Englewood Railway
Encyclopedia
Englewood Railway is a logging railroad
on northern Vancouver Island
, Canada
. Headquartered in Woss
, the line runs 90 km (56 mi) from Vernon Lake, through Woss, past Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park
to Beaver Cove
. It is the last operating logging railroad in North America.
area.
In 1944 the founders of Canadian Forest Products or Canfor acquired the timber interests and logging operations in the Nimpkish Valley, which later became known as the Englewood Logging Division. By 1948, the railway had been extended 38 kilometres south of Nimpkish. A new logging camp was established near Woss Lake which became the headquarters and maintenance centre for the railway.
A major forest fire in 1952 and the need to salvage the burned over timber led to a further extension of the railway and establishment of the Vernon Lake logging camp and reload facility. Meanwhile, the gap between the two rail lines at Nimpkish Lake continued to exist. Recognizing that the multiple handling of logs was inefficient and costly, in 1957 Canfor built the 37-kilometre rail link along the east side of the lake. Englewood's logging railway line had now reached its full extent, with a 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) main line between Beaver Cove and Vernon and reload sites at Vernon, Maquilla, Woss, and 'Camp A'. The maintenance shops were later relocated from Woss to Nimpkish.
The railroad was purchased by Western Forest Products
in 2006 and renamed Englewood Railway of Western Forest Products.
Over the past decade, all the old wood trestles and bridges have been replaced by steel bridges. Many of the bridges have planked decks to allow logging trucks to cross them. The railway formerly used untreated ties milled locally from yellow cedar, but is now making increasing use of steel ties.
In January 1995, a mudslide destroyed part of East Fork Bridge. It was repaired within 2 weeks, and no equipment was damaged or personnel injured.
Typically, one locomotive works the south end, handling the Vernon, Maquilla and Woss reloads, while two locomotives work the north end (since the grades are much steeper there) including Camp A reload and Beaver Cove log sort. The trains are handed off just north of Woss at a place called Siding 4.
Typically the north end operation has the two locomotives (running cab forward) pulling 35-45 loaded log cars, with a caboose at the end, downhill from Siding 4 to Beaver Cove. On the return trip the locomotives are in the lead, but the rest of the train is not turned (the caboose is immediately behind the locomotive).
locomotives, three of which have been rebuilt with 1500 hp Caterpillar engines (the fourth retains its original 1200 hp EMD engine and is kept in reserve) have been modified with dynamic brakes, larger fuel tanks (to handle a nearly 200 km (124.3 mi) round trip) and with triple headlights (middle, left, right) at both ends. In effect, they have been converted from switchers to mainline or "road" locomotives.
Steam locomotive
#113 was operational as part of a tourist railroad in the 1990s, but is now on static display at Woss Lake. Another steam locomotive, #112, has been cosmetically restored and is on static display in Beaver Cove.
Logs are loaded on a mixture of logging flatcar
s and skeleton cars (no deck). There are about 400 cars in the fleet.
Cabooses are small centre-cab designs with flat deck at both ends.
Three speeders dating from the 1930s are used for track maintenance.
Logging railroad
A logging railroad describes railroads, pole roads, tram roads, or similar infrastructure used to transport harvested timber from a logging site to a sawmill...
on northern Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Headquartered in Woss
Woss, British Columbia
Woss, British Columbia, commonly known as Woss Lake, is a small west coast village in the Nimpkish Valley, located south east of Port McNeill, and north of Campbell River on Highway 19, in northern Vancouver Island...
, the line runs 90 km (56 mi) from Vernon Lake, through Woss, past Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park
Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park
Nimpkish Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada on Vancouver Island. The M/V Nimpkish in the BC Ferries fleet is named after the lake.- See also :* Lower Nimpkish Provincial Park...
to Beaver Cove
Beaver Cove, British Columbia
Beaver Cove, British Columbia is a small coastal village on the east coast of northern Vancouver Island. It is south east of Port McNeill and up the inlet from Telegraph Cove. It is the northern terminus of the Englewood Railway....
. It is the last operating logging railroad in North America.
History
The demand for wood products during the First World War led to the construction of a pulp mill, sawmill, shingle mill and community at Beaver Cove by Beaver Cove Lumber & Pulp Limited in 1917, which in turn brought about large-scale railway logging operations in the lower Nimpkish Valley. The active logging company was Wood & English (owned by the Nimpkish Timber Company) which established a logging camp ('Camp 8', later 'Nimpkish') and logging railway at the head of Nimpkish Lake. The logs cut from this area were hauled by an isolated logging railway, dumped into Nimpkish Lake, then towed down the lake to a reload centre where they were lifted out of the water and finally loaded onto railway cars for a short haul on a second rail line to Beaver Cove. The mill complex at Beaver Cove had a relatively short life, but in 1925 Wood & English built another sawmill across the bay from the pulp mill, and renamed the community Englewood--a combination of the names Wood and English. That mill ceased operation in 1941 and few signs remain of the former mills and community. After this date all logs were dumped in the Beaver Cove booming grounds for towing to mills in the VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
area.
In 1944 the founders of Canadian Forest Products or Canfor acquired the timber interests and logging operations in the Nimpkish Valley, which later became known as the Englewood Logging Division. By 1948, the railway had been extended 38 kilometres south of Nimpkish. A new logging camp was established near Woss Lake which became the headquarters and maintenance centre for the railway.
A major forest fire in 1952 and the need to salvage the burned over timber led to a further extension of the railway and establishment of the Vernon Lake logging camp and reload facility. Meanwhile, the gap between the two rail lines at Nimpkish Lake continued to exist. Recognizing that the multiple handling of logs was inefficient and costly, in 1957 Canfor built the 37-kilometre rail link along the east side of the lake. Englewood's logging railway line had now reached its full extent, with a 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) main line between Beaver Cove and Vernon and reload sites at Vernon, Maquilla, Woss, and 'Camp A'. The maintenance shops were later relocated from Woss to Nimpkish.
The railroad was purchased by Western Forest Products
Western Forest Products
Western Forest Products Inc. is a Canadian lumber company based in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.-History:Doman Singh bought a sawmill near Duncan in 1905...
in 2006 and renamed Englewood Railway of Western Forest Products.
Over the past decade, all the old wood trestles and bridges have been replaced by steel bridges. Many of the bridges have planked decks to allow logging trucks to cross them. The railway formerly used untreated ties milled locally from yellow cedar, but is now making increasing use of steel ties.
In January 1995, a mudslide destroyed part of East Fork Bridge. It was repaired within 2 weeks, and no equipment was damaged or personnel injured.
Operation
Logs are brought from the hills where they're cut to rail loading points at Vernon, Maquilla, Woss and 'Camp A' via logging trucks, then loaded onto rail cars. About 22,000 carloads are hauled per year, in 2-3 trains per day, though with the most recent economic downturn, less than half that number are now being handled.Typically, one locomotive works the south end, handling the Vernon, Maquilla and Woss reloads, while two locomotives work the north end (since the grades are much steeper there) including Camp A reload and Beaver Cove log sort. The trains are handed off just north of Woss at a place called Siding 4.
Typically the north end operation has the two locomotives (running cab forward) pulling 35-45 loaded log cars, with a caboose at the end, downhill from Siding 4 to Beaver Cove. On the return trip the locomotives are in the lead, but the rest of the train is not turned (the caboose is immediately behind the locomotive).
Equipment
Four EMD SW1200EMD SW1200
An EMD SW1200 is a diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and May 1966. Power was provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine which generated 1200 horsepower...
locomotives, three of which have been rebuilt with 1500 hp Caterpillar engines (the fourth retains its original 1200 hp EMD engine and is kept in reserve) have been modified with dynamic brakes, larger fuel tanks (to handle a nearly 200 km (124.3 mi) round trip) and with triple headlights (middle, left, right) at both ends. In effect, they have been converted from switchers to mainline or "road" locomotives.
Steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
#113 was operational as part of a tourist railroad in the 1990s, but is now on static display at Woss Lake. Another steam locomotive, #112, has been cosmetically restored and is on static display in Beaver Cove.
Logs are loaded on a mixture of logging flatcar
Flatcar
A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...
s and skeleton cars (no deck). There are about 400 cars in the fleet.
Cabooses are small centre-cab designs with flat deck at both ends.
Three speeders dating from the 1930s are used for track maintenance.