Here’s a public timetable for the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway effective October 17, 1968. It was printed on a two-sided piece of stiff cardboard / paper, roughly 8.5″ x 11″, with rounded corners.
The cover shows a map of the railway, from Sept-Iles, Quebec north through Labrador to Schefferville, Quebec.
In 1968 there were three trains per week, departing Sept-Iles on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and departing Schefferville on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The train took 10.5 hours to make the journey, and stopped at three points in between (Oreway, Ross Bay Junction, and Esker), all in Newfoundland-Labrador.
A one-way ticket for the entire route cost $14.30, children cost half, and children under 5 traveled free with their parents or guardians.
One particular item of note is that you were allowed 150 pounds of baggage. Try flying with that!
At Ross Bay Junction, the QNS&L connected with the “Northern Land Company Limited Railway” to Wabush Lake / Labrador City. This is now part of the QNS&L.
Today the QNS&L doesn’t reach Schefferville. The segment from Emeril Junction (just north of Ross Bay Jct.) to Schefferville has been owned and operated by the Tshiuetin Rail Transportation company since December 1, 2005.
Alan Graham traveled over the railway in 2017 and wrote a guest post on my blog.
Thanks a million for this report. I also travelled the entire route from Sept Iles to Schefferville sometime in the early 1970’s. I took the Canada and Gulf Terminal to Mont Joli at which point I took ferry from there to Baie Comeau where I waited at a bar for the bus going to Sept Iles picked up passengers. I remember coming into Sept Iles. There was a steam engine on display there. The next day I boarded the QNS&L train there for my trip to Schefferville. The train as I recall had all red coaches and a full dining car. The food was exceptional. I went to Schefferville and stayed overnight but the next morning it was an early departure from Schefferville heading south to Sept Iles.
It was an entirely memorable trip from beginning to end.
Hi Bill, that sounds like a fascinating trip. On-board dining sounds much better than restaurant dining. If you ever want to write your trip up as a guest post, let me know!