Dave Rogers, Ottawa Citizen
Monday, August 25, 2008

OTTAWA-The federal government has refused to upgrade the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield stream train line, but Chelsea Mayor Jean Perras says the municipalities will apply for another grant in September and the train could still roll again next summer.

Mr. Perras said the government rejected a grant application by Gatineau, Chelsea and La Pêche in 2007 because the steam train did not carry freight. He said he does not know whether the line would qualify for a grant under a new federal-provincial infrastructure program that is to start this fall.

Le maire de Gatineau, Marc Bureau, soutient que la Compagnie de chemin de fer de l'Outaouais (CCFO) est prête à faire preuve d'ouverture, mais pas à n'importe quel prix.

Justine Mercier, LeDroit
Le mercredi 20 août 2008

Le maire de Gatineau, Marc Bureau, ne veut pas que la Compagnie de chemin de fer de l'Outaouais (CCFO) se retrouve avec tout le fardeau financier de la relance du train à vapeur.

Christian Nadon says his pitch to buy the doomed Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train was handled in bad faith

Dave Rogers, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Gatineau businessman who offered to buy the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train has accused the three Outaouais mayors responsible for the tracks of bargaining in bad faith after he submitted a bid.

Christian Nadon, the caterer who made box lunches for the train and provided meals for the dining car, decided to make a bid for the business after he was forced to lay off 30 employees when the train owner, Jean Gauthier, announced the sale of the business in May.

Mr. Nadon said the railway-line owner, the non-profit Compagnie de chemin de fer de l'Outaouais (CCFO), headed by the mayors of Gatineau, Chelsea and La Pêche, never spoke to him before rejecting his offer with little explanation on Friday.

[emphasis is my own - ed.]
Popular tourist attraction may end up outside Outaouais
Dave Rogers, Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, August 18, 2008

OTTAWA - The three municipalities that own the tracks for the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train have rejected an offer from a buyer interested in operating the train in the Outaouais, increasing the chances that the train will leave the region.

Madame, Messieurs,

Quand l'Association des Amis du train à vapeur a été
fondée il y a un an, elle s'est donnée deux fonctions
principales: d'agir comme mobilisateur et de véhiculer des
idées.

Charles Thériault
LeDroit - link, photo

13 août 2008

Les Amis du train à vapeur demandent aux citoyens de faire pression sur les maires de Gatineau, Chelsea et La Pêche, afin de les forcer à agir plus vite pour s’assurer que le train Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield reprenne du service en 2009.

Le président du groupe, John Trent, est très critique de l’attitude des trois maires qui forment la Corporation du chemin de fer de l’Outaouais (CCFO), depuis le début de la saga du train à vapeur, au printemps dernier. M. Trent et son groupe croient que le budget présenté récemment par la CCFO pour assurer le retour du train à vapeur, est exagéré. Ce budget prévoit des réparations de l’ordre de 4,3 millions $ afin de rendre les ponts et ponceaux de la voie ferrée sécuritaires et aussi pour réparer les dégâts causés par un affaissement de terrain survenu en mai dernier, près de la voie ferrée, à Chelsea.

Jean-François Bertrand, The Ottawa Citizen - link, photo
August 12, 2008

WAKEFIELD, Que. - The Outaouais will lose the steam train for good unless the mayors of Gatineau, Chelsea and Wakefield, the municipalities that own the railway track, change their way of thinking and act, warns John Trent, a supporter of the train.

During a heated public meeting last night at the Wakefield Mill, Mr. Trent, president of Friends of the Steam Train, shared his perception of the situation. He said the mayors are slow to act, have taken their time to meet a federal minister, have not spent a dime on track maintenance in the last 15 years, have inflated repair projections costs and have refused to accept responsibility for the infrastructure.

* Reminder: Information Meeting at the Wakefield Mill Inn on Monday, August 11 at 7.30 p.m. *

By now, perhaps you will have read this weeks news. The Mayors on the CCFO committee (that owns the rail line) held a news conference to say their studies showed the railway was no longer secure and that it would require $1,000,000 in studies, months of work, and an estimated total of $8.4 million in repairs. Therefore the steam train will not run this summer but perhaps next (2009) -- if enough money is found and the train is not sold outside the region.

All of a sudden, a railway that has been secure for 100 years for large freight trains and for the past 15 years for a small passenger train, can no longer run. Every time the mayors open their mouths, they terrify more potential customers and they exaggerate the length and the costs of up-grades and repairs.

Chelsea, August 4th 2008

Friends of the Steam Train bat a thousand with their petition

According to John Trent, co-president of The Friends of the Steam Train, "Our members, their friends and visitors to the region signed the petitions distributed in Chelsea and Wakefield (La Pêche) in good numbers.

The grand total to date (July 29th 2008) is 1094 signatures including those on the web site- an
amazing number in such small communities as Chelsea and Wakefield - as follows:

Chelsea 192;
La Pêche 156;
Gatineau 244;
Ottawa 256;
Pr. Québec 135;