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Great Western Railway (Saskatchewan)

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The Great Western Railway (reporting mark GWRS) is a Canadian short line railway company operating on former Canadian Pacific Railway trackage in Southwest Saskatchewan.[1] Great Western Railway Ltd. is an operating company that services the line and is locally owned and operated by farmers and municipalities in Southwestern Saskatchewan.

Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
A modest building pictured on Shaunavon's main street.
Great Western head office
Overview
HeadquartersShaunavon, Saskatchewan
Reporting markGWRS
LocaleSouthwestern Saskatchewan, Canada
Dates of operation1999 (1999)–Present
PredecessorCanadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length440 miles (710 km)
Other
Websitewww.greatwesternrail.com
Great Western Railway
(Saskatchewan)
Legend
 Great Western Railway
Red Coat Road and Rail
Fife Lake Railway
CPKC trackage
other lines
former line
to Weyburn
Poplar River Power Station
Pangman
Poplar River Coal Mine
Ogema
Coronach
Glasnevin
Fife Lake
Horizon
Constance
Viceroy
Rockglen
Verwood
Southern Rails Cooperative
Colony subdivision
Readlyn
Lisieux
Willows
Scout Lake
Assiniboia
former Wood Mountain Sub
Limerick
Melaval
LaFleche
Woodrow
Meyronne
Glenbain
Kincaid
Esme
Hazenmore
Vanguard
Aneroid
Pambrun
Ponteix
Neville
Cadillac
Blumenhof
Admiral
Instow
Shaunavon
former line to Val Marie
Dollard
Bracken
Eastend
Climax
Robsart
Frontier
Consul
Claydon
Notukeu Junction
former line to
Stirling, Alberta

History

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Abbotsford based Westcan Ltd., a railway contracting and maintenance company from BC, purchased 330 miles of track from CP and announced the launch of a new Westcan-owned short line, Great Western Railway Ltd, to provide service on these lines. The original purchase date was July 31, 2000, but this date was pushed to September 8, 2000 after overwhelming rainfall washed out 16 km of track on the Vanguard Subdivision, one of the branches that was being sold. An agreement was reached with Canadian Pacific to repair the damaged section at a cost of more than 500,000 before the takeover was completed.

In 2004 the railway was purchased by local investors from the area of Saskatchewan it serves. It is now locally owned and operated. Great Western Railway continues to serve many producer loading sites along their entire rail network, but also provide railcar storage for Class I railways and railcar companies.

GWR operates on 308 miles (496 km) of former Canadian Pacific Railway's Shaunavon, Vanguard, Altawan and Notukeu Subdivisions. GWR also services 60 miles (97 km) on the Fife Lake Railway, which is wholly owned by the company, and another 72 miles (116 km) of the Red Coat Road & Rail on a yearly contractual basis.[2]

 
A trio of GWRS M420s idling outside of the Shaunavon shops.

Engine Roster

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Great Western Railway had humble beginnings hauling hopper cars of grain for small producer loading sites, but as Great Western Railway gradually gained trackage rights over Red Coat Road & Rail and Fife Lake Railway, the railway required more motive power to provide sufficient customer service for their new customers. Up until 2011, Great Western Railway utilized an all MLW M420 roster; however, with the increased maintenance cost of operating Montreal Locomotive Works locomotives, Great Western Railway decided to purchase their first General Electric units. In March 2011 it was announced Great Western Railway would receive two former Burlington Northern Santa Fe GE B40-8Ws for the original Great Western route.[3] In early 2017, GWRS 576 was purchased, continuing the company's effort to move into an entire G.E. fleet. Great Western Rail is currently in the process of selling their entire MLW fleet.

Unit Model Built Acquired History Retired Status Image
563 B40-8W 1992[4] 2011 [3] ATSF 563 (1992-2003)

BNSF 563 (2003-2011) GWRS 563 (2011–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active  
575 B40-8W 1992[4] 2011 [3] ATSF 575 (1992-2003)

BNSF 575 (2003-2011) GWRS 575 (2011–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active
576 B40-8 1989 2017[4] NYSW 4048 (1989-1990)

CSXT 5937 (1990-2015) (temporarily de-rated to B20-8) WRIX 5937 (2015-2017) GWRS 576 (2017–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active
577 B40-8 1988 2021 [4] CR 5088 (1988-Late 90s)

NS 4816 (Late 90s-2006) CSXT 5978 (2006-After 2018) GECX 5978 (Before 2020 -2021) GWRS 577 (2021–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active
578 B40-8 1988 2021 [4] CR 5067 (1988- Late 90s)

NS 4803 (Late 90s - 2006) CSXT 5965 (2006 - After 2018) (Temporarily re-rated to B20-8) GECX 5965 (Before 2020 - 2021)[4][5]

N/A Active
2000 M420 1973 2000 [6] CN 2522 (1973-1987)

CN 3522 (1987-2000) CCCR 2000 (2000-2001) GWRS 2000 (2001-2020) KRC 2404 (2020–Present) [4][7]

2017-2019 Sold  
2001 M420 1973 2001 [6] CN 2514 (1973-1987)

CN 3514 (1987-2000) CCCR 2001 (2000-2001) GWRS 2001 (2001-2020) KRC 2405 (2020–Present)[4][7]

2017-2019 Sold  
2002 M420R 1974 2002 [6] P&W 2002 (1974- Early 90s)

MECR 2002 (Early 90s - Late 90s) NREX 2002 (Late 90s -2003) GWRS (2003-2019) SLSX owned since 2019[4][7]

2017-2019 Sold  
2003 M420 1977 2008 [6][8] CN 2571 (1977- Late 80s)

CN 3571 (Late 80s - Unknown) CANX 3571 KPR 3571 LSRC 3571 (Early 2000s -2007) GWRS 2003 (2007-2019) SLSX owned since 2019[4][7]

2017-2019 Sold
2004 M420 1976 2008 [6][8] CN 2563 (1976- Late 80s)

CN 3563 (Late 80s -Unknown) CANX 3563 KPR 3563 LSRC 3563 (Early 2000s -2007) GWRS 2004 (2007-2019) SLSX owned since 2019[4][7]

2017-2019 Sold
4062 B23-7 1979 2013 CR 1974 (1979-1999)

NS 4062 (1999-2005) AOK 4062 (2005-2013) GWRS 4062 (2013–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active
4064 B23-7 1979 2013 CR 1976 (1979-1999)

NS 4064 (1999-2005) AOK 4064 (2005-2013) GWRS 4064 (2013–Present)[4][5]

N/A Active

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan University of Regina. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  2. ^ "Great Western Railway Official Website". Great Western Railway Ltd. 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  3. ^ a b c "Canadian Railway Observations March 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Canadian Trackside Guide (2023 ed.). Ottawa, Ontario: Bytown Rail Society. 2023. pp. 1–92 "Saskatchewan Shortline Rosters - Great Western Railway". ISSN 0829-3023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "GWRS - Great Western Railway Company Locomotive Roster - Railroad Picture Archives.NET". rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  6. ^ a b c d e "GWRS roster". Canadian Trackside Guide (2011 ed.). Bytown Railway Society. 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Great Western Railway Saskatchewan". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  8. ^ a b "Great Western Railway Equipment". Retrieved 2011-05-11.
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