I saw CCGX 5232 and CEMR 4001 waiting at the beginning of the CEMR Carman subdivision today around noon. Noone was on board so I assume the crew ran out of time after going down the Carman and back again. I noticed 5232 has some prominent antennae on the roof.
I never paid much attention to them, but it's clear they have been there since I first saw ANY 5232 back in September 2009.
I was heading up the Perimeter Highway late Saturday afternoon when I noticed a CEMR train had just cleared the highway, heading northeast to Carman Junction. I exited at Wilkes Avenue and easily beat them to the Junction. I knew they would have to call the CN RTC for their track warrant. I took a few shots as they approached the junction in the fading light. Ex-CN SD40 ANY 5232 was leading GP9s CEMR 4001 and 4000 and a lot of potash cars.
I waited at the crossing on Wilkes for a while until they finally got going, and took this video with my Canon T1i.
They stopped briefly, for the conductor to dismount and line the switch for the spur track. The train then proceeded onto the mainline and the conductor waited for the entire train to clear before relining the switch for the mainline.
I knew it was going to be a long walk for the conductor in the cold, so I pulled up beside him and offered to give him a lift to the head end. He accepted and hopped in the car, calling the engineer to let him know and to cancel the cab they had ordered. The train continued east at a slow pace.
While I was overtaking the train, he told me that they were pulling all the stored potash cars out of their 600 car storage area south of Carman. Apparently PCS has a big order to fill so they had to get these 100 cars to CN by 6 PM so they could be taken to Melville, Saskatchewan.
I dropped him off at Shaftesbury Boulevard, where he boarded the engines, and I made my way quickly to St. James Junction to shoot the train one more time. You can see that the light was really getting iffy.
I didn't record the entire train because the low battery indicator was blinking and I didn't want the camera to die mid-video. It was OK with my old Sony because it was tape and it would survive, but with these new-fangled SD cards I'm not sure if the camera would be able to close out the MOV file before dying. Why take the chance?
I had some errands to run on Monday (Nov 16) in Winnipeg, so I arranged things to be able to see the Canadian leave. It's getting a little sad now that the once-proud summer Canadian, usually 20+ cars in length, has been reduced to a train shorter than the Ocean.
Anyway, I went to shoot it on Wilkes Avenue. I saw the tail end of the CEMR freight leaving CN's Rivers subdivision and heading south on the CEMR Carman subdivision. I decided to wait for the Canadian and hopefully I would see CEMR before I had to go. The Canadian was a bit late.
A quick drive south on the Perimeter found ANY 5232 and CEMR 4000 just about to cross the highway to switch the industries at Oak Bluff. I didn't get to the crossing before the lights came on, so I had to shoot them from the non-sun side. Never race a train!
I went on my way after that and did my errands. On my way back to the office, I looked and saw that the CEMR freight had just finished its switching and was continuing south on the Carman subdivision. I went a couple of minutes out of my way to shoot them across a field. True Prairie branchline railroading!
I went to the St. James Junction area today at noon to see the Hudson Bay. I heard that BNSF 2001 was at Fort Rouge last night, so I was hoping to see that too. I got more than I bargained for! I set up at the Waverley Street crossing.
At 12:17 I saw a westbound freight round the corner at Portage Junction. It turned out to be CEMR 4001, ANY 5232, and CEMR 4002 leading the westbound freight to the CEMR Carman Subdivision. I had a look at the photos afterward, and I see the engine crew were gesturing as they went by. I'm glad they had TWO fingers up!
Right after that, a CN local went down the Letellier sub to switch the industrial area around Chevrier. They had one engine (likely a 7200 series GP9), one slug, and about a dozen cars.
At 12:25 the Hudson Bay (VIA 693) made its appearance. The consist was 6456, 6445, 8600, 8110, 8100, York, Chateau Radisson.
Finally, at 12:40 the BNSF transfer went east to Fort Rouge with BNSF 12580 leading and BNSF 2886 pushing. By then I was out of time so I couldn't wait to see 2001 return. Here they are, with a fairly long train.
When I was out railfanning yesterday, I saw a westbound freight on the CN Rivers subdivision that made me turn around and chase it. That train was the CEMR freight, heading to the CEMR Carman subdivision! I had not seen a CEMR train on the move before, so this was a must-see.
I drove along Wilkes Avenue and slowly overtook the train, which was doing a respectable speed on the south track of the CN main line. I came to Carman Junction, where CEMR's Carman subdivision begins, and set up there to wait for the train. They stopped, and the conductor lined the manual switch for the CEMR track at 13:17. Here's the video of their crossing. Note the pickup screeching to a halt at 20 seconds into the video. I had a bit of debate with myself on whether to set up on this side of their track or on the sun side. The light would have been better on the sun side, but there would very likely have been cars in the shot. On this side, you get the "coming" shot of the train leaving the CN line but you get shadows. Sometimes there is no perfect spot to shoot from.
The train stopped once they were clear of Wilkes Avenue. I spoke to the conductor for a minute - a very nice fellow. I was so wrapped up in my conversation that I didn't notice the CN eastbound freight until it was right beside me - CN 8810 was leading and that's all I noticed!
I decided to head down to a private crossing on Community Row off Wilkes. I followed a truck down the (rough) road to the crossing. After we crossed, he waved me on but of course I stopped to see the train. It turns out he was another railfan. We had a good chat while we waited for the train. The CEMR freight pulled forward to bring the conductor ahead, then backed up to pick him up. I've seen this maneuver a number of times out east on the NBEC. Once that was done, they continued on their way. I don't think the speed limit is very high on the Carman subdivision. This is typical of prairie branch lines!
I had to get the typical wedgie shot at 13:42 as they went through the crossing. You can see the second unit here, ANY 5232. ANY is the reporting mark for Athabasca Northern Railway, formerly owned by Cando Contracting Ltd., the owners of the CEMR. The ANY was sold back to CN in late 2007.
I would have liked to chase the train further down the Carman subdivision, but I had some family commitments I had to get to. I was glad to have the opportunity to shoot the CEMR, and I hope to do so again soon.
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