VIA Plow Train

David Morris chased the Ocean and Chaleur a few times in February and sent along these shots of the trains plowing snow.

First, here's the Ocean at Nigadoo, NB.


Next, the Chaleur plowing a crossing at Escuminac in Quebec.

Hopefully he didn't get too wet after this shot!

Here's the same train at Anse a Beaufils.


They met the real plow at New Carlisle, propelled by SFG 1856, the former NBEC 1856.

NBEC this afternoon

I went up to Miramichi for the Miramichi Model Train Show, and on the way there I heard NBEC 403 preparing to leave Miramichi for Campbellton. I rushed to the yard only to see the power disappearing in the distance at 14:43. Train 403 had CFMG 6902, 6910, 6908, and 6907 leading 24 loads and 36 empties, including the 17-car Ultramar Tank Train set at the rear. 6907 is going to Campbellton for servicing overnight and returning tomorrow.

After the show, I returned to the yard to try to find the yard power. They were nowhere to be seen. I heard them on the scanner shunting, but after checking the lower yard, UPM, and finally the port, I figured they must have headed over to the other side of the river. Then I heard them call a foreman to tell them they were tying up and going off shift, so I figured they must have returned to the yard. They had.

NBEC 1856 and 1816 were parking by the depot when I arrived. I spoke with the very friendly engineer and he told me NBEC is purchasing 6 new 3500HP units, possibly as a replacement for the SD40 units they have. I'd like to see that!

Notice the shiny new front end on 1856. It was involved in a grade crossing accident near Noel, Quebec on July 14. It has also received the SmartStart upgrade so there are some new stickers on the hood and the handrails and roof have been repainted.


Contrast that with good old 1816.

Northern New Brunswick railfanning

Today I went to Bathurst for the first time in a long time, and of course I saw a few trains on the way. I had my Fuji 3.2 megapixel digital camera with me, and I was looking forward to taking just stills.

It was foggy near McGivney and I couldn't see anything at all as I passed.

I noticed quite a few cars at the UPM-Kymmene plant in Miramichi. The outside yard was pretty full and there were quite a few inside the fence too. This is the first time I've seen it since NBEC took over the plant switching so no doubt they are doing things a little differently.

VIA 14 was reported 32 minutes late leaving Bathurst. I went to Beaver Brook and saw them go through at 10:15 with VIA 6415 and 6420 leading the Renaissance train with Evangeline Park at the rear.



I drove back to the yard and beat them there with 30 seconds to spare, even with the driver going 40 km/h in front of me. They had a quick station stop and headed out. NBEC 1854 and 1816 were shunting around at the other end of the yard, and CFMG 6907 was resting with NBEC 1819. I noted that the two dead C-424s, 4219 and 4243, were still in the yard (I saw them March 29).



As I approached Bathurst I heard NBEC 1818 West get permission to occupy main track between mileages 106.6 and 108. That's the section of track between Nepisiguit Junction and the Bathurst yard limits. They must have been coming off the Nepisiguit Subdivision.

I heard NBEC train 587 talking as I approached Belledune near noon, and as I was parking I saw NBEC 1867 and another red RS18 running light out of the plant. There was talk on the scanner about a couple of cars left in the siding off the main line, so I thought they were getting those.

When I left Belledune at 16:30, I heard train 587 again! It turns out they were working the Irvco siding off the main line, picking up those leftover cars. They rolled by at 16:35 with 1835 leading 1867 and 4 gondolas, 2 boxcars, 1 tank car, an airslide hopper, and a string of about 17 NBEC ore cars.

I almost like the going-away shot better!


I raced to the highway and easily beat them to Beresford through intermittent rain. I had some indecision about whether to shoot straight down the track or off a bit to the "sun" side. As you can see I decided an offset shot was better. They rolled past at 16:58.



The train was parked on the siding in front of the VIA station in Bathurst when I arrived at 17:10. Shortly thereafter they started doing some switching. Gotta love that Alco smoke!!


I watched them until about 17:35 when I spoke with the engineer. He said the next crew would be taking the train to Brunswick Mines around 18:00 to 18:30 and train 403 would be arriving around the same time. I figured I had time to grab a quick supper, so I stopped at Subway on my way out to Nepisiguit Junction to catch 403. As I passed over the tracks at the Junction I saw boxcars rolling by underneath. DRAT!

I turned around and beat it down to Riverside Drive. I managed to get ahead of them without breaking speed limits and shot them at the golf course at Squire Green Drive at 18:00. They were 6903, 4214, 4210 and 6902 with about 54 cars.



When I saw the IC boxcar I thought of Roman Litarchuk. :)


NBEC 403 led by CFMG 6903 parked on the main line, and NBEC 586 led by NBEC 1835 was on the passing track.


Much more about NBEC 586 (train to Brunswick Mines) later... this is enough for one blog post!

VIA and NBEC 2006/02/17

Yesterday was an awful day for travelling, but not so bad for trainspotting.

When I arrived in Miramichi around 09:50, NBEC 6905 was the only power in the New Brunswick East Coast (NBEC) yard. I checked with one of the VIA agents and they told me VIA 14 (the Ocean) was more or less on time. I drove around a bit and found a half-decent spot. I kept moving to try to get a shot without an overhead wire in the shot, and ended up with this wedgie:


VIA 14 arrived at 10:08 with 6419 and 6412 leading a Budd car consist. Here are some but not all of the cars: 8622 (baggage), 8141 (coach), 8140 (coach), 8512 (Skyline), 8413 (Diner Louise), 8206 (Chateau Denonville), 8225 (Chateau Rouville), and 8706 (Glacier Park).

They saw quite a bit of snow and ice on the way from Montreal:


The train left at 10:15.


I saw a ram of tank cars at the Ultramar facility and two NBEC RS18s at the Chatham Mall on my way through. They would prove to be 1840 and 1856 as we shall see.

As I passed Bathurst in the freezing rain at 11:10, I heard the yard switcher train 597 getting a clearance. They had NBEC 1819 for power.

When I arrived at Belledune at 11:55, I saw there was a cut of cars left on the siding off the mainline, and I heard train 587 (Brunswick Mines to Belledune) chatting away on the scanner. I caught a glimpse of NBEC 1868 and CFQC 3000 pushing a cut of cars into the Brunswick Smelting facility. They had some blue NBEC ore cars and a bunch of boxcars. No pictures - there was no good angle at all.

En route past Bathurst on my way out, I heard the Bathurst yard switcher talking to the RTC, who said NBEC 403 would be leaving Miramichi at around 1600. That's a pretty normal time for them. It gives them enough time to keep ahead of VIA 15.

On my way back through Miramichi, I found RS18s 1840 and 1856 working the yard as train 587 at 17:55. The light was almost gone and the photos suffer for it. There's only so far you can tweak an almost-black photo!




There was nothing at McGivney but red lights in the snow...

PS: This is post #100!