One of the few remaining blue and yellow cars.

From December 22, one of the former CN blue and yellow coaches that VIA still retains for The Lynn Lake-The Pas mixed train has been sitting at VIA's Toronto Maintenance Centre after coming back from Moncton NB where it was overhauled this past summer. I've seen the car at TMC on December 28 and since then, I've been watching the westbound Canadian pass through my area in the hope I'd see it deadheading to Winnipeg, each time without success.

I am beginning to loose patience waiting for VIA to deadhead the car. Does anyone have any idea which date the car will leave? I know the Canadian departs Toronto Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Is it supposed to head back to Winnipeg for service up the Hudson Bay Line - mix train service or what ever? I am still in the dark on how the train operates between the Pas and up the line to its former "Lyn Lake" end of the line. And now this service is not really operated by "VIA" per say. Is this actually a mixed train with just a coach tied on the back?

The coach is used on the Lynn Lake-The Pas mixed train. maintains the equipment and the coaches are used on a mixed train. There are about 4-6 coaches assigned to the train, all in the blue and yellow livery.

jp1822 wrote:Is it supposed to head back to Winnipeg for service up the Hudson Bay Line - mix train service or what ever? I am still in the dark on how the train operates between the Pas and up the line to its former "Lyn Lake" end of the line. And now this service is not really operated by "VIA" per say. Is this actually a mixed train with just a coach tied on the back?

The mixed train has not served Lynn Lake for more than four years now. Service was cut back to Pukatawagan by the Hudson Bay Railway on August 18, 2003. In 2006, all operations of the train was taken over by the Keewatin Railway, a First Nations owned company, which acquired the line and leases the ex-CN "blue" cars from VIA. There has been some discussion of returning service to Lynn Lake but no plans have been made yet.

Wow - and the train operates with 4 to 6 coaches? Seems like a lot of coaches for such a remote service operating twice a week. It would seem that just from the name that Lynn Lake would be a better terminus (sportoing?). Course I imgine there was a logical explanation for cutting the train's terminus back. Are rails north to Lynn Lake used at all? As a mixed train does this train have to have a separate generator or something similiar to substitute for HEP in order to operate the coach cars? What motive power is assigned to the route?

VIA's Hudson Bay Line is now all operated with Budd ex-CP stainless steel cars (Chateau Sleepers) and an F40 diesel? The "Northern Spirit cars are now "out of service for good?" Could they be brough back East and used on perhaps the corridor (if there was still an overnight train on the Montreal-Toronto corridor)? I heard these sleepers (ex-Amtrak cars) couldn't adapt or operate successfully in the cold Canadian climate.

Would love to take a trip on the Hudson Bay train and spend a couple of days up in Churchill but it would turn into a lot of vacation days to give up at work. I'd have to take the Canadian from Toronto out to Winnipeg, or fly out to Winnipeg and then take the train up to Churchill. I'd want to stay and tour Churchill for a couple of days, but I'd also have to be mindful of the train's tri-weekly schedule.

One of the cars is a full baggage car and it appears to have a generator installed inside.

There are four VIA blue and yellow passenger cars leased to Keewatin Railway for the The Pas-Pukatawagan service (2 coach/baggage combines, 1 coach/snack car, and 1 full baggage car) and normally only two of these are used on any given train. None of the cars are HEP equipped and lighting/heat is supplied by gasoline generators located in the baggage section of the combines (plus perhaps axle generators?). Locomotive power for the train is one of the two MLW (Alco) M420s owned by the railway and the mixed freight consist is usually no more than a handful of assorted flatcars and boxcars with the passenger cars on the tail end.

While Lynn Lake may sound like a more exotic name than Pukatawagan, neither is more than a remote wilderness village. The line from Puk to Lynn Lake hasn't been completely abandoned, but regular freight service ceased after the last large ore mine there closed down in 2003.

I found out the car went out today on the Canadian. Unfortuantely, I did see it because I had a dentist appointment at the time the train passes through my area!

Does anyone by chance have, or know where I might find, pictures of the Pukatawagan-The Pas train? I'd be quite interested to see some, as it seems like a neat consist. However, my search attempts have thus far been thoroughly unsuccessful. Can anyone help?