.

On the southern portion of the line, these are the only two major shippers that I am aware of.

• Arbec, Miramichi, Loggieville spur
• Ultramar, Miramichi, Loggieville spur

CN lifted the Miramichi port spur last year, which removed Miramichi Lumber Products as a potential shipper.

The province's press release says that "CN, the province and local businesses will continue to work together to increase freight traffic in future years, with benefits to be shared between the two partners". I don't know what the terms of the sharing would be. Would CN repay some of the investment?

The federal government was very noticeable in their absence from the announcement.

More to come.

Other coverage:

• CTV News video (they're in Chatham!)
• CTV News Article
• CBC article
• NB Government Press Release
• CN Press Release

Miramichi Port Spur Torn Up

In the latest of the "death of a thousand cuts" affecting rail service in northern New Brunswick, CN started removing the rail leading to the port of Miramichi on Wednesday. This prompted Hal Raper, chief financial officer of Miramichi Lumber Products, to complain to CN (and the CBC) that they had plans to ship wood chips and lumber to Saint John starting this spring. CN says the line had laid dormant for seven years and they needed the rails elsewhere.

Mr. Raper said they planned on shipping about 700 cars/year. CN says they will put the rails back if there is sufficient business to justify it.

Miramichi Lumber Products was known as Newcastle Lumber until a few years ago, when the family-owned business went into receivership. It is back in operation with a new name and new equipment.

I don't think the rails will ever go back. The northern line is in dire danger since CN filed for abandonment in August last year and nothing has come up since then to indicate they will change their minds. There is simply not enough traffic to justify CN making the investment to repair the line's many faults. The various levels of government, private business, and community leaders need to work together to get more industries using the rails to make the business case for retaining the line. Organizations like this are good but there needs to be more... much more.



I remember seeing New Brunswick East Coast Railway trains coming down to the port many times to spot boxcars, and even to switch the Irving propane facility there when it still had rail service. I have a note that I saw an SD40 / C-424 combination coming away from the port on February 13, 2001 but in general I only saw RS-18s there. Of course, the above photo is an exception as the second unit after NBEC 1867 is NBEC 4230.

In January 2004 it was a pair of RS-18s (NBEC 1814 and 1821) working the port. Note the BC Rail boxcars. There was a shift around this time from a dog's breakfast of boxcar roadmarks to more uniform CN and BC Rail boxcars in northern New Brunswick.


The last time I saw a train at the Port was in the evening of July 18, 2006 when NBEC 1854 and NBEC 1816 were working. Clearly this was shortly before the end of rail service if CN says the line has not had customers in seven years.


Notice how my camera quality improves with each picture! ;)

CN Moves to Abandon Most of Newcastle Subdivision

CN detouring past the now closed UPM-Kymmene mill in Miramichi, May 2008.

CN has begun to abandon 139 miles of the Newcastle subdivision in New Brunswick. This stretch of track runs from Catamount (where it joins the CN main line at Pacific Junction) to Irvco (at Belledune). This track includes the communities of Bathurst, Miramichi and Rogersville, as well as the Nepisiguit Subdivision serving the Brunswick Mines.

CN purchased the Newcastle subdivision when they acquired the assets of the Quebec Railway Corporation in November 2008, including the New Brunswick East Coast Railway that operated this portion of track. At the time, many wondered why CN would be interested in a line that did not seem to have any growth potential. Now it seems CN is wondering the same thing.

CN was talking about abandoning this track about a year ago. Now the news articles say CN is looking for $50 million to maintain service. I assume this is deferred maintenance on the track.

The current shippers on the affected portion of the line include the Brunswick Mines (slated to close soon), Ultramar in Newcastle, the lumber mill on the Nepisiguit subdivision, and probably a few small shippers. The CBC article says CN has 12-15 customers on the line.

Of course, VIA Rail would be affected, since they run over this line. VIA has made some hints recently that they could consider running over the Edmundston-Moncton CN line instead. Obviously they had prior knowledge of this announcement.

Opinion: Obviously I think this would be a tremendous loss for the province and the area. Rail lines provide a vital link in the transportation infrastructure of this country and once they are gone, they don't come back. Even if there is insufficient traffic at the moment to sustain the line, it could come back and without rails it would have to travel on our roads.

The provincial government has already stated it will not purchase the line, but is willing to "work with" other parties. I know the province is already deeply in debt, and it has never supported railways in the province in any meaningful way, other than a meager contribution to NB Southern's maintenance in 2009. Colour me bitter but nobody should expect any significant help from the provincial government, even though they should help out.

The only possibility of saving this line, as far as I can see, is for someone like J.D. Irving to step in and purchase it. From afar, I do not see a good business case for them to purchase the line but they were able to make a go of the old CP lines, so there may be efficiencies they can bring that CN cannot.

Let's cross our fingers and hope for some solution to retain the rails.

Alco Memories

I miss those NBEC MLW / Alco units.

Here's train 591 (the Dalhousie turn) with NBEC 1813 and 1857, in the evening of October 6, 2003.


A little further south, NBEC 1845 brought a short woodchip train from the Nepisiguit Subdivision into Bathurst on May 28, 2007.


One more... with a different Alco, a C-424. NBEC 4230 and RS-18 NBEC 1840 were en route from the port in Miramichi to the yard on September 20, 2002. This was "back in the day" when the C-424s were on yard duty in Miramichi.

Photos of Spring 2009's Last Stainless Ocean

David Morris chased the "last" stainless steel Ocean from Oxford Junction to Miramichi on April 29. I say "last" because it is the last of the season. VIA Rail has traditionally taken one Renaissance trainset out of service at a time during the winter, replacing it with the HEP stainless steel cars. Perhaps this really was the last stainless steel Ocean? We'll see.

Here it is at Oxford Junction, NS. The curving track to the left is the remainder of what used to be a wye track.


The next shot is at what David calls the "Bull Barn" near Memramcook, NB.


Finally, a shot in Miramichi as the Ocean approaches the station.


The consist of the train was engines 6435, 6440, baggage car 8621, coaches 8109 and 8140, Skyline 8503, diner LOUISE, and Chateau sleepers IBERVILLE, CADILLAC, LASALLE, and DOLLARD.

VIA 15 Friday

David Morris and I are in Tide Head tonight, after a chase of VIA 15 from Rogersville to Campbellton in the rain.

We arrived in Rogersville with plenty of time. I was resolved not to stupidly watch the train go by like last time, so we were ready when the train rocketed past at 18:36 with VIA 6415 and 6414.


We gave chase to Miramichi. The rain was persistent but so were we! We arrived at Miramichi ahead of the train and shot him coming into the main yard at 19:11.


CN 5346 and 5299 were in the yard.


After a short stop, VIA 15 was on the road again.


6415's headlight was in sight when we passed over the track on highway 11 just coming into Bathurst, and we decided to get him at Jacquet River next. It was getting dark but I think the video will turn out OK. The train stopped there to drop someone off, then headed out.

We gave chase and arrived at Campbellton about 15 minutes before they did. We stood at the platform to give the "rollby inspection" but didn't take any shots in the dark and rain.

The word is that VIA 14 was delayed about 3 hours leaving Montreal, so we plan to go to Amqui tomorrow to shoot him there before following him to Matapedia. From there we plan to chase the Chaleur as far as it goes. David expects they will turn at New Carlisle rather than go the full distance to Gaspe. Hopefully the rain will not be too bad!

Last VIA Stainless For The Winter

This one really was the last one for this spring, despite my previous post on the matter. David Morris chased it from Oxford Junction to Miramichi on Wednesday April 29. Here are a few of his photos.

First, Oxford Junction. Note the track curving off to the left, the former wye.


Next, Amherst.


And finally Miramichi, with failing light.


The consist was engines 6435 and 6440, baggage car 8621, coaches 8109 and 8140, Skyline 8503, diner LOUISE, and Chateau cars IBERVILLE, CADILLAC, LASALLE, and DOLLARD.

Thursday, Continued

After my luck at finding CFMG 6909 and 6910, I still had a few trains to see on Thursday.

In Bathurst, CN 5260 and 5251 were at the head of a longish ore train in front of the VIA station at 17:20. I didn't stick around to see them leave.


I went to Miramichi with the intention of seeing VIA 15 before heading home. They are due in Miramichi at 18:53. I thought of going to the south end of one of the bridges to reprise this shot, but the access road was full of snow. I decided to shoot them on the bridge by the former UPM facility.

To my surprise, I heard chatter on the scanner between a CN freight and the VIA train. It turns out that the CN Moncton-Miramichi freight (CN 569) was running ahead of the Ocean. The RTC was giving VIA short sections of track to occupy, to keep them moving but not run into the back of CN 569.

To make a long story short, CN Work 5343 crossed the bridge at 19:03 with 5241 trailing.

They had an interesting train behind them. There were a lot of gondolas, empty gypsum cars, and a long string of empty container platforms. 49 cars in total.


Hot on the heels of CN 569 came VIA 15 at 19:12 with 6434 and 6440 leading another Renaissance train.

I elected to shoot stills because I was standing on the highway bridge, and the noise and vibration from passing cars and trucks would have ruined the video. The lighting was great there, as you can see.


That was enough for me, and I headed home, satisfied.

The Last of the SD40s

I had a quick trip up north yesterday, my first in a long time. I was very fortunate this trip and my timing was good.

I left Fredericton later than I had hoped, so I figured I would have no chance of seeing VIA 14, the Ocean, in Miramichi. As I passed the VIA station after 11 AM, I was surprised to see a lot of cars there. I stopped and asked the agent, and he said the Ocean was due in a few minutes. I went down the line a bit and they rolled past at 11:27 under an overcast sky, with 6449 and 6416 pulling a Renaissance set.


There was no talk of the southbound mainline freight on the scanner around Bathurst, so I continued on. As I approached Belledune, I heard some local switching chatter so I looked for them at Chaleur Lumber. Sure enough, there were CFMG 6910 and 6909 pulling out of the spur.


They coupled on to the rest of the train, then spent some time trying to contact the RTC. They finally got through and went on their way at 13:21. They had those two old warhorses wide open when they went past.


I saw two CN SD40s switching a train in Belledune but I was too far away to get any numbers.

Later, I managed to find the northbound CN mainline freight at Beresford at 17:00 with 6909 leading this time. I would guess from the time spread that they did not go to Miramichi.


I understand this may have been the last run of the last NBEC / CFMG SD40s on the line. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to see them.

I'll post about the rest of my sightings later.

Alco Fever

I miss the MLW units. I miss the smoke and noise they make. Just to remind myself of them, I uploaded a couple of videos of NBEC RS-18s working in Miramichi.

Here are NBEC 1854 and 1819 working in Miramichi on August 5, 2004. First they push a centerbeam flat into the port area, then they run light through the yard.


This one has NBEC 1866 and 1867 smokin' it up in the Miramichi yard on October 7, 2004.

CN Detour Update

CN 121 went through Bathurst at 18:10. David Chiasson shot it at Beresford at 18:22 with CN 5779, 8810, xx55 and what looks like an IC unit. Thanks to David and to Michel Boudreau for the reports.


CN 305 with 2635 and 5647 and 6000 feet probably went through Miramichi around 18:30 - thanks to Luc Doiron.

Steam on the Miramichi

Lorraine Glazier wrote a nice article in the Miramichi Leader about trains in the Miramichi area. It's mostly about the construction of the ICR and the steam era. read the article

UPM Facility to be Sold?

The Miramichi Leader is reporting that a Fredericton-based company, Arcadia EcoEnergies, is proposing to use the defunct UPM-Kymmene mill in Miramichi to produce biodiesel and Jet-B fuel. They would use biomass like woodchips in a reactor to produce the fuel. If it is successful, this would mean a great deal of traffic for NBEC. Keep an eye on it! Link to article

VIA Crossing the Miramichi

Here's my video of VIA 15 crossing the Miramichi River from Monday. VIA 6400 leads the train and Prince Albert Park brings up the rear.

Two Oceans, One Day

I had a quick trip up north today. I saw CFMG 6902 at rest in Miramichi with a bunch of 86' boxcars around the yard.

VIA 14

I heard VIA 614 was late, so I elected to wait a few minutes outside Bathurst for it to leave. I was rewarded by this sight of the Telus unit, even with its peeling paint.

VIA 6429 "Telus" leading VIA 14 out of Bathurst, New Brunswick

ASSINIBOINE PARK was on the tail end of the train, with a Renaissance consist.

"Assiniboine Park" on the tail end of the VIA Rail "Ocean"

Here's the video!

Ore Train

Later, I arrived in Bathurst just as the NBEC ore train returned from Belledune. NBEC 1819 and 1851 powered a short train.

NBEC 1819 in Bathurst, New Brunswick

VIA 15

I beat it to Miramichi to catch VIA 15. Fortunately they were late, so I had time to go to the river bridge to get this shot. Railpictures liked it - my first accepted photo of 2008.

Prince Albert Park was on the tail end of this Ocean.

Here's the video for VIA 6400!


PS - Sadly, VIA 6400 lasted less than two years after this photo was taken. It derailed in Quebec in February 2010 and was written off.

See Also

• 404 on 4/04 (VIA 6429)
• Rainy Day Meet (VIA 6400)
• Three Oceans, One Weekend (VIA 6400)