Things have changed this time around.
If you desire to see virgin, pristine, undisturbed snow the train run from Sudbury to White River and back is the way to appreciate this winter.
Last time around it was the vastness of open water that amazed us.
As you look out of the train’s spacious rectangular windows the moving pictures of the winter landscape move by - it’s simple enough yet striking and meditative. Now the subnivean environment is covered with a blanket of snow.
But there is starkness in this transitional white wonderland. There are sharp contrasts of drifted white snow and the deep green colours of the ragged forest line of the boreal forest silhouetted against the ever-changing sky. There is some open water at the bridges, glistening ice patches that sparkle with purple shadows. The palette of greys matters here.
This mid-winter train trip is a return engagement to a previous Village Media story, September 24 of last year. In that instalment, it was all about the water and how much of it we have in our northern Ontario backyard.
Winter makes dihydrogen oxide- H20 look distinct. Each molecule of water contains two atoms of hydrogen (H) joined to a single atom of oxygen (O). Remember that in the high school physics and chemistry classes – the states of matter. Temperature affects water by influencing the strength and number of hydrogen bonds between water molecules, which in turn impacts water’s changing physical properties. In essence, that’s why we have all of this snow and ice to look at differently during the winter season. The train ride allows for an understanding of this transformation – a new remote beauty beyond the elements of the periodic table.
Winter alone
Let someone else do the driving. There are no 511 Ontario Traveller Information road reports or lake squall effects to worry about. The road, irregularly, may be closed north of the Soo to Wawa but the train labours onward northward. The only delays are the priority east-west freight now CP-KC trains.
Just sit back and discover how much winter there really is in northern Ontario. A snowy landscape is called a snowscape. And that is what this visual train trip is all about.
There are two, long stainless steel rail cars, symmetrical in appearance. Before the trip, I had requested VIA media relations to have the windows be cleaned and they were.
The constant gentle rocking motion will lull you into a thoughtless state. Other times while watching the Canadian Shield roll by with its winter attire fully on, you are looking with rapt attention.
You are able to see further because the deciduous trees are sleeping without their leaves. There are more details to see this time around.
In the near distance, you spot large round-like glacial erratics, souvenirs of the last ice age occurrence, with their snowcapped toques on.
The low rumble of the electric diesel engine is a constant companion, its power has a distinctive hum. It is magnetic, allowing for those drifting-off moments of tranquillity. The ride allows for a different perspective of winter in its natural lying state – not shovelled, plowed or changed with a snow blower. Other than a fraction of development here and there, there are no streets or signs or light standards here.
With a sunny blue sky day, the shadows stretch out like Edward Scissorhands you do see more as the deciduous trees are naked.
The bulbous crowns of the black spruce look like tall sentries guarding something, maybe because of Trump mania. Musing, it is a Made in Canada day alright.
The mileage markers whiz by (trains use miles not metric) the fallen telegraph poles with the drooping wires, connected by the green and translucent insulators. On eBay these are worth between $25 to $50. The train speed varies, an average of 35 to 50 mph, top speed is 70.
Mid-winter, you find yourself lost in thought with the natural scenery, the slow pace of the journey allowing your mind to wander for eight hours and a bit. The next day, the weather changes again, and the scenery, as well. You repeat the experience with a different spatial perspective. Back you go to the Big Nickel.
Sudbury to White River
It is informally called the Budd Car but this heritage stainless steel day liner or rail liner (Rail Diesel Car-RDC), train #185(west)/186(east) runs northwest from Sudbury to White River all year round. It is not a tour train per se, but a Canadian passenger/service train operated by VIA Rail serving communities along this rural route, three times a week. The Sudbury to White River train has become the last remaining RDC run in North America.
It is one of only two flag-stop trains in Canada, where people can wave down and board the train and the second most subsidized operating run with ridership for the year just more than 7,000 patrons. It is a three-person train crew, with two engineers who double as baggage handlers. VIA said, “The ridership on the tracks has always remained relatively low with no notable spike outside of the pandemic-induced drop. For reference, there were 7142 passengers in 2023.” Not many, especially during the winter.
The train provides the 301 (484 km) mile service, to many remote locations only accessible by rail on the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline in northern Ontario.
Occasionally, the train’s horn announces its winter presence to remote places I have been to previously but only via the back roads. Stops were once thriving places, related mostly to lumber mills; on the line include Amyot, Swanson, Franz, Lochalsh, Dalton, Nicholson, Chapleau, Nemegos, Kormak, Sultan, Metagama and Benny. It appears a little forlorn this time around as the train barely slows.
Everything you saw in the summer is now mostly closed.
Camps/cottage access points, canoe route access points and demarcation points for tourism lodges. Chapleau, about halfway, is a remaining town as are the small villages of Biscotasing and Missanabie all shrouded in snow with little humankind movement.
For a portion of the trip, the train skirts the boundary of the Chapleau Game Preserve, established in 1925, two million acres of protected land the largest in the world. That’s the common denominator of remoteness for this trip. No animals but plenty of moose tracks in the new snow alongside the right-of-way. There was an up-close fox encounter, see the photos.
Heritage treat
The cars clad in what looks like stainless steel are indeed different and time has made them even more special, especially with a white backdrop.
Christopher Greenlaw of the VIA Heritage Association (VHA) is a railway buffer. He wrote the historic book VIA Rail the story of the passenger rail company in 2007.
“For myself and a lot of the VHA members, it’s to reconstruct the trains we rode as kids. It’s all an important piece of Canadian history and there currently isn’t an organization exclusively dedicated to the preservation and promotion of railway passenger service in Canada," Greenlaw said. "The VHA fills that gap. We’re currently assembling and restoring a train of blue and yellow VIA equipment in time for their 50th anniversary in 2028.
“You’re going on an exciting trip on heritage equipment. There are a few neat things about the route you’re taking. For starters, it’s the only remaining VIA train entirely on CP tracks and a portion of the old route of transcontinental trips called The Canadian.
“The equipment is unique too.
"The Rail Diesel Car (RDC) for short (also known as Budd cars), were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, PA in the 1950s. The concept behind the RDC was to make branch lines and short passenger routes more profitable by having a self-propelled rail coach rather than a traditional diesel or steam engine and rolling stock.
"Naturally, less equipment to run required less personnel, so there was a cost savings for the railroads in that way, too. It was hoped that the RDC would save rail travel from the stem of passengers to the air and road modes of transportation but alas, it wasn’t to be.”
RDCs are direct-drive machines, unlike a diesel-electric locomotive. The engines are connected directly to the gearboxes in the trucks.
“Both CP and CN had fairly large fleets of RDCs until the creation of VIA in 1976. VIA inherited the lot and they ran all across Canada on short routes, such as Saint John to Halifax, Peterborough to Toronto, Calgary to Edmonton, and on Vancouver Island," Greenlaw said. "All of these routes are discontinued, mostly in 1990. Once the Vancouver Island operation ceased about 10-15 years ago.”
In essence, #185/#186 is a heritage trip worth savouring in all four seasons.
“Among the RDCs used on the train you’ll be on, there’s one configured entirely for baggage," Greenlaw added. "That’s called an RDC-4 and it’s shorter than the other RDC types. They’re particularly less common as there weren’t as many made.”
What was a busy time but there are now no canoes, lodge/camp luggage and provisions being loaded on or off on this trip.
The riders
On the Tuesday, February 11 it is -16 C. You board at the 1907, Elgin St. Sudbury train station, it has those historic high-back oak seats in the waiting area, a retro drinking fountain, and there is a ticket agent.
There’s fresh snow on the platform. You step onto the yellow ground safety stool, with a rubber grip mat. There are three steep steps up, gripping the handrails, into the RDC car, and then into spacious, reclinable seats of the passenger car, it is cozy and warm. It is bright and open, not like the confinement of a plane.
Then there is that initial lurch from the car coupling.
It is not a train tour but since the TVO documentary and the first Back Roads Bill September story more people have taken to riding #185. Some are called buffers. Those that are a rail fan, train fan, rail buff or train buff - railway enthusiasts.
There were a number of these types in September, but not this time. We are five and there are four others on the entire train. It was found to be a diverse group.
I engage everyone en route…
Next week, the diversity of ridership and more reflections of this winter trek.
There’s no “all aboard,” but all of us “enjoy the train ride on one of northern Ontario’s unique experiences.” See the map for the route, waiting for part two.
There is a solitude feeling of space and stillness as nature is at rest. Winter is in slumber mode for a while maybe within its REM. This ride is a moving art gallery with masterpieces to discover.
The repeat was so worth it on the back roads. More to come on February 22.
