Eastend Scenic Rail Tours

The quiet town of Eastend, Saskatchewan has become the home of perhaps the largest collection of ex CN, ex VIA Rail equipment in the world.

Gary Southgate, a farmer from North Battleford, SK, has been collecting railway equipment for a decade. He has purchased ex VIA Rail blue and yellow passenger equipment, and locomotives, and they have been stashed across the Prairies at various museums and sidings.

In early 2022, this equipment was moved to the Great Western Railway tracks in Eastend, SK. Gary and his group have formed Eastend Scenic Rail Tours and are working toward providing a tourist train experience.

I spoke with Gary several years ago. He was looking for ideas on where he could base his collection of equipment. I didn’t really have a good answer for him; I think my advice was to look for a shortline railway, as neither CN nor CP would be interested in hosting his equipment. I’m glad it has found a home.

The majority of the equipment arrived in Eastend in early May 2022, hauled by GWRS 578 and 563.

Their locomotive roster includes these locomotives:

• RPCX 6311, FP9Au (originally CN 6529)
• RPCX 6304, FP9Au (originally CN 6509, was CN 1967 on the Confederation Train)
• RPCX 1750, FP9A (ex Keokuk Junction Railway, originally CN 6502)
• RPCX 1761, F9B (ex Keokuk Junction Railway, originally CN 6613)

Most of their passenger cars are in some variant of VIA Rail’s “blue and gold” scheme, and include:

• RPCX 9646, baggage (ex Bluewater MI chapter of the NRHS, originally CN 9266)
• RPCX 9486, combine (ex Bluewater MI chapter of the NRHS, originally NYC Sleeper 10417, CN Sleeper 2069 Valrita)
• RPCX 651 Club Richelieu
• RPCX 1177
• RPCX 2143 Conestogo River
• RPCX 5228 (?)
• RPCX 5226
• RPCX 5603 “Armstrong”, coach (originally CN 5603)
• RPCX 5654 “Kelowna”, coach (originally CN 5654)
• RPCX 15475 (steam generator)
• RPCX 9653, baggage car (originally CN 9282)
• RPCX 654 “Saint James Club”, club galley (originally CN 582 “Lake O’Brien”)
• RPCX 5522 “Kamloops”, coach (originally CN 5522)
• RPCX 659 “York Club”, club galley (originally buffet sleeper CN 1018 “Valley Road”)
• RPCX 658 “Boulevard Club”, club galley (originally buffet sleeper CN 1015 “Valley Mills”)
• RPCX 752, cafe-lounge (originally coach CN 5502)
• RPCX 1128 “Elmsdale”, sleeper (originally CN 1128)
• RPCX 3
• RPCX 653 “Mount Royal Club”, club galley (originally coach CN 5639)
• “Cape Tormentine” (arrived June 2022)

You can see a video of their arrival at Eastend here.

I’ve seen some of these cars before.

Many of these cars were owned by Nagel Tours / Funtrain Canada and operated as the Okanagan Valley Wine Train, from Kelowna to Vernon, BC until 2001. They were sold in 2015 to Gary and carefully hauled out of the area and stored at Aspen Crossing, AB. I photographed them at Aspen Crossing in the summer of 2016.

I saw 9646 and 9486 in May 2021 as they headed west through Winnipeg.

Many thanks to “BW Bandy” for sharing these photos with me (and you). Visit his excellent blog The View From Here.

I hope to get to Eastend some day soon to see this equipment for myself. I’m not sure if the railway will be up and running this summer but they are working hard to get things ready. Follow their Facebook page for updates!