Exploring The Old Newfoundland Railway

I've spent a fair amount of time exploring the old Newfoundland Railway 'Branch Lines' on an offroad motorcycle, this past year. Many of the old Newfoundland Railway branch line routes were decommissioned as far back as the 1930s, and nature is slowly reclaiming these old railbed routes.

Here are a few of my photos from trips spent exploring the old branch lines on my motorcycle during the summer of 2006



Engine number 900 left to the wolves...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... lway01.jpg

The Bonavista line at Trinity Bay...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... ailbed.jpg



Engine number 900's horns...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... lway09.jpg

Bonavista branch line trail...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... hots10.jpg

Caplin Cove railway bridge...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... erde08.jpg
Argentia branch line railbed...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... ad722d.jpg

Railway bridge near Western Bay...

http://www.ridetherock.com/gallery2/d/3 ... 1nov05.jpg

Clarenville Tunnel...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/ ... tunnel.jpg

What a great adventure . This railroad fascinated me , partly because its Narrow gauge , and partly because of some of the operating stories ive read .

The pictures are great quality . However because of bandwidth restrictions , i will reduce them to links after 24 hours .

Thanks for sharing the photos. I was in Newfoundland a couple of years ago and know I’m certainly going back. I spent most of my time exploring by car and walking short sections of the T’Railway. This time I want to bike or ATV the old right of way up over the Gaff Topsails. I hear it’s wild and scenic!

Here’s a link to the Trip Report I posted to this Forum two years ago.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5233

Glad to share the photos. Sorry about the high bandwidth usage.

One of the nice things about riding an offroad motorcycle through these old rail line routes, is that unlike walking or riding an ATV, you can actually ride at train speed, which gives you a very real sense of how it must have felt to run these old routes as a train engineer.

I'm thoroughly addicted to exploring these old railbeds, and will continue to seek out new routes again next year.

How did the engine get left there? Is it an exhibit? Are any stations or other structures still remaining?

Looks like a lot of fun that trip! Thanks for sharing the photos

Kevin...

The area where CN 900 rests, is part of what was supposed to be a railway exibit, in the City of St. John's. It's on 'Mount Scio Road', within the city's boundary.

I have know idea why it wasn't kept up, and why the city is going to scrap the engine and other piecs which rest there, if no one takes them.

The "Newfie Bullet' was one that got away on me.

I do recall having "strong karma' during 1965, when the CN's Red White and Blue service initiative was at its zenith (or get on a plane without a personal search or whatever goes on in "discrete inspection areas"), to go take a ride, but then karma and reality can differ.

Here is Related Discussion elsewhere at this Forum.
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"In memory of my beloved Newfoundland, Lucky. He came to be with us during 1992 and went to be with his Lord during 2003"