Barrie-Collingwood Railway
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The Barrie-Collingwood Railway (AAR reporting marks BCRY) is a shortline railway operating between the towns of Innisfil and Collingwood in south central Ontario, Canada. The line was started in 1998 and runs on abandoned Canadian National (CN) trackage which was collectively purchased by the railroad's namesake municipalities. The operator of the line is Cando Contracting Limited, based out of Brandon, Manitoba.
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[edit] History
In 1996, CN abandoned its Newmarket Subdivision from Bradford north to Barrie as well as its entire Meaford Subdivision which runs from Barrie to Collingwood. CN had plans to rip up its tracks, however the City of Barrie and the Town of Collingwood stepped in to purchase the lines to maintain their rail infrastructures. Barrie purchased the remainder of the Newmarket Sub, the Meaford Sub from Barrie to Utopia in Essa Township and the remainder of the abandoned Beeton Subdivision which runs south from Barrie to Innisfil and connects with the other two subs at the old Allandale Yard in Barrie. Collingwood purchased the rest of the Meaford Sub from Utopia on.
In 1998, the BCRY was started to service various customers in Innisfil, Barrie, Colwell, Angus, Stayner and Collingwood along the Beeton and Meaford Subs. The line crosses the Canadian Pacific (CP) at Utopia, and a small interchange and maintenance yard was built there. This is where Maintenance Of Way (MOW) equipment and the locomotive are stored when not in use. The Newmarket Sub is not used by the BCRY; it was purchased to preserve future GO Transit expansion north from Bradford, which re-opened in late 2007.
In 2006, the first rail spur in Ontario since 1990 was constructed to service a new customer, a lumber company in Barrie.
[edit] Equipment and Track
Currently, the BCRY has only one locomotive, an EMD GP9, #1001, which was formerly Ohio Central (OHCR) #94 and Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) #6594. Another GP9, #1000, was in service as well, but has since been transferred to the Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY), another shortline operated by Cando. BCRY also possesses various MOW equipment and a road railer.
The track is over a century old and thus, is in very poor condition. Due to this fact, the speed limit along the line is 10 miles per hour.
[edit] Trivia
BCRY 1001 was temporarily repainted in the Southern Pacific (SP) scheme for a National Geographic Channel production entitled Runaway Train, re-enacting the 1989 San Bernardino train derailment. [1] It represented SP EMD SD45-2 #7551, the lead engine in that accident. Rail enthusiasts are quick to note the obvious differences between between the two locomotive types.
