Agawa Canyon tour Train

[penn central]

http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20New ... inted.aspx
I guess maybe next year ill take a trip up there.

[msurailfan]

I went on that a LOOOONNNNGGGG time ago. Maybe 15 years or so. I would have been no older than 10. Don't really remember much of it other than I thought it was exciting at the time. I'm sure I have pics at home somewhere but I won't be home again til Thanksgiving and probably won't be able to find them anyway. As far as I remember, I had a great time.

[CharlieX90]

I rode that train once to the canyon and then once to Hearst..Very interesting ride with the wildlife and scenery..Had a CN GP40-2LW for power when i rode it

[wawatam]

My wife and I took the trip with our two kids in the summer of 95. It rained some of the time but we had a great trip anyway. I have always wanted to do it again but I don't have a passport yet. I would highly recommend the trip. Don't forget your camera.

[Buster Manning]

I took my wife and oldest daughter and a friend on the canyon trip back in '06; the trip was behind schedule both ways account of trackwork and we had a couple of SD75s' for power---ugghh I can see those darn things anyday of the week--- I was hoping for some of those 9500s' for our engines.

[hobojim]

I took it back in 89 on the fall color train, still had the F's. Then in 94 I think it had the SD-40s

Good trip and well worth the price.

[John Ryan]

This is subscriber-only content. What's the gist of the article?

[LSRC]

Agawa Canyon tour train to be refurbished, repainted

[John Ryan]

Yes, butttttt .... what are the details? Refurbished where? At what cost? And repainted into what? Classic ACR or CN?

[MDH]

Yes, butttttt .... what are the details? Refurbished where? At what cost? And repainted into what? Classic ACR or CN?

Refurbished in IL - Equip on its way and to be done in time for the 2011 season. $10M project and artist rendering of a new paint scheme that's reminiscent of the old ACR scheme. Neat technology including GPS linked headsets for audio tour and a front mounted camera feeding TV monitors throughout the train.

[kenN]

I'm glad to see that there's an effort to upgrade the tour train. The money they're putting into the equipment gives hope of pressuring the CN to keep the track in shape, at least to Canyon, mp 114. With very little freight traffic and only two passenger round-trips to Hearst per week to support the line , they've let the track deteriorate beyond Canyon. Our most recent trip to Hearst (mp 298) in November, 2009, was nearly three hours late and required a crew change at Frater (mp 102)in both directions because of slow orders. It appears that it's cheaper to pay for two crews each way than it is to keep the tracks up.
Having said that, though, the Ski Train equipment was a much-needed upgrade from the worn-out ex-CN cars. I am looking forward to seeing the new version, although I have to say that the "Grande Gold" of the Ski Train looked pretty classy, even with CN number patches. I wish them well.

[Robertrains]

I took it back in 89 on the fall color train, still had the F's. Then in 94 I think it had the SD-40s

Good trip and well worth the price.

The F's did not arrive onto Algoma Central until 1995, under WC's ownership! They didn't have them in 1989! Back then, they had their GP7's, GP38-2's and SD40-2's as power! Those definetely looked nice of course!

Ok, I have ridden the ACR many times! My Dad took me every time! Here they are (if anyone cares): I first rode the "Snow Train" on 2-4-1995! This was 3 days after the WC purchase! Our power was GP40's #3026 and #3027! They were still in fresh ACR paint only with WC shields (ACR only had those for a few months at that time)! Of course later on those 2 engines were the map/flag units! The "Tour of the Line" train used a GP38-2 in ACR colors. Now, how do others feel about the WC shields on the ACR locos? I know some think it's bad, but I think it's fine and is better than a plain nose! Here are those GP40 engines (photo of the exact train I was on, taken by Ron Cady): http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=234951&nseq=1

My second time was 3-1996! We went to Hearst! Our power was a GP38-2 in ACR colors. The "Snow Train" used four F's (never knew about the ACR F-units before we went)! The other "Tour of The Line" train had two F's! We got good pix of those passing us (I'll hopefully scan them eventually)! I love how they didn't mind us using the open vestibule windows for pix!

3rd was 2-1999! We went again to Hearst, and had two FP9's for power! The "Snow Train" that time used 2 WC SD45's and 1 WC GP40 for power. The other "Tour of the line" train used two F's!

4th was 2-2002 (after CN purchase)! This was another trip to Hearst, this time with some friends! Our power was WC GP40-2 #3005. The "Snow Train" used two WC SD45's! The other "Tour of the Line" train used a CN GP40-2LW.

5th was 10-18-2003! This time I went to the Canyon on the last fall "Agawa Canyon Tour Train" run of the year! It was rainy, snowy, and not much fall colors! Everything was CN power by this date! We had two SD75I's! The "Tour of the Line" train used a CN GP40-2LW!

The 6th and final time was 2-2005! We went to Hearst and took a friend. Our power was a CN GP40-2LW. The "Snow Train" used two CN GP40-2LW's! The other "Tour of the Line" train used a CN GP40-2LW! I guess they decided on using only those engines, which wasn't bad! My favorites I have seen (ACR GP7's not included, seen but not doing much) are the F's, then the AC GP40's, then WC SD45's, AC GP38-2s, WC GP40's, CN GP40-2LW's and the worst are those CN SD75I's!

Sorry for such a long post (my longest)! I just love the Algoma Central! I recommend going to Hearst and staying in a good hotel instead of the Canyon ride! Please don't feel jealous anyone! I just had to list all of my ACR trips! I'm glad that my Dad took me so many places, which I sadly lost him in the bad car accident I was in last year. I guess this post shows that my long-term memory works just fine!

I can't wait to see how CN does on the paint! Time will tell!

[GTW6401]

The train passed through Wisconsin today on its way down to East St. Louis.

[Robertrains]

Here's a picture of the "New" Agawa Canyon tour train (photo by Josh Roth): http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2646204

I don't like it nearly as much as the F-Units (or even the old Algoma Central Geeps)! It's not bad; I credit CN for at least doing something! It's also a shame that the "Ski Train" is done forever, I have always wanted to see that!!!!

Here's my photo album of pictures of Algoma Central (the ones that are uploaded at the moment): http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archiv ... x?id=66493

[SD80MAC]

F40PH > FP9. Sorry.