Caption: The Meaford Sub west of the CP MacTier Sub met its end on July 14th, 2011, with the same old swan song being sung like it had been several times over the past few decades. Since BCRY is owned by the city of Barrie though, the old class 1 move in which you rip up a line as soon as it is decommissioned was not undertaken. It paid off, as the collapse of the oil economy necessitated the storing of thousands of tankers across North America. The Penetang Spur in Colwell had already been crammed full with tankers, so BCRY decided to reactivate the Meaford Sub as far as 5th line at the east end of Angus for storage. BCRY 1001 would first do a test run to 5th line to confirm the track is in suitable condition. Here, it knifes the diamond for the first time in almost five years. The run to 5th line was successful, and it returned only to be snagged by CP 420, 118 and 113. Like most days, the lighting here was awful, but for a somewhat historic moment, I had no choice. The lighting did not improve even after it started raining, and I decided to leave before the tanker storage began. It's moments like this a drone would come in handy.
Unfortunately, the BCRY is a major debt burden, and costs the city of Barrie nearly $1 million a year. However, Barrie's poor sales marketing for the railroad surely has not helped. Nonetheless, city council is considering cutting the railroad entirely among rising costs. Unless the tanker storage fees add up, the train coming to pick up these tankers once the oil economy rebounds may be a CP local.