SPRX #15's Journey

SPRX #15's Journey

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It's been a long few months...

After a very stressful few months, our passenger car and locomotive are finally on the tracks in Assiniboia.

The flatbed rail cars carrying our passenger car and its wheels or "trucks" as they are called, arrived last week. Our locomotive arrived by semi trailer in two parts, the wheels early last week and the body on Saturday afternoon.

The locomotive was transported by Titan Transport (through JJ Transport) who were amazing through this whole process. The locomotive and car were lifted by Lift-All Cranes out of Moose Jaw who also did a great job.



The Locomotive was unloaded first so we could send Roger, our truck driver, on his way. This was done by using 2 cranes, one with a capacity of 75 tons and the other 90 tons. The semi trailer was backed up over the tracks with both sets of the train wheels on either side. Once the locomotive was lifted off of the trailer, the semi pulled ahead and the cranes rotated the locomotive and set her on her wheels. The process is shown below.




Once our locomotive was safely on the tracks, we were able to roll the passenger car under the cranes, lift her up and pull the flatbed car out from underneath her. Then it was just a matter of rolling the wheels under her and setting her down. Below are some pictures.




With both units now on the tracks, the "touch-up" work can begin to ready them for their trip to Ogema. This trip is scheduled for early July, possibly Ogema Fair Day. However, due to the extreme amount of rain we have received in Southern Saskatchewan this year, there are a few sections of track between Assiniboia and Ogema that will need to be repaired first.

Taking this into consideration, we will be bringing updates on the preparation of the locomotive and car as well as confirmation on their arrival date in Ogema.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Half way there

We have received word that the wheels or "trucks" of the locomotive have arrived in Assiniboia. The body is traveling separately and is expected to reach Minot today and Assiniboia tomorrow.

As well, we may be looking at unloading on Monday due to the weather and availability of cranes on the weekend. We should know more by the end of the day or early tomorrow morning.

We will keep everyone posted.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Locomotive Update

As we speak, our locomotive is rolling through Ohio and is expected to arrive in Assiniboia on Saturday.

We have found, with trying to transport something the size of a locomotive, that things don't always go as planned. Several permits have to be in place to allow her to move across certain highways which sometimes causes delays.

This has been the case as we originally intended to have the locomotive and passenger car unloaded this past Monday.

The current plan is to begin unloading Saturday afternoon in Assiniboia. We felt that it would make more sense to reassemble these units in Assiniboia due to availability of shop space and tools.

With this in mind, we intend to unveil the completed engine and car in Ogema on Fair Day weekend which falls on July 9th this year.

We will be posting pictures of our progress as well as updates on unloading over the next few days and weeks.

Check back often!

Monday, June 13, 2011

We had mentioned that we were hoping to have the lift off tomorrow, Tuesday June 14. This has been pushed back, as the locomotive didn't leave New Hampshire until this morning. 

With this in mind, we hope to have the lift-off in Ogema on this Friday, June 17. This is assuming we don't hit any more snags when it comes to the transportation of this 44 ton locomotive!

Check back often for the confirmed date and time!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

unloading info

First off, our locomotive is currently being dismantled with loading happening on Friday in North Conway, New Hampshire. She is expected to arrive in Ogema on Monday, June 13.

We will be unloading both the locomotive and passenger car on Tuesday, June 14. However, we are unsure where this unloading will take place as we have received word that there is a washout somewhere along the Red Coat rail line. This may be repaired before Tuesday but if not, it will happen somewhere closer to Assiniboia rather than in Ogema.

We will post an update as soon as we have more concrete info on when and where the unloading will happen.

We hope you are able to come out and witness this historic event!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

only 100 kms to go!

We have received word that our passenger car, the Mount Holly, has reached Assiniboia, SK. Assiniboia is the central hub for several privately owned railway companies.

The Red Coat Road & Rail is a stretch of track from Pangman to just east of Assiniboia. This line includes Ogema and is locally owned by several farmers along this line.

Great Western Railway Ltd. is based in Assiniboia and transports producer cars from the privately owned rail lines back to Assiniboia.

Great Western will most likely be transporting the Mount Holly to Ogema next week so she can be lifted off of the flat bed rail car onto the tracks in Ogema. We will also be doing the same with our locomotive which is coming by semi trailer and will arrive next week as well.

We will be posting the date and time of this lift off and we invite everyone to come to Ogema to watch this historic event as we take one of the first steps in bringing Saskatchewan it's first full-sized tourist railway!!

If you have any feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us by email at Southern Prairie Railway.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

snapped some pictures

Darren with the Regina CP Railyards was kind enough to let us snap some pictures of our passenger car while she waited to clear customs.

We hope to see her leave for Moose Jaw and then Assiniboia any day now.

On another positive note, our CEO and mechanic are heading to North Conway, New Hampshire to begin dismantling the locomotive for transport. We are hoping this will take place during the middle of next week with loading happening on Friday, June 10. This would result in her arriving in Ogema around June 14.

Keep your finger crossed!!!

Here are the pictures. Enjoy