Four Days in April, Part 2

CN 2315 meeting CN 2666

In a span of about a week in April, I made a point of getting out and photographing trains. I ended up shooting trains on April 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19, and I am going to share each outing in a separate post.

Monday, April 16th

I had an hour or so to spend railfanning on Monday afternoon, so I went over to the southeast corner of Winnipeg next to the Tinkertown Family Fun Park. CN calls this "Navin" and it's the end of the CN Sprague subdivision, which runs from Rainy River, Ontario through the United States and through Manitoba to Winnipeg.

As I approached the area, I noticed a train was coming into Winnipeg from the east. I drove to Navin to catch it coming into the CN yard.

The track has a few little curves as it comes into Winnipeg, so I elected to photograph it approaching one of those bends as it passed under the Perimeter Highway.

Leading lines

This was taken with my 70-200mm lens (what I call my "long" lens due to its reach) and I cropped it in a bit. I decided to process it this way, because I felt the high contrast of the image was well suited for black and white. I liked the leading lines of the rails.

After I took the shot, I stepped across the tracks (at the crossing) to photograph it from the "sun" side. That was one reason why I shot it from such a distance - I wanted to allow enough time for me to cross safely, before the lights started flashing and the gates started coming down. I like to take good photographs but I like living a lot more!

CN 2315 and a black snake

Still using the "long" lens, I took several photographs as it approached the crossing. I'm not sure which one I like better.

WEST - Perimeter Highway

Note the snow on the nose of CN 2315! It was a lovely day in Winnipeg. We've been fortunate that the majority of snow missed us; Ontario was suffering through some snow while we had blue skies and no snow. This train would have come from Ontario and I guess it didn't linger in sidings long enough to melt the snow.

I scooted down closer to the yard to shoot them again, because I wanted a better shot of that third unit, a leaser.

When I got to the south end of Symington Yard, CN 2666 was waiting to leave.

CN 2666 and company waiting to leave

CN 2666 East was on the closest track to me, and CN 2315 West went by on the farthest track. The two middle tracks are pullback tracks for the hump yard.

Here's that lease locomotive - GECX 9473.

GECX 9473, an ex Union Pacific locomotive

The outgoing train, CN 2666 East, had CN 2202 in second position. It must have been a bit toasty in that locomotive at one point!

Mmmmm... toasty

I returned to that area in the evening, and took this iPhone shot of one of the humpyard sets.

Puff puff

The set was sitting there, and GTW 5943 was periodically revving up and letting out a little puff of smoke. Odd.

That was April 16! Stay tuned for April 17 with some sunset photos.

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Railfanning the Sprague Subdivision

Continuing after visiting Piney, Manitoba... After we visited the Piney train station, a bathroom break was desperately required. Our options were definitely limited...

• There is no public washroom in Piney - I did consider checking out the community centre but I assumed it was locked. 
• We hadn't seen any kind of gas station or other possibility for a public washroom since Steinbach, almost an hour away
• The border town of Sprague was 20 minutes away

I decided our best choice was Sprague, even though that would take us farther away from home. Off we went.

As we approached South Junction, I saw a sign for a Co-Op gas station. HOORAY! I pulled up to the pumps and my family ran into the station to take care of business while I topped up the tank. The gas price was reasonable - 89.9 cents/L I believe. I went inside to pay and use the facilities, then we all got back into the van.

I knew South Junction used to be the east end of the CN Ridgeville subdivision that Piney was on, so I wanted to check out the track and see what traces of the sub were still evident. We drove over to the CN Sprague subdivision and I parked near the tracks and stepped out with my camera.

South Junction

I took a few photos of the area, and as I was looking around, I heard an unmistakable noise in the distance - big diesel engines! Soon headlights came into view to the east and CN 2855 West came thundering through the crossing.

CN 2855 and 2832 leading a grain train through South Junction, MB

I wonder if this building in the back yard of a nearby house was a railway building? It sure looks like one.

Some kind of railway building?

There is still some track in the ground from what was the Ridgeville subdivision. I think that there is some under the pavement of Main Street and I unearthed a bit of track that was covered by last year's grass.

I'd like to come back and see if I could find some dates on that track!

There is a pretty sizable church in South Junction too, the Our Lady of Assumption (Roman Catholic) (Manitoba Historical Society page).

Our Lady of Assumption church in South Junction, MB

So that was South Junction. It was time to head toward home. I had promised lunch / supper in Woodridge, so we weren't heading back the same way we came down. That's OK - it's always good to see new routes!

Vassar

I wanted to stop by Vassar to see the old train station there. I understood it was in much better shape than the Piney train station.

When we got to Vassar, CN 2855 West was rolling through.

Once the train passed, I saw that the station was well off the road and apparently on private property. You can catch a glimpse of it from the road at the east/south end of the siding.

Here's Vassar siding - 13,529 feet.

Vassar siding

Off to Woodridge. Once we left highway 12 it was gravel on route 203 to Woodridge. I probably should have ducked into Badger to view the abandoned buildings there, but we drove on by.

Carrick

It's Woodridge on the map but I'm pretty sure it's known to CN as Carrick. When we got there, "our" freight train was rolling through.

Grain cars rolling through Woodridge, MB

Grain in the plains

Once that passed, we headed across the tracks to the Trails End Tavern.

Woodridge is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it is an important stop for snowmobilers and ATVers who frequent the area. There were several ATVs parked outside and from a few online searches it seems the town is an important stop along the way.

Trails End Tavern, Woodridge

We had a very nice "lupper" at the tavern, with great service and good food at reasonable prices. No complaints!

While we were eating, another westbound freight train rolled by. I'm proud to say that I stayed in my seat and didn't run outside at the sight of the crossing bells lighting up.

Once our meal was done, we continued on toward home.

Marchand

We met the tracks again at Marchand. There's nothing but straight track here but the sight lines would be good for a train. The Marchand Hotel was prominently in view.

Marchand, Manitoba

La Brocquerie

Church in La Brocquerie

We passed through the tidy town of La Brocquerie.

I saw a west-facing signal was green, indicating an eastbound train was coming, but I knew my family's patience was wearing thin so I didn't dare hang around.

I did take a moment to photograph an impressive church in the town. This is the St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church, which was built in 1898 and dedicated in 1901. The Manitoba Historical Society has a page on it and the Parish has its own web page (in French).

We carried on up highway 210.

Giroux

The CN Sprague subdivision parallels the highway, and as we drove up the highway, I saw headlights in the distance. TRAIN!

The train and I approached each other, so I picked a spot and pulled over to catch the train. CN 2666 was leading a freight train. 2666 is an old friend - I've seen it a few times.

CN 2666 and a grain train

I really liked the trailing unit - "cowl unit" CN 2419.

CN 2419 at Giroux, MB

We reached Ste. Anne and got back onto the Trans-Canada Highway. We rolled up toward Winnipeg, and as I approached Lorette I saw a train also heading toward Winnipeg.

Lorette

CN 8100 came to a stop on the main line at Lorette. I guessed they were waiting for a meet but I didn't dare hang around. I stopped for a few shots of the head end and then we carried on home.

CN 8100 at Lorette siding outside Winnipeg

Conclusion

That was the end of our little excursion to Piney, Manitoba and our trip back along the Sprague subdivision. A lovely train station and three trains!

We'll have to go all the way to Sprague next time... and maybe visit Badger.

From here, you might want to:

• Visit the abandoned Piney train station
• A Morning With Tom (along the Sprague)
• ES44ACs on the Sprague

GMTX 2657, 2666 and 6319

NB Southern's latest additions to its growing fleet are either in or arriving in Saint John. Byron Thomas shot GMTX 2657 and GMTX 2666 near Harbour Station in Saint John yesterday.


Note that 2666 has a white nose.


Also, Wendell Lemon noted that HLCX 6319 is on CN train 406 today heading to Saint John, behind four CN engines.

Thanks to Wendell and Byron for the information and to Byron especially for the photos. Also thanks to Karl A for the correction on the reporting mark!

Yet Yet Yet More NB Southern Engines Coming

It seems like I make one of these posts every month!

The New Brunswick Southern Railway has five more leased engines on the way. GMTX 2644 (a GP38-2) will join the growing NBSR fleet. This old lady was built in October 1967 for the Baltimore and Ohio as GP38 3821. It is in Oakway blue and white like GMTX 2639.

The other four are SD40-2 engines from Helm, HLCX 6304, 6319, 6332 and 6340.

HLCX 6304 looks pretty sharp. Photo by Terry Cantrell.


HLCX 6319 is in dark red and blue, and looks like the leasers that the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway had/has.

HLCX 6332 is in Conrail baby blue with HLCX on the side, originally a Pennsylvania Railroad engine. Apparently it is looking pretty shabby, so maybe it will get a repaint. Even in 2006 it was looking a bit rusty. Photo by Brian Jones.


HLCX 6340 is in Southern Pacific gray with red ends. Very recently she was working on the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern (ICE), purchased by Canadian Pacific.

Oh, and GMTX 2666 showed up very quietly at the beginning of this month. GMTX 2666 is a GP38-2 painted in Oakway blue and white and was on a westbound NBSR freight shot by Byron Thomas on August 2. Note HLCX 6200 leading, GMTX 2645 in second position, "new" GMTX 2666 in third, HLCX 6315 fourth, and finally NBSR 2612 as the fifth engine.

I love this shot. The consists are so colourful on the NB Southern these days.

By my count that makes 29 engines. You can see my NB Southern roster page for the full list.

"New" NB Southern Units Imminent

Three GATX GP38s are about to arrive at New Brunswick Southern Railway's doorstep. The three were spotted in Portland, Maine on the Pan Am Railway property on Monday morning, and on the move through Waterville, Maine Tuesday afternoon.

The three units are GMTX 2639, 2645 and 2666, all in bright blue paint with white lettering. GMTX 2639 in particular spent some time on the Quebec and Gatineau Railway a few years ago.

Hat tip to Chuck and SteveO for the information.

VIA 2 in Daylight

One of the few train-watching problems in Winnipeg is that the eastbound Canadian is almost always in darkness. It is scheduled to arrive at 20:30, meaning that only in the longest days of June will it arrive in daylight. In fact, I haven't seen VIA 2 in daylight in Winnipeg since 2004.

On Friday (Feb 12) I was getting an early lunch at 11:15, and shooting CN 199, when I heard that VIA 2 was passing through Portage la Prairie. It was late due to Thursday morning's derailment near the MB-SK border. I knew that it would take the Canadian about an hour to get from Portage to Winnipeg, so I intended to catch them at 12:15ish. I was a bit late leaving and I arrived at CN Waverley at 12:35 to see the Canadian changing from the north to the south track just west of Waverley Street. Just in time!

A maintenance-of-way (MOW) crew gave the Canadian an inspection as it went by, as per Canadian Rail Operating Rules rule 110.

"When duties and terrain permit, at least two crew members of a standing train or transfer and other employees at wayside must position themselves on the ground on both sides of the track to inspect the condition of equipment in passing trains and transfers. When performing a train or transfer inspection, the locomotive engineer will inspect the near side. When a group of wayside employees is present, at least two employees must perform the inspection."

VIA 2's consist was: engines 6441 and 6412; deadhead sleeper 8327 (FRASER MANOR); baggage 8609; coach 8119; Skyline 8512; diner 8409 FAIRHOLME; sleepers 8308 BLISS MANOR, 8314 CAMERON MANOR, 8328 GRANT MANOR, and 8215 CHATEAU LEMOYNE; and 8718 YOHO PARK.

Oh, I mentioned I saw CN train 199... it had Dash-9 CN 2666 leading and sister CN 2597 in second position. I saw CN 2666 a few times in and near Saint John in early 2006 - it was the lead unit on CN 305 on January 21.