Image Credit: Adam Donnelly/CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

WORKIN' ON THE RAILROAD

How do you move a 100-year-old, 100-ton rail car? Kamloops Heritage Railway brought in the cranes

Jan 12, 2021 | 5:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — Tuesday (Jan. 12) was moving day for the Kamloops Heritage Railway (KHR). The society transferred a passenger car built in the late-1920s from an active line to the static display area.

However, moving a railcar that weighs nearly 200,000 pounds isn’t an easy feat. CFJC Today captured the action down at the KHR back shop complex near Pioneer Park.

So, you want to move a very old passenger car from a live track to a static display? The car is extremely heavy.

“It weighs approximately — with the trucks — 190,000 [lbs],” Wayne Connors, rolling stock supervisor for Kamloops Heritage Railway, explains. What’s the best way to do that? After months of planning, Tuesday was the day. Somehow, a pair of excavators with crane arms would move the old car..

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“The space here is really limited,” KHR Executive Director Cory Clark explains. “Having two big excavators come down with a really long car in there, as well. It’s a tight squeeze.”

The plan was to take one truck off the railcar — the part with the wheels that sit on the rails. The trucks also weigh the most, so taking one off would make the move easier and safer.

“The drawbar shank is old, and it’s going to be somewhat brittle,” Conners says. “To take that extra weight [off] — if the drawbar snaps, the move is done.”

So with a great deal of planning and prep, the move is on. First, the east end of the car is lifted, while the second crane is moved into position. According to Clark, the society is lucky to have Brentwood Enterprises on board to help with the move.

“When we originally brought our cattle car and our caboose over it was Brentwood [Enterprises] that did it,” Clark says. “They’re just absolutely amazing community partners.”

Once the west end was off the truck, the move was on. After some careful and precise operation of these powerful machines, the car was set in place. Great news for those from society watching.

“It went remarkably smooth,” Clark says. “Normally, with jobs like this, you have some hiccups along the way. We did have small ones, but as you can see the back end is on the rails. We just have to bring the trucks down and we’re done.”

Once the car is in place permanently, the plan is to convert it into a learning space that will help KHR expand the educational component of the new shop tour the society plans to offer.