And the big question is... what's a Canadian Arctic Railway (CNAR)? Well, it's one of two things - it's either a group that I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH (just for reference) trying to get the real thing built, or it's my N scale model railroad that I've had rolling around in my head for some time. I mention the real group only to make sure that people realize the difference - I actually thought up the name about 14 years ago on a trip to Alaska. I put it aside until about six months ago, when I decided I really wanted to do more of a freelance layout rather than a Rio Grande-based one as I'd been planning for the past four years. On an offhand search, I ran across the actual company by the same name. They don't appear too active at the moment, but then again economic conditions have been a bit averse to any such large scale project. I wish them the best of luck, or for that matter anybody who can get the real line built. Mine, on the other hand, is getting ever closer to construction.
So what's my version? It's a planned double-deck N scale model railroad covering about 600 sq. feet of floor space in my basement. Theoretically, it's a newly completed (2000) linkage between the BC Rail system at Fort Nelson and the Alaska Railroad at Fairbanks. Between those points, it roughly follows the same path as the Alaska Highway, and also connects with the White Pass & Yukon at Whitehorse. One large branch extends from Whitehorse up the Yukon to the Carmacks region to serve the mining industry.
With the sale of BCR in 2004, the CNAR expanded with the successful bid, coming in to beat the competing CN bid and add BC Rail as an indepedant operating subsidiary. BCR remains intact as an integral part of the CNAR - at least in the alternate future that lives in my basement. Too bad reality came out much, much worse.
Freight traffic includes a mix of intermodal between the Lower 48 and Alaska, outbound agricultural, forestery and mining products, inbound supplies, and regular local services to meet the needs of communities along the line. Because of the CNAR's ability to move between Fort Nelson and Fairbanks in just under 30 hours, intermodal service has all but replaced through trucks on the Alaska Highway. Two daily express intermodal runs serve as a long-haul aggrigator for trucks between Alaska and the Lower 48. In addition, the rich softwood industries of upper BC, the Yukon, and Alaska provide a good deal of outbound freight, and the CNAR provides economical transport from places previously too distant to be viable producers. The petrochemical industry also provides freight - both heavy materials inbound, and oil, compressed natural gas, and refined products outbound. The CNAR also serves as the new lifeline for many of the communities along the route, providing a reliable, time-definite, year-round supply line, replacing trucks that before that often were delayed on account of weather or poor road conditions.
Passenger service comes in two flavors - tourist-oriented through trains and local services. As a joint venture between the CNAR, Amtrak, and VIA, daily through passenger service is provided by trains 9 & 10 - the northbound and southbound Northern Lights, respectively. These express trains make only four stops across the line - Fairbanks, Whitehorse, Watson Lake, and Fort Nelson - which helps assure their exacting 28 hour schedule. In addition, they're timed to coincide with the WP&YR's Whitehorse service, for those wanting to stop and wander over to Skagway for a day or two.
Local service is provided by several sets of refurbished Budd RDCs. (Translation: I'm not exactly sure how I want to run them yet, and I don't even yet own the Kato RDCs.) The idea is to provide rapid, reliable service in all weather between cities along the lines and everywhere else - even the most remote flag stop - as a public service to the communities the CNAR passes through.
The CNAR hauls this freight using its standardized fleet of 50 SD70MACs purchased new just before the line's completion. These units handle the mainstay freight, while the locals and other jobs are handled by a varied mix of secondhand, rebuilt EMDs. In addition, after the acquisition of BC Rail, BCR's GE fleet also commonly makes appearances on the line. Alaska RR power is quite common, especially on run-through manifests and coal trains.
