This article seems to agree with your point here. It doesn’t seem likely that it will be saved at this point though, so I guess the mill’s days are numbered. It’s a real shame too. The government just invested millions into the mill as well as the other industries served by the line. I guess all of it was wasted.
Sorry to hear this RR is closing. Did get to ride Algoma Central excursion train a few years ago. great scenery along the route, high bridge crossing and waterfalls at lunch break stop We left from Sault. It is probably near the area of the RR that is closing.
Are there any Canadian shortline companies that might be interested?
Isn’t Huron Central a short line itself?
I believe the HC is run by an American shortline holding company. I was wondering if there are any Canadian shortline holding companies, would they be interested.
This is getting worse than the Blast Zone. Huron Central is run by a Canadian company, that is a subsidiary of an American company, and this is exactly the same story, for essentially the same reasons, as last year
https://www.railwayage.com/news/gw-shuttering-huron-central/
As Ulrich said, every year at this time. The thing that’s surprising is all these posts that, one after the other, don’t know what’s going on, when a fraction of a second would have given you everything needful.
Simple answer—Abandon the track between Espanola and the Soo. The local Soo traffic can go out on the CN (ex-ACR or WC) and the paper mill traffic can go out through Sudbury. There’d be a lot fewer miles of roadbed to maintain and the added traffic on the CN would make it more viable.
An even simpler answer is that you abandon the SOO sub northbound out of town and keep the Huron Central alive. The Sault to Sudbury run links two much larger towns and as an East-West link, it is much more strategically important. Also, the Huron Central is the preferred route out of the SOO for most goods as opposed to the Algoma Central. A much more desireable solution would be to keep all lines, let CN sell off to a shortline and give HCRY the funding and work with them to achieve self sufficiency, as several industries have committed to locating in the North if Huron Central remains open in the long term. Or the best solution would be that Ontario Northland buys both the Algoma Central and the Huron Central and runs them as essential pieces of northern infrastructure and carries them to self-sufficiency. There is still some time and local officials, MPs and MPPs seem commited to making a deal even if it will be difficult. So maybe we will wait and see.
What is the difference in track condition between the HCR and the old ACR?
Only for eastbound traffic to CP. (To be fair there’s a decent amount of it.) Westbound traffic to both CP and CN would be preferred to go up the former ACR. Eastbound traffic to CN would either go north on the former ACR or south via Chicago. Southbound traffic to the US would still go through Michigan-Wisconsin.
Either way you kinda need at least one of them - CN bound traffic can go into the US for Chicago, but CP interchange traffic would want to be transferred at either Sudbury or Franz (the old ACR crossing). There might be a place to interchange it via Chicago as well I suppose, but then Sault Ste. Marie is the terminus of a dead end line from Green Bay WI
An additional consideration is that the Huron Central does closely parallel the highway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury.
The old Algoma Central hits much farther into the bush and has potential for some tourism and passenger service - the Agawa Canyon Tour is still popular (not running this year due to pandemic, but otherwise would have) and local groups have been trying to restart the regular passenger service (long messy story on its cessation). HCRY has no such passenger opportunities.
Hopefully this decision doesn’t have to be made as both lines are critical to SSM. I still think that if you had to pick one to close, it should be the ACR. If eastbound traffic had to go over the ACR, it would add a huge amount of mileage to the trip and the customers would probably switch to trucks as a result. Westbound traffic could easily be served by the WC without much increase in mileage and be interchanged at Duluth or elsewhere. In normal times, the ACR only saw a few trains per week but the Huron Central ran daily between SSM and Sudbury so the case is stronger to retain the HCR.
Either way, if you are in Ontario and want to see this crisis avoided, now would be a good time to write your MP and MPP and let them know how you feel while there is still time. Many in government are aware of the situation and are looking to create a solution, but a bit of vocal support could help push it over the goal line.
Also, remember, CN recently announced it was searching for a buyer for 850 miles of its low density lines in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. Looks like the steel mill is poorly located.
Somebody posted that the Soo-Gladstone line isn’t included in the list.
Seems like a distinction without a difference. As a Canadian poster has said, it is still seen as a foreign (American) company. Events have shown on Bretton Island and the Churchill line that such lines have been left to flounder. While the HC may have been helped in the past, there is no certainty that the provence’s patience is inexaustable…
While the situation is not great right now and the sky is currently falling, right now, it is less likely the outcome will be negative.
The Huron Central Railway is a vital piece of infrastructure to the north and many in government recognize this. Nobody wants to be seen as the ones who cost the north a critical supply line and possibly even one or more large employers as a result.
Something from this article caught my attention:
https://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/news/local-news/sheehan-romano-continue-to-drive-hcr-message-forward/wcm/a6f13915-3b59-479c-b050-1afa4be84f74
It very much seems like something is being worked out, but we don’t know any details. In my opinion, it would probably be best if the province showed G&W the door and had Ontario Northland take it over. In that case, it would be more closely tied to the government and have management more focused on doing what is good for the north. We will see. While Sault MP Terry Sheehan says he
Does the added day or so of some steel going north on the ACR before heading east really make a difference to the customers as long as delivery is consistant? The paper mill could be served off a stub branch from Sudbury.
Probably more than you think, and the extra transit time would probably take longer than just one day. It would also really mess up the economy of Sault Ste. Marie for the future and make the region less competitive. Algoma Steel is not the only rail customer in SSM. In addition, a few industries have said that they would locate in the area if they had a long term commitment from Huron Central.
Another thing to consider is that the ACR customers could accept the extra day and have their line converted to a stub branch. If you had to pick one line to abandon, ACR would be the one to go without question. It goes through more difficult terrain, has fewer customers, sees much less traffic (and if rumours are to be believed, service is currently suspended due to the pandemic while the HCRY still runs) and its function could more easily be replaced by other lines than the Huron Central.
If Ontario buying the line would save it, than I would hope that happens. The thing that worries me is that the Provence has a history of trying to sell off the Ontario Northland. What happened to BC Rail is fresh in my mind.
Glad to hear the Cape Bretton line is holding on. I missed riding the line before the 1990s VIA cuts, but got to ride the line in 2001 on VIA’s tour train.
I think we are past the point of any chance that ONR would be sold off. Since the discontinuance of the Northlander, its fortunes have really turned around and on top of being a successful railroad, it is also providing significant bus service to remote communities.
I think the question right now is what form of deal the government will take with HCRY. I think if we are going to fund it, it would be better to see it under public ownership with ONR. Better than to take another risk with G&W 10 years down the line.