Matt and CN 406

On Wednesday night, I met up with Matt aka saintjohnrailfan near the Rothesay train station. We set up for CN 406 and shot the breeze while we waited. In good time we heard the horn blowing in Renforth and she came around the corner at about 18:16.



Before CN 406 came, a young couple with their boy arrived and sat down to watch the train. I think they might have placed a penny or two on the tracks. I remember doing that when I was a kid in Shearwater, NS.

When 406 came, they were given an enthusiastic wave from the onlookers.



Matt was taking video (see his videos) and captured this great video. I was very sad to see the deer run out in front of the train at about 1:00. One of them didn't make it. :(  I hadn't noticed them at the time as they were far away from us.



As the train passed, Matt and I said our goodbyes and I took off to try to catch CN 406 around Hampton. I got my directions a bit confused and ended up exiting the highway at Bloomfield. I backtracked a few kilometres and ended up on Odell Loop Road on an old iron bridge over the tracks. As you can see, I was shooting directly into the setting sun. Still, it was fun to chase the train.



It was great to see Matt again after so many years... I remember meeting him by the Staples near Rothesay Avenue quite a few years ago. Hopefully it won't be so long before I see him again!

Rothesay Station Revisited

Last week I was in the Saint John / St. George area for a quick trip, to give some training. I had a brief opportunity to do a different kind of training when I chased CN 406 in the evening of September 21. I drove from St. George to Saint John in the late afternoon, and had supper while 406 was in Island Yard. When I left the restaurant, I could see that 406 was rolling out of Saint John. Since I had to go that way to get to the airport, I gave chase!

I caught up with the head end at the end of Rothesay Avenue, by Highway 1. I crossed under the green CN bridge just before CN 5743 did. I was able to get ahead of it enough to get to the overpass a few kilometres down the road, park and sprint back to grab this shot.



The trailing engine was CN 2612.

Afterward, I continued down into Rothesay. I had my windows down so I could hear the engines working to bring 406 up to speed... sweet, sweet music. The traffic was fairly slow but fortunately there are no stop signs or stop lights along the way. As I turned toward the tracks near the old Rothesay station, I could hear the train blowing for crossings... it had caught up to me! Quickly I drove past the station and parked, leaving the car running while I sprinted across the crossing to set up for the approaching train. I had enough time to get the camera out, change lenses, and start shooting as they passed the old Rothesay station.



I had to do a fair amount of post-processing in Digital Photo Professional to get this photo to work, as it was getting fairly dark and there were a lot of shadows. Still, I think it worked out OK.

CN 5743 is an old friend. I saw it on train 314 last July and you can see it in this video. Back in 2006 it was the 3rd unit on train 307 just outside Amherst, Nova Scotia.

I've seen CN 2612 once before, in Island Yard in Saint John on June 22, 2001. I'm not sure I have a photo of it from that time.

The only other time I've shot a train in Rothesay was on February 25, 2007 when I shot CN 5617 leading train 305. There's a video too.



The trees have grown a bit in the last 4 years. Besides the snow and lack of leaves, do you notice one other difference between the two station photos?