Railfanning with Michael Berry, Part 2

Michael Berry and I went railfanning on Saturday September 3rd. Michael is from Montreal and wanted to experience Winnipeg's railfan scene. In part 1 we went to CN's Diamond.

Prairie Dog - this way!

The Prairie Dog Central

Michael and I left Diamond and headed north on the Perimeter Highway to see the Prairie Dog Central's steam train depart. They have numerous excursions from their station and each trip has a theme. You can always see what's coming up by going to https://tickets.pdcrailway.com/ and they even indicate whether it will be steam or diesel pulling the train.

This time it was a steam train, good old #3 ready to haul the ancient coaches to Grosse Isle and back. They had a long train this trip, with the normal four coaches 104-107, combine 103, the caboose, and even bunk car #110 behind the locomotive for some reason.

The Prairie Dog Central steam train

They have to have a "buffer car" between the steam locomotive and any passenger car, but normally the combine (seen above behind the water tank) provides that function as it doesn't carry passengers. I saw from other photos taken this day that the steam engine and #110 were turned together on the wye in Grosse Isle, so maybe the caboose was occupied and they needed 110 as the buffer when they headed back from Grosse Isle.

While we were waiting for the train to leave, we photographed some of the other equipment in the yard.

VLSX 5232

The PDC acquired ex CN SD40 #5232 from the Central Manitoba Railway in the spring of 2015. At that time it was in a faded CN "sergeant stripe" scheme. It was repainted this summer into a classy black and white scheme and this was the first time I had seen it in its new.. "colours" isn't the right word... in its new paint scheme.

VLSX 5232 in Winnipeg

It's now VLSX 5232, labelled for Prairie Rail Solutions, which is the freight arm of the Prairie Dog Central and handles car storage and other railway services. Both the PDC and PRS are owned by the Vintage Locomotive Society, which is where the VLSX reporting mark comes from.

I immediately thought it looked like the New Brunswick East Coast SD40 locomotives' scheme. Here's a comparison:

Comparing PRS 5232 to CFMG 6907

Both are ex CN SD40s. NBEC/CFMG removed the snow shields behind the cab and made some changes to the filters and doors to try to reduce snow ingress into the body. You can also see that 5232 still has her class lights above the number boards while 6907 did not.

For comparison, here's CCGX 5232 in July 2014.

CCGX 5232 in Winnipeg

By the way, the fine print under the cab window of 5232 says "Prairie Rail Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vintage Locomotive Society Inc. Operators of the Prairie Dog Central Railway".

Anyway, tangent over - for now.

Other Equipment

ex Virginia Central #1238

We photographed the two ex Virginia Central steam engines that are stored at the PDC (ex CP 1238 and 1246). These came to Winnipeg back in September 2015 and have remained at the PDC since.

ex Virginia Central #1246, power car and ex BNSF 1685

I don't know what the plans are for these locomotives. The PDC does not own them.

You can see the freshly painted "genset car" #111 and ex BNSF 1685 in the row as well.

PDC's main diesel, #4138, was sitting out at the other end of the shops.

The high hood GP9s... ex BNSF 1685 and PDC 4138

As 11 AM approached, people started lining up to board the train. Tickets indicate which car you are on and the seat you're assigned to. If you go to their ticket site you can pick which coach and which seat you want... assuming it isn't already taken. It's pretty slick! They used to link out to Ticketmaster but I see their ticketing is now fully integrated with their web site. Nice work.

The crew did some final oiling of the locomotive before the trip to Grosse Isle.

Oiling the locomotive

The platform was emptied as people found seats, and there were only a few stragglers left on the platform when we took our final shots before getting ready for the pursuit.

The Prairie Dog Central at the Inkster Junction station

Smoking It Up

They made some serious smoke before getting under way!

Smokin' it up

The PDC's line goes north-south, and since we were shooting at 11 AM, the sun was right on the rear of the train, and high. This made head-on or near head-on shots impossible as they would have been terribly backlit. For example, even with heavy editing this photo isn't great:

Smo-o-o-ke on the prairie / a fire in the boiler

A Short Chase

We chased the train from the Inkster Junction station to the Perimeter Highway. That's a short chase - 4.5 km (2.8 miles) - but there's a dirt road paralleling the track and the train doesn't go very fast, so we were able to stop three times to shoot the train. I elected to shoot video.

Here's the train leaving the station. Lots of wind noise. :(

Round 2 - no crossing = no whistle here:


Round 3 - I elected to shoot this at the Lilyfield spur. The track in front is the track CN uses to service the nearby Paterson grain elevator.

Round 3.5 :) - we saw it was approaching the highway crossing and Michael wanted to catch it crossing there, so I stopped the car at the bend near the crossing and Michael jumped out to get the shot. I stayed by the car and photographed him photographing the train!

Michael at left capturing the ancient train with the modern crossing

That was it for us, as we had to get back to Diamond to get the VIA Rail Canadian. No rest for the wicked!

Bye for now!

Up Next

I'll wrap up this three-part series with a few CN trains at Diamond, along with VIA Rail's flagship Canadian, finally... with a little bonus action at the CN Symington hump yard.

NEXT POST

Back to part 1

Newcastle Sub To Be Abandoned?

CTV is reporting that CN is considering abandoning all or a portion of their northern line in New Brunswick and Quebec.This is the former NBEC / CFMG territory they purchased a scant 3 years ago in November 2008.

CN's Julie Senecal said that the line has not experienced any growth in traffic. No doubt the line is losing money for CN. The CTV report goes on to say that once Brunswick Mines shuts down in 2013 as planned, VIA Rail will be the largest customer on the line. CTV went on to say that if VIA were to shift to the CN main line, it would be "quicker and faster".

Now my opinions. First off, I have never understood why CN bought the line back from NBEC / CFMG in the first place. It was obvious that there was not going to be any growth on the line, with the pulp and paper mill closures, and nothing has emerged. It has been suggested that CN bought it to prevent any competitors from purchasing it. Perhaps.


CTV missed the obvious point that if VIA were to switch the Ocean to the CN main line between Edmundston and Moncton, VIA would not be serving the communities of northern New Brunswick and Quebec, major users of the Ocean... and don't forget that the whole Gaspe coast would be cut off and the Chaleur would be lost as well.

Personally, I think CN is making a case for government support of the line to retain VIA's route. I'm not against that, given the economics of the situation. CN is in business and is not going to keep supporting a money-losing line. Government should step in and help with the maintenance cost.

I'm still wondering why CN bought the line in the first place...

PS - it would be nice if CTV actually took a photo or video of the line in question. Their footage shows VIA in Halifax and apparently the Corridor, with a few shots of the CN Gordon Yard in Moncton. Do they still have any reporters in northern New Brunswick?  The shots in this blog entry were actually taken on that line! ;)

Heartbreaking

Here's a sad little video someone took, of a dead line of ex-NBEC and CFMG locomotives in Chicago last year.

The units shown are RS-18s NBEC 1813, 1851, 1857; C-424 NBEC 4235; and SD40s NBEC 6905 and CFMG 6906, 6907, 6909 and 6910.

Sad.

NBEC Power Update

NBEC 1867 in Miramichi, NB on September 14, 2004.

Canadian Railway Observations is reporting that ex-CFMG SD40 units 6902, 6903, and 6906-6910, as well as RS-18s ex-OCRR 1838, ex-NBEC 1857 and 1867 are all going to Alabama to be parted out and scrapped.

The last time I saw 1867 was on November 7, 2006 in Miramichi, in the middle of our War Bride train chase.

By the way, if you haven't read Canadian Railway Observations yet, you should really check it out.

The Exodus Continues

NBEC 1868 on the Nepisiguit Subdivision, September 13, 2007.

Nicolas Kiss reports that CFMG 6910, NBEC 4235 and NBEC 1868 all left Campbellton this morning on CN 562. The first two are bound for the CN/IC shops in Woodcrest, Illinois and RS-18 1868 was purchased by the Chemin de fer de Charlevoix near Quebec City.

All the former NBEC/CFMG SD40s have now left. I don't think there are any C424s left other than the well-stripped hulks in Miramichi. There might be one or two RS-18s still around...

Two More Gone

NBEC 1857 in Miramichi, February 9, 2005.

I guess Saturday was the last revenue run for CFMG 6909. It and NBEC 1857 left Campbellton this afternoon on their way to CN's shops in Woodcrest, Illinois.

CFMG 6910 is the last ex-QRC SD40 left in New Brunswick. I'm sure it will be gone in a day or two as well.

CFMG 6907 Video

CFMG 6907 was the third unit on train 584 in Eastern Ontario Thursday night.

More NBEC Power Updates

CN 5288 leads CN 564 at Bathurst on April 4, 2008. Photo by Michel Boudreau.

Michel Boudreau noted CN 564 left Bathurst today around 5 PM, with CN 5288 and CFMG 6910 and 4 cars of lumber from Chaleur Lumber in Belledune. No sign of CFMG 6909.


In other news, NBEC 1851 left the area Thursday morning on CN 562 for Woodcrest, Illinois. The next RS18 to leave should be 1857.

NBEC 1851 leaving Bathurst, May 5, 2008

CFMG 6909 and 6910 Again

Those two old warhorses are still running... Michel Boudreau shot them leaving Bathurst Friday afternoon. Very nice video. There was a string of empty container flats on the end of CN 564. I saw the same flats coming into Miramichi on Thursday. They must be going for storage somewhere... unless the long-rumoured "containers into Belledune" is coming true!


Michel was in Bathurst shooting at the same time I was, on Thursday. Here are two shots of the SD40s. Here's CFMG 6910 at the east end of the yard.


Then CFMG 6909 leading on the return trip. They are waiting for CN 567 (ore train) to clear the track.

The Last of the SD40s

I had a quick trip up north yesterday, my first in a long time. I was very fortunate this trip and my timing was good.

I left Fredericton later than I had hoped, so I figured I would have no chance of seeing VIA 14, the Ocean, in Miramichi. As I passed the VIA station after 11 AM, I was surprised to see a lot of cars there. I stopped and asked the agent, and he said the Ocean was due in a few minutes. I went down the line a bit and they rolled past at 11:27 under an overcast sky, with 6449 and 6416 pulling a Renaissance set.


There was no talk of the southbound mainline freight on the scanner around Bathurst, so I continued on. As I approached Belledune, I heard some local switching chatter so I looked for them at Chaleur Lumber. Sure enough, there were CFMG 6910 and 6909 pulling out of the spur.


They coupled on to the rest of the train, then spent some time trying to contact the RTC. They finally got through and went on their way at 13:21. They had those two old warhorses wide open when they went past.


I saw two CN SD40s switching a train in Belledune but I was too far away to get any numbers.

Later, I managed to find the northbound CN mainline freight at Beresford at 17:00 with 6909 leading this time. I would guess from the time spread that they did not go to Miramichi.


I understand this may have been the last run of the last NBEC / CFMG SD40s on the line. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to see them.

I'll post about the rest of my sightings later.

Bathurst Videos

Michel Boudreau posted some videos of the same trains I saw today... first! So I will post his first.

Here is CN 567 (ore train) coming into Bathurst with CN SD40-2W 5260 and 5251.


Here is CN 565 (ex 403) going north from Bathurst, with doomed CFMG 6909 and 6910 for power. Be patient... the train does eventually leave.

CFMG 6907 Gone

CFMG 6907 in Miramichi, September 4, 2007

I'm told that CFMG 6907 is in Walkley Yard in Ottawa having her fluids rained. Walkley Yard is the former Ottawa Central Railway (OCR) yard, now owned by CN.

That leaves CFMG 6909 and CFMG 6910 as the only two non-CN SD40s left on the former Quebec Railway Corporation system. Expect them to be gone very soon, together with the few MLW units still present.

Bathurst Power Today

Michel Boudreau told me the power for Saturday's ore train was CN 5343 and 5241. The same units are being used for the Bathurst switcher, as it is only shunting twice a week. The rest of the time, shunting is done by the mainline train.

He says trains 402 and 403 are no more, replaced by 568 and 569. Train 569 had CN 5373, CFMG 6909 and CFMG 6910 with no cars. They did a pickup in Bathurst and Michel heard on the scanner that they were going to work Beresford and Petit Rocher before going to Campbellton.

Here's Michel's video of 569 arriving and leaving.

NBEC SD40 Spotting

Michael Da Costa (aka trainmaster_1) spotted two former CFMG units on CN 363 at Beare in Ontario. Train 363 had CN 2254 and 2613 doing the work, with the two SD40s dead-in-tow.





Check out the rest of his photos.

More CFMG SD40s Leaving

CFMG 6906 leading train 402 out of Belledune, 2007/09/04

CFMG 6902, 6906, and 6908 are due to leave Campbellton tonight for good. They are going to the CN shops in Woodcrest, Illinois for disposal.

This follows the sighting of 6901 in Woodcrest a few days ago.

New Train Numbers

Former train 587 on the Nepisiguit Subdivision

I'm told that the train numbers on the former NBEC and CFMG territories are going to change. The new trains are rumoured to be:

L56011 Rivière-du-Loup - L'Isle Verte switcher 08h30
L56111 Mont-Joli switcher 17h30
L56211 Mont-Joli - Matane 11h00
L56311 Campbellton - Dalhousie switcher 07h00
L56411 Campbellton - Gaspè 00h01
L56511 Bathurst - Brunswick Mines (daily except Friday - Saturday) 20h00
L56611 Bathurst - Gloucester Jct?? (daily except Saturday) 14h00
L56711 Bathurst local (Monday - Friday) 07h30
L56811 Miramichi switcher 14h00

The times given are the "on duty" times. All trains daily except where noted.

To map to the old NBEC train numbers:
Train 590 -> 563 (time essentially the same)
Train 586 -> 565 (later than before)
Train 587 -> 566 (later than before)
Train 597 -> 567 (time essentially the same)
Train 580 -> 568 (same time)

I'm going to guess that train 566 is actually the Bathurst - Belledune turn.

I understand trains 402 and 403 will retain their numbers.

CFMG Layoffs

According to this article, CN will be laying off 5 employees of the former Quebec Railway Corporation on April 30. All of the layoffs appear to be from the accounting and marketing sections in Mont-Joli. The five who will be laid off will receive severance as per CN standards. Two others agreed to be relocated, one in Quebec and one to Moncton. The 30 other employees on the operations side will retain their jobs... for now.

NBEC Videos

I found a few recent NBEC/CFMG videos to show what power is being run these days.

cfmgd is posting videos from sunny Rimouski, Quebec. Here CN 9461, NBEC 6901, and CFMG 6902 power a train on January 24, 2009. Great sound and some nice snowplowing.


Interestingly, NBEC69 shot a video at the same location the next day. No snow plowed, but still great sound with the diesel thrum and blowing for the crossing. This train had CFMG 6902, NBEC 6901 and CFMG 6910 for power.


Here's a night video from January 23 by cfmgd, with all SD40 power: CFMG 6902, NBEC 6901, and CFMG 6907.

NBEC SD40s Still At Work

NBEC69 taped three ex-QRC SD40 units leading the train through Rimouski, Quebec in the morning of Saturday December 27. NBEC 6901, CFMG 6906 and NBEC 6905 provided the power.


In the afternoon at mile 124.62 near Rimouski, with very dramatic noise:

NBEC-CN Videos

The NBEC/CFMG SD40 units are still running on the mainline freights on the former Quebec Railway Corporation territories. Here are two videos from NBEC69 and one from David Chiasson. First, NBEC69's videos.

On Sunday December 7, CFMG 6903, NBEC 6905 and CN 5260 ran through Rimouski.


The same units again, in a different location.


Finally, because I love them so much, here's David's video showing NBEC RS-18s 1866 and 1814 powering the ore train through Nepisiguit Junction back on May 6, 2007. Listen to the squeal of metal on metal as they go through the curve!