Devco

Company History: This line was established in 1968 to reorganize the Sydney & Louisburg Railway. The line linked coal mines with docks on Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island. For the first few years, they continued to use the Sydney & Louisburg name but the Devco Railway name was completely phased in by the mid-70s. By 2001, the coal mines had played out and the railroad was instead used to import coal. At this point, Devco’s parent turned over operation of the railroad to the newly formed Sydney Coal Railway, part of the Société des chemins de fer du Québec shortline group.

Successor/Parent History: SCR was established in 2001 by the Société des chemins de fer du Québec shortline group to be the new designated operator of the former Devco Railway. The railway moves coal from Sydney Harbour to a power station in New Waterford, Nova Scotia. The track, power station and coal docks at Sydney Harbour belong to Logistec Corporation and in 2008, Logistec took over operations of the railway as well. 21 car SCR coal trains are led by a pair of GP38-2’s. The cars are Ortner 5-bay rapid discharge hoppers. Although SCR didn’t really interchange with anyone, they were connected to the North American rail network via the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia at Sydney but in 2014 the CBNS ended service east of Hawkesbury so effectively SCR has been isolated.

Brief History: Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Major cities include massive Toronto, west coast film centre Vancouver, French-speaking Montréal and Québec City, and capital city Ottawa. Canada's vast swaths of wilderness include lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. It's also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls.