E-Mail News - January 2009
Newfoundland T’Railway Council
E-Mail News
Compiled by the Newfoundland T’Railway Council
January, 2009
1. Note to Subscribers
2. Season’s Greetings
3. Full Speed Ahead
4. Two Trail Pavilions Opened
5. Appalachian Trail Progressing
6. Let There Be Light
7. “Rendezvous 2009” Scheduled for February
8. TCT Welcomes New CEO
9. Be Prepared
10. Not Getting Any Younger
1. NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS
This is the last issue of the T’Railway newsletter subscribers will receive in this format. For some time now we’ve been working on a new version of our web page which we’re hoping to upload shortly. After that, you’ll be able to keep current on all the T’Railway news and upcoming events by visiting the web site. Thanks for your support in the past and we look forward to staying in touch in the future.
2. SEASON’S GREETINGS
A Happy New Year to trail users everywhere. The past year was certainly an eventful one for the T’Railway Council on at least two fronts. Whether the result of global warming or simply just one more indication of our province’s freakish weather patterns, the T’Railway was hit by a series of torrential downpours which caused considerable damage in several areas. In most cases, emergency repairs were carried out by the Parks and Natural Areas Division in conjunction with the T’Railway Council but through-traffic was unavoidably disrupted for several weeks at a time.
On a more serious note, in early February of 2008 the provincial government announced the closure of all trestles and bridges within the T’Railway Provincial Park following the release of a report from Transport Canada which identified serious safety concerns with a number of structures along the route. Most of these have subsequently been re-opened but six trestles between Stephenville and Port aux Basques will remain closed until a decision is made regarding their repair or replacement. As well, the trestle at Indian Pond just east of the Holyrood Generating Plant, which was taken up in 2007 because of storm damage, has not been replaced as of yet.
3. FULL SPEED AHEAD
The T’Railway Council’s three year project to complete the upgrading of all one hundred and thirty railway trestles between Port aux Basques and St. John’s is progressing on schedule, with plans well underway for the start of this year’s construction season. Since the T’Railway
was proclaimed as a provincial park in 1997 well over half of the trestles on the trail half been repaired and refurbished. This has involved new decking and safety railing, abutment repairs, erosion control, gravel backfilling, some concrete work and the installation of safety and information signs. Last year, approximately 24 bridges east of the village of Terra Nova were upgraded, this year saw work being completed on a similar number on the west coast while this coming summer priority will go to the 15 trestles on the Gaff Topsails between
Badger and Howley.
4. TWO TRAIL PAVILIONS OPENED
Two new trail pavilions were erected in the province in 2008, with opening ceremonies taking place in Gander and Corner Brook.
The opening of the Gander Pavilion, which is located on the T’Railway just east of Airport Boulevard, coincided with celebrations marking the town’s 50th anniversary of its incorporation
as a municipality. A small but enthusiastic crowd of about 25 people attended the event, along with Gander Mayor Claude Eliott, MP Scott Simms, MHA Kevin O’Brien and T’Railway Council President Jamie Warren.
The Corner Brook Pavilion, which contains the names of close to 500 individuals and organizations who have contributed to the development of the Trans Canada Trail in Newfoundland, was officially opened in November with about 50 people in attendance. That pavilion is located at the Man in the Mountainviewing area at the intersection of the Trans Canada Highwayand Riverside Drive.
5. APPALACHIAN TRAIL PROGRESSING
One of eastern North America’s foremost hiking trails is continuing to grow on the island of Newfoundland. The 3,500 km Appalachian Trail was begun in the 1920s and extends from Georgia to Maine. In the early 1990s it crossed the border into Canada as the International Appalachian Trail and continues through New Brunswick and Quebec to Newfoundland. This past year, the Corner Brook-based International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador (IATNL) began development of three new trail sections: the Lewis Hills Trail from Cold Brook Road across the Lewis Hills (the highest point on the island of Newfoundland) to Serpentine Lake; Blow Me Down Trail from Serpentine Lake across the Blow Me Down Mountains to Benoit’s Cove; and the Devil’s Bite Trail in the Parsons Pond watershed on the Great Northern Peninsula. Once completed later this year, the Newfoundland portion of the Appalachian Trail will run from Port aux Basques to Crow Head, just east of L’Anse aux Meadows.
6. LET THERE BE LIGHT
T’Railway users as well as motorists on the Trans Canada Highway may want to make a point of paying a special visit to Bishop’s Falls this year. As part of its 100th anniversary celebrations the town has illuminated the 987-foot long railway trestle crossing the Exploits River in Bishop’s Falls just downstream from the former Abitibi-Bowater power house. The trestle, the longest railway bridge on the island, was first illuminated for the Christmas holidays several years ago but this time the lights are to remain in place for the entire centennial year.
7. “RENDEZVOUS 2009" SCHEDULED
FOR FEBRUARY
The official trail ride of the Newfoundland and Labrador Snowmobile Federation will take place later this winter on the west coast. “Rendezvous 2009" will run from February 27 to March 1 in Stephenville and is being hosted by the Bay St. George Snowmobile and ATV Association.
8. TCT WELCOMES NEW CEO
In June the Board of Directors of Trans Canada Trail announced the appointment of Deborah Apps as Presidentand CEO. Ms. Apps is a senior professional with more than 25 years of experience in health care, education, the arts and the not-for-profit sector. The announcement was made at the organization’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg, which was attended by the T’Railway Council’s secretary/treasurer Leon Organ from Bicycle Newfoundland and Labrador.
9. BE PREPARED
By way of a word to the wise, trail users are reminded that anyone traveling through forest land during the forest fire season on an all-terrain or motorized vehicle must carry a fire extinguisher containing a minimum of 227 grams of ABC class dry chemical. Various types of these relatively inexpensive devices are readily available from most hardware stores and RV dealerships.
10. NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER
As anyone over the age of fifty already knows, the baby boomers are not quite as energetic as they used to be. Down hill skiing - and the often equally hazardous apres-ski associated with it - is facing stiff competition from its more sedately paced relative, Nordic skiing, which poses far less of a risk to the brittle bones of ageing boomers. Further evidence of this shift in demographics can be found in the growing popularity of snowshoeing, which in recent years has evolved from a strictly utilitarian method of walking over deep snow with the aid of wood and rawhide frames lashed to one’s feet, into a trendy new winter sport combining the latest space age technology and materials without the concomitant dangers involved in rapid and uncontrolled forward movement over near vertical surfaces. In fact, the interest in snowshoeing is such that many ski resorts and trail builders are developing trail systems exclusively for the use of greying and increasingly safety conscious baby boomers anxious to try out their new aluminum “webs” featuring neoprene and nylon decking, hinged bindings, built-in crampons and detachable tail extenders. |
