15 Years

It was 15 years ago yesterday that the last CP train left Fredericton. It left from Nackawic and proceeded to Fredericton, then to Fredericton Junction and on to Saint John with the last of the train cars.

The train had CP 8042 and 8036 with 5 cars (2 boxcars, 2 tank cars and 1 gondola of scrap). The gondola was left at South Devon for interchange with CN, which took it to McGivney on December 1.

RIP CP.

EDIT: Confirmed last CP train was November 29. Added consist. Thanks to Peter Gough and Brian Barchard!

Charlevoix Railway Sold

Erick Pelletier reported on AtlanticRails that the Chemin de fer de Charlevoix (CFC), aka the Charlevoix Railway, has been sold to Groupe le Massif, a businessman who already owns a ski mountain in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. It seems he will operate a tourist train over the line, while CN will operate the existing freight operation. CN and Le Massif will jointly pay for track upgrades.

Two links: Both in French

That makes zero railways held by the Quebec Railway Corporation.

The Newcomb Wreck

Danny McCracken sent along some photos and information on the Newcomb wreck, which occurred on the Canadian Pacific Railway at Newcomb, NB on April 6, 1956. Newcomb was the first siding east of McAdam, just under 8 miles out. You can see it in the September 30, 1928 CP timetable. It was not listed in the April 28, 1968 CP timetable, so it must have been removed between 1956 and 1968.

I'll let Danny's words and photos tell the tale, with some minor editing.

---

The Newcomb wreck occurred on April 6, 1956 a few hundred feet East of the Newcomb (Mi 78.6) siding West Switch and Block Signals.

There was a meet between the East and West bounds and which ever train was moving on the main had a car derail into the side of the stopped train.

If I remember correctly it struck at or near the stopped engine, which would lead me to believe the car came from the East bound as the Westbound engine would be near that switch.

I was 14 at the time and was interested, so another lad and I headed to the site on our bicycles. We went out Route 4 approx 5 Kms from the R/R crossing in McAdam, and approx 3 Kms in the Little Duck Lake Road. It being the first week of April, that dirt road was not an easy bike ride. When we arrived at the tracks, we had to walk East for a fair distance. In those days cameras were a No-No around wrecks, so we had to stay well back from the work site. This was the day after the wreck and they had the siding opened up for trains to pass.

They were using 2 cranes- 1 at each end of the site and the one working at the West end would have to go all the way East on the siding, back up the Main track to clear for trains to pass. It was a 52 car capacity siding, so there was lots of room on the main track east of the wrecked cars for the 2 cranes, tool cars, crew cars and 2 steam engines.

I have 8 pictures, which was probably one roll of film in the little camera I had in those days.

Bob Nason's father would have been working there as he was the Section Foreman on the East Line at the time and maybe Bob's brother Bud also.

At that time wheat was handled in box cars and it would get inside the car walls and would built up between the inside and outside walls. In the wreck, a lot of wheat got spilled on the ground and was not cleaned up. As a result the deer would gather there to feed and then go to a near by brook and fill up on water, resulting in them bloating up and sometimes death.

At that time both Auxiliary Cranes were stationed in McAdam. One was the same size as the one at Hillsborough and the other was bigger. The small one was later replaced with a wreck dozer and when the car dept closed in McAdam the Aux equipment moved to Saint John along with the remaining men (Oct 16, 1980).

---

One more comment from Danny, about the telegraph poles. The more prominent pole line in the photos had multiple cross-arms, and was the Canadian Pacific line. The line on the other side, visible in the top photo, was the Western Union telegraph line from the USA to Sydney, NS.

Cumberland Railway and Coal Company

The Cumberland Railway and Coal Company was a railway operating in Nova Scotia. I don't know much about it except that it was basically a one-commodity railway serving the Springhill coal mines. After the disastrous 1956 and 1958 accidents led to the mine closure, the railway limped on until 1962. The rails were lifted in 1964.

Ed Jordan was kind enough to send scans of his April 21, 1952 employee timetable. I have put them on my web site for your viewing pleasure. Thanks, Ed!

Astute readers may remember I won some blank Cumberland Railway train orders back in May of this year.

A Thousand Posts

This is it, post #1000.

I made my first post on July 9, 2005. That's an average of one post every 1.2 days, or about 6 posts a week. Not bad.

Thank you for reading, and we'll see you after the next thousand!

Special Flatcar Going to St Stephen

Gary Lee took some photos and video of the NB Southern local ready to go to St. Stephen for this morning. It has a special car on it, a depressed-center flat car. I wonder what load it will be picking up?

Video of CN in Bathurst

David Chiasson posted a video from Monday of CN 5357 and 5360 shunting the yard in Bathurst. This must have been NBEC train 402 doing its work, given that it had loaded lumber cars behind the engine.

This is a strange sight now but it will become familiar over time!

Grand Bay Caboose On The Move

On my way home from Saint John, I drove through Grand Bay and saw the caboose being loaded onto a flatbed for the trip to its new home in Edmundston (as reported previously).

One of the crew said the crane scale showed it weighed 40,000 pounds.

By 14:30 the crane was free and it was ready to go.

There was someone on hand from the Edmundston tourist bureau, admiring her new acquisition. I think it will look very nice in front of their restored station.

The caboose will go to Fredericton tonight, and be in Edmundston by Tuesday night.

You can see the caboose on Google Street View beside the ex CP station in Edmundston.

See Also

• Blog posts featuring cabooses

Chaleur Update and Photos

Bob Liming from South Carolina advised me that the Chaleur is still turning at New Carlisle, due to the washout of November 10. He sent along a few photos from the Chaleur that he agreed that I could share with you.

NBEC SD40 Update

It looks like there will only be one or two NBEC/CFMG SD40s running on the Quebec Railway System (QRS) today... CFMG 6908 and perhaps one more in Mont Joli. That was quick!

Here's CFMG 6908 in happier times, in Miramichi with 6910 and another SD40. They are about to turn on the wye after bringing train 402 in from Campbellton.

Grand Bay Caboose To Be Relocated

Since the Grand Bay caboose is soon going to be relocated to Edmundston, I figured I should take a few photos of it. It is still a mystery what the original number of the caboose is. I looked at it pretty closely but there is no sign of any number.







Apparently some citizens are opposing the move. They are a little late, I would say, given that the town offered the caboose up in March.

Get Your Shots Now!

...because the NBEC power is disappearing fast. Very fast.

As reported yesterday, CN 5357 and 5360 were the power on NBEC 402 yesterday out of Campbellton. Here's a photo from "MLW" of that train.


CN 5288 and 5351 are heading to Miramichi today (Friday) to replace the power there. CN 5260 went to Mont Joli on Tuesday, releasing SFEX 4214 which will be retired. No word yet on the Bathurst area power.

So far it looks like just the NBEC / CFMG SD40s are being retired. 6902, 6903, 6908 and 6910 are the first to be retired, as well as SFEX 4214, the only operating C424 on the NBEC roster.

NBEC 1835 arrived in Joffre late Thursday night on CN 403, destined for the Charlevoix railway (CFC).

A Rare Find

I was in Saint John today and met a fellow railfan, and also made a rare find.

First, I found NBSR 9803 and CN 7060 resting by the Tim Hortons off Thorne Avenue around 09:15.


Shortly after I took the photo, they started up and headed out toward the refinery.


CN 405 was resting in the Island Yard with 5799, 2650 and 2613. I think the consist was the same as Tuesday's but I must have had 5799's number wrong then.

At lunch at 13:00, I noticed that the power for 405 was over at the potash terminal. I went over to see if there was a shot there, and I saw someone parked there with a tripod all set up. Obviously a railfan! It turned out to be Kevin Gaudet. I was glad to meet him, and we spoke for a few minutes before I had to head back to work. I did stop on the other side of the causeway to get a few shots of 405 from afar.




Later, I noticed 405 was pulling a string of potash cars to Island Yard just after 15:00. I saw the Courtenay Bay potash switcher was visible, so I decided to head across the causeway to see if I could finally get a picture of this rare locomotive. As it happened, it was on the move to the dumper by the time I got there, so I snapped one shot out the car window and then pulled up to take a short video. I am quite pleased with how the photo turned out. The video, not so much, but I like the horn.




That was it for today. I am very happy to finally get a decent photo of the Courtenay Bay Potash switcher.

CN Units on NBEC

"Nic" reported that "today's NBEC 402 left Campbellton at 10:00 hrs with CN 5357 and CN 5360 for power."

This is the second overt sign of CN ownership, after the TEST train that ran over NBEC earlier this month.

Trivia: I saw CN 5360 in Winnipeg on Boxing Day 2007, as the second unit on a grain train.

Videos From Yesterday

Here are two videos from yesterday. First, NBSR 2610 and 3702 bring the transfer train toward Island Yard. I was standing on the harbour side of Harbour Station.


Next, NBSR 9801 East rolls through Grand Bay at a very leisurely pace.


Enjoy!

EDIT: I had duplicated the first video... fixed.

All Green All The Time

I was in Saint John yesterday (Tuesday) and saw quite a bit of green. Engines, that is.

As I approached Saint John, I heard the yard master talking with the crew of the transfer train. They were given clearance to head to Island Yard. I went through Simm's Corner and saw them behind Moosehead. I stopped for a moment at Reversing Falls, and caught NBSR 2610 and 3702 taking their train across the Falls just after 9 AM.


They were not going very fast, so I decided to get them again at Fort La Tour. Alas, there is construction there, so I went near Harbour Station instead. 2610 and 3702 were really working hard when they went by me.


I continued on, and discovered them stopped just outside Island Yard. I set up for a shot and off they went into the yard.




The power for CN 405 was CN 2613, 5709, and 2650 and they were sitting in the yard when I went by. NBSR 9803 and CN 7060 were working the yard.

Later, CN 405 was still in the yard but active at 3 PM. I saw NBSR 9803 and CN 7060 on the refinery spur by Tim Hortons. CN 7060 was parked there, and NBSR 9803 continued on down the spur. CN 7038 was shunting and smoking in the Island Yard.

I heard that the NB Southern eastbound freight had left McAdam around 14:20, so I decided to go see the Grand Bay caboose and then catch the freight along the way. I stopped at the caboose, got out of the car, and heard a train horn blow for Inglewood Drive. I quickly set up the tripod and took some shots as the train rounded the corner at 15:30.

I guess I misheard when the train left McAdam! The train had NBSR 9801, 2318, and 2317 and 39 cars, including a empty container 5-pack.

EDIT: Added car count

Videos From Saturday

Here are two videos from my Saturday railfanning.

First off, VIA 15 at Brookfield. My son and daughter had a few comments at the beginning. Notice the guy running the lights just before the train gets there.


Next, CN 407 at Belmont. The hogger really laid on the horn here!

CN 120 Arriving at Halifax

It was raining pretty hard on Sunday, and I had no intentions of doing any "formal" railfanning. My daughter wanted to go to Cora's for breakfast, and who am I to deny her? The only Cora's I knew of was in Bedford*, so off we went. I went down Barrington then around the Bedford Basin, taking me by Rockingham yard. You have to drive near tracks if you want to see trains!

I saw two GP38s with a string of loaded container cars down by Ceres, and as I approached the CN yard office I saw a string of containers rolling by the Chinese restaurant at the foot of the Kearney Lake Road. I quickly pulled into the CN office parking lot, and within a few minutes CN 120 rolled into view just past 11 AM.

They were not on the main line, and in fact they had to stop to reline a switch before proceeding through the yard.

CN 2228 and 2645 provided the power.

The reason for their passage through the yard became apparent when CN 4720 and 4722 (the two Geeps I saw earlier) rolled past the yard office on the main line.


I didn't hang around to count cars, nor did I see a DPU unit as I drove past the train, but it certainly could have been there.

Later, I saw VIA 15 roll under the highway at Atkinson as I drove through the pouring rain. Funny - the last time I saw a train there, it was the Veteran Train from November 2005, and it was raining then too!

* There are actually five Cora's in the Halifax area!

VIA and CN Outside Halifax

As I mentioned before, I am in Halifax this weekend. I did a quick pass through Dartmouth yard on my way to the train show this Saturday morning, and saw CN 2288 and another unit in the fog. I just missed CN 407 leaving at 09:45.

After visiting old friends and meeting new friends at the train show (hi Alan!), I decided to hit the road and see VIA 15 off. I chose to go to Brookfield and wait for the Ocean there, then proceed to Belmont on the other side of Truro and get it again before heading back to Halifax.

As I approached Brookfield, I heard the RTC calling CN 407 on the scanner. 407? What was it still doing around? From the discussion it appears they were waiting for a pickup, presumably the CB&CNS. The RTC asked 407 to follow 15 out of Truro. Good news for me!

VIA 6421 blasted through Brookfield at 13:50 with 6409 trailing. The kids and I were out of the van to give them a rollby inspection.


We hotfooted it for Belmont, and set up at the east end of the siding on the Old Tatamagouche Road. The camera angle isn't fantastic there but I wanted somewhere safe for the kids to wait. If I were alone I would have chosen Onslow instead.

We heard VIA start honking for crossings, and in short order the Ocean rolled past at 14:18.


The signal turned red-over-red, then yellow-over-red. CN 407 broadcast that it was leaving on a clear-to-stop signal, and the signal turned green shortly after that. 407 was very slow leaving Truro and wasn't exactly rocketing when it rolled past at 14:34.

407 had 2588, 5621, 8817 and shiny 4728 pulling 104 cars. Maybe that's why they were so slow starting out!

Wanting

I would love to bid on this 1883-1884 Intercolonial Timetable. But $94 is too rich for my blood. As you may know, I collect timetables, train orders, and so forth and I'd love to have that in my collection. Maybe next time! when I win the lottery

For today, I'll go to the Halifax Train Show and buy cheaper, newer timetables. ;)

VIA Rail Lineup for Thursday

Here's something a little different. This was the VIA Rail lineup cross-country for Thursday November 13.

This is the first (and maybe only) lineup I've seen. There is lots of interesting detail there. You can see the consist for VIA 14 leaving Montreal was VIA 6411 and 6409 with 10 cars, and the VIA 14 going through New Brunswick was VIA 6400 and 6444, after dropping VIA 6412 and 5 cars at Matapedia for the Chaleur. Conversely, VIA 15 leaving Halifax was VIA 6401 and 6453 with 13 cars.

Even VIA's RDCs are shown on the bottom, with 6250 and 6215 on duty on the Sudbury-White River line, and VIA 6135 on Vancouver Island.

Dartmouth Model Train Show

I plan to be at the annual Halifax Sportsplex Model Train Show this weekend. The show is open Saturday from 9am to 4:30pm, and Sunday from 10am to 3pm.

Photos from last year

Movember

This has nothing to do with trains - I beg your indulgence. I am participating in the Movember campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer and raise funds toward prostate cancer research. Participants start the month of November clean-shaven, and grow facial hair all month. I am growing a goatee!

If you would like to contribute, you can go here to donate. Thank you, and now back to your regularly scheduled train news.

Monday's VIA Lineup in the East

Monday's Chaleur had a special consist. I understand they did some kind of extra run Tuesday with one unit and several coaches from Gaspe back, hence the extra engine and the coaches on the end.
VIA No 16, the Chaleur
6420, 6412, 6435
8622, 8140, 8509, DENONVILLE, SALABERRY, 8137, 8139, 8138, 8103, 8109, 4000, 4116

VIA No 14, the eastbound Ocean
6411, 6409
7003, 7228, 7108, 7316, 7402, 7308, 7518, 7515, 7526, 7512, 7516

VIA No 15, the westbound Ocean
6400, 6444
7009, 7220, 7217, 7315, 7400, 7314, 7517, 7521, 7503, 7524

Courtesy of David Morris.

Test Train in NBEC Territory

...or should I say, "former" NBEC territory.

CN's TEST train is in the Maritimes. Joel Scott caught it at Parker Ridge, NB on the Napadogan subdivision as it headed east to Moncton on Saturday.


It was in Halifax on the weekend, turning on the Halifax Ocean Terminal (HOT) loop on Sunday night. It must have run to Moncton overnight, as it left Moncton on Monday morning for the Newcastle subdivision with CN 9455 leading. It ran to Campbellton on Monday.

On Tuesday morning it headed west through Tide Head and into Quebec, with a fleet of hirail trucks following it. There was a ballast train in Tide Head Wednesday morning, so expect some more MOW activity later this week.

Nice to see CN doing some maintenance!

Thanks to Joel, Jakob, Phil and Jim for the sightings.

EDIT: The consist of the test train is CN 9455, CN 15007, and CN 15008 (CAPE ROSIER).

Gaspé Line Blocked Again?

My French is not great, but I believe this article says that the Gaspé rail line is blocked due to a washout near West Paspébiac. Apparently Monday's rain washed out some land between the rails and a seawall. Hopefully this will be repaired very soon.

The Gaspé line has been closed several times recently due to washouts. Hopefully CN will improve the maintenance somewhat.

NB Southern Train Hits Truck

The Telegraph Journal is reporting that an NB Southern train hit a truck in Grand Bay-Westfield. Fortunately, noone was hurt but it appears from the article and the comments that a young couple were in the truck and misjudged the train's distance. The engineer attempted to make an emergency stop but of course the train wasn't able to stop in time.

It goes to show you, again, that if the crossing lights are on, don't cross. However, I do think some of the crossing lights come on too early for the speed of the train. At Welsford, in particular, the crossing lights come on well before the train comes, and local people are in the habit of going through the crossing when the lights are on.

I'm glad noone was hurt.

Lest We Forget

I want to thank all of Canada's veterans for fighting for our country, and also thank our current Armed Forces for all the good work they do for us at home and abroad. I am especially thinking of my cousin Chris in Afghanistan, and I look forward to seeing him when he gets back.

In 2005 VIA ran a special Veteran Train to honour our veterans. Here it is approaching Amherst.

CP Business Car 23

Here's another old photo... Canadian Pacific official car 23 at McAdam on August 24, 1959.


This car currently resides at the Smiths Falls Railway Museum in Ontario. Visit their site for a detailed history of CP 23.

An Interesting Photo

I bought this slide a while ago on eBay. It has a very interesting subject - a Canadian Pacific car on the Reversing Falls bridge in Saint John on July 22, 1967. The seller labelled it as a transfer caboose, and it may well be that. Does anyone know what kind of car CP 402472 was? There is small lettering on the car that says "cabin car".

Click on the image for a larger view.

CN 3656

One more CN diesel for now, RS18 CN 3656 at Truro, Nova Scotia, on July 21, 1975. Note the CN Truro sign behind the unit. This is where the VIA station is now.

Train Action in Saint John Today

I took the kids down to the train show in Quispamsis today. I decided to take the Kingston Peninsula route, by taking the ferry by Westfield Beach and the ferry by Quispamsis. This was the first time I had taken those ferries. Recommended.

The train show was great. I was glad to meet up with old friends like Wendell, Art, Steve, Ron, Carroll, Danny, Chuck, Tim, and probably others I cannot remember! I spent a grand total of $7 there but the experience was worth it.

Afterward, we went back through Rothesay in pursuit of CN 405. I heard them shunting on the scanner so I knew they were still in the yard. I found the head end up where the yard narrows near the shops. I also noticed CN 7038 and 7010 waiting outside the yard at 15:00.


I drove a bit to get a higher vantage point to get this shot of the head end of CN 405. It had CN 5338, 4728, 5269 and 5771 for power.


CN 7038 and 7010 crossed Rothesay Avenue and entered the yard. CN 7060 was doing some shunting, and as it retreated I got this shot of the three trains together.


Here is a short video I took of 7038 pulling up.


According to the scanner chatter, the plan was for 7038 and 7010 to go get some tank cars and take them to the refinery. After that, CN 405 was free to leave the yard and get on its way. I did not have time to wait so I took off for the road home.

A call to McAdam told me that the NB Southern eastbound train left McAdam at 14:10. I knew it could not get the 60 miles from there to Welsford in less than 1:30, so I made it to Welsford at 15:40, confident I didn't miss the train. We parked there and waited, and at 15:57 I heard the EOT squawk on my scanner. At 16:00 precisely, NBSR 2317 East rolled through the crossing. NBSR 2317, 9801, 2318 and 2319 were pulling 45 cars.

You can see it was raining. I had my hand over the lens to shield it from the rain, but the train blew mist onto the lens. Sorry for the handheld shot - I forgot my tripod at home.

Not a bad day, all around. I was glad to get out and see some trains!

CN 1750 and 1754

Continuing the theme of CN engines now at the New Brunswick Railway Museum, here is a photo of CN 1754 and 1750 from July 4, 1986 in Borden, PEI. These lightweight RSC-14 units were used on branchlines all over the Maritimes. CN 1754 was sent to the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad in 1995, after their disastrous fire of September 1994.

CN 8245

Here's an older photo of CN 8245 in Moncton on August 16, 1975. CN 8245 was retired in 1985 and would later go to the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad (now the New Brunswick Railway Museum) in 1989, where it is still operational.

Also visible in the photo are CN 2300 and CN 1714.

Rail Spam

I was surprised to see that I received some railway spam in my inbox last week. A fellow named "Norbert Mthombi" claims to have 360,000 metric tons of rail scraps for sale. He's only asking $125/tonne, so buy now! Oh, one caveat - you have to go to South Africa to close the deal. ;)

Steam Engine Photo

Here's an old photo, something I purchased on eBay a while ago. CN 2637 is shown in the dead line in Moncton, NB in August 1959.

Mock Collision in Harvey Today

I'm told that there will be a mock collision in Harvey today, run by the New Brunswick Operation Lifesaver committee. It will start at 13:00 (1 PM) and will involve NB Southern, students from the Harvey High School, the RCMP, Saint John Ambulance, and local emergency services. Press release

CN Purchases NBEC, CFMG, OCR, COGEMA

The CN - Quebec Railway Corporation deal finally hit the news. CN is purchasing most of the assets of the QRC, specifically the CFMG, NBEC, OCR and the COGEMA rail ferry service (CN Press Release, Canadian Press, Financial Post, CNN Money, Progressive Railroading). CN says "Post-transaction, it will be 'business as usual' under CN ownership, with no immediate changes in freight, VIA Rail passenger rail service or employment levels," but we all know there will be changes in the future.

(CFMG = Chemin de fer de Matapedia et Golf, NBEC = New Brunswick East Coast Railway, OCR = Ottawa Central Railway)

From the Canadian Press article: "CN said it plans to invest capital over the next three years to upgrade the rail lines and will replace the existing locomotive fleet with more modern motive power. The company does not plan any changes to freight, VIA Rail passenger rail service or employment levels."

At the same time, Logistec purchased the Sydney Coal Railway (SCR) from the QRC (Logistec release). Logistec owned a portion of the QRC already, and it looks like it will be financing the purchase of SCR from the money it receives from the sale of the other QRC properties.

The Canadian Press article also says that CN will operate the Gaspe line, which makes sense.

The QRC will be left with the Chemin de fer de Charlevoix (CFC) near Quebec City, and that's it.

So, what does this mean? Nothing in the short term. In the long term, the MLW units will all disappear and be replaced by the usual CN units. I expect the maintenance shop in Campbellton (Eastern Rail Services, ERS) will be shut down. The big plus for shippers and passengers is that there should be significant capital investment in the line to bring it up to snuff for the big CN units and trains, and that means faster transit times for passengers and less slow orders. I wouldn't be too surprised to see one of the two regular CN freights (305/308 or 473/474) shifted from the Napadogan subdivision to the former CFMG/NBEC line to replace the NBEC 402/403 freight.

Get your shots of the NBEC and CFMG units while you can!

Rock and Roll Train

I don't know if you read this in the local Moncton Times & Transcript, but an AC/DC fan video was filmed at the New Brunswick Railway Museum last month. Here it is.


Please visit the New Brunswick Railway Museum next year!

Gary from Newfoundland at Sackville

Gary from Newfoundland wrote me a while ago, asking for VIA schedules for the Ocean. I pointed him to the PDF file available on the VIA site, and he used that to shoot the train at Sackville. Here are a few of his photos, and a video.


Approaching the station.


Loading the Ocean.


A nice shot of the Sackville station.

He shot a short video of the train leaving the Sackville station.


Glad to hear you had success, Gary!