CN Rail Newfoundland track removal 1988 - 89. Bonus rare snow plow trains on Gaff Topsails, 1980's
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- čas přidán 22. 12. 2020
- Video showing the beginning of track removal in Newfoundland during 1988 to1989 plus bonus footage of a converted CN - TerraTransport self propelled crane turned into a snow blower on the Gaff Topsails, taken around winter 1987. Filmed by a CN employee, Mr. Junior Cumby of Howley. Uploaded for historical purposes only.
Its still a shame the Newfoundland railway was allowed to be dismantled.
I had to watch this twice. The painful rail lifting hurt, but I am glad it was documented. And listening to the diesels made me very happy. The snow clearing operations were absolutely amazing, especially the flanger car and crane with the snowblower. And the top of the Gaff shot was incredible. I can’t thank you enough for posting this. Thank You from J.P. Coady.
Historical videos such as this are very much appreciated by amateur historians, such as myself. Thanks for sharing. ❤I subscribed
Back when newfoundland actually hired newfoundlanders to do their provinces big infrastructure work. Great footage.
_This is where real men cried._
You said it brother.
It’s kinda disturbing how those men are so cheery while they’re ripping up a railway
Part of the gradual dismantling of Newfoundland...painful to watch
Only added a thumbs up to show that I watched this sad video!
The video was shot by Mr. Junior Cumby of Howley, who worked with the company. Also from Howley and introduced in the video are Mr. Walter Barrett, Mr. Jerry Kelly, Mr. Frank Pearce, Mr. Danny Saunders, Mr. Ron Kelly.
Thanks for the info. This was sent to me several years ago on a CD-Rom along with other railway video's from Canada. I've uploaded a few films mostly CN company films and some News footage plus a few who I have no idea who took them
What line was this, and where did it run between?
The line shown in the video was in central Newfoundland at a place called the Gaff Topsails. The entire main line ran from St. John's on the east coat to Port aux Basque on the west covering 906 miles. It was a narrow gauge line of 3ft 6" . Canadian National took over the railway on Newfoundland in 1949, when Newfoundland joined Canada, and ran it until 1988 when they shut it down.
So why was the rail removed
Probably for the same reason so many other old rail lines were torn up. The scrap value for the rails and whatever else was greater than the cost of removing them.
It’s too bad no long sections could have been saved for a tourist railroad. There’s one short stretch (1.6 miles) in Avondale used for speeder rides, and the Trinity Loop was another one but it’s fallen greatly into disrepair.
iirc it was because of the railroad being not as popular as it was in the say, 20s, its sad
Well, it is good to see them all laughing and joking while destroying something so valuable. Such a shame..... I am sure it will be regretted eventually.... The rails are still shiny ffs, doesn't even look like a disused railway yet :(
i believe they were taken out due to the fact that trucks were dominating the means of transporting goods in the area
yep@@NewBrunswickRailfanner