CN and EcoConnexions

Back on August 25 I was driving around Winnipeg with my kids. We drove up Waverley and as I crossed the CN Rivers subdivision, I saw a train parked just west of the crossing. I parked nearby and took a shot of it. CN 2571 and an ex-BNSF C40-8 were parked on the north track. There was a crew in it but they were not visible in this shot.


The reason for their parking there became apparent when another CN train came around Portage Junction toward them, also on the north track!


Lest you think they collided, there are crossover switches located just east of Waverley Street that allow trains to change tracks. You can see one of the crossovers in the photo above, and the other one is closer to the street. CN 2555 West crossed over and passed the standing CN train using the south track.


I noticed a sticker on the nose of CN 2555, advertising the EcoConnexions program. In true Canadian fashion, the sticker on the engineer's side was in English and the sticker on the conductor's side was in French.


Back in May, CN announced the launch of the EcoConnexions From The Ground Up program. CN is supporting the "greening" of communities through its partners Tree Canada and Communities in Bloom. Full program details are here. Apparently CN announced the 25 communities selected this past Friday. CN had intended to distribute $150,000 but upped it to a cool half-million based on the "overwhelming" response. You can see the list at the bottom of the press release. Sorry, New Brunswick, we know CN has two lines going through your province but you got nuttin' - why beautify the north shore when CN might not run through there soon? Nova Scotia received one award for Elmsdale.

Anyway, once I shot the meet, I jumped in the car and headed down Taylor Avenue to try to get ahead of them. I easily got to Shaftesbury Boulevard before them and shot CN 2555 coming out of the morning sun.


Good on CN for investing in local communities.