Railfanning on the NS-NB Border, by John Morris

John Morris posted a video of his chase of CN 407 (?) as he was heading to Bathurst. John is a professional photographer at Lens Make a Picture. He caught it at Fort Lawrence (near Amherst, NS) and Dorchester, NB but missed it at Scoudouc.

Give it a view! The video is well put together, with some sound issues at some points.


I've shot at Fort Lawrence a few times - it's a good location in both directions and easily accessible from the highway. The iron bridge that used to be there has been replaced, sadly. That old bridge was quite a relic!

In my VIA 15 video from November 2004, I shot at both Fort Lawrence and Dorchester. The links are queued up to the right spot in the video for both locations. I didn't try past Dorchester as it was dark by that time!

Amherst Train Station in Jeopardy

VIA Rail at the Amherst train station

The historic train station in Amherst, Nova Scotia is in trouble. This station, opened in 1908, served CN and later VIA Rail trains for decades. The station closed in late October 2012 when VIA Rail cut the Ocean to three round trips/week and closed many of its stations. The Ocean still stops there but onboard staff handle baggage and the station is locked.

The station was host to an artisan's gallery in 2013 but pipes burst in the station over the winter and caused quite a bit of flooding. Currently the station is empty and it is estimated that it could cost over $200,000 to repair the damage.

Photo by David Morris

The town is looking for input on what to do with the station. I believe VIA Rail still owns the station. It is protected under the federal Heritage Railway Stations Protections Act, meaning that it cannot be demolished or significantly altered. Unfortunately the Act does not require that the station be maintained in any way, something I learned during my time with the Fredericton Friends of the Railway in our work to preserve the Fredericton train station.

This editorial makes good points about the station. The town has no municipal use for the station, and Amherst is full of heritage buildings looking for funding to preserve them. As a railfan of course I want the station preserved. Hopefully some organization can step forward and find a good use for this lovely building.

PS Alan Graham has some photos of the lovely second floor of the station.

Radio Interview

VIA's Canadian in Winnipeg

I was interviewed by CJBK radio (London, Ontario) this morning about VIA Rail. Host Mike Stubbs wanted to know my opinion on VIA Rail, where it is going and where I thought it should go. I basically said that in general I think VIA is healthy in the Ontario-Quebec Corridor but services are threatened outside that area. Of course the Ocean was cut in half, the Canadian is losing 1/3 of its trips in the winter, stations like Sackville and Amherst are becoming unmanned, and there are rumours that the Gaspé train may be reduced to coaches only.

He asked about privatization and I said I thought it would not be viable, as VIA is heavily subsidized, just like roads and airlines are. Mike also asked if I thought the European model would work in Canada and I said in general, no, because of the great difference in population density and distances.

All in all, I think it went well.

December 25

However you celebrate it, may you have the best of the season!

Rainy Day Meet

On my way from Moncton to Halifax airport on Friday, I decided to stop and shoot VIA 14, the eastbound Ocean, at Amherst. I had thought about Aulac, but the pouring rain dissuaded me from that. I set up at Amherst across from the station and waited.

At 13:07 VIA 6400 and 6424 rolled up to the station, towing a Renaissance train.

The complete consist was VIA 6400, 6424, 7011, 7223, 7230, 7312, 7402, 7308, 7509, 7501, 7525, and 7512.
After dealing with the passengers, the Ocean backed up out of sight around the corner. Soon enough, they crawled up the siding past the station and went up to the east end of the siding to wait for CN 407. Here they are just after they passed the station.

I relocated to get a shot of the Ocean meeting CN 407. At 13:33 CN 2519 appeared on the main line and rolled past the impatient VIA train. CN 2680 was the second unit on 407. You can see the Ocean to the right in this shot.

I saw 2519 in Winnipeg on August 16 of this year. Oddly enough, it was raining then too.

I didn't have time to look for VIA 15. No doubt they met VIA 14 somewhere like Folly Lake rather than the usual Belmont siding outside Truro.

Three Oceans, One Weekend

David Morris sent along photos of the three Ocean trainsets from the last weekend in August. Too bad it was so rainy. The Moncton one is especially noteworthy because it features newly refurbished VIA 6402. Note the hump at the back of the engine for the new generator. This provides standby power to the train so they do not have to run the main engine at full power at the station.

2009/08/29 VIA 14, Sackville

6439-6419
7009
7220-7108-7208-7231
7311-7400-7313
7508-7522-7521-7526-7519-7524
7600
KOOTENAY

2009/08/29 VIA 15, Amherst

6406-6441
7011
7228-7230-7227
7312-7402-7308
7518-7517-7509-7501-7525-7512
7601
EVANGELINE

2009/08/30 VIA 14, Moncton

6400-6402
7003
7223-7226-7222-7217
7315-7401-7314
7500-7520-7507-7502-7506-7513
7602
REVELSTOKE

Last VIA Stainless For The Winter

This one really was the last one for this spring, despite my previous post on the matter. David Morris chased it from Oxford Junction to Miramichi on Wednesday April 29. Here are a few of his photos.

First, Oxford Junction. Note the track curving off to the left, the former wye.


Next, Amherst.


And finally Miramichi, with failing light.


The consist was engines 6435 and 6440, baggage car 8621, coaches 8109 and 8140, Skyline 8503, diner LOUISE, and Chateau cars IBERVILLE, CADILLAC, LASALLE, and DOLLARD.

Kevin's Videos

Here are links to a few of Kevin's videos from May 3.

VIA 14 at Amherst.
CN 407 at Amherst with 2581, 2617, 5698 & 5706.
VIA 15 at Amherst - very nice.
CN 305 leaving Moncton with CN 8813, IC 1009 and CN 2506.
VIA 15 leaving Moncton.

Saturday Photos From Kevin Gaudet

Kevin was out railfanning between Moncton and Amherst, and caught quite a few trains.

Here is 6410 leading VIA 14 into Moncton.


Next, VIA 14 into Amherst.


A westbound CN freight in Amherst.


CN 8813 working Gordon Yard in Moncton.


Finally, VIA 6426 leading VIA 15 out of Moncton.

Sunday's VIA Trains

Kevin G was out chasing VIA this Sunday!

Here's VIA 14 arriving and leaving Amherst, NS with 6405 and 6429 (Telus unit).


He also caught VIA 15 arriving at Amherst with CBC unit 6403 and 6412.


The shadows were starting to get long as VIA 15 pulled into Sackville, NB.


And finally VIA 15 in the dark passing Gordon Yard.

New videos

Dave Dineen posted a video of NB Southern units taking a container train through Saint John. The train had NBSR 2610, 2319, 3701 and 3702 on it with 33 cars. Check out his blog for a description of the chase.


Kevin G was busy on the weekend chasing trains. First we see CN 534 going past the VIA station in Moncton with a couple of GP38s on the head end.


Next, VIA 14 at the Painsec Junction road crossing with the Operation Lifesaver unit (6411) leading.


Here's VIA 14 arriving at the Sackville station. Nice light in this shot.


Finally, VIA 15 arrives at Amherst with 6416 and 6425.


Thanks, guys!

Trains on the 5th of July

Kevin G chased VIA 14 and 15 on a rainy July 5. Here are a few of his videos, from YouTube.

VIA 14 (with 6428 and 6403) at Shediac Road:


Then VIA 14 again at Sackville:


And finally VIA 14 leaving Amherst:


VIA 15 (with 6427 and 6405) at Sackville Amherst:


Here it is at Gort (passing Gordon Yard in Moncton).


EDIT: I put Sackville instead of Amherst for the fourth video - thanks for the correction!

More YouTube videos

While I was shoveling dirt on Sunday (June 10), Kevin G was shooting video in the Moncton-Amherst area and putting them on YouTube. Who was having more fun?

Here is VIA 14 at Shediac Road, proceeding very slowly for some reason. Kevin has a different shot this time, which I think works a lot better than just showing the train going through the crossing from afar. 14 had 6421 and 6405 with 15 Ren cars


Here is VIA 15 with 6409 and 6424 arriving at Amherst.


Kevin got CN/WC 6941 working at Gort while waiting for VIA 15.


And VIA 15 at Gort on its way out of Moncton.


Thanks, Kevin!

Two new videos

VIA 15 at Amherst with the railfan group from Nova Scotia, and NB Southern switching at McAdam. The VIA video was taken by Peter Gough - thanks, Peter!

Railfan Kevin chased VIA yesterday and put his videos on YouTube. Here's the videos he took of VIA 14. 14 was a little special because it had the Telus unit on point with the Loto Quebec unit trailing.

VIA 14 arriving at the West End of Moncton, NB, just west of the station.


VIA 14 arriving at Sackville, NB.


And then arriving at Amherst, NS. You have to drive pretty fast to beat the train from Sackville to Amherst. :)

VIA photos by Kevin Gaudet

Kevin Gaudet was kind enough to pass along a few VIA photos he took of the Ocean on a recent chase. I'll share two, which I believe were taken at Amherst, NS.


VIA 6409 at the head of VIA 15


Renaissance cars

Thanks, Kevin!

I remember

This is my father (and dog Teika) at the Alexandra near Amherst, Nova Scotia. My dad served in the Canadian Forces from 1963 to 1987, and passed away this July 29.

My thoughts go out to the members of the Canadian Forces, going in harm's way on our behalf in Afghanistan and other places around the world. God bless you and keep you safe.

VIAs in Nova Scotia

I shot VIA 14 at Amherst today at 13:07. VIA 6415 led Loto-Quebec 6414 and a Renaissance consist with no Park car.


A lot of railfans don't like the Loto-Quebec look. I don't know - I could take it or leave it. At least it's something different.


Later, I heard on the CBC that a VIA train hit a car at Brookfield, NS. I passed by there at 15:22 on the TCH. From the highway I could see VIA 15 was stopped past the crossing, and the CN local (headed by an SD40?) was trapped on the cement spur. I understand VIA 6411, the Operation Lifesaver unit, was the leader. Isn't that ironic...don't you think?

Fortunately both women in the car survived.

Railfanning on the run

On my way back from Steve Dickie's and Sarah Linley's beautiful wedding, I managed to see a couple of trains.

As we approached Amherst on the TCH, I looked back toward Nappan and saw a westbound freight approaching. It had to be CN 307! We went to Fort Lawrence, and within a minute or two it came into sight. It was pouring out smoke as the units accelerated out of Amherst onto the tangent heading toward the Tantramar Marshes at 11:35.


The consist was CN 5433, CN 5760, CN 5743 with 5 loaded centerbeam flats and 23 autoracks (including one articulated unit).


It's a green light to the marshes:


Later I called VIA and found out that VIA 14 was on time. We exited and waited near Painsec Junction for 14 to come. It didn't take long for it to come by at 12:19. I had the video camera on the tripod and pointed my still camera at the train... only to realize I forgot to turn it on. I got a lovely shot of the side of the first unit. This is from the video:


And here's the trailing Park car... 8710??

Beautiful colours this time of year.

Chasing VIA

A motley group of railfans set out to chase VIA 14 and VIA 15 this sunny Friday. David Morris, Peter Gough, my son Nick and I left Fredericton to get VIA 14 at Rogersville and pursue it deep into Nova Scotia.

We thought we had plenty of time to get to Rogersville... we were wrong. A little pressure on the gas pedal brought us to the station, where we found the sign out indicating a stop was requested. We went just up the line from the station, and there was the train approaching.

VIA 14

We just had time to bail out of the car and turn the cameras on. (10:37)

The train was VIA 6428 and CBC unit 6403 leading 19 Renaissance cars and Evangeline Park.

We set up on the south side of the station to wait for 14's departure at 10:43.

VIA 6403 in second position on VIA's "Ocean"

From there we chased it down the highway but never caught up to it. A few fleeting glimpses of the Park car in the distance were all we got. After refueling at McD's we proceeded to Memramcook to David's favourite barn location. 14 trundled into view at 12:36.

VIA Rail's "Ocean" near Memramcook, NB

I did some very bad panning with my video camera here. One example of why trying to take a couple of stills while videotaping is not a great idea.

We caught up to it as it entered Sackville, so we went to the other end of the station to catch it crossing the bridge to the Tantramar marshes at 13:05.



I like how the sun caught the Park car here.

VIA's "Ocean" passing the radio towers on the Tantramar Marshes

The RTC told 14 he would meet the CN local at Amherst. We figured we might catch 14 leaving Amherst, and so we did at 13:25 as it crossed under the Trans-Canada Highway.


The group consensus on the next shot was to get it at Folly Lake. David wanted to shoot it at the lake itself, and Peter and I wanted to get it on the East Mines trestle. We dropped David and my son at the siding and went the 11 km or so farther to the trestle. We set up and waited. We weren't sure what kind of warning we would get, and sure enough we had absolutely no warning before 14 rushed across the trestle. I quickly hit "record" on the video camera and caught the engines halfway across.

VIA Rail on the trestle at Londonderry, NS

That was the end of 14 for us.

VIA 15

We went back to Folly Lake to rejoin David and Nick to wait for 15 to come back. We had heard on the scanner that they were meeting at Belmont as usual, so we knew it would be a little wait. We had some lunch. The cars in the siding have been there a while!

VIA 15 appeared at 15:04. VIA 6410 and 6406 led 19 Ren cars and the Revelstoke Park.


We beat it back to the Trans-Canada and headed toward Moncton. As we approached the Springhill exit we heard the Salt Springs hotbox chatter away, so we knew we were just behind the train. We decided we would get it at Aulac next. I parked across the tracks and we climbed the berm to wait. 15 arced gracefully through the curve at 16:15.



Once again we got on the highway. As we approached Moncton we thought we might be ahead of 15, so we pulled off the TCH where the tracks go under the highway and waited. She showed up at 16:58.


I included the latter one to show how the Park car towers over the Renaissance cars.

Our last chance was on the other side of the Moncton station. We voted and decided to go to Gort. As we crossed over the tracks on Delong Drive we saw CFMG 6902 leading NBEC train 402 into the yard. It had 4 boxcars in tow.

CFMG 6902 in Moncton, NB

A group of three CN engines rolled out toward the main line, then reversed and disappeared out of view. I believe one of them was CN 5737 but I can't be sure.

VIA 15 appeared at 17:40 and rolled underneath us and away. I got my best still shot of the day here.

VIA 15 at CN Gort in Moncton

And so ended a great railfanning day. Thanks to David, Peter and Nick for being such great company.

Video

Here's the video!

PS - here's a photo of the same VIA 14 at Windsor Junction, by Bruce Hollett.

See Also

• A VIA Chase (by David Morris)
• All VIA Rail posts