Winnipeg Electric Company Rail Bus 333

by David A. Wyatt This Mack model AB rail bus was originally purchased in 1920 for service on WECo's Manitoba Power Company, Ltd. owned Winnipeg River Railway between Lac du Bonnet and Great Falls. It later saw service on the Stonewall line of another WECo subsidiary, the Winnipeg, Selkirk & Lake Winnipeg Railway.

Manitoba Power Co. Ltd. Mack rail bus
(above) Mack AB rail bus purchased new in 1920 by Manitoba Power Co., Ltd. for use on the Winnipeg River Railway between Lac du Bonnet and Great Falls. According to Mack's order books it was numbered PM-3. MPCo and Winnipeg Electric Railway Co. were amalgamated in 1924 to form Winnipeg Electric Co. The WRR was leased to the CPR in 1935, and sold to them in 1938. Canadian Railway & Marine World photo.
 
WS&LW rail bus 333
(above) Winnipeg, Selkirk & Lake Winnipeg Railway 333 (ex-WRR PM-3) in operation on the Stonewall Line. According to John Baker (Winnipeg's Electric Transit) the rail bus was deployed on the Stonewall line as a cost saving measure over the larger electric interurbans. Such a light vehicle on unballasted track (as can be seen in the picture) would have provided a very bumpy ride. Winnipeg Transit photo archive collection. Used by permission.
 
PM3 in service for Manitoba Hydro between Pit Siding and Kelsey
(above) Manitoba Hydro P.M.3 (ex-WS&LW 333, exx-WRR PM-3) in operation on the line between Pit Siding and Kelsey. Mark Perry writes:
“After the Mack was withdrawn from WS&LW service after that line abandoned, it was put into storage at Selkirk. The little Mack AB then was refurbished in Selkirk and sent to Kelsey in northern Manitoba, in the late 50's for use on the Hydro's rail line that ran from the CNR's line to Churchill at Pit Siding, to the construction site of the Kelsey Generating Station. It was used into the 60's and then withdrawn from service and left to the elements at Kelsey. It was finally scrapped at Kelsey sometime in the late 70's/early 80's. Here is shot of it in service at Kelsey in 1959.”
Mark Perry collection. Used by permission.
 

(above) Manitoba Hydro PM-3 derelict in northern Manitoba. Mark Perry collection. Used by permission.

Copyright ©2009 David A. Wyatt. Photograph copyrights belong to the photographers. This page last modified: Saturday, 21-Aug-2010 01:25:12 CDT