A Different Perspective

"It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view." - George Eliot, "Middlemarch"

I've photographed VIA Rail's Canadian in Winnipeg many times... 131 times at the time of writing. That's a lot!

I've shot the eastbound Canadian, at many locations along its route out of Winnipeg, but there are a couple that I have shot at many times.

St. James Junction

VIA 1 passing a CN container train

When I first moved to Winnipeg I often photographed it at or near St. James Junction, because that was close to my office and I could spend my lunch time trackside catching VIA 1 and whatever else came by.

It was great because it was close and also because you could also see BNSF and CP there at times.

Diamond

The Canadian approaching Diamond

Once I started working from home, that became less convenient and I opted to shoot VIA 1 at or near Diamond, just west of Winnipeg on the Rivers subdivision.

I've written about Diamond a lot (even recently) and it is certainly my "go to" location.

Scratching the Itch

This past Thursday, I had the itch to try something different. I feel a bit stuck in a rut, creatively speaking, so I wanted to go to a new location that I'd never tried before. I pulled up Google Maps and looked at the route of the Canadian from Union Station downtown through Winnipeg and out past Diamond.

Route of the westbound Canadian through Winnipeg

The Canadian leaves Union Station at top right and rolls along the Red River, past Fort Rouge yard and the VIA Maintenance Centre, through Portage Junction, then past St. James Junction and Carman Junction out of the city. Around mile 10 (where they pass under the Perimeter Highway) they usually put the hammer down and accelerate up to 60+ MPH and pass Diamond and hurtle westward to Vancouver.

I feel I've covered that stretch from Diamond east to Portage Junction very well - maybe too well. There is a little bit between Waverley Street and Portage Junction that I haven't photographed much, but honestly I have tried it and I am not really that impressed by the possibilities there. 

A New Hope

How about here??

I did notice an intriguing section of track just south of Union Station that I had never photographed at before.

There is a walking path between the tracks and the Red River that seemed to come pretty close to the tracks, and it would be on the east side of the tracks for morning photography.

I asked on the RailsMBSK Facebook group and people seemed to think it was an OK location, but I was warned that there is a fence between the walking path and the tracks. 

Sunlight... Camera.. Action

On Thursday I arrived behind the Mulvey Flea Market off Osborne Street at about 11:15 AM. I parked, grabbed my camera bag, and walked down the path to check out the view.

There was indeed a chain-link fence between the trail and the track. It has a gate and it was wide open. I believe that fuel trucks use that gate to refuel locomotives here. I didn't go in.

I had prepared for this eventuality. I went back to my car and fetched a stepladder out of the trunk, then set it up by the fence and waited.

I had a few odd looks from the passing joggers and walkers, but that was it. As a railfan, I'm used to that.

It took about half an hour, but the first train was a big one. CN 3025 was leading what may have been CN 111.

CN 3025 approaching Subway in Winnipeg

I like the going away shot too.

CN 3025 approaching the Osborne Street bus rapid transit station

As I watched the containers roll by, there was time for a selfie.

There's always time for a selfie, right? ;)

I'm not quite sure what podcast I was listening to at that time....


The train had a mid-train locomotive, CN 2856.

CN 2856 in Winnipeg as mid-train power

Finally the end of the train came in sight, with a third locomotive pushing hard.

CN 2821 passing under the signal bridge

So that was exciting!

I picked up my stepladder and did a little more scouting, looking for different angles or better locations. I strongly considered a location further east, across from the apartment building visible above, but in the end I ruled it out. It wasn't bad but it didn't "feel" right.

Not quite

I went back to where I shot the CN train and waited for VIA.

I didn't bring my scanner - I hardly ever do - and so I was reduced to listening for locomotive noise and obsessively checking VIA's web site to see if the departure time for VIA 1 had been updated.

In the end my listening was what alerted me to the approaching Canadian, as VIA's web site wasn't updated in time.

VIA 1 leaving Winnipeg

Just a bit of fence in the shot...

I was being adventurous and recording video with my iPhone while snapping photos with my camera. I've tried doing both before, with mediocre results, but I felt confident that day for some reason.

I shot every car as it went by, to record the consist, and you can see my phone-holding hand in a few shots..

Taking video

Here's the video:


Like most Canadian photos, the going-away shot is just as good as the approach. Nothing like a PARK car to finish off a train!

Glacier Park on the rear

That was all of the time I could spend there, but I was pleased with the location and pleased with my photos. It's definitely a spot I could return to!

If you're interested, I posted some photos of the Manitoba Mega Train Show on one of my other blogs... lots of model trains and a great show!

Railfanning With Michael Berry, Part 1

Michael Berry at Diamond

Montreal railfan Michael Berry was in Winnipeg in late August / early September, visiting family with his wife and baby daughter.

He had been in touch with me prior to the trip, looking for some tips on railfanning locations, and we arranged to get together to railfan the Diamond area sometime during his visit.

The Plan

Sunrise near Dugald

Michael wanted to railfan the "famous" Diamond on the CN Rivers subdivision. We Winnipeg railfans often talk about Diamond on the RailsMBSK Facebook group and joke that one of the local railfans is the "mayor" if Diamond, as he is often found there, observing trains with his girlfriend.

Diamond is a good location because it has a lot of trains, it has wide open prairie and it's close to the city... and sometimes CP shows up for a cameo.

He also wanted to photograph the VIA Rail Canadian, which leaves Winnipeg at 11:45 AM (if it's on time) on Monday, Thursday and Saturday during the summer.

A "nice to have" for him was to photograph the Prairie Dog Central tourist train, which had a few departures at 11 AM... and the Central Manitoba Railway (CEMR) if it happened to be around.

Sunrise

Dugald - the start of a glorious day

We arranged for me to pick him up at 07:45 on Saturday September 3rd. I was up bright and early and decided to head out a bit early and catch the sunrise (and maybe the VIA Rail Canadian) at Dugald just east of Winnipeg.

The sunrise was pretty.

I was running a bit short of time but I saw the green signal indicating an eastbound was approaching. I drove just east of Dugald and saw a headlight approaching, so I decided to risk being a few minutes late picking Michael up to get the train. I figured Michael would understand.

CN 111 approaching Dugald

This was CN 2815 and 2927 leading train CN 111. I shot the DPU unit, CN 2821, at the highway crossing then headed into the city to pick Michael up.

Diamond

Old Diamond sign

I picked Michael up, exchanged pleasantries then we hit the road for Diamond. We crossed over a few empty tracks on the way around the Perimeter Highway before arriving at the CN Rivers subdivision. Everything was quiet there, so we took a brief detour over to the Assiniboine River to photograph the CP bridge there.

CP bridge over the Assiniboine River

We returned to Diamond to wait for a train... any train. The nice thing about the CN Rivers subdivision is that you don't have to wait hours for a train. We had arrived at Diamond by about 08:30 and our first train was at 09:30. It looked a bit... familiar.

We meet again, Mr. Bond.

CN 2815 and 2927 leading a container train... hey, that's the CN 111 I saw two hours before! I imagine they stopped in Transcona for a crew change and maybe some fuel, then carried on west to pass me again.

Since I keep talking about Diamond, I might as well show you the actual diamond... here's the DPU locomotive CN 2821 crossing the CP Glenboro subdivision.

CN 2821 crossing the diamond at Diamond

In about 15 minutes, another train came along. Fortunately this one came from the west, so the morning light was much better on this train. Michael positioned himself closer to the actual diamond than I did, and you can see his photo on Railpictures.net.

Here's mine, showing CN 318 splitting the east-facing signals.

CN 8893 and 2140 leading train 318 past Diamond

CN 8893 and CN 2140 were leading a longish manifest train. I amused myself by photographing a few of the freight cars, including these centerbeam flatcars carrying Tolko wrapped lumber.

Tolko, soon not to be made in The Pas

Tolko is topical because they've announced they are closing their mill in The Pas, Manitoba. They are the major employer in the town but unfortunately they haven't been able to make a go of it.

We waited for a while after CN 318 passed, hoping for another train, but nothing showed up except for another railfan. We chatted with him for a while but it was time to head up to the Prairie Dog Central for the 11 AM departure of the steam train.

That's in the next post... featuring the steam train, of course, more steam engines, and repainted ex CN 5232.

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