The little bear is a vital, year-round
train in northern ontario. it connects
the town of cochrane in the boreal
forests with moosonee, 310 kilometres
north in the james bay lowlands. it is
a "mixed train"--one that carries
both passengers and freight. during
the morning, in cochrane, the crew
loads the box cars with things people
in southern ontario take for granted (fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, dry
goods, frozen foods, mail). then, flat cars are connected behind the loaded box
cars. these flat cars carry everything from heavy construction equipment to
entire prebuilt fabricated houses. once people have boarded the passenger cars
the little bear heads north. it is one of the last "flag stop" trains in canada. this
means the train will stop anywhere along the route to let people on and off. it is
common for the little bear to stop for canoe tripping parties at the major rivers
the missinaibi, mattagami or kwataboahegan. adventurers from all over the
world match their trips on these rivers with the little bear's schedule. in summer
the train pulls a special flat car with racks for transporting canoes. the famous
polar bear express carries tourists over the same route during the summer
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