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Starting at the end of rail at 39.4, we see the spur and the Alberni Pacific Saw mill. This track leads along Harbour road for most of the journey. I can't tell where the rails went inside the mill though. The track follows Harbour road to the train station. The train station is used by the Alberni Pacific tourist railway. They used to use this station, but they haven't run since the 2018 tourist season. Mainly due to the fact the rail is in terrible condition and there isn't enough money in the budget to repair the track. There is evidence of work, I assume done by the East End Track Gang. They work to keep the Port Alberni Sub in working condition. More on that later.
The train station is being renovated. I assume that thats where most of the funds are going.
Then there's the train yard. It was last used by the E & N in 2001 for long freight trains that serve the mills. Now a days, it hosts some of the Alberni Pacific Railway's junk. Back in the day, this yard had loads of paper box cars, tank cars of limestone slurry and hopper cars of chemicals.
Then there is the engine house, used solely by the Alberni Pacific. That hosts there equipment and maintenance stuff. They have their RS-3, tourist coaches and a caboose in there.
The red tank car and boxcar with windows were used to spray water onto the tracks to prevent fires. ironically, the boxcar was burnt out. Those were used when the Alberni Pacific tourist trains ran, if I recall correctly.
Those 2 log cars are odd. Most of the equipment in the yard have friction barring trucks (I think that's what they are called). Class one railways won't move those. But the log cars don't have them. They have the new modern trucks. Also, Wellcox yard has a bunch of old cars, They use them as a buffer so locomotives don't have to go onto the barges. Why they got left behind, I don't know.
Then comes the wye, I didn't walk the wye because it hasn't been used, probably since 2001 when the E & N ran revenue service here. I don't think the wye track is even long enough for more than one locomotive. There is a wooden trestle over the Dry Creek. The walkway has a massive hole in it. I didn't fall in it, but I thought of Marv in Home Alone 2.
A portion of the wye is gated. I guess Catalyst doesn't like guests, even though there driveway sees a truck every 5 minutes, log trucks, box trucks and chemical trucks. The home track is hidden behind these gates.
Then there is the Catalyst mill. On the south-westish side, there is a spur that you can only see from google maps satellite. I assume this is where the hopper cars and tank car go. There is a spur by the 7 circular silos where I assume the hoppers go. Then the spur continues north and then loops around the mill and then heads almost due west. Look towards the north end of the mill. There are 2 spurs where I assume the limestone slurry is unloaded. Then on the north-eastish side of the plant, near the Stamp avenue crossing, there is the boxcar loading for finished paper. That spur is more visible although most switches inside the plant have been paved over.
Then on the opposite side of Stamp avenue, there is a siding. There used to be a train crane on that. I don't know if it was used as storage or anything. I do know that the grade on this line is steep enough that freight trains were cut in half. Part one is taken to the summit spur and then they return to this siding (I guess) and take the next half to the summit spur. They then continue to Parksville junction and then off to Wellcox yard in Nanaimo.
Now the reason why the E & N stopped running here, even though the mills have enough traffic to probably justify profitable freight trains service. In the 70s, The E & N's Port Alberni sub (~40 miles long, runs from Parksville to Port Alberni) needed trestles replaced. So they did, some trestles were filled in with dirt and rock. Some were rebuild WITH UNTREATED WOOD! Then in 2001, the trestles were in desperate need to be replace. The E & N and Catalyst couldn't cough up the money to save the line. Catalyst now receives it's products via truck. Limestone slurry is unloaded from tank cars and trucked to Port Alberni. Ever since, the line has sat there. @LowLightMike has done a very good job showing off the wooden trestles. The line is in such rough shape that tress fall on the line and nothing happens. They don't even inspect the trestles anymore because they can't get to them. Low Light Mike did one video at one of the trestles, then came back one year later, The refuge bay had fallen off.
0:00 Intro
0:05 map of the entire area
0:15 Spurs inside the Catalyst mill
0:30 The train yard (north is to the left)
0:35 The End of track, Alberni Pacific Sawmill
1:35 The Port Alberni Train Station
2:35 Port Alberni Train Yard, Equipment and Engine House
9:50 The Wye
10:50 The Pulp Mill
11:40 Pulp Mill Loading Tracks
13:30 Stamp Avenue Siding
#abandonedplaces #portalberni
Негізгі бет Abandoned Port Alberni Train Yard, Station and Catalyst Pulp and Paper Mill
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