Ontar-eye-O, Part 1

Last week I went to southern Ontario for work. I flew in and out of Windsor and worked about an hour away from there. I had a few brief opportunities for railfanning while I was there.

But first, on the way to the airport I paused at the BNSF yard in Winnipeg to shoot BNSF 2322 and make sure it was still there!


Then I flew to Windsor. I arrived in the early evening and poked around a bit in Windsor before heading out. I saw the VIA Rail station and took a few photos, but there were no VIA trains scheduled for a few hours.


Here's a view of the station. This station is currently being replaced by the building in the distance to the right. You can read about the new station here.


I went inside to take a few photos. The station agent said it was OK as long as she wasn't in any of them!

There are a few upgrades in the existing station. It has wireless Internet, and these new e-ticketing machines.


Here's the arrivals and departures board. Four trains each way per day, not bad for the western end of the Corridor.


I left Windsor and headed east. On my way, I decided to make a quick stop in Essex to see the historic train station there. Of course, it was dark so I took some long exposure shots. This was my favourite, of the 1909 Essex Terminal Railway caboose.


Here's my best night photo of the station. Note the grain elevator silos in the background. They had a light on in the entrance and that made it difficult to get a balanced shot. I should have tried an HDR shot.


In part 2 I relate how I tried to shoot a VIA Rail train (missed), a CP train (missed), and finally a VIA Rail train in Windsor (got it) as well as more photos of the Essex train station during the day. Read on

New BNSF Engine in Winnipeg

I honestly thought I had posted about this earlier, but I guess I had just sent it to MB-SKRails and not here.

BNSF 2322 is the new BNSF Manitoba engine in Winnipeg. I shot it on March 22 in their yard.

BNSF 2322 is a GP38-2 built in December 1976. It started life as SLSF 467, becoming BN 2322 shortly after the Frisco's merger with Burlington Northern on 1980, and finally BNSF 2322.



Here's the list of BNSF engines I've seen in Winnipeg, from earliest at top to latest at bottom.

• BNSF 1685
• BNSF 2743
• BNSF 2886
• BNSF 2001
• BNSF 2978
• BNSF 3028
• BNSF 2756
• BNSF 2968
• BNSF 2322

I don't think I've missed any since BNSF 2743.