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Post by Chris City on Jul 8, 2013 20:00:05 GMT -8
On July 7 I caught Seaspan Foam passing Seaspan Cavalier and Charles H Cates XX as she returns to Ogden Point after meeting freighter Aqualegacy in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Seaspan Cavalier had brought fuel barge Petrobulker to refuel cruise ship Grand Princess.
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Post by Chris City on Jul 3, 2013 20:45:30 GMT -8
Charles Cates XX & Sea Imp IX have dropped off their barge at the Ralmax slip and now head back to their respective docks.
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Post by Chris City on Jul 2, 2013 22:11:39 GMT -8
Sea Imp IX & Charles Cates XX bring another barge load of contaminated sediments from the waterlot of the Esquimalt Graving Dock through Victoria's Upper Harbour. The barge is bound for the Ralmax slip at South Bay where the dredged material will be transferred to truck.
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Post by Chris City on Jun 24, 2013 22:05:15 GMT -8
Seaspan Foam assists Sea Imp IX bring a loaded barge into South Bay, off of Victoria's Upper Harbour:
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Post by Chris City on Jun 21, 2013 23:43:50 GMT -8
Charles Cates XX making it's way out to meet Seaspan Pacer and the fuel barge it has just brought to Ogden Point from North Vancouver. The barge will be used to fuel up cruise ship Star Princess, one of three cruise ships docked at Ogden Point on this Friday evening.
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Post by Chris City on Mar 30, 2013 18:55:46 GMT -8
I wasn't sure where to put this one... Sorry I don't have any info about this barge but I just wanted to say that's a great photo. I haven't seen many photos of rail barges from that era so it's nice to see, thanks for sharing. Do you know where this was taken, which route it was on? Looks like there's truck trailers on there too.
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Post by Chris City on Feb 11, 2013 20:11:33 GMT -8
So are those rail cars coming to/from the E&N, or elsewhere? Who is the customer for the tank cars? I can assure you that it is not a customer located in Kitimat. Neither of those were from the E&N, both of them would've been from one of the mills. The mills still getting rail barges are Crofton, Port Mellon, Powell River, Harmac and Port Alice.
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Post by Chris City on Feb 11, 2013 19:42:39 GMT -8
I was in Vancouver the last few days and made a point of getting down to the Annacis Marine Terminal (AMT) to get a few photos. No action on this day as it was pretty quiet around there but it gave me a chance to look around. Looking at the apron with the different track configurations: Seaspan 940 waiting to be unloaded: Seaspan 930 waiting at BTU for it's turn at the barge slip:
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Post by Chris City on Feb 2, 2013 0:17:52 GMT -8
WCK: I was surprised when it said it was from Kitimat as I'd never heard of rail barges going there before, could be mislabeled like you said. I've asked the uploader about the video, waiting for a response.
P_Keenleyside: I've also seen in the past where isolated industries received railcars by barge but the cars were unloaded while staying on the barge. I don't know if that still happens anywhere today though.
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Post by Chris City on Feb 1, 2013 19:37:54 GMT -8
Came across this video of a Seaspan tug hauling a railbarge from Kitimat, which is interesting in that I didn't know there was a railbarge slip there. I don't think they move railcars to Kitimat this way anymore though, I'm guessing this video is older as I believe that barge has been retired. Can anybody tell me more about the Kitimat barge slip?
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Post by Chris City on Feb 1, 2013 9:46:29 GMT -8
Documentation of this operation for your viewing enjoyment That's a great dvd, highly recommend it!
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Post by Chris City on Jan 31, 2013 17:53:07 GMT -8
There is currently a railbarge berth in service in Vancouver, directly north of the intersection of Powell St and Cordova Div, between Balantyne Pier and Rogers Sugar. This berth was used for a brief period of time (I think in 2009) by the SRY, I'm assuming while their berth under the Alex Fraser Bridge was undergoing maintenance. That would be the BNSF barge slip, I don't think it's been used since SRY used it in 2009. It seems like all the rail barge movements that come in and out of the lower mainland have been consolidated at the Annacis barge slip.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 31, 2013 12:56:46 GMT -8
For instance, the Canexus Chemical Plant: it has it's own barge slip but I know it's also switched by CN. So does this barge slip get used anymore? After looking at an updated Google Maps view of their barge slip, it shows the actual barge slip is still there but all rails leading to it have been removed. That would explain why they're selling their barge. That leaves the lower mainland with I believe 3 operational rail barge slips: the BNSF Burrard Inlet slip, Tilbury, and the only one currently being used on Annacis Island. If I missed any, I'd be interested to hear about them
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Post by Chris City on Jan 24, 2013 20:16:15 GMT -8
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Post by Chris City on Jan 23, 2013 13:08:14 GMT -8
New thread, inspired by an email that WCFF received from a forum reader. (yes, there's some overlap between current & historical in these links, but that's ok; really it is) Great idea for a thread! I know I have a lot of questions regarding the railbarges and their routine. For instance, the Canexus Chemical Plant: it has it's own barge slip but I know it's also switched by CN. So does this barge slip get used anymore? If it is, where are the cars coming from/ going to? I'm guessing they used their own barge but now I see that they're selling it so what will become of the barge slip?
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Post by Chris City on Jan 22, 2013 21:59:45 GMT -8
Here is the photo of the Carrier Princess from today. It is hard to tell from the photos but the tracks are gone from the stern. You can kind of see what's left towards the bow, but it looks like she is getting some new deck plating. She probably needs a good painting as well. Great photo, that's quite the view from there! Thanks for sharing.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 22, 2013 20:05:59 GMT -8
Seaspan Greg, Princess Superior, Seaspan Doris were the other more recent self propelled railcar ferries to serve BC's coast, but all have had their rails removed (Princess Superior I think still has rails, but is only capable of hauling 5 railcars). The E&N is still alive, Seaspan uses tug and barge to transport railcars to it now. Thank god for that! (railfan too :-}) Saw her today in drydock while shooting a penthouse. I will post later tonight. Ah, another railfan! The E&N is limping along with a handful of customers, currently waiting to sign a contract with VIA to get the Dayliner running again, but that's another subject altogether! I have some E&N photos on my flickr page if you're interested: www.flickr.com/photos/7307607@N06/ Yes, sadly the Carrier Princess is having the rails removed leaving it for drop-trailer service only. Looking forward to your photos to see how the process is coming along (can you post the penthouse pics too? ).
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Post by Chris City on Jan 22, 2013 9:18:01 GMT -8
Very interesting! What other ships are out there that can carry reailcars I wonder? And/or does that spell the end of the E&N? Seaspan Greg, Princess Superior, Seaspan Doris were the other more recent self propelled railcar ferries to serve BC's coast, but all have had their rails removed (Princess Superior I think still has rails, but is only capable of hauling 5 railcars). The E&N is still alive, Seaspan uses tug and barge to transport railcars to it now.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 19, 2013 23:54:43 GMT -8
On December 27 I drove up to Nanaimo to watch the Carrier Princess being unloaded of the railcars it brought over from Annacis Island for the E&N. What I didn't know at the time was that the 17 railcars it brought over would be the last railcars it would ever haul. The Carrier Princess is now at a shipyard in North Vancouver having it's rails removed from the deck. It goes without saying that I was very happy that I made the trip to Nanaimo that day! Carrier Princess coming into the harbour: After the railcars where unloaded the Carrier Princess would make the trip back to the mainland with a load of trailers:
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Post by Chris City on Jan 19, 2013 22:35:42 GMT -8
re Seaspan Doris (Yorke): The message that I got from Seaspan is that she is currently laid-up. She is not currently needed by them and it doesn't make sense to keep her maintained (in a regulatory way) when she's both idle and also near the end of her service life. We will hopefully see the start of the next generation of Seaspan Ferries vessels sometime maybe 3 years from now. So stay tuned. Thanks for sharing their response. Do you think we'll ever see new freight ferries or will they go with more pusher-tug and barge set-ups? I'd have to think the ferries aren't as economical anymore.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 19, 2013 13:58:18 GMT -8
I sent an email inquiry to Seaspan Ferries today. I'll see if they reply, and if they give me some detail. - I'll share it here when I get it. Thanks, I would be interested to know what will become of the Doris, hoping that it won't be scrapped.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 19, 2013 11:52:28 GMT -8
Found out that the Seaspan Doris has been retired.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 11, 2013 14:54:21 GMT -8
At lunch today I noticed at Russel's Books in Victoria they had the Gary Bannerman Ships of British Columbia book in hard cover for $9.99, if anybody is interested.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 11, 2013 13:42:30 GMT -8
The Seaspan Doris is still listed as one of their four self-propelled ferries, so she may just be laid up because of the loss in business Seaspan has experienced with BC Ferries getting into the drop trailer market. That's good to know, thanks! Hopefully it can make a return to service at some point.
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Post by Chris City on Jan 11, 2013 11:59:35 GMT -8
The Doris is still currently moored in North Vancouver, I am estimating about <1 km west of Lonsdale Quay SeaBus terminal. There have been no movements by this vessel within the past year or so, and is tied alongside other Seaspan vessels. I am assuming that this vessel has been retired from active service. Great, thanks for the update! Too bad it's finished, always thought it was a unique ship for the west coast.
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