More Ex-NBEC Updates

Ken Lanovich reported the following on Friday:

JLCX 1818 and 1851 (ex NBEC RS-18s) were ready to be shipped out of Markham yard on Friday.

Ex-NBEC 1813 was relettered JLCX 1813 in CN's Woodcrest shop in Illinois.

Ex-NBEC SD40 6905 was relettered DMVW 6905. DMVX is the Dakota Missouri Valley & Western in North and South Dakota. I guess 6905 won't be TOO far away from me in Winnipeg!

NBEC 1818 Sold

Ex-NBEC RS-18 1818 has been sold by CN. Ken Lanovich reports on the LocoNotes group that it has been relettered JLCX 1818. It is still parked at CN's Woodcrest, Illinois faclity. JLCX is the reporting mark for JL Consulting Ltd., a Canadian locomotive buyer. Presumably it is en route to one of their customers.

NBEC 4214 In Illinois

Here's a shot of ex-NBEC 4214 (and ex-OCRR 1846) in storage at East Hazel Crest, Illinois. Photo by Steven McKay. Browse through his collection for photos of NBEC 1866, OCRR 1838, NBEC 6901, and NBEC 1818, as well as other CN, BC Rail, and other units.

New Youtuber

I noticed a new Youtuber online, chandlersub. He joined a couple of days and posted several nice videos. Nice to see he uses a tripod. :)

He shot a nice ballast train led by NBEC 1818 at Pabos, Quebec on August 6.


I shot the Chaleur there last year.

Here's VIA 615 (the Ocean) rolling through Matapedia, Quebec on August 4.


Also, VIA 17 (the Chaleur) departing the same night. It looks like it had two units and about 11 cars... quite a train for the peninsula.


Thanks for posting those videos!

All NBEC All The Time

I got up a bit early Friday morning so I could visit the Bathurst yard and see what the yard power was. I snapped the scanner on at 0700 and was surprised to hear that a train was shunting. It had to be 587, the train to the smelter at Belledune. Sure enough, NBEC 1821 and 1868 were doing the final few moves before heading out.

The train had two open hoppers filled with some kind of blue gravel, one tank car, and 15 blue NBEC ore cars.

They left at 07:10 and I was able to get ahead of them to catch them at Beresford at 07:20, although I only had time to videotape them hand-held.

Then I caught them at Madran coming around the bend at 07:40.


I gave up the chase after that. Later, I was out route 430 when I heard train 597 (the Bathurst shunter) working at UPM Bathurst on the Nepisiguit sub at 10:00.

As I left the Bathurst area at 11:55, I heard NBEC 6903 East getting clearance to leave Bathurst. As I approached Miramichi, I planned to get some lunch at DQ, grab a few shots of the yard power and then hit the road for Fredericton, as I was short on time.

With lunch in hand, I was heading back to the yard when I heard 6903 East call the Miramichi yard limits. That was a fast trip! I managed to get to the VIA station, get my video camera out of the car, and shoot them as they passed the station. CFMG 6903... CFMG 6902... 86' boxcar... WTF? That was it - NBEC 402 had one car in their train.

Oh, NBEC 6900 was in the yard and 1814 and 1818 were the new yard power. I took this well-lit shot that Railpictures liked.

The Road to Gaspe

David Morris and I have been planning our Excellent Gaspe Adventure for quite some time. The plan was to chase the Ocean up to Campbellton, stay overnight at Tide Head, then pick up the Chaleur at Matapedia Saturday morning and chase it all the way to Gaspe and back. Sunday was set aside for CN freights.

We set off for Rogersville mid-afternoon Friday. We called VIA Rail and the lady told us that VIA 15 was 30 minutes late leaving Truro, so we knew we had lots of time. We arrived at Rogersville around 18:15 and I called Luc Doiron to see if he was around. We went to the station and Luc showed up, so we had a good chat... until VIA 15 roared by!! We didn't even have our cameras out of the van! Oooops. We ran for the van and took off after them. At least we noticed the VIA train was headed by repainted VIA 6400.

We arrived in Miramichi before them. I took a few shots of NBEC 1818 and 1840 by the crew shack, and then I shot the Ocean arriving at the NBEC yard at 19:00. We took some photos of them at the station, then shot them leaving the station before heading for Bathurst.

Notice the new reflective tape along the frame.





Listening to the scanner told us that the Ocean was by Nepigisuit Junction before we got to Bathurst, so we elected to bypass Bathurst and head for Jacquet River. We heard them report the Beresford mileboard just as we passed the Beresford exit, so we knew it would be close. I exited at Jacquet River, dropped David at the station platform and headed for the causeway. Fortunately, they did the flag stop there so I had time to set up my tripod.

I keep re-learning the same lesson over and over again. The lesson is: take video or take photos. Doing both is a recipe for disaster. The two shots I took were both blurry, and the video, while OK, could have been better. Here it is:


After that, I picked David up and we tore off to Campbellton. They were by Dalhousie Junction before we even reached Dalhousie, and in fact they were into Campbellton before we were. We took a few time exposures before heading off to bed for the big Gaspe trip Saturday.



I took a few for fun while the train rolled by:


Here's the consist of the Ocean for those who note these things:
6400, 6432, 7004, 7223, 7232, 7200, 7108, 7227, 7316, 7520, 7303, 7402, 7314, 7515, 7508, 7525, 7503, 7516, 7601, Chateau Salaberry (8226), Assiniboine Park (8702).

After this, the Gaspe adventure began. Part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Missed by that much

Did you ever have a day or a train chase where you felt like you were just a few seconds behind everyone else? That was yesterday for me. I guess that makes up for my lucky catch of a CN local yesterday.

January 30 started with a quick visit to the NBEC yard in Bathurst. NBEC 1818 was the yard power, and the crew was walking to their unit at about 07:50 in the bitter cold.


I wasn't really trying to catch VIA 14 but I hoped I would get them at Belledune when they stopped to reline the Irvco switch. I heard them on the scanner but I only saw the tail end of the train in the distance. Miss #1.

Ore train 587 was in Belledune but I didn't see it. I assume NBEC 1813 and SFEX 3000 were still the power for that train.

On my way back south, I heard someone calling the RTC as I drove over the tracks on highway 11 but I didn't hear who it was.

As I approached Miramichi I heard train 403 getting its TOP from the RTC at 14:54. Given that I was just by Wal-Mart at that point, I didn't think I would be able to get trackside before they left. I was right. (the TOP was for 6905 West with 8 loads (didn't hear the # of empties), 2693 tons and 2584 feet).

Just as I saw the tracks by the Northumberland Dairy facility, 403 was blowing for the crossings. I saw two SD40 and two C424 units in the distance as they headed north. I estimate they had about 30 cars, 17 of those being the empty Ultramar tank cars on the tail end. Miss #2.

CFMG 6910 was at rest in the yard, waiting to become train 402 later in the day. NBEC 1866 and NBEC 1856 were the power on local 578, which was idling in front of the crew shack. I contented myself with some roster shots in the bright sunlight before heading south.

I like the moon over the unit.

As I approached McGivney I saw the east-facing signals were green over red, but I didn't have time to sit and wait for a train to show. Experience has told me it could be half an hour at least before something shows. Miss #3.

On the way south I stopped and took a few photos of the old railway bridge at Renous. I've been meaning to do this for some time.


Not a great day for watching trains, but what can you do?

Northern New Brunswick, 2006/03/29

On the 29th I went up to northern New Brunswick, and of course saw a few trains on the way. It was a beautiful day, blue sky and sunshine, so the photos turned out.

In Miramichi at 9:45, I found CFMG 6907 on the back track, idling away. The big surprise was at the end of the track, where I found NBEC 1821, 4219 and 4243 fresh from their stint at IRSI in Moncton. I believe 1821 is not operational and 4219 and 4243 are definitely not operational. They provided parts for SFEX 4203 and 4204 a while ago.



Apologies for the last shot - I had to shoot toward the bright sun

For some reason the paint on 4219 is much darker than 4243 or 1821.

A crew was doing work on the track just railway north/west of the station.

I ventured over to the Chatham side of the river and found a ram of tank cars at the Ultramar depot (GATX 75568 to 75584) at 10:00.


NBEC 1818 and 1849 were idling behind the mall at the end-of-track on the Loggieville spur.


NBEC 587, the ore train, was working the smelter at Belledune around 11:20. I dropped by the Chaleur Lumber spur and I saw six centerbeam flat cars there (3 loads, 1 partially loaded).

I heard NBEC 587 still at Belledune at 17:10 and I saw the second unit was CFQC 3000, mainly by the flashing light on top. There was another RS18 leading but I couldn't get the number.

I dropped by the yard in Bathurst and there was no power there, but I heard NBEC 403 get a rollby inspection from someone. Right after that, I saw an MOW crane get off the tracks at Golf Road and call the dispatcher (in French) to tell them they were clear. 403 arrived at 17:35 with NBEC 6901, 6904, 6900, and 1818 from this morning in Miramichi. It was unusual to see three of the four NBEC-lettered SD40s on one train!

Train 403 had 3 chip cars, 12 boxcars, 1 tank cars, 1 86 foot car (HLMX 86182), and the ram of 17 empty tank cars from Ultramar (GATX 75568 to 75584). 34 cars.

I arrived at the VIA station in Miramichi at about 18:45. I talked with the agent there and he said VIA 15 would arrive in about 10 minutes. I decided to try to catch him by UPM on my way out of town. I got stuck behind someone driving at 30km/h (seriously? 30???) but after they turned off I made good time. I made the left at the lights by UPM and saw the headlights on the bridge across the Miramichi river and brought the car to a screeching halt. I hopped out and started taping.. just in time. The engineer gave me a few toots on the way by.

VIA 6429 (Telus) led, and they were deadheading a Skyline car behind the second engine. There were 12 cars in total.

Another great day!