Shopping the Train – Further Study
Shopping the Train
The following are descriptions of four railways (two in operation, and two future projects).
Here we have resource materials for a further-study third lesson that can be undertaken by teachers, students, and homeschoolers on their own after the other two lessons have been completed.
Indigenous peoples have proven highly adept at mastering the technologies and operating models of other societies to meet their own needs and contribute to a larger economy.
Two regional railways, one in Québec and Labrador, the other in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are owned and operated by First Nations. Another two, a former abandoned rail line with the tracks still in place, and an international northern rail at the project stage, now in receivership, in which First Nations had/have a major stake.
Any of these can make for an online research project; two or more could be used for a comparative study.
Successfully completed projects submitted to CCOR/S-Cla-Ferro-Can, could end up posted on this site!
How to Submit Projects
Operating – Tshiuetin Rail Transport
Tshiuetin Rail Transport – (Tshiuetin = “north wind”) runs North America’s first Indigenous railway owned by (a) the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John, (b) the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach and (c) the Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam. Its line includes part of the former Quebec, North Shore and Labrador (QNSL) Railway built by Iron Ore Company of Canada. (Canada’s 18th PM, Brian Mulroney, was president of Iron Ore Company before entering politics.) Tshiuetin has running rights on the south of QNSL. Its twice weekly passenger runs to/from the port of Sept-Îles on the Saint Lawrence.
Operating – One North
One North has owned and operated the Hudson Bay Railway from Winnipeg MB through Hudson Bay SK to Churchill MB since 2021. As the Arctic warms, Churchill, the former entry port to the Hudson’s Bay Company Rupertsland, may become an almost year-round port for grain and other bulk commodities from the landlocked Prairies to world markets. VIA Rail Canada has a twice weekly passenger train (48 hr. running time) over the 1697 km. The northern part of the line runs through tundra and permafrost.
Visit ArcticGateway.com for more information.
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Projected – Vancouver Island Corridor Foundation
The Vancouver Island Corridor Foundation, a mix of municipalities and First Nations, owns the former Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway from Victoria to Courtenay. VIA Rail passenger service ended in 2011 due to the poor state of the line; some tanker freight still runs through Nanaimo. If land claims by one of the partners can be resolved, this line, or parts of it, have possibilities for tourism and commuter service.
Projected – Alberta Alaska Railway
The Alberta Alaska Railway, signed into existence by President Trump at the end of his first term of office, has been in receivership since 1921: a 2,600 km. plan for transporting Alberta bitumen from Fort McMurray through the Northwest and Yukon territories and into Alaska to connect with Alaska State Railroad and its Anchorage tidewater terminus. First Nations enroute approved the project, that would have given Alberta a Pacific port without the political protests of shipping through British Columbia. It would also give Alaska a rail link to the continental rail grid of Canada, the lower 48 states and Mexico. With President Trump’s interest in takeover of Canadian resources, this may be one to go slow on!
Any of these can make for an online research project; two or more can be a comparative study. Successful projects, submitted to CCOR/S-Cla-Ferro-Can, could end up posted on this site.
