Fuel and Food in the Old Station Towns

A long ride on Newfoundland’s T’Railway can feel wonderfully remote—until the fuel gauge drops and the next meal is nowhere near the railbed. This guide explains how to plan fuel and food around old station towns, where to treat towns as resupply anchors rather than guaranteed trail-side stops, and how to build a safer, less stressful riding day.

Plan Around Towns, Not Assumptions

Understand how the railbed meets nearby communities

The T’Railway stretches across Newfoundland between Port aux Basques and the St. John’s area, following an old railway corridor for much of its length. That makes the route feel connected on a map, but it does not mean you will pass a gas station, grocery store, or restaurant at each old station site. Some communities sit near the trail; others may require a detour, and a former railway stop is not necessarily a present-day service point.

For trip planning, think of towns as possible resupply anchors. Before riding, work out where the trail meets a usable public road, whether that road can legally and safely be travelled by your machine, and how far it is to the service you intend to use. Do not assume that the shortest line on a map is an authorized ATV route. Local rules and access conditions matter.

The full corridor is a substantial journey, not a single casual outing. If you are mapping a long section, start with The T’Railway’s 883 Kilometres in Newfoundland and Riding the T’Railway From St John’s to Port aux Basques. Those overviews help put individual town stops in perspective: a community that looks close on a regional map may still be a poor choice for an unplanned mid-ride fuel stop.

Use service towns as planning anchors

Port aux Basques, Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Clarenville, Whitbourne, and the St. John’s area are useful names to consider when breaking up a trip. Their value is as planning anchors, not as a promise that every business is near the trail, open when you arrive, or equipped to serve an ATV directly.

Town or area	How it can fit into planning	What to verify before riding
Port aux Basques	A western starting or finishing point for a longer route	Your first fuel plan, lodging or food arrangements, and the trail connection you intend to use
Corner Brook	A potential base or resupply area for riding in the west	Distance from the railbed to services, legal access, and business hours
Deer Lake	A possible planning point in the central-west portion of a trip	Whether your chosen stop is practical from the route and whether it serves your needs
Grand Falls-Windsor	A useful community to consider when dividing a longer journey	Road access, fuel availability, food options, and your return route to the trail
Gander	A potential base or resupply anchor farther east	The actual detour, current operating hours, and whether you need to arrange supplies ahead
Clarenville and Whitbourne	Possible planning points for eastern sections	Trail connections, local access rules, and the distance between the railbed and services
St. John’s area	An eastern endpoint or staging area for some itineraries	Where you can legally unload, park, and reach the trail

A town can be close in straight-line distance but awkward to reach from the trail. Rivers, highways, private property, trail access points, and local restrictions can all change what looks like an easy detour. For more regional context, compare Riding Out of Port aux Basques, Riding Out of Corner Brook, and Riding Out of Gander when choosing where to begin or end a section.

Check the connection, not just the town name

Before you count on a stop, identify the exact access point where you would leave or rejoin the railbed. Then confirm that your planned connector is legal for your machine and appropriate for current conditions. A public road is not automatically an ATV route, and a route shown on a phone map is not proof that riding is permitted there.

This is especially important when a fuel stop or meal means travelling through town. You may need to trailer your machine to a suitable place, arrange a pickup, or leave the trail and travel by another method. Ask a local trail operator or the relevant community office about access rather than making assumptions from a screenshot.

Trail conditions can also change how long a connection takes. Check Newfoundland Trail Conditions Before You Ride before committing to a schedule, and allow time for rough surfaces, stops, weather, and slower travel with a group.

Build a Fuel Plan That Leaves a Margin

Estimate fuel use for the whole ride

Fuel consumption varies with the machine, load, riding style, terrain, weather, and mechanical condition. A machine carrying two people and cargo may use fuel differently from the same model ridden lightly. Soft sections, repeated stops, detours, cold conditions, and slow technical riding can all affect how far a tank takes you.

Rather than planning around a best-case estimate, use a conservative figure based on your own machine and past rides. If you are new to your ATV or side-by-side, take a shorter ride first and record how much fuel it uses over terrain similar to the trip you are planning. A long railbed day is a poor time to discover that your estimate was based on easy pavement or a lightly loaded machine.

Then identify the point at which you will refuel, not merely the town you hope to reach. Mark the intended access point, the route to the fuel stop, and the return connection. If any part of that plan depends on a business being open, confirm its hours directly before departure.

Carry reserve fuel only with a safe, practical plan

Some riders carry reserve fuel; others plan shorter riding legs between confirmed stops. Either approach needs to account for secure storage, the machine’s load capacity, and safe handling. Use a container designed for fuel and secure it so it cannot shift, tip, leak, or interfere with passengers, cargo, or the machine’s controls. Never improvise with an unsuitable bottle or leave fuel containers loose in a cargo area.

Refuelling calls for patience. Park in a suitable place, shut the machine off, keep away from flames and other ignition sources, and follow the container and machine instructions. Avoid rushing because a group is waiting or the weather is turning. If a station is busy or staff have rules about where an off-road machine can go, follow their directions rather than assuming you can ride up to a pump.

A practical plan also includes a response to a missed stop. If the expected business is closed, the connector is blocked, or the fuel gauge is lower than expected, the safe choice may be to turn back or stop riding—not to press on and hope. Set a group rule before leaving: no one is expected to stretch their range just to keep the itinerary intact.

Keep navigation available when reception disappears

Mobile coverage can be unreliable away from communities, and a phone is not a dependable single source of navigation. Save the route and key access points before you leave service, carry a power bank, and bring a paper map as a backup. Cell Dead Zones Along the Railbed and Carrying a Paper Map Where There Is No Signal are useful reminders to prepare for stretches where a quick online search may not work.

A mapping tool such as onX Offroad can help riders review route options and mark planned waypoints, but it should be one part of your preparation rather than your only source of truth. Confirm trail access and local permissions separately, and keep a written note of the fuel stops, food stops, and turn-back points you have chosen. A phone battery can fail; a written plan does not need a signal.

If you are unfamiliar with a stretch, share your intended route and expected return time with someone who is not riding with you. That simple habit can make a remote day less stressful for the group and for the person waiting at home.

Plan Food Like Part of the Route

Do not count on finding a meal at the railbed

A restaurant or convenience store may be available in a nearby community, but it may be several kilometres from your route or closed when your group arrives. Even in a town, food options can be limited by the time of day, the season, or the day of the week. Treat a meal stop as something to verify, not something guaranteed by the presence of a town name on your map.

For a short ride, bring enough food for the day even if you expect to stop in town. For a longer trip, carry a dependable food supply for every riding day and use restaurants or grocery stores as a bonus. This protects you from common frustrations: arriving after a kitchen closes, discovering the stop is farther away than expected, or losing time while a large group orders and waits.

Pack food that can handle vibration and changing weather. Soft items can get crushed under heavier gear, while wrappers can become litter if they are not secured. Use a bag or container that stays closed, and pack out every bit of food waste. On a remote trail, a dropped wrapper is not just untidy; it can affect wildlife and other trail users.

Match food stops to your group and riding pace

A group that includes children, new riders, or people who need regular breaks should plan food stops more deliberately than a small, experienced crew. Waiting until everyone is tired and hungry often turns a minor delay into an argument. Set a rough schedule before leaving, but keep it flexible enough to account for weather, mechanical checks, and slower-than-expected sections.

Ask the group about dietary needs before the trip. A stop that works for one rider may not work for everyone, and a limited nearby selection can make last-minute decisions awkward. If you are relying on a store for a meal, decide in advance what you will do if it is closed or does not have suitable options.

For overnight rides, separate the food plan from the lodging plan. Confirm where supplies can be bought and whether the location is convenient to your trail access. Do not assume a cabin, campground, or accommodation has a kitchen or that a shop will be close by. Newfoundland Cabins Near a Riding Area and Newfoundland Campgrounds Near a Trailhead can help you think through how overnight arrangements fit with a riding itinerary.

Make room for water and weather delays

Food is only part of the day’s supplies. Carry enough drinking water for the planned ride, with extra for warm weather, strenuous riding, delays, or a route that takes longer than expected. Do not treat a stream or pond as a dependable drinking source unless you have a safe way to make the water suitable.

Newfoundland weather can shift while you are out, so keep food and water protected from rain and dirt. A waterproof bag or sealed container is useful when cargo is exposed. Pack a little more than the group expects to need, but keep the load secure and within the machine’s limits.

If weather, a trail issue, or a mechanical problem delays the group, the extra supplies become practical safety gear. A meal plan should never depend on every leg taking exactly as long as it did on a map.

Put the Whole Day Together Before You Ride

Make a stop-by-stop itinerary

For each riding day, write down the start point, intended trail section, planned fuel point, meal plan, and a realistic end point. Add the access route for every off-trail stop and note whether that connector has been confirmed as legal. Include a fallback if a business is closed or the trail is slower than expected.

Keep the plan readable. Riders should be able to answer basic questions without searching through a long message thread: Where is the next planned stop? How much fuel should remain before turning back? What is the backup meal? Where can the group meet if riders become separated?

A route-planning app, including onX Offroad, may help organize waypoints, but do not let a neat route line replace local checks. Use a current trail map where available, confirm restrictions with the relevant operator or authority, and make sure everyone understands that the route may need to change.

Agree on group rules before setting out

Fuel planning becomes harder when every rider has a different machine, tank size, or idea of how far the group can travel. Before the ride, compare expected range and agree that the group will plan around the machine with the shortest practical range. Do not let the fastest or most efficient machine set the pace for everyone else.

Decide what happens if someone needs to stop, has a mechanical issue, or wants to turn back. Choose regular regrouping points, and make sure riders know not to leave a junction or access point without confirming that the group is together. For a large group, a short head count at each planned stop can prevent someone from being accidentally left behind.

If you are travelling a longer section, consider dividing it into shorter outings rather than trying to cover an ambitious distance in one day. The trail is more enjoyable when there is time to eat, refuel, take in the surroundings, and respond to unexpected conditions instead of racing the clock.

Keep access and trail etiquette in mind

When leaving the railbed for services, be respectful of local roads, private property, and residents. Do not ride across land simply because it appears to connect two points. Get permission where needed, follow posted directions, and use an appropriate legal route to reach your stop.

Shared trail etiquette matters too. Slow down around other users, keep food and fuel containers secured, and leave the area clean. If a community or trail operator has specific instructions about where riders can park or access the corridor, follow them. A considerate visit helps preserve good relationships between riders and the communities that sit along the route.

Before departure, review Newfoundland ATV Trail Map Downloads and your chosen section’s access information. If your itinerary includes the full corridor, compare the plan with Riding the T’Railway From St John’s to Port aux Basques and adjust it to match your group’s experience, fuel range, and available daylight. The best resupply plan is the one that still works when a stop is closed, a connection takes longer, or the weather makes everyone ready for a break sooner than expected.

Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Laws, prices and regulations vary by location and change over time. Consult a qualified professional for guidance on your specific situation.