Forward thinking in Gatineau

As part of my railway wanderings in Hull recently, I came across the old Hull West station, which still stands on avenue Montcalm. The modest wooden station has seen better days. The roof definitely needs to be replaced, but a few businesses have made use of the building since it was last used for rail purposes. Right now, an arts store calls the station home. Before that store, a restaurant was located in the building.

The trip to see the station was an interesting little walk for me, because it revealed a couple of surprises.

As many people on this side of the river know, the City of Gatineau used the old Lachute Subdivision right-of-way through the city to construct its RapiBus express commuter service. This is the same approach that the City of Ottawa used to build part of the first phase of the Confederation Line LRT service (part of the new Confederation Line uses the bus Transitway, which was once part of the old CP Carleton Place Sub in the west end).

What I found to be really refreshing in Gatineau’s case was that, when the work on the bus road was done, the city reconstructed the old Lachute Sub. The line is now owned by the city, having most recently been used in 2007 by the Quebec Gatineau Railway, which used the sub to access the Eddy Spur and its last remaining customers in old downtown Hull.

Last used in 2007. This is what has happened to the Lachute Sub near the Ottawa River. The rest of the right-of-way has been rebuilt through Gatineau proper.

With this rail line in good shape, I would imagine the city would have a much easier time of realizing its light rail goals to connect downtown Hull with Aylmer in the west and the old City of Gatineau in the east. This is a forward-looking approach that has been in short supply in this region of late.

I don’t mean to harp on this again, but I can’t help but wonder what might have been possible had the City of Ottawa considered buying the portion of the old Beachburg Subdivision from Nepean Junction into North Kanata. As it stands now, the second phase of the Confederation Line will not reach Kanata, which is where the largest commuter demand is in Ottawa. North Kanata is an area that is bustling with technology businesses and has a sizeable amount of newer subdivisions. As it stands now, this area will continue to be served by buses for the foreseeable future. Had the city taken a forward-looking approach like Gatineau, who knows what might have been possible?

However, this is the same city that, until it was essentially forced into a corner, was prepared to convert the Prince of Wales Bridge into a pedestrian and cycling path over the bridge. This is also the same city that will not entertain working with CN to get light rail operating on the existing Beachburg Subdivision past Federal junction, a stretch of track that is essentially unused save for two trains on Wednesday. And let’s not forget that before the city, the old Regional Municipality sat on its hands as the old CP Carleton Place Sub was converted into a recreational path (albeit, a wonderful piece of the Trans-Canada Trail). Now, with the explosion of residential development in Stittsville, light rail would provide a welcome option for an area where the roads are at capacity, to say the least.

Where the Canadian used to roam. This is the old Carleton Place Sub in Stittsville, a suburb of the city that now numbers more than 30,000. How useful would this be for light rail now?

The plans for Gatineau’s light rail system are still very much in the early stages, as the environmental assessments and other early legwork need to be done. However, given that the Lachute Sub is in such good shape and the old remnants of the Waltham Sub right-of-way appear to be there for the taking, you have to think that Gatineau is in a much better position than Ottawa was, partly due to planning smarts and partly due to luck.

Either way, there’s a lesson to be learned here. Maybe old rail lines are worth keeping after all.

Side note: While checking out the old Hull West station, I noticed there was a nearby sign that said “CP parking only,” which was obviously overlooked when CP stopped using the Lachute Sub back in the late 1990s. Next to the tracks, there’s a no trespassing sign that asks people to report any untoward activity to CN Police. I wonder why. It’s my understanding that Gatineau owns these tracks. I can’t imagine why that sign would be there. As a contrast, if you go to the entrance to Walkley Yard in Ottawa, you’ll see a no trespassing sign that lists a private security firm’s name and number.

As far as I know, CN’s police has no presence here, which has me wondering about this sign.

Back to the Future in Hull

I recently transferred to a new workplace across the Ottawa River in Hull. I have begun to explore the old part of the city a bit. Luckily for me, I am located across the street from what is known as the Eddy siding. It’s a stretch of track extending from the Prince of Wales Bridge east through the old section of Hull next to the Ottawa River. Despite the fact that the Canadian Pacific ended its Ottawa operations in 1997, a significant portion of its old trackage remains in place in Hull all the way to the old Eddy plant at the corner of rue Eddy and boulevard Alexandre Taché.

With a little struggling through the bush, you can find your way to a little bluff that overlooks this section of track, where the old Eddy siding branches off from the old Lachute Sub.

Doing a little research on this line, the only reference I could find was to the Eddy siding, although I don’t think this line fits the definition of a siding. In its final days, it was definitely just a spur. The spur veered north from the Prince of Wales Bridge toward downtown Hull. At the western edge of the Eddy property next to Portageurs Park, the spur split into two tracks, one of which made its way between two long Eddy buildings before crossing rue Eddy (just north of the Chaudière crossing over the river) and running alongside the old Domtar facility (next to avenue Laurier). The tracks then made their way beneath the Portage Bridge. The rails have been removed east of rue Eddy for years, although their path is unmistakable.

For those who like to track the traces of rails in Ottawa and Gatineau, this little spur is quite a gem. You can walk along much of its existing length in Portageurs Park along the waterfront. The rails are fenced off near the old Eddy plant, but are exposed closer to the Prince of Wales Bridge.

Nature has reclaimed much of the Eddy siding, like this section near Millar Street in Hull (as seen from Portageurs Park

There are a few pieces of interesting reminders of the old railway operation, although I would advise to stay off the tracks. I'm pretty sure the City of Gatineau  owns the Lachute Sub up to Lorrain Boulevard. The city also likely owns the tracks in Hull. Near the Prince of Wales Bridge, there is a fair bit to see legally on public land.

Here’s an old milepost sign near the Lachute Sub tracks (get your zoom ready).

This is an old switch stand that has been left in place.

Here’s an old silver box that has been covered over in weeds and graffiti.

This gives you a glimpse of the bridge that carried the Eddy spur over what is known in English as Brewers Creek. Just west past this bridge, barely visible from boulevard Taché, is another old switch where the Eddy Spur connects with the old Waltham Sub (I think it's the Waltham Sub). Given how long it’s been since the last remnants of the Waltham Sub were dismantled, I was surprised to find this switch still in place.

This flyover is accessible from a nearby park. This bridge was where the Lachute Subdivision passed under what I am assuming was the Canadian Pacific Waltham Subdivision. Can you see the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill?

Here's a shot of the old flyover from beneath.

Also, near the Eddy plant, you can see where the tracks have been severed with a yellow bumper still installed. There is an interesting piece of maintenance equipment on the rails, complete with little wheels. I’m not sure what it is or why it’s even on the tracks.

Here's another shot.

Finding any fairly recent photos of trains on this trackage is not easy online. There may have been some enterprising railfans who took photos of this operation, but I wasn’t able to find anything. Even finding information about the old CP operations in and around Hull is not easy.

In the next little while, I am going to do a little research on the history of the tracks that all once converged in Hull, including the Eddy Spur, the Waltham Sub, the Maniwaki Sub and the Lachute Sub. Given that Gatineau has announced ambitious plans for a light rail line from Aylmer in the city’s west end to old downtown Hull, it seems as though there will be a bit of a railway renaissance in Western Quebec at long last. It’s a shame there is so little existing infrastructure left, but at least the Eddy Spur is still in place, more or less. I would think it has a bright future ahead as a commuter link between Ottawa and Hull.

Patriotism on the rails

I’ve just finished nearly two years in a marketing role for a government agency and it’s provided me with some interesting insight on branding. Of course, this experience motivated some thoughts about how railways brand themselves. At work, I was put in charge of marketing a certain project, but soon found myself at odds with the decision makers. The reason was they didn’t want to use the actual name of the project we were asked to promote. Instead, they insisted we use a more general word “Modernization” in all of the documents and ads we produced. It made little sense to me that the actual name of what we were promoting took a back seat to the word “modernization,” which seemed overly long and a little bland as a brand name.

Oh well. On to more interesting topics. Here are a few branding insights I have gained in my time in communications and marketing that I think railways should consider.

1. A country is not your brand. I have seen this trend in the last decade or more, where railways wrap themselves in a flag, as a way of promoting themselves to be patriotic companies in it for the good of their country. While I do not have a problem with a company expressing its pride in country, I think several railways have begun to lose brand power because their own name often plays second fiddle to their country.

Whose railway is it anyway? Well, to the casual observer, you wouldn't know the yellow engine is a UP engine. Thanks to my brother for grabbing this shot in San Luis Obispo, Calif. recently.

The best example I can find is Union Pacific. My brother recently found himself in San Luis Obispo, where two UP engines were tied up at the station. When he shared his photo with me, I was immediately struck by the prominence of the American flag on the side of the power. I don’t have any problem with UP using patriotism as part of its corporate image, since its roots stretch back into the very founding of the modern west of the United States. The critique I have is that the flag is so prominent, it drowns out the actual company’s identity. That’s a shame because UP has a great, patriotic logo that has stood the test of time. The railway also has an outstanding slogan “Building America” which really does sum up what a railway should be doing on a daily basis. On some locomotives, you see a small UP logo near the rear of the long hood with the company slogan, but it’s the flag that is the dominant image. Given my experience in government in the last years, I think UP’s branding needs more balance.

I’ve noticed Amtrak is beginning to use this flag approach on the sides of its new electric locomotives in the Northeast Corridor. The stakes are much higher for Amtrak than they are for Union Pacific and here’s why.

2. Patriotism has a dark side, too. I don’t want to get into the political divisions in the United States. That’s not my point at all. From a marketing point of view, I think Amtrak, and Via Rail Canada, have a very fine line they need to walk. Why? Well, in Amtrak’s case, it is forever fighting an uphill battle to maintain a good reputation and many of the factors that are working against it are out of the railway’s control. We all know about the battles it faces to maintain proper operating and capital budgets in order to provide service that passengers want to use. This is not always easy when you must go cap in hand to the government for funds each year. That is why wrapping yourself in the flag is dangerous. Passengers often associate Amtrak, and Via Rail Canada, as wards of the state, for better or for worse. And most people do not relate the government with quick, efficient service. I don’t know why Amtrak or Via Rail would want to invite those comparisons.

3. Government branding should be avoided at all costs. This is, in my opinion, a branding challenge Via Rail needs to address. At one point, Via Rail consists did not have any maple leaf flags or Government of Canada wordmark on any of their locomotives or rolling stock. I’m not sure when the flags first began to appear, or the Canada wordmark, but I’ve always found these additions to be visual distractions to what was once a very clean, modern and effective look.

When Via Rail began wrapping its cars for Canada 150 and for the railway’s 4oth anniversary, the Canada wordmark and the by now faded Canada flags were removed. I thought this was a good move. Again, I want to stress that I don’t have a problem with a company expressing its patriotism, but I do think there needs to be a balance. In the case of Via, I found the fluttering Canada flags to be a tad too large and also at odds with the more two-dimensional Via Rail logo. I also found the Canada wordmark to be far too large. The brand is Via Rail, not the Government of Canada. The company’s logo should always be the biggest, most prominent feature. This is why I think Via Rail can learn from its years of wrapping cars. While you might not like this scheme, it at least makes one thing clear: the brand is Via Rail.

Just like I don’t think Amtrak wants to associate itself with the U.S. federal government, I don’t think Via Rail has done itself any favours by associating itself so closely with the Canadian government, especially given the ever-changing political whims of those in power. I don’t know how much of the Canada wordmark placement and size was mandated, but if there was no directive, I think at the very least the wordmark should be minimized and placed elsewhere in the future. Same with the flag. If the flag is bigger than the Via logo, then there’s a branding problem.

Does anyone remember when Via replaced its logo at the bottom of the F40PH-2 hoods and replaced with the wordmark? The railway was then forced to jam their company’s logo above the headlights on the hood. That was a marketing disaster.

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One railway operation that has it right is Metrolinx. The GO Train operator does have an Ontario flag on the hoods of its locomotives, but it’s subtle. If you were to plaster a large Ontario flag on the side of the green and white commuter trains, it would create an inconsistent look at the very least. At worst, it could create an unnecessarily visceral reaction. After all, I’m not sure that many in the province are terribly enamored with the provincial government, no matter who is in charge.

I guess my message is simplicity is always the best solution. I’ve read a lot on marketing recently and that message seems to be the central theme to any successful branding exercise or marketing campaign. Railways need to be railways first and foremost. Being patriotic is a good way to create goodwill, but it can’t replace your central message. And that message should always be: We are a darn good railway.