NBSR Oil Train With CP Power

Several New Brunswick railfans caught the NBSR unit oil train coming into New Brunswick on NB Southern Railway tracks on July 2. The great thing about this train was that it used run-through Canadian Pacific Railway power... with a great leader.

Jody Robinson was first up with these great shots of the train at McAdam.


The train had Iowa, Chicago and Eastern engine ICE 6450 on the head end. ICE 6450 is an SD40-2 built in September 1979 as Oneida and Western OWTX 9956. It became a BC Rail BCOL 749 and then ICE 6450, "City of Welcome". I don't know if the engine refers to Welcome, Minnesota or Welcome, North Carolina!

What a rare sight in New Brunswick!

Behind ICE 6450 was CP 5926 and CP 5928, two more SD40-2 engines. I've never seen CP 5926 but I did see CP 5928 once, trailing on a train through Pense, Saskatchewan back in 2008.

It sure is nice to see Canadian Pacific Railway engines in McAdam again.

The fourth engine was an MMA engine, MMA 3603, a GE C30-7 built as ATSF 8016 in 1977.


Now on to the videos. Gary Lee shot a handheld video of the train leaving McAdam.


Next up was Brian Barchard shooting the train through Harvey. His video combines three NBSR trains, two from June 30 and the July 2 oil train starting at 5:17.


Matt aka saintjohnrailfan shot it at Welsford at the first highway crossing. Nice wave from the engineer! I noticed that there were several doors open on the MM&A engine; maybe it was having mechanical issues.


Dave Dineen aka nbsrfan was also at Welsford and shot it there, at my favourite spot in Grand Bay, and entering the yard in Saint John. Here they all are in one video.


Great shots all around for a great train. Thanks to Jody, Gary, Brian, Matt and Dave for the photos and video. Well done.

The UNICEF Train

David Morris sent along some photos of the New Brunswick Southern Railway UNICEF train that ran on September 30. The NBSR runs a train every fall between McAdam and St. Stephen in New Brunswick, Canada to benefit UNICEF.

The train had Maine Northern 9801 on the head end, followed by NBSR 5448, NBSR 5471, NBSR 5537 and "office" van NBSR 422990.

He first caught the UNICEF train passing through Harvey, NB en route to McAdam in the early morning light.


Things were much brighter on arrival in McAdam! Note the nice UNICEF banner.


This is the interior of car 5448, one of the three ex-VIA Rail coaches on the train.


After all the passengers boarded, they left for the slow trip to St. Stephen. David shot them at Moores Mills en route to St. Stephen.


Trouble was waiting at Watt Junction! These fierce train robbers were lying in wait for the train.


The train was accosted by the train robbers, some mounted on horseback.


Finally, they arrived in St. Stephen. David took this shot on the Milltown spur outside St. Stephen.


The engine ran around the train and pulled it back to McAdam. I believe David shot this from the highway 1 overpass just outside St. Stephen.


Once back in McAdam, the train was marshaled behind the freight power of NBSR 2318, 008, 2319 and HLCX 906.


Thanks for the photos, David!

Here are posts from previous years' UNICEF trains: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

More on New NB Southern Power

The second pair of Helm leased units, HLCX 913 and 917, were seen at Bayview Junction in Ontario.. yesterday?



Meanwhile, HLCX 911 was spotted in McAdam and Harvey. Danny McCracken shot HLCX 911 as part of the eastbound freight that featured NBSR 9802, 911, 008, 2318, and recently arrived 2612 from the St. Stephen subdivision. They left at 16:20.





Brian Barchard caught the same train rolling through Harvey Station. I see the depot has been repainted since I last saw it!

The Slug

Brian Barchard sent along a very nice photo of NB Southern Railway's new slug 008. Click on it for a larger version.


He also sent a few shots of the New Brunswick Day train.






Thanks for sharing, Brian!

NB Southern Slug On The Road

I was going to post about the CP local I saw today, but this is a lot more interesting. Brian Barchard sent me an email this afternoon about the NBSR road freight he saw on Saturday. The eastbound freight had NBSR 2318 leading, with NB Southern's slug as the second unit, and a 980x unit third. The train had 67 cars and passed Harvey Lake at 17:51.

I like the composition with the kids on the pier. As Brian says, the sun is problematic at that time of day.

Brian notes that NBSR seems to be running about 3 trains a week in each direction these days.

It looks like the slug has at least the side yellow reflective stripe on. I can't tell if it has a number or "NB Southern" on the side.

New Brunswick Day Photos

David Morris sent me a few photos that he took during the New Brunswick Day festivities.

The first shows the train running by Harvey Lake on its way to McAdam.


Next, the train arrives at McAdam.


Finally, a shot at St. Croix during one of the excursions.


Don't forget Dave Dineen's NB Southern Excursion Video!

NB Southern Excursion Video

Dave Dineen chased the NB Southern New Brunswick Day excursion train on Monday and posted a great video of his clips. It is worth watching from start to finish.

NB Southern Excursion Train

The NB Southern Canada Day excursion train is due to leave Saint John Sunday afternoon around 5 PM for Harvey. It will overnight in Harvey (guarded) to be ready for loading Monday morning. NBSR 2318, 2317, three NBSR coaches, and two Pan Am coaches will in be the consist. I do not know if the caboose 422990 will be on the train as well. 2318 has been repainted for the occasion, as have the three NBSR coaches.

NBSR 2317 and coaches (in old paint) in Saint John, May 24 2008

Saturday's Train on Video

Here is Saturday's NBSR eastbound train on video. It had 68 cars, not too shabby!

NB Southern Eastbound Today

Since it was such a beautiful day today, I decided to chase the NB Southern Railway freight. I intended to see the train at McAdam and then have lunch in McAdam. But you know what happens to the best-laid plans...

I had intelligence that the train was due to arrive in McAdam at or shortly after noon. I left my house at 11:27 (late) and as I entered McAdam I heard an EOT squawk on the scanner. I crested the hill in McAdam and saw a train rolling east through the highway 4 crossing at 12:27. Drat!!!!

I turned around and headed back to Harvey. I arrived there after about 20 minutes and decided to set up east of the highway crossing. My kids jumped around in the back of the van while I listened to the sound of the train's horns echo in the distance. At 12:58 NBSR 9802 East rolled through the crossing with 9802, 2319, 2317 and 2610 pulling a fairly long train.


Within a few minutes, they were gone, and then we finally had our lunch.

NBSR 9802 Through Harvey

Brian Barchard shot the eastbound train in Harvey that I saw in Welsford on Wednesday. NBSR 9802 East blew through at 13:50 in the falling snow.

It took 1 hour and 25 minutes to go from Harvey to Welsford - a little slower than normal.

Joel Chases the NB Southern

Joel Scott posted a few videos of his NB Southern chase on Saturday December 6.

First, NBSR 9801 East through Harvey Station with GP38 units 9801, 2319, 2317, and 2610 and 31 cars.


He caught it again near Vespra, west of Tracy.

Mock Collision in Harvey Today

I'm told that there will be a mock collision in Harvey today, run by the New Brunswick Operation Lifesaver committee. It will start at 13:00 (1 PM) and will involve NB Southern, students from the Harvey High School, the RCMP, Saint John Ambulance, and local emergency services. Press release

Dave and Matt Chase NBSR

Dave Dineen aka nbsrfan and Matt aka saintjohnrailfan chased the eastbound NBSR freight from McAdam to Saint John last Monday, July 28. The train had NBSR 2318, 2610, and 2317 pulling 69 cars.

Here's Dave's video first. It has a bit of footage of CN 7038 in McAdam as well.


Matt broke it up into several videos. First, it came into McAdam and did some switching.


Next, the chase.


Nice job, guys!

Photos of Westbound CP TEC Train

David Morris chased the westbound CP TEC track evaluation train on July 29. Here are a few of his photos. CP 3025 provided the power.

First, the train at Harvey Lake. Note the overcast skies!


Here it is, changing crews in McAdam just after noon. Note CN 7038 in the background.


It left McAdam and went down to St. Stephen. Here it is, I believe, just before highway 1 going into St. Stephen.


Later, David shot it going back to McAdam in this bucolic scene typical of the St. Stephen sub.


Thanks for the photos!

McAdam Today

I decided to go to McAdam today with my two youngest kids. I knew the weather would not be great, but it has been a while since I've been out railfanning and it was time. We arrived at 12:30 and found two units in the yard, NBSR 2612 and CN 7038. I knew the CN GP9 had been there for a while, on the Saint Stephen (South) Job, but it was a surprise to see 2612 there. I understand she had a traction motor fire and was set off Friday night by the westbound freight.


7038 had an alarm bell ringing and her radio was on, so I assume it has some kind of SmartStart device in it to save fuel.

We grabbed some hot dogs at the place next to the Family Restaurant and then came back to witness NBSR 2318 East arrive at 13:00 precisely with 2318, 2317, and 9801.

The three units took the front cars and pushed them back into the west yard. They then waited out on the east side of the yard.




Afterward, 7038 pushed five cars up to the pulp transload facility, then joined up behind the eastbound's power. My kids were providing a running commentary throughout the video!


The train left at 13:43 (without 2612) and I headed to my favourite spot at Harvey Lake to tape them. I decided I would forgo any still shots and do a long pan of the train as it went around the lake. I'm pretty pleased with the results.


After the train left, we threw stones in the water, watched the resident Canada geese, then went back to Fredericton.

I want to give a shout out to Chris Gallant, conductor, who took the time to say hi to me. I'm sure we'll meet again!

NB Southern Passenger Excursion

Photo by Peter Gough

Danny McCracken reports that McAdam will hold their annual "Railway Days Celebrations" on June 30 and July 1. NB Southern Railway will have its usual passenger excursion from McAdam to Harvey and back, on June 30.

Tickets go on sale June 23 at the McAdam Village office on a first come, first serve basis at noon (12:00). The cost is $20 for adults or $10 for children under age 12.

2007 Excursion
2006 Excursion

NB Southern in the Rain

Despite the rain, I decided to head to McAdam to see the NB Southern Railway eastbound freight. My oldest son and I rolled through McAdam at about 11:30 and decided to cross the border to Vanceboro to catch the freight there. I had never been to Vanceboro so it was a new experience for both of us. After a quick stop at Customs, we were in the yard in Vanceboro. I'll post more about the yard later (see here). Suffice it to say there was not much there.

We heard the rumble of the engines long before the freight showed up. Shortly after noon Atlantic / 11 Eastern NBSR 2317 East rolled to a stop by the shack.

The freight had NBSR 2317, 2612, 2318 and 9801 for power, with 26 cars.

After about five minutes, they got underway and so did we. I got to the west end of McAdam yard well before they did, so I got this shot.


They pulled up to the station, then cut off the first 11 cars and pushed them back into the yard.


After a quick crew change, they were off. I decided to catch them at Harvey Lake, and I made it there about five minutes before they did.


The day was miserable enough that I decided not to chase any more, and headed home.

In case you're wondering, I was using my son's HP Photosmart 120 rather than my usual Canon S3 IS, because my wife has the good cameras this weekend.

More photos of Vanceboro

McAdam Saturday

I had the railfan itch, so I went to McAdam on Saturday (the 13th) with my two youngest kids to see the NB Southern eastbound freight. It was a cloudy day, but fortunately it did not rain.

I had been told the eastbound left Mattawamkeag at 11:45 our time, so with the 2 hour transit time it would be in McAdam at 13:45. True to form, when I arrived at that time the freight had just arrived. NBSR 2319, 2612, 9802, and 2317 were the power. They made a drop of 2 boxcars and 3 empty centerbeam flats (all MM&A) and no pickup.


Gary Lee was there taking video.


Jody and his kids showed up to see the freight roll out at 14:00 on the dot. I taped it leaving, then loaded the kids in the van and headed out.


My initial plan was to go to Harvey Lake to catch the fall colours, but as I approached I realized I probably would not have time to get there. I knew the engineer on this train didn't waste time going to Saint John, plus I had a late start from McAdam. Instead, I elected to go to the Harvey siding and get him there after the crossing. In retrospect, my decision to go to Harvey was correct but I should have shot at the other side of the crossing where the colours were much brighter.

He rolled through at 14:34 with the four units and 31 cars, at least half of which were woodchip cars.


We spent some time in Harvey looking at the NBSR crane and flatcars in the siding, then headed home to Fredericton and ice cream.

NB Southern and CP 4563

Despite the warnings of rainy weather, I decided to head to McAdam to see 4563. How often does an MLW visit the southern lines? With my two youngest kids in the van, we set off. My game plan was to meet the eastbound excursion train at Prince William Station, get a few quick shots of the runaround at Harvey, then get the westbound at Harvey Lake before proceeding to McAdam.

We arrived at Prince William Station at 10:00. I fully expected to see the excursion train by 10:20, but that time came and went without any train. It was a bit of a challenge to entertain two kids by the side of a track, but we found some anthills and flowers and did some jumping to pass the time. Finally I had to break the snacks out.

Around 10:50 I heard some rumbling in the distance, and at 10:56 we saw a distant headlight. Prince William Station is a very long piece of straight track, and it wasn't until 10:59 that the train passed us. It had NBSR 2610 and 2317 pulling the three passenger cars (5537, 5448 and 5471, all ex-VIA, ex-CN) and caboose NBSR 422990.


We packed up and went to Harvey. The two engines uncoupled and ran down the main line out of sight, then came back up the siding.


They were ready to roll by 11:37.


We left and went to Harvey Lake. As I was walking toward the point with a tripod in one hand and my toddler in the other, I heard the rumble of the engines. Darn it! I gently set my loads down and brought my camera out to take this one picture.

I'm glad it turned out OK.

We arrived at McAdam and saw quite a few cars parked by the McAdam station. The CP 29 model was parked in front of the station and NB Southern had parked a number of their MOW machines by the shop building. CP 4563 was still in the main yard, so I drove down there with my sleeping kids. I took a few shots and ended up in the cab talking with the gentleman who came down from the Canadian Railway Museum to look after the engine. Quite a nice fellow.




The excursion train arrived at McAdam at 12:25 and unloaded. I talked with a few people I knew (hi Art, Wendell, Danny, Gary) and met a few people I had only known online or by reputation (hi Mike, Ron).

I took the kids for lunch at the Family Restaurant, and when we returned for a quick look, 4563 had been moved over beside the station.

CP 4563 by the McAdam, NB train station

The excursion train was turned on the wye, and at 14:16 they left McAdam. The conductor on the tail end, Gary, told me they had 175 passengers for the Harvey trip.

At 14:20 the NBSR eastbound freight arrived at McAdam, with NBSR 2318, 2612 and 9802. I'm not sure, but I don't believe they made any setoffs or pickups.

Here's a shot of CP 29 by the station. The gentleman in the photo is the fellow from Delson.


We went and had some ice cream, and when we were done, the eastbound freight was ready to go. They had pulled up to near the highway crossing and were waiting to find out where the passenger train was before they could leave. They pulled out at 15:00 with 9 boxcars, 9 autoracks, 3 tank cars, 5 loaded wood chip cars, and 3 empty NBSR log cars (29 cars).

They made good time to Harvey, and passed through there at 15:34.

We headed home at the end of a long but good day. Kudos to NB Southern for being such a good host railway, and to the McAdam crew for hosting the event at their beautiful station.