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.

Destruction of Enterprise Fawcett

I was sad to hear that the historic foundry in Sackville, New Brunswick was destroyed in a serious fire on Wednesday. The CBC reported that the fire started with two large explosions Wednesday evening, and flames as high as 10m were seen as fire crews from the region fought the blaze. CTV reported that the fire was extinguished early Thursday morning but the building is essentially destroyed.

The building housed Enterprise Fawcett, a company that made cookstoves, furnaces and heaters, one of the few remaining foundries in the world. It was started as the Dominion Foundry Company in 1852. The company employed either 25-30 or 60 people, depending on which news report you read.

The building was destroyed and rebuilt after another fire on July 29, 1908, according to Bill Hamilton. The same fire destroyed the original railway station nearby. The foundry building was designated a Local Historic Place.

I found an aerial photo of the foundry (and the railway station) in the book. The photo is dated May 30, 1931 and is from the New Brunswick Provincial Archives.


The foundry's railway tracks appear to be two tracks inside the complex as well as a track beside some kind of covered platform.

In 1931 the train station had two tracks, and in fact there were two tracks there until fairly recently. Note at the bottom of the photo that there is a third track.

Now look at this track diagram from the August 1988 CN Car Control Manual. I've circled the Enterprise Foundry name. You can click on the image to see the whole manual.

• D78 - Enterprise Foundry Co. 730 feet
• D79 - Enterprise Foundry Co. 400 feet
• D80TT - Crane and Team Track 165 feet

D72 through D76 are listed as storage and marshalling tracks, a little over 1400 feet each.

Does anyone know when the tracks into the foundry were removed?

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

Gary from Newfoundland at Sackville

Gary from Newfoundland wrote me a while ago, asking for VIA schedules for the Ocean. I pointed him to the PDF file available on the VIA site, and he used that to shoot the train at Sackville. Here are a few of his photos, and a video.


Approaching the station.


Loading the Ocean.


A nice shot of the Sackville station.

He shot a short video of the train leaving the Sackville station.


Glad to hear you had success, Gary!

VIA Videos by Kevin

Here's a few links to VIA videos by Kevin Gaudet. All were made on March 30 featuring VIA 15 with 6400 and 6436 and a Renaissance consist.

Arriving at Sackville
Blowing through Memramcook
Leaving Moncton, at what used to be called West End, it looks like.

Article on Sackville Station

There's a nice article on the Sackville railway station in the Sackville Tribune Post.

Here's a photo of the station just after Christmas, 1978, by Art Clowes. Notice the freight shed behind the station.

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!

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. :)

Top 10 Railfanning Spots in New Brunswick

This list is by no means exhaustive, just my opinion. I'd love to hear about your favourite spots! See them on a map

1. New Denmark, Salmon River bridge (CN)
The impressive railway bridge, the second longest in Canada, makes this the number 1 spot to railfan in New Brunswick.


2. Aulac/Fort Beausejour (CN, VIA)
Whether on the dykes at Aulac, or beside historic Fort Beausejour, you have a great field of view for train watching. This is just outside Sackville.


3. Harvey Lake (NBSR)
Lighting is great here for afternoon trains and the combination of the lake in the foreground and the hill in the background make for some great shots.


4. Gort (CN, VIA)
Park yourself on the overpass on Delong Drive and watch the trains go in and out of Gordon Yard. Shots are better to the west but you get a great view either way.


5. Nepisiguit Junction (NBEC, VIA)
Some great overhead shots of mainline VIA and NBEC trains are possible here, and you can catch the trains going on or off the Nepisiguit Subdivision too.

6. Bull Barn, Memramcook (CN, VIA)
David Morris' favourite spot, there are great shots in both directions. Also great for videos.

7. McAdam (NBSR)
There's nowhere else in New Brunswick you can get close to the trains, see the switching, and you get the historic station in the shot too.


8. Westfield Beach (NBSR)
You can shoot from the overpass, or on the ground at the siding, and get some really nice shots.


9. Clarendon (NBSR)
From the highway you can get some great long-distance side shots of the trains.


10. Jacquet River (NBEC, VIA)
If the time of day is right, you can get broadside shots of the train going over the bridge, or you can choose an overhead shot from the Intercolonial-era iron bridge.


Map of all 10 locations

What are your favourite spots?

CN 436 again

Another CN 436 ran through the Picture Province yesterday, bringing 16 more GM export units to Halifax for shipment overseas. The train was headed by CN 2580 and travelled pretty fast:
2007/04/02 18:00 Joffre, PQ
2007/04/03 10:00 Moncton, NB
2007/04/03 11:40 Sackville, NB
2007/04/03 15:30 Halifax, NS


Phil Ross shot the train outside Sackville shortly before it crossed the border.
(image courtesy of RailPictures)

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

Last VIA Budd train for a while

This post has been reposted! Please visit https://www.traingeek.ca/wp/flashback-last-via-budd-train-for-a-while/

Riding the Ocean from Miramichi to Amherst and back

Nick and I went to Miramichi today to ride the Ocean from there to Amherst and back. We met Luc Doiron at the station and chatted for a bit.

1029 VIA 14 arrived, with 6411 (Lifesaver) and 6434 (Spiderman) leading a Renaissance consist.


The consist was 6411, 6434, 7011, 7223, 7217 ... more to come .. and Yoho Park on the end.

1037 The consist rolled forward for the second platform stop.
1040 We departed Miramichi in car 7217.

When we arrived in Rogersville, I spotted David Othen filming our arrival. I took a few snaps of him from the car but out of respect for his privacy, I won't post them. :)

1120 We departed Rogersville. We hit two slow sections between Rogersville and Coal Branch. It was fairly rough track but the Renaissance cars went smoothly over it. I noticed how close some of the trees and bushes were getting to the track. It reminded me of the Salem and Hillsborough Railroad before we had them cut back.

1205 We arrived at Pacific Junction and got onto the CN Napadogan subdivision.

1215 We passed a number of CN ex-gypsum cars stored on the siding near Gordon Yard.

After arrival at Moncton, Nick and I detrained and went up to the engine. The very friendly engineer invited us up and we had a little chat about brakes with him. After a bit, we stepped out and ran into list member Tim Dryden. I admit I was a little brief with him, as I was worried about getting back on the train before it left. I apologize, Tim!



1255 We left Moncton station.

1307 We took the siding before Painsec Junction and spent 10 minutes crawling along before what I have to assume was CN 307 rocketed past on the main around mile 117. It had 3 big engines and a GP38.

After Memramcook at 1335 and Dorchester at 1342, we arrived in Sackville at 1353.



1421 VIA 14 left for Halifax.



1554 VIA 15 arrived at Amherst. I tried to take video of its arrival but some woman seemed to make a point of walking right between me and the lead engine. Very annoying. I'm sure she wasn't doing it on purpose but gosh darn it.





We boarded the train, dropped our coats in 8117, then took up residence in the dome. I hardly left the dome. :) I had a good chat with an older couple from B.C. who were doing a cross-Canada trip. They had flown into Newfoundland, toured Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and were off to Quebec City next.



The consist: 6412, 6442, 8622, 8137, 8117, 8506, Chateau Rouville, Chateau Iberville, Acadian, Chateau Joliet, Chateau Viger, Chateau Papineau, Chateau Iberville, Chateau Rigaud, Chateau Levis, Revelstoke Park.



1700 We arrived at the Moncton station.

1727 Outside Gordon yard we met NBEC #402, stopped in the siding with CFMG 6907 and SFEX 4204 leading 17 cars.



At Pacific Junction I caught a glimpse of an eastbound CN train waiting on the main for us to get onto NBEC trackage. Any idea what train this was? I just got a very quick grab shot so it's not great quality at all:



1830 We rolled past the Rogersville station without stopping.

There was a beautiful sunset:


I caught a shot of the UPM engine as we passed through:



1912 VIA 15 left us and Miramichi behind. The engineer gave us very friendly waves.