Page 3 - October 2022 Track N Times

FEATURE STORY

Loram Blue Iron

By James (Ronny) Knight, Manager Material Handling

We have seen lots of changes in the blue iron
department the last couple of years.

Last year we started working for the Hudson
Bay Railway (HBR) in northern Manitoba. We
began with 4 dump trains and worked until the
freeze shut us down. This year we added
UC1202 to the HBR jobs working in the
north.

One of the challenges of working there is just
getting people and transportation to and from
the equipment. It is a 12-hour drive from Win-
nipeg to Gillam which is the last town going
north you can drive to. Then we are unloading
dump trains in Churchill, MB which is an 8-
hour train ride or hi-rail ride north of Gillam.
And housing for the crews in Churchill is fun
since there is a limited amount to go around in
the summer. The crew for UC1202 stayed at a
camp in Herchmer which is half way between
Gillam and Churchill. Churchill is a popular
tourist destination for people to watch Polar
Bears. Visiting Polar Bear at Herchmer Camp

This brings us to another challenge which is
the Polar Bears. This year we had a polar bear
show up in the camp at Herchmer and had to be tranquilized and moved to another location. The opera-
tors working there will all tell you that they are constantly looking out for the bears.

Mid-season this year HBR had a major change in management and we were not sure if our equipment
would continue to be utilized. But after the UC1202 crew showed them what we can do and how good

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Page 1 OCTOBER 2022