CNR Grain Cars in Saskatchewan

It's the fall of 2009 and U'd think that these cars would be "spotted" on elevator sidings all across the Prairies. But they're not. Reckoning that each car measures some 21 metres from hitch to hitch, and allowing the great bulge in the right-of-way to make up for the gaps left between the trains at the road crossings, I calculate that there are 656 cars parked on this un-mapped branch line between Young, Saskatchewan, and the Colonsay potash mine.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Grain
• cars
• Canadian
• National
• Railway
• CNR
• Saskatchewan
• prairies
• trains

[AjaxEddiefan]

Is that a Riders game I hear on the radio?

[SkyleoFiets]

Yep. I think that they were beating the Bombers.

[Leebm29]

In railroad jargon the engineer is 'really picking them up and laying them down'. You're right about the length. The common length for the boxcars is 40 ft and 60 ft which would be comparable to your guess 21 meters long. Take a look at the boxcars, flatcars, tankcars, dumpcars etc. in the sidings and it will show the length and capacity etc. Best regards and keep up the good work. Lee

[SkyleoFiets]

Hey, Lee. I actually went down to a railyard here in Regina, picked out a typical grain tank and measured it: 70 feet from centre hitch to centre hitch, give or take a few inches.

Thanx for the info on Morse: it crossed my mind to wonder if the town was named for Sam.

[AjaxEddiefan]

Don't think CN owns Illinois Central, but rather, has an arrangement with IC. Believe CN tried to by IC, but the US Government wouldn't allow it.