Ottawa Central "Beachburg Bullet" 5 October 2008
| On Sunday 5 October 2008
the Ottawa Central Railway ran a two car passenger train between
Ottawa, Walkley Yard and Beachburg, ON. It was sponsored by the
Counties of Pontiac and Renfrew spearheaded by the executive director
of the SADC (Société d'aide au développement de la
collectivité) Louise Donaldson. The objective was to
foster the concept of a commuter train using the Beachburg subdivision
between Ottawa, Kanata, Bristol, Portage du Fort and Pembroke.
Some 60 elected representatives, members of the press and other invited
guests rode the train. Jack Loucks has kindly provided a map of
the route which you can find on Google
Maps Click the image above for a slide show illustrating the trip (some images by Raymond Farand, Harry Gow and David Jeanes). The bottom right icon will go to full screen. Equipment  The Trip The entire trip went smoothly. There was a 15 minute late start in the morning because the welcoming speeches took a little longer than anticipated and we waited almost ten minutes to clear an O Train at the Walkley Diamond but apart from that the train ran well. Because of its proximity to work on the Queensway overpass, the Corkstown Road crossing was flagged even though the protection was working properly. The Beachburg subdivision was in good condition. It had been upgraded in the 1980s with a good deal of welded rail and this provided a good ride for the passengers. The maximum speed authorized was 55 mph and the train was timed at 51 mph at one point on the return. At this speed the cars provided a very comfortable ride. A stop was made at the Norway Bay Golf Club in both directions. Some gravel had been thoughtfully placed so that detraining and entraining could be made easily. A fleet of golf carts was available to take participants the very short distance to the Golf Club. An excellent light lunch was provided. On the train, as well as admiring the fall colors, we were entertained by a number of Valley personalities including Dai Bassett (the Singing Farmer), a well known Welsh radio announcer. At Beachburg, arrangements had also been made to ensure easy detraining and entraining. The train was foul of the crossing circuits so the lights and bells continued to operate while we were there. This had been anticipated and the crossing was protected by a member of the train crew while pedestrian safety was assured by the Ontario Provincial Police. As we left Beachburg on the return, the lead locomotive, which had been idling for several hours, erupted a plume of Alco smoke. Timings
People left feeling that there was indeed potential for a commuter train on this route into Ottawa. Now the hard part begins with the need to develop a business plan which will include an estimate of potential usage, a time frame for implementation and to come to maturity as well as sources of funding and finding suitable equipment. The timings achieved, on what is currently a freight railway, demonstrated that a passenger train could provide an acceptable commuter service. The results can best be described in the joint declaration that was published at the end of the day.
 Left to right... Roy Murray (Shop Manager); Malcolm Dobie (Carman); Dave Watts (Marketing/Communications); Bernie Seguin (Engineer); Dan Mick (Conductor); Dennis Church (Carman); Ian Stewart (Student intern); James Allen (General Manager); Ian McCord (Customer Service).  |
