# A Covid 'Atlantic Bubble' Road Trip (& some Trains too!)



## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

Any other summer......by now I would probably have already posted a couple of Trip Reports here for the Ocean, VIA's Corridor and maybe even an Amtrak Acela trip......but right now I can't even go to Ontario or Quebec except for essential travel and that would involve at least one 14 day isolation if not two!

With Covid numbers so low here....the four Atlantic Provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland have formed the 'Atlantic Bubble' that allows residents to travel within these provinces without requiring a 14 day isolation when crossing a provincial border. So with that in mind it was time for a Road Trip!!.....and I was off to Newfoundland last week.

(and as @MARC Rider noted in his Road Trip to Maine Report _”Yes, there's some reference to rail here. Just be patient, please”_).......and thanks for the inspiration to get out and do a Road Trip so the summer is not a total loss!

I left home late Sunday afternoon for the 2 hour drive to the Marine Atlantic Ferry in North Sydney NS and an overnight crossing to Port-aux-Basques (Port oh Bask) Newfoundland.

Here's my ride....the _MV Highlanders_ docked along-side the _Atlantic Vision_.....and the crossing was a bit different in these Covid times: Capacity is reduced to half and you have to stay in your assigned space (I had a cabin) and no wandering around the decks. Restaurants and bars are closed so we were given a complementary snack upon boarding consisting of a nice sandwich wrap, fruit, muffin and bottled water. Under normal circumstances I would have been out on deck on this warm, clear evening with every star out but at least my cabin had a window..... and at sunrise the rocky coast of Newfoundland came into view.




































Once off the Ferry.......instead of just heading on up the highway we first had to clear 'Newfoundland Customs'......actually it was the Department of Health checking ID's to make sure you are a resident of the Atlantic Provinces and didn't have to be sent into a 14 day isolation.








I was heading for Gros Morne National Park.....about a 4 hour drive north of the ferry along the west coast of the island. The Trans Canada Highway is wide and straight and once the cars and trucks from the ferry clear.....there's little traffic and a real pleasure to drive!


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

Through the Humber River Gorge near Corner Brook the 4-lane Trans Canada is built on a portion of the old railway right-of-way.













Along the way I was searching out the remnants of CN's narrow-gauge Newfoundland Railway that's now been abandoned for 30 years. There's some equipment 'stuffed and mounted' at several locations including a very nice display at Corner Brook of CN's _Caribou....a.k.a 'The Newfie Bullet'_ with cars you can walk through. (I'll do a separate posting of these car interior photos following this Trip Report) I also did a bit of hiking along the old railbed and across several of the bridges and trestles. It's now the T'Railway Provincial Park.....a multi-use hiking, biking and ATV trail)
















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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

And what better way to 'Social Distance' than camping and hiking in a National Park! I bought a Parks Canada Pass for the summer and have already used it several times at other National Parks.


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)




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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

Gros Morne is a scenic gem. It's a UNESCO heritage site with one of only a few places on the planet where you can see the earth's Mantle Rock that came to the surface eons ago. This is in the 'Tablelands' where I hiked the 4km trail. Notice the contrast here with the typical granite rock and boreal forest on the right and the almost lunar-like landscape of the Mantle on the left with it's brown/copper colour. The highway down the valley goes out to Trout River on the coast.


















































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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

I did 'cheat' the last night and got a room at the Holiday Inn in Deer Lake as it was going to be a long daytime crossing going home the next day on the ferry. I felt safe with the Covid measures in place and the usual complementary hot breakfast was still served but no longer buffet style! Then it was on down the highway back to the ferry at Port-aux-Basques. It was a 6 1/2 hr crossing and I took a day cabin instead of having to stay put in a coach seat the entire time. I was home at 8pm.......and I'm ready to head out again next week with a couple of other National Parks to explore in New Brunswick.


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

And as noted in my Trip Report above.......here's my Tour of CN's _Caribou....a.k.a 'The Newfie Bullet'_ Narrow Gauge Equipment at the Railway Society of Newfoundland in Corner Brook.

This was North America's last full-service narrow-gauge passenger train with Coaches, Sleepers, Diner and a Lounge car now on display on a short section of remaining narrow-gauge track at Mile 404.

But there's been a bit of a play on paint schemes here! Old #593 would never have hauled equipment painted in CN's 1960's era black-white scheme.....and the cars would have had the red 'CN' logo.....not that green-gold 'NFLD Railway' tilted logo that disappeared after 1949 when Newfoundland joined Canada and CN assumed control of the railway.


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)




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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 30, 2020)

In the diesel era...the Caribou would have been led by GMD NF110/210s like #931 here:























And here's a typical 'Caribou' consist from the late 1960s


GMD NF210
GMD NF210
Steam Generator Unit
Storage Mail (wood boxcar)
Baggage/Express
Diner (as lounge)
Coach
Coach
Coach
Diner
Sleeper (as Dorm)
Sleeper
Sleeper
Sleeper
Sleeper
Sleeper (Corner Brook set-out/pick-up)
Sleeper (Corner Brook set-out/pick-up)

In the fall of 1968 CN had introduced a new fleet of new _Roadcruiser_ buses and passengers soon abandoned the train for the frequent and faster bus service that now covered the 900 km run in 14 hours vs the 22 hours the train took.

The 'Caribou' was discontinued and and completed it's last run between Port-aux-Basques and St. John's overnight on July2-3, 1969.

Here's the CN Timetable from 1969 showing the last 'Caribou'.....Trains #101-102 along with the new 'Roadcruiser' bus service (#500 series):


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## jiml (Aug 30, 2020)

Nice report. The Bullet equipment is in remarkably good shape considering its age. Obviously someone/group is really into preservation.


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## railiner (Aug 30, 2020)

Great report, thanks for posting. I haven't been there since my auto trip from New York, back in the summer of 1990. Rode the Marine Atlantic then new, "Joseph and Clara Smallwood", both ways. Spent one night in St. Anthony, and one night in St. John's. Next time I drive up there, I will drive up thru Labrador, which wasn't possible back then...


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## Dakota 400 (Aug 30, 2020)

Interesting report and photos; thanks for posting them.

What was the fuel used for the coach car heater and for the stove in the dining car's kitchen?


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## 20th Century Rider (Aug 30, 2020)

Great report! Bringing back memories of a trip on the Ocean so many years ago. The scenery is timeless and beautiful!


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## Alice (Aug 31, 2020)

Great report and photos!


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## Maglev (Aug 31, 2020)

Fantastic report with beautiful photos! I had never thought of a desert in the Maritimes!


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 31, 2020)

Dakota 400 said:


> What was the fuel used for the coach car heater and for the stove in the dining car's kitchen?



Oil I believe......and that looks like a filter and oil line at the lower/left of the kitchen stove. The stoves in the coaches and sleepers were for auxiliary heat. The mainline Caribou had heating supplied from a Steam Generator Car.


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## Michigan Mom (Aug 31, 2020)

The outdoor pictures are so beautiful they make my heart ache, and sing at the same time.


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## NS VIA Fan (Aug 31, 2020)

Michigan Mom said:


> The outdoor pictures are so beautiful they make my heart ache, and sing at the same time.



It certainly has been an outdoor summer with lots of hiking and visits to parks close to home. Places I've passed over for years on the way to other provinces and states.

Makes you appreciate what is close by when you can't just hop on that train or plane!


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## 20th Century Rider (Aug 31, 2020)

NS VIA Fan said:


> Oil I believe......and that looks like a filter and oil line at the lower/left of the kitchen stove. The stoves in the coaches and sleepers were for auxiliary heat. The mainline Caribou had heating supplied from a Steam Generator Car.


At the young and tender age of 13 I spent hours in the basement assembling and building a HO gauge empire, with a freight yard of baggage cars such as the one in this pic... and I would dream of all the places along the tracks these cars had been. In those days there were so many tracks to practically everywhere!

There were shelves and shelves of balsa wood, glue, pre-assembled wheels and couplers. Model railroading was then and still is an expression of dreams and fantasies of railroading. But! This car above looks just like one I built so long ago. Could it be that it actually came to life?????


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## Asher (Aug 31, 2020)

NS VIA Fan said:


>


Well, you just ruined me. I’m so overcome with jealousy that I can’t look at these photos more than three times.


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## flitcraft (Aug 31, 2020)

What fantastic photos! I felt overcome with a desire to head out to the Maritimes as soon as borders open and time permits! Thanks so much for sharing them with us.


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## Ranke (Sep 1, 2020)

Thanks for the fine trip report. Just as I thought we had overcome our disappointment at having to postpone this summer's trip to Newfoundland, your beautiful photos reminded us of what we were missing. The overnight ferry at North Sydney is an easy day's drive from central Maine, and next time we'll be sure to include the Corner Brook RR Museum.


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## 20th Century Rider (Sep 1, 2020)

anumberone said:


> Well, you just ruined me. I’m so overcome with jealousy that I can’t look at these photos more than three times.


Would love to be there... getting lost in that magnificent woodland, building a campfire, s'mores, and a dreamy slumber.
Thank you so much for sharing your adventure!


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## Dakota 400 (Sep 1, 2020)

I have been able to visit Maritime Canada a few times and am always glad to return again for another visit. 

(And, oh, those P.E.I. Mussels! Along with a Labatt's!)


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 1, 2020)

Dakota 400 said:


> I have been able to visit Maritime Canada a few times and am always glad to return again for another visit.
> 
> (And, oh, those P.E.I. Mussels! Along with a Labatt's!)


Our Wonderful Neighbor to the North has given me so many Beautiful Memories!

I miss being there in the Summer and Fall, but not the Winter!


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## Dakota 400 (Sep 2, 2020)

Bob Dylan said:


> but not the Winter



Celebrated Christmas in Anchorage, Alaska with my family once. I had a good time dressed in a parka and multiple layers of clothing. Beautiful winter scenery and one has not "lived" until you have been driven onto a frozen lake--not realizing where one was--and then, an OMG! moment takes place. Christmas Day temperature was a minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill added. Dressed as I was, I was still COLD!


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 2, 2020)

Dakota 400 said:


> Celebrated Christmas in Anchorage, Alaska with my family once. I had a good time dressed in a parka and multiple layers of clothing. Beautiful winter scenery and one has not "lived" until you have been driven onto a frozen lake--not realizing where one was--and then, an OMG! moment takes place. Christmas Day temperature was a minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill added. Dressed as I was, I was still COLD!


Coldest I ever was happened in Northern Alberta where it was -40 F with a Wind Chill of -75F!!!!


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## NS VIA Fan (Sep 3, 2020)

20th Century Rider said:


> There were shelves and shelves of balsa wood, glue, pre-assembled wheels and couplers. Model railroading was then and still is an expression of dreams and fantasies of railroading. But! This car above looks just like one I built so long ago. Could it be that it actually came to life?????
> 
> 
> View attachment 18694



Cool!.....Nice Layout!


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## NS VIA Fan (Sep 3, 2020)

Bob Dylan said:


> Coldest I ever was happened in Northern Alberta where it was -40 F with a Wind Chill of -75F!!!!



I enjoy winter.....but we don't get those extreme cold temps! The old rail trails you're riding your ATV on in summer.....you just switch over to your Skidoo in winter!

I've been to Florida but you're more appt to find me heading off skiing in Maine, New Hampshire, Quebec.....or even Newfoundland. Here's Marble Mountain near Corner Brook.....about 5 miles from that display (above) of the 'Newfie Bullet' equipment. The highway overpass in the photo below is about the location of the old abandoned CNR narrow-gauge right-of-way through the Humber River Valley at Steady Brook.
































And getting to Newfoundland in winter can be interesting on those big ice-breaking ferries! We'll get the overnight crossing on a Friday and be skiing by 11am on Saturday......then back on the Ferry Sun or Mon night and into work the next morning.


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## Seaboard92 (Sep 3, 2020)

I have to say that is an amazing report. It makes me want to get on a plane and visit Newfoundland which has never had appeal to me before seeing the pictures of it. Now I know I have to make it there sometime.


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 4, 2020)

Seaboard92 said:


> I have to say that is an amazing report. It makes me want to get on a plane and visit Newfoundland which has never had appeal to me before seeing the pictures of it. Now I know I have to make it there sometime.


One of the Worlds hidden Gems!


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## Dakota 400 (Sep 4, 2020)

Seaboard92 said:


> It makes me want to get on a plane and visit Newfoundland which has never had appeal to me before seeing the pictures of it.



I visited Newfoundland and Labrador during a cruise and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the tours that I did and the citizens whom I met.



Bob Dylan said:


> One of the Worlds hidden Gems!



And so close to home and so easy to get to!


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## Marbleski (Sep 2, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> Through the Humber River Gorge near Corner Brook the 4-lane Trans Canada is built on a portion of the old railway right-of-way.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



NS Via Fan

Thanks for showing me the link to this thread. I mentioned in your other thread in which we have been corresponding that I had a few photos related to this thread that may be of interest. I figured it best to put them on this thread so as not to highjack your "Ocean first Trip" thread. Below is a pic that CN gave my dad upon his early retirement when they closed our railway in 1988. I do not recall the year the photo was taken but the train happens to be going in front our house. Dad passed away three years ago but my mom still lives in the house with the green roof. The photo came like this. The negative was probably very old and well used by the time they printed this photo for dad in 1988 as somehow the roofs came out green. They gave this photo to all the retirees. This photo is taken along Riverside Drive near where the bridge crosses the Humber River to the North Shore of the Bay of Islands. Basically a short walk up the road from the first two pics you presented in the post. We spent our childhood on these tracks, fishing along the river after school and all summer long as well as hiking and picking berries on the mountains along the valley.


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## Marbleski (Sep 2, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> I enjoy winter.....but we don't get those extreme cold temps! The old rail trails you're riding your ATV on in summer.....you just switch over to your Skidoo in winter!
> 
> I've been to Florida but you're more appt to find me heading off skiing in Maine, New Hampshire, Quebec.....or even Newfoundland. Here's Marble Mountain near Corner Brook.....about 5 miles from that display (above) of the 'Newfie Bullet' equipment. The highway overpass in the photo below is about the location of the old abandoned CNR narrow-gauge right-of-way through the Humber River Valley at Steady Brook.
> 
> ...



NS Via Fan.

Here are a couple more pics I dug up of the Humber Valley from Marble Mountain. I have pic upon pic over the years but they all have someone in them and most of them are of the boys jumping out the trees LOL. The boys are pretty young here but the view is the same today. My wife's dad is now 87 and he still skis a couple hours most every day. He has the yellow trim on his jacket.


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## Marbleski (Sep 2, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> In the diesel era...the Caribou would have been led by GMD NF110/210s like #931 here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



NS VIA FAN

Here are two pictures of the snowplow or a similar one you have included in this post. The first picture is an action shot while the second one is a "end of action shot" LOL.

My dad is inside the moving plow and beside the non moving plow. The moving plow was heading west staffed with the Corner Brook to PAB crew. Meanwhile, the derailment image was taken after they hit a massive snow drift on the Gaff Topsails high up in the interior of Newfoundland, just west of Millertown Junction. My dad is on the far left. Both pics are still on the wall at our family home in Corner Brook.


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## NS VIA Fan (Sep 2, 2021)

Marbleski said:


> NS Via Fan.
> 
> Here are a couple more pics I dug up of the Humber Valley from Marble Mountain. I have pic upon pic over the years but they all have someone in them and most of them are of the boys jumping out the trees LOL. The boys are pretty young here but the view is the same today. My wife's dad is now 87 and he still skis a couple hours most every day. He has the yellow trim on his jacket.




Thanks for posting the pictures.....I know the area well! 

Easy to follow the old CN right-of-way in those views. To bad it's been mostly obliterated with the construction of the divided Trans Canada Highway.


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