MLWs of the Wabush Lake Railway / Chemin de Fer Arnaud

A loaded train waits to enter the pelletizer plant at Pointe Noire, September 13th, 1998.
RS-18s 906, 902, 905 and 904.

Rolf Stumpf photo

I have been there now myself (see the trip report in the library section!), and I can tell that those RS-18's are a real treat! The Arnaud is fairly accessible, with some nice photo opprtunities. It's chaseable to a certain amount. The Arnaud power performance was 100% in September, with 901 being assigned for plant switching at Pointe Noire, the other four were making their roundtrips to Arnaud Junction. Don't expect more than two roundtrips per day - at least from my humble experience...

Arnaud 906, Pointe Noire, September 13th, 1998. Rolf Stumpf photo

The Wabush Lake Railway in the north (or in the deep interior of the Canadian Shield) also employs four units on the trains. From the distance I saw single RS-18 for the switching in the Wabush mine. The line to Ross Bay Junction from where the Quebec, Northshore and Labrador RR takes over for the trip south offers excellent locations, esp. along the lakes. In the entrance area of the Wabush mine one can get the trains moving in and out. The QNSL traffic makes waiting for the Wabush trains a lot easier though I had to wait "my loaded" train out for more than 5 hours. Finally, at 1 am it came! The lights of Labrador City illuminated the exhaust from the back - fantastic and recommended!

Four Wabush Lake Railway RS-18 enter the ore plant at Wabush, Labrador with an empty ore train. September 22nd, 1998. Rolf Stumpf photo

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Last update 05.02.01