The day before I took my July 14th ride on the Whistler Mountaineer up in British Columbia, I read a local newspaper front page article with a headline that said, “MP calls for tougher rail regulations.” Appearing in the North Shore News which serves the North and West Vancouver area, the newspaper article talked about a Member of Parliament (roughly analogous to a U.S. Congressman) who was justifiably upset by a train derailment earlier in the year near Squamish that dumped about 10,000 gallons of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River, killing a half million fish and creating an environmental nightmare. My train was going right up that line!
However, as I read the article, I quickly discovered the accident was the result of improper train operation, not the failure of the track. In fact, there are three entities involved here. The first is BC Rail who is leasing its operations to Canadian National, the second entity in all of this. The third is Mountaineer, a company that operates excursion rail services around Canada. It is important to understand the role of each, and model railroading helps us to better grasp the situation.
Numbers 8019 and 8018 tiptoe past with the Whistler Mountaineer as they cross the Capilano River Bridge that marks the dividing line between West and North Vancouver. One of this handsome pair would be enough, but Mountaineer is thorough and provides this eight-car train with two.
However, as I read the article, I quickly discovered the accident was the result of improper train operation, not the failure of the track. In fact, there are three entities involved here. The first is BC Rail who is leasing its operations to Canadian National, the second entity in all of this. The third is Mountaineer, a company that operates excursion rail services around Canada. It is important to understand the role of each, and model railroading helps us to better grasp the situation.
First of all, BC Rail built the track and has created a line with welded rail on steel and concrete ties that is known for its uncommon smoothness. Here in the United States, it would be rated for 286,000-pound cars, though in Canada there is no FRA and so such distinctions don’t really exist. Still, BC Rail constructed this line with a great deal of care and pride, and CN also maintains pretty good track, especially when it starts with good stuff, which is the case here.
Second, the problem with the derailment stems from a complication that started when many of the train crews of BC Rail chose to not work for CN and so new crews had to be hired and trained. The article states that MP Don Bell said, “Ever since BC Rail was sold off to CN in 2004, there have been questions about the company’s safety practices in British Columbia.” Apparently this derailment was caused when distributed power locomotives back in the train pulled in the opposite direction of the lead locos. Ooops.
That leads us to the third entity in all of this, the Mountaineer Company. If you want a definition of a railroading organization devoted to doing things right and keeping everything top shelf, that would be Mountaineer. When CN got out of the passenger business, a large number of old CN passenger cars languished, but Mountaineer has taken the best of them, refurbished and rebuilt them to top standards.
I was in two different cars and found the upholstery to be well done and in excellent repair, the coaches themselves were spotlessly clean, everything worked properly, and the cars rode very well. The windows were clear and free from the scouring I’ve seen on so many restored passenger cars. I shot many photos right through the glass. I also shot some from the vestibule and didn’t hear a single wheel with a flat spot. Nothing spoils a coach ride quite like a wheel with a flat spot banging endlessly the entire time.
My wife, granddaughter, and I enjoyed the two On-board Attendants, Sonia and Jessica. Not only did they give clear and fun tour guide monologs, they also served soft drinks and our meals. They answered questions and were just as nice as could be. They noted they had a hi-railer running ahead of the train to check for rocks on the track or any other problems along the way.
The trains are pulled by a pair of GP40 locomotives that are like the other rolling stock owned by Mountaineer, nicely painted and very clean. As they rolled by on another day when I was taking photos from beside the track, it was obvious they were running very well. Frankly, for track as well built as this, these two locomotives and their eight passenger cars presented no challenge at all.
We enjoyed our train ride thoroughly and were completely in awe of the gorgeous scenery through which we passed. We first rode through the multimillion-dollar mansions of West Vancouver, slipped past Horseshoe Bay, and then wound up into the mountains, finally ending up at Whistler. Squamish and Whistler will be the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics and should prove to be just right for the task.
The next day, I got to visit some model railroads in the Vancouver area. The first layout I saw was the N-scale masterpiece of Eugene and Dianne Daly who have a European theme. Next came one by Carl Sparks, a fascinating logging layout complete with a winched section featuring a 38 percent grade! We ended up at my old friend John Maughan’s fine layout and experienced some rebuilt locomotives running on his track.
These three model railroad layouts have something in common with the Vancouver to Whistler line: all of it is well laid and perfectly maintained. Craftsmen are at work, and it shows. Scale doesn’t matter so much as attitude. The second issue is operation. Each man knew precisely how to run his own track. BC Rail knew how to run their track and had an enviable record up to Whistler. Mountaineer knows how to run that track, and while this is only their second year, I can vision them going a good long time with perfect safety.
That leaves us with CN. Really, all they need to do is go visit some of the top-notch model railroaders and learn from them. Doing it right is more important than doing it cheap.
If you are interested in catching the Whistler Mountaineer or would like more information, you can find them online at:
www.WhistlerMountaineer.com
or call 888-687-7245.