I arrived in Harvey at 12:30, after getting a little intelligence that the train would be arriving in McAdam around 14:00, meeting the eastbound freight there. I shot a few photos of NBSR 420306, some kind of MOW vehicle (a tie spiker?), at rest in the third track at Harvey. I thought I'd scout around a bit and I found Shawn Duren waiting down by the ball park. We talked for a bit before I went back to the siding to wait for the train. The weather was sunny off and on, with nice puffy clouds, a nice change from the predicted thunderstorms.
At 13:06 I heard the hotbox detector at mile 59.4 (Cork) go off, reporting 18 axles and no alarms. Incidentally, the detector reports "NBSR". I understand the detectors in Maine still report "CP". Right after that someone had a conversation with the RTC, and I realized it was the TEC train. The RTC said the freight was just clearing Vanceboro at that time.
After a few minutes I heard the hum of engines and the train came around the bend at 13:15. It blew for the crossing and was gone, with the observation car's lights disappearing in the distance.
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| CP 8217 leading the TEC train through Harvey, NB |
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| The CP TEC train through Harvey, NB |
I hopped in the car (already pointed the right way, of course) and raced for McAdam. I arrived well ahead of the train, and had a chance to chat with a friend of mine and wave hi to Shawn as he pulled in. Then I heard the train blowing for a crossing as it approached the yard. It pulled into view at 13:53 and slowly rolled through the yard.
(aside: my source predicted a 14:00 arrival time and it arrived 7 minutes before that. Not bad)
They went past the station on the north side, then backed up past the south side of the station to park by the crew shack on the St. Stephen subdivision.
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| Observation car CP 63 by the McAdam train station |
I couldn't resist the shot of a CP engine by the former CP station.
The crew got out and the new crew got in. The crew from the CP train were going to take the freight back to Saint John, while the crew that brought the freight from Maine were taking the TEC train down to St. Stephen and back. Got it? :) Here's the crew that brought the train from Saint John, checking their notes before going to start shunting with the freight train.
Wait - what's that on top of the bell?
That's right - it's a camera. The crew told me that the CP crew in the trailing observation car have screens to show the front and rear cameras of the train at all times. Everything is taped for future reference.
A big shout out to Jonathan and his friend who came out to see the train too. Keep on watching those trains.
At 14:27 the train started rolling backward down the St. Stephen subdivision. CP 63 bravely led the way, in air-conditioned comfort.
Here they are backing by the gypsum unloading point.
I'll blog about the freight later. I haven't even looked at the video I took yet.
I should give a shout out to teacher Jody who reads my blog - it was great to meet you!
What a GREAT day!
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