Winnipeg Content!

Maybe you're tired of Maritime content, so here's some actual Winnipeg content... fresh from Tuesday!

I went out at noon to shoot the Hudson Bay aka VIA 693.  I went north on Waverley Street and saw a big line just south of the tracks, but no train, so something must have just gone by. I turned left onto the Sterling Lyon Parkway and soon I saw a container train... edging east.  I turned around and crossed Waverley heading toward Portage Junction, hoping to get there before the train.  I figured I had a fighting chance despite the many stop signs, because the train was just getting underway.  Long story short, I made it to Heatherdale Avenue just south of the Junction before the train did.

The train was CN 116 and had nothing unusual for power, CN 2530 and CN 2336.




I waited there for the Hudson Bay to show up, but what came around the corner was not VIA 693. It was train CN 101, with engine CN 8912 on the point.



They were not rolling very fast, and in fact it was clear that CN 101 was coming to a stop short of Waverley Street.

So, CN 116 rolling east on the north track, CN 101 stopping on the south track... how is VIA 693 going to get through?  I figured that 693 must be east of this mess and would come through on the north track past 101... in good time.

I headed to St. James Junction to have a chance of seeing the Hudson Bay without 101 blocking the shot. Soon I saw a CP train heading north on the La Riviere sub. While I waited for them to come closer so I could shoot them, a gentleman who works in the nearby warehouse told me that CP ran a 187 car train over the La Riviere a week previous. That's quite a train for this little branch line!

The power for the CP train turned out to be CP 3027 and daughter CP 1127. Since the light isn't good here for a head-on shot, I elected to include the Golf Dome in the shot.



After a few minutes of waiting, VIA 693 finally showed up. Faded VIA 6421 and refurbished VIA 6452 provided the power for a typical consist: baggage, 2 coaches, diner, Chateau sleeper. I didn't get the numbers of the diner and the sleeper.



I assume CN 101 started up after the Hudson Bay went through, but I did not wait around for them. I hear they had 222 cars and 13,940 feet of train!  There must have been a couple more engines scattered through the train. In the past I've noticed that 101 has one or two engines on the head end and one on the tail.

Monday's Canadian

Another quickie... today's Canadian at noon in Winnipeg.

The Canadian was right on time on a beautiful, sunny day. I see VIA has added a few cars for the Christmas rush.

6421
6407
8609
8118
8119
8512
8409 Fairholme
8327 Fraser Manor
8308 Bliss Manor
8314 Cameron Manor
8309 Brant Manor
8215 Chateau Lemoyne
8715 Tremblant Park

CN Detour, Day 1, Morning

As I mentioned, CN is detouring on NBEC due to flooding in Edmundston. CN's state of the railroad says "Due to the overflow of the Saint-John River, CN interrupted train service between Moncton N.B. and Saint-André-Station, Quebec as of 1230hrs EDT on Wednesday, April 30th.". It has since been updated to indicate the river has crested.

As luck would have it, I was scheduled to travel north today. I navigated the flooded streets of downtown Fredericton and headed up highway 8. As I approached Miramichi I heard CN 122 receiving a clearance from the NBEC dispatcher to proceed south/east to Pacific Junction. I made the best time I legally could to Red Head, but I missed the head end of the train and settled for watching my first container traffic on the NBEC at 09:30.


NBEC 6904 was in the empty Miramichi yard with two loaded CFMG ballast hoppers behind it.

As I passed Bathurst, I heard at 10:52 that CN 120 (8001 leading) got a clearance from mile 164 (Charlo) to 132 (Irvco/Belledune).

I had called VIA earlier and they told me VIA 14 had engine trouble and would not be in Miramichi until noon. A little calculation showed that it was time for VIA 14 to arrive at Bathurst. I exited the highway at Beresford, crossed the tracks (nothing in sight), turned at the gas station, crossed the tracks again and saw headlights to the north! Good timing. At 11:04 VIA 6421 brought 14 through Beresford.


At 11:19 CN 120 was reported at mile 159.
At 11:27 NBEC 402 (6907 E) got a clearance from mile 184 (Campbellton) to 159 (Charlo).

At 11:51 CN 120 was reported underway at mile 156. It must have had a hotbox problem. They asked for a lineup and the RTC (Dawn) said CN 121 was still at Moncton and there was no data on CN 123.

From Tim Dryden and Luc Doiron, I understand 122 went through Rogersville at 10:15 and was in Gordon Yard by 12:30. Geoff Doane reported it in Millview just outside Halifax at 20:20 with 56xx leading and CN 6011 trailing.

My night was even more exciting. I'll talk about it in my next post.

EDIT: "Upon further review", it is clearly VIA 6421 in the picture, not 6431.