Great Western Railway summary
The Great Western Railway (GWRS) is a short line railroad that operates in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It has been owned by local investors since 2004. With four subdivisions purchased from the Canadian Pacific Railway, along with 70 miles of trackage rights on the Red Coat Road & Rail and the 60-mile Fife Lake Railway acquired in 2019, the Great Western operates a total of 440 miles of standard-gauge track in an area rich in grain.
History
In January 2000, Canadian Pacific approached Westcan Rail Limited to sell 310 miles of four branch lines. Negotiations were complete by June, and the Great Western Railway was formed later that year to operate the Notukeu Subdivision from Val Marie to Consul; the Altawan Subdivision from Consul to Shaunavon; the Shaunavon Subdivision from Shaunavon to Limerick; and the Vanguard Subdivision from Meyronne to Wymark. In fear of future abandonment, GWRS became locally owned in 2004 when the municipalities, local businesses and producers joined forces to purchase the railroad from Westcan.
Operations
The Great Western Railway sees approximately 10,000 car movements per year in shipping grain, fertilizer and frac sand, in addition to providing railcar storage. A total of 40 locations along the line are used for grain producers to load their crop. Cereal grains, such as spring wheat and amber durum wheat, are shipped abroad to Italy, the Mediterranean and countries in Africa. Pulse crops, which includes chickpeas, lentils, peas and beans, are shipped abroad to India. Another major crop is barley, destined for the millers and malting locations in Canada and the United States. Great Western has capitalized its ability to provide on-site transloading services for its other businesses. It maintains these facilities for crude oil at Instow and Dollard, along with inbound fertilizers at an average rate of 140 cars annually. The railroad is also the leading storage supplier in Saskatchewan, while providing railcar repair divisions.
For its first 15 years, Great Western operated with a roster of used M420 diesel locomotives from the Montreal Locomotive Works. A phase out plan took place in 2016 as secondhand, four-axle GEs revitalized the fleet. Two B40-8Ws, two B23-7s and a B40-8 serve as the motive power to the system.
Since being spun off by Canadian Pacific, the GWRS continues to interchange with the Class I railroad. Assiniboia is where all the hauled grain is transferred over to the CP.
Read more about the Great Western Railway in Trains’ June 2020 issue.
