IPM 2009 SUBWAY ® Express

[briann]

All right - I'll admit that I had no idea what the IPM 2009 SUBWAY ® Express is until I read some information on the Ontario Northland website. For the city dwellers among us, there will be a colossal shindig in Earlton, Ontario from September 22nd to 26th, called the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo. The organizers expect 70,000 visitors (!). Because accommodation in the immediate area will be a bit of a problem for that many people, a daily train service between North Bay and Earlton is being organized by ONR and the IPM, sponsored in part by SUBWAY ®. Times are:
North Bay d 0700
Earlton a 0945
Earlton d 1645
North Bay a 1930
Ticket price, including admission to the event is a very reasonable $65 return. More details can be found at
http://www.ipm2009.net/English/TrainRkidetoIPM.html.

Guess what food is likely to be served in the dining car on these trips?

There is also a suggestion that the Northlander will make special stops at the IPM on these dates.

At that price, I could just be tempted to go to an event I would never have thought of attending otherwise...

[briann]

Some great video and photographic records of these specials have been provided as follows:

Northbound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2IdsVRBkgY courtesy of reggina970
Southbound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI9kzDV8h-s courtesy of trainguyONR
Still photograph: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=298460 courtesy of Davis Glass


Thanks to these folks for uploading.

ONR 2104 (EMD SD75I) leading northbound.
ONR 1805 (EMD GP38-2) leading southbound.
1 x B unit
9 x ONR coaches
6 x VIA coaches
1 x B unit

[Ken V]

Wow, that's some long train. I can't imagine that many people going to IPM each day by train. Was there some other reason so many coaches were needed?

[briann]

According to the IPM website, over 80,000 people attended the event (5 days). They also said that more than 500 people per day travelled to the match by train. So 15 cars would be "comfortable".

[MrFord]

Impressive lashup! What's thetrack speed over there? Looks pretty fast, especially considering the lenght of the train.
And seeing that makes me jealous, as I'm originally from La Sarre, Abitibi, and any kind of passenger trains is long gone, except from Senneterre.
Plus, they ripped the tracks west to Cochrane years ago.

[trainguyONR]

Hello, i'm trainguyONR, the one who posted the video of 1805 south. Thanks for watching!
Anyways, the track speed for freight on the ONR is 45 mph while passenger is 55. Yup it's fast,
especially that the train is almost in Earlton. But oh well it makes for a better video.

Enjoy!

Joey