An NB Southern Chase

I was staying in Saint John NB Thursday evening. I awoke Friday morning (Dec 12) at 8 am and checked my email / Google+ / Facebook and found a post in the RailsNB Facebook group from Brian Barchard reporting an NBSR eastbound freight train through Harvey at 07:25. I did some mental calculations and figured they couldn't cover the 40+ miles to Welsford until 08:30 at the earliest. I grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and headed out. My intention was to follow the NB Southern line all the way until I stumbled across the train. On my way out of Saint John I saw these two units at Island Yard..

I passed the Ponderosa Yard at Dever Road in Saint John but nothing was going on. Onwards!

I passed through foggy Grand Bay-Westfield without any sign of trains. As I approached Welsford I heard the EOT squawk* on my scanner just as I came to Aikins Lane/Sand Hopper Road and saw white tank cars going east. Time to turn around!

I decided to get them at Brittain Road first. I got there about 2 minutes ahead of the train. Looking at the bright(er) overcast sky and the dark ground, I set the exposure compensation on my camera to -2/3 of a stop. I do that in these situations to prevent the sky from blowing out when the camera meters the ground. I also had the shutter speed at 1/250s because of the low light. Normally I'd prefer 1/400 or faster but it wasn't possible given the available light. It turned out OK.

The consist was NBSR 6315, HLCX 6304, NBSR 6318, GMTX 2226 and GMTX 2233.

Next I was determined to get the overhead shot at Westfield Beach. I parked at the mailboxes and ran like heck up the bridge to get into position. Seconds later the headlights were visible as the train came around the bend.

Detail roof shot, anyone?

I knew I would be playing catch up so I drove through Westfield-Grand Bay. I wanted the curve shot at Milligan Road and arrived just in time. Part of railfanning is choosing your opportunities!

You can see there was some fog...

I grabbed a quick side-of-road shot as the train passed through Grand Bay.

Since I had an overhead shot I felt no need to get the overhead shot by the Co-Op, and the train was there first anyway. I had no real idea of what I wanted next except that I wanted the bridge shot just before Gault Road. I stopped to take this photo at Ketepec Road. The engineer really loved that horn and 6315 has a very loud horn!

Here's the bridge shot I wanted.

As you can see it was raining by this time, but whatever... The nice thing about a heavily overcast day like this is that you can shoot from any direction and the light is pretty much the same! I had to do some serious editing to lighten the pond and engines enough to be seen, yet not blow out the bright sky.

I went to the overpass to shoot them coming into the yard. "Huff and Puff" were working the west end.

These are NB Southern's two SW1200 locomotives.

The eastbound freight stopped for a while. I am not sure why but there was some chatter about a freight car.

Eventually they got started again.. very slowly. I imagine the rails were quite slippery with the rain and it was hard to get started up the grade into the yard. The engines sounded great and the sanders were doing their thing.

It's been a very long time since I chased an NB Southern train! Thanks to Brian for the heads up and the rest of the RailsNB group for all the information they provide.

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 Metis In Action

You may remember that the New Brunswick Southern Railway purchased the private car Metis a while ago. David Morris chased the Metis on an NB Southern excursion train on October 12 and shared many photos with me. I don't know what the occasion for the excursion train was.

Here is the NB Southern excursion train at Harbour Station in Saint John, NB. I am so glad it has not been repainted!


David shot the excursion train crossing Chesley Drive in Saint John. The bus station is just to the right. I think David was standing at the end of Clipper Passage, a new street in the area. It's a nice viewpoint!


Here's NBSR 2612 leading the train off the world famous Reversing Falls bridge.

This was a familiar location for me... I shot NBSR 9803 there as well as a 2007 excursion train, among others. I didn't manage to get a cruise ship in the background like David did.

Here the train is passing the wye on the west end of the NBSR yard. David is standing on or near the Gault Road crossing.


The same location, facing the other way:


Next, here's the Metis crossing highway 7 in Welsford as they approach the siding for the run-around.


NBSR 2612 runs around the train in the siding at Welsford.

If you can draw your eyes away from the gorgeous fall foliage that David captured, you can see a bit of the ABS block signal lying in the grass to the right of the switch. The McAdam subdivision used absolute block signals until the end of CP's ownership, as you can see in the September 11, 1994 CP timetable.

After ABS was removed, the signal masts remained but the signal heads were turned away from the tracks until the special test tank move of May 2007. At that time the remaining masts from Saint John to Harvey were unceremoniously knocked over and left to lie in the ditches. Many are still there.

After the run-around, the train proceeded back to Saint John. David shot it coming into Grand Bay at my favourite curve.


The next few show the engine facing the wrong way on the train. I'm not sure exactly what happened to get it facing the other way. Here's the train on the Reversing Falls bridge again.


Also on the Reversing Falls, but from across the water...


One more shot, I think around mile 6 of the McAdam subdivision.



Thanks to David Morris for sharing his photos of the Metis, the lovely fall colours, and the excursion train!

NB Southern Sighting

I was traveling north through Welsford this afternoon at 15:15. I remarked to the driver of the vehicle that the NB Southern train normally comes through Welsford around this time, when we saw the highway crossing lights turn on behind us. NBSR 9802 East came rolling through with 2317 helping pull a long train through the snow. The train had a lot of empty centerbeam flats on it.

It would have made a nice photo at the crossing with the train plowing through the new snow. Oh well, sometimes it's just nice to watch.

Train Action in Saint John Today

I took the kids down to the train show in Quispamsis today. I decided to take the Kingston Peninsula route, by taking the ferry by Westfield Beach and the ferry by Quispamsis. This was the first time I had taken those ferries. Recommended.

The train show was great. I was glad to meet up with old friends like Wendell, Art, Steve, Ron, Carroll, Danny, Chuck, Tim, and probably others I cannot remember! I spent a grand total of $7 there but the experience was worth it.

Afterward, we went back through Rothesay in pursuit of CN 405. I heard them shunting on the scanner so I knew they were still in the yard. I found the head end up where the yard narrows near the shops. I also noticed CN 7038 and 7010 waiting outside the yard at 15:00.


I drove a bit to get a higher vantage point to get this shot of the head end of CN 405. It had CN 5338, 4728, 5269 and 5771 for power.


CN 7038 and 7010 crossed Rothesay Avenue and entered the yard. CN 7060 was doing some shunting, and as it retreated I got this shot of the three trains together.


Here is a short video I took of 7038 pulling up.


According to the scanner chatter, the plan was for 7038 and 7010 to go get some tank cars and take them to the refinery. After that, CN 405 was free to leave the yard and get on its way. I did not have time to wait so I took off for the road home.

A call to McAdam told me that the NB Southern eastbound train left McAdam at 14:10. I knew it could not get the 60 miles from there to Welsford in less than 1:30, so I made it to Welsford at 15:40, confident I didn't miss the train. We parked there and waited, and at 15:57 I heard the EOT squawk on my scanner. At 16:00 precisely, NBSR 2317 East rolled through the crossing. NBSR 2317, 9801, 2318 and 2319 were pulling 45 cars.

You can see it was raining. I had my hand over the lens to shield it from the rain, but the train blew mist onto the lens. Sorry for the handheld shot - I forgot my tripod at home.

Not a bad day, all around. I was glad to get out and see some trains!

The Accidental Railfan

I often carry a camera with me, even when I am not anticipating any trains. Sometimes it comes in handy...

Today (Tuesday) I was working near Saint John, and on my way back to Fredericton I passed through Welsford. Bump-bump over the highway crossing, then the usual glance into the siding and WHOA - TRAIN! It turned out that NBSR 2319 East was stopped on the main line for some reason. I pulled over and pulled out my old Fuji A210 to take a few shots.

2319 had her lights doused and both crew were on the ground, walking back to the engine from the consist. I'm guessing they tripped the hotbox detector coming into Welsford and had to fix the problem. Within a couple of minutes of my arrival, they started the engines up (with a big puff of white smoke) and headed out.

NBSR 2319, 2317 and 9801 rolled by me at 3:13 PM with 30 cars in tow.


Always bring your camera!

Fall Colours, Eventually

I was determined to get some photos of trains with fall colours in them. My plan was to go out Thanksgiving Monday to St. Stephen and shoot the NB Southern South Job there and on the way back to McAdam. Given its slow speed, there are plenty of opportunities for photos in picturesque locations, as I saw in May 2007.

My youngest son and I set out at just after 9 AM. I knew the train would leave McAdam around 8 AM so I figured I might catch it just before St. Stephen. Well, just after Harvey my little guy got quite car-sick and that was the end of the chase. We headed straight home for cleanup and I was a bit bummed out.

He recovered quickly enough, though, so after lunch I figured we could get the eastbound NBSR freight instead. We went to Rooth (just west of Tracy) and set up at the private crossing just west of milepost 52. We drew letters in the dirt road and waited for the train to show up.

At 15:35 the scanner chirped with the sound of the EOT (End-of-Train) device. Within 30 seconds I heard the nearby crossing bell ringing, and soon NBSR 2319 East came around the corner. It had 2319 and 2317 leading a short train of empty gypsum cars, a single covered hopper, and three autoracks.

NBSR 2319 at Rooth

As you can see, the light was not great. The sun played peek-a-boo all through the chase.

I gave chase. He beat me to the next crossing and then I outran him out of Tracy. I was well ahead by the time he reached the Fredericton Junction mile board, so I grabbed a few quick shots there at 15:48.

NBSR 2319 at Tracy

I wanted to get the shot across the field at Blissville to get as much foliage as I could. I pulled into the Baptist church parking lot, and as I was pulling the tripod out of the trunk, I heard the highway crossing bell ring. I set up just in time to catch him going past at 15:59.

NBSR 2319 and 2317 passing Blissville, NB

Here's the video.

For my next shot, I went to the long shot at Clarendon. It is starting to get very overgrown along the highway and the shot is going away. Maybe a chainsaw next time... The train was there at 16:19.

NB Southern Railway at Clarendon

The farmer in the foreground kept on working the field, oblivious to the train.

I took the long shot at Welsford Lake at 16:23. This was a very nice location.

NB Southern Freight Train at Welsford Lake

As I pulled through the west crossing at Welsford, the lights came on. I parked at the fueling depot by the east crossing and shot them coming through at 16:29.

NB Southern 2319 rounding the bend in Welsford

That was a great afternoon chase, but it was time to go. Thanks to my son for being so patient!

Read on:

• An NB Southern Chase (2014)
• Inside the Dever Road Shops (2012)
• NB Southern Eastbound Saturday (2009)
• Last Train from Calais (2009)

Another NB Southern Excursion Video

Another railfan named Matt, downeastrailfan, posted a video of an NB Southern Rally of Hope excursion train leaving Welsford.

NB Southern Excursion Train

At long last, my post on Saturday's excursion trains.

I took my two youngest kids down to ride NB Southern's 2 PM excursion train. My intent was to meet up with the morning train in Welsford, chase it back to Saint John, have lunch, then ride the train at 2 PM. I arrived in Welsford shortly before 11 and there was no train. I headed down through Grand Bay-Westfield and found it around Sagwa. I chased it back and started shooting. Here it is, arriving at Welsford:


NBSR 2317 provided the power for the caboose 422990 and two of the usual three cars. I'm told one of the cars was in the shop being repaired.

They uncoupled 2317 and ran her down to the west end of the siding (video) then back up to the east end:


Once they coupled up, they were on their way back to Saint John:


I shot them shortly after Welsford at one of my favourite S-curves:


Next, coming up to Westfield Beach with the former CN bridges in the background:


I elected to shoot them at the overpass outside Grand Bay to get an overhead shot.


I left off the chase after that and went to see CN 405 and get some lunch. I went to Dever Road at 13:45 and picked up my tickets and boarded the train. I was surprised to see that there were quite a few empty seats. The three of us commandeered a table and waited for the train to roll.

Soon our conductor Gary came by to tell everyone that we were waiting for the eastbound freight to come into the yard. NBSR 2610 and two other GP38s ended up arriving at the end of the long lead, and we passed them on our way out. The freight had... wait for it... TWO cars.

The trip from Saint John to Welsford was very nice. I was on that trip a few years ago with my oldest son, so I didn't do any videotaping or photography this time around. The trip back to Saint John was done at a considerably higher speed, and we arrived back at about 16:30. The kids and I went up in the engine to blow the horn and ring the bell, then we were on our way home after one last photo.

Video of NBSR 2317

Here is NBSR 2317 from yesterday, running up the west/north end of the Welsford siding on its way to couple up to the passenger train.

Saint John Area Trains Yesterday

Matt the Saint John railfan and Dave Dineen were both out taping yesterday in the Saint John area.

Matt posted a really nice video of CN 405 in Rothesay and at Bloomfield Station road. The power was CN 2598 and 5706.

On the original video page there is a link to "watch in high quality". I think this is pretty new, unless I never noticed it before. It does make a difference!

Dave chased the NB Southern eastbound, starting at Welsford. The train had three engines (9801, 2317, and 2612) and 54 cars.

Dave described the chase in his blog. Apparently the last seven cars of the train derailed in the yard in Saint John.

New Brunswick Videos

Michel R posted a video of NBEC 402 leaving Bathurst for Miramichi on February 21, shortly after I saw it in Belledune!


Dave Dineen got his own train fix with a chase of NB Southern's eastbound freight NBSR 9802 East on Saturday February 23. He describes in his blog how he got the pacing video using a tripod in the front seat of his vehicle.

NB Southern's Saturday Eastbound

I had every intention of going to McAdam to see the eastbound, but when I called there I found that the train was early and due into McAdam around 11:15. I wouldn't be able to get to McAdam much before the train left, so I decided to go to Fredericton Junction instead and chase it from there.

I arrived at Tracy at around 11:50. I figured the train wouldn't get to the Junction before 12:45 or so. I looked around a bit, and noticed two things. First, only the west leg of the wye was plowed, and second, the old train station has been repainted dark green.

I mused about where to catch the train, and I almost decided to head up to the end of paved road when I heard NBSR 9801 East on the scanner. I figured I had better get set up somewhere, so I went to the bottom of the hill at Tracy and lined my camera to shoot through the crossing. It was a nice spot!

At 12:54 NBSR 9801 East came through with 9801, 9802, 2317 and CN 7000 (!) leading a shortish train of 27 cars (1 covered hopper, 1 tanker, 10 empty gypsum cars, 8 boxcars, and 7 loaded woodchip cars). The light was great and it stayed great all through the chase.


I tossed the tripod in the van and headed down the road. I caught up to them just east of the Junction. I considered taping them at the highway 785 crossing but opted to continue on and shoot them across the farmer's field in Blissville like I did back in August 2007. That turned out OK although I didn't have time to set my tripod up.


From there I went to Clarendon and taped the train from up on the highway. Love that spot! It's easy to get there ahead of the train.

A quick stop at the lake north of Welsford followed, and then I was held up by the train at both Welsford crossings. No big deal, and even the front-end loader on the highway didn't slow me up too much.

Then on to route 177. My next shot was at my favourite S-curve near the intersection of 177 and 102.

I promised my daughter two more shots and then we'd go home. I wanted to get the overhead shot at Westfield Beach, but a slowpoke in a pickup truck took that shot away. I shot them out the window at Ferry Road and then went to the overpass by the Co-Op south of Grand Bay, and did my final recording there.

Two Perspectives

Gary Lee and Dave Dineen both taped the same train, NBSR 9802 East, from McAdam to Saint John on November 21. Gary caught it leaving McAdam and Dave picked it up at Vespra (near Tracy) and chased it to Westfield before night fell.

Here's Gary's clip showing NBSR 9802 and 2317 leaving McAdam.


The rest of the story is told here, in Dave's excellent video. Here is his description of the chase.


EDIT: Added link to Dave's commentary.

NB Southern Excursion Train

Dave Dineen followed one of NB Southern's excursion trains last week. I'm told Mrs. Irving was running a series of excursion trains for Saint John-area schoolchildren, from Harbour Station to Welsford and back. Dave chased the October 18 one and shot it at a number of scenic locations, including two great S-curve shots. Note the nice fall foliage.

Read about the chase on Dave's train blog.

NB Southern Eastbound Today

I decided to try to catch the NBSR eastbound freight in Maine today. I heard it was leaving Brownville Junction at 10:00 and heading straight to McAdam, so I figured if I crossed the border at 13:30 or so I would be fine to catch it near Vanceboro. I did some painting downstairs and then headed out.

I arrived in McAdam shortly before 13:00 and found NBSR 9801 idling by the station. I should say it was idling then the SmartStart kicked in and shut the engine down. I took a few shots of it, and the engineer's radio blared out something about NBSR 2318 East. Uh oh, the eastbound was imminent.


I jumped in the van and headed for the border, but they were already across. I taped them at the yard entrance and then went back to the station.

The incoming train had NBSR 2318, 9802 and 2612 with 4 MMA boxcars, 5 autoracks, and three woodchip cars. Very short!

They dropped 4 MMA boxcars, picked up two cars, and tacked NBSR 9801 on the front of the consist. That's the first time I've seen them put the south job engine on the front. Presto, NBSR 2318 East became NBSR 9801 East.


They left McAdam at 13:45 with a short train consisting of NBSR 9801, 2318, 9802, 2612, a cylindrical hopper, a tank car, 5 autoracks, and three woodchip cars.

I went to Harvey and waited for them near the crossing. After about ten minutes I heard them blow for the crossing near Little's campground, then a few short toots.. then nothing. I kept expecting them to roll around the corner but they didn't. After about fifteen minutes of that I went up the road to peek around the corner a bit. The scanner chirped with the FRED's chatter but no sign of the train.

While I waited I noticed some ducks in the lake near my feet, so I took a few photos.


Finally they rolled around the corner at 14:40, only to stop by the ball field to encourage the teams playing there with a few toots. Nice community spirit! They rolled through the crossing at 14:44 and the chase was on.



I made haste to Cork to try to get them there, and I beat them there by about 20 seconds. I managed to tape them through the open passenger window before they rolled by at 14:55.

I gave chase, and they slowly pulled ahead as I was only able to make 50-60 km/h on the bumpy dirt road. I almost pulled even with them when they got to the crossing at mile 52 at 15:05.

It was easy to beat them to the next crossing at mile 49 at 15:12.


They slowed down approaching the crossing at Tracy, so I was able to shoot them at 15:15 and again down the road at 15:17.


When they crossed the bridge at Fredericton Junction at 15:21 I took a quick shot out the passenger window but it was horribly backlit.

My next shot was just after the highway crossing at Hoyt, across a farmer's field. I had been hoping to get this shot for some time. They rolled through at 15:28, the sun came out, but it was a little hazy.


I caught up to them after they passed Hoyt and the hotbox detector there, and decided to try the Clarendon shot next, despite the haze. They came through at 15:47.

You can really see how the paint on the 980x units is faded, compared to the freshly painted units.

I tried to get them at Welsford Lake at 15:51 but I didn't get my gear out in time. They rolled through the hotbox detector and it sounded five alarms, all on the second-to-last car. They stopped in the siding and the conductor went back to cut the brakes out while I set up at the south end of the siding.


They were on their way by 16:03 and I waved goodbye as I turned for home.


3 hours of train chasing, 260 km on the road, 15 minutes of videotape, 70 still photos, $30 of gas... priceless.