Missed by that much

Did you ever have a day or a train chase where you felt like you were just a few seconds behind everyone else? That was yesterday for me. I guess that makes up for my lucky catch of a CN local yesterday.

January 30 started with a quick visit to the NBEC yard in Bathurst. NBEC 1818 was the yard power, and the crew was walking to their unit at about 07:50 in the bitter cold.


I wasn't really trying to catch VIA 14 but I hoped I would get them at Belledune when they stopped to reline the Irvco switch. I heard them on the scanner but I only saw the tail end of the train in the distance. Miss #1.

Ore train 587 was in Belledune but I didn't see it. I assume NBEC 1813 and SFEX 3000 were still the power for that train.

On my way back south, I heard someone calling the RTC as I drove over the tracks on highway 11 but I didn't hear who it was.

As I approached Miramichi I heard train 403 getting its TOP from the RTC at 14:54. Given that I was just by Wal-Mart at that point, I didn't think I would be able to get trackside before they left. I was right. (the TOP was for 6905 West with 8 loads (didn't hear the # of empties), 2693 tons and 2584 feet).

Just as I saw the tracks by the Northumberland Dairy facility, 403 was blowing for the crossings. I saw two SD40 and two C424 units in the distance as they headed north. I estimate they had about 30 cars, 17 of those being the empty Ultramar tank cars on the tail end. Miss #2.

CFMG 6910 was at rest in the yard, waiting to become train 402 later in the day. NBEC 1866 and NBEC 1856 were the power on local 578, which was idling in front of the crew shack. I contented myself with some roster shots in the bright sunlight before heading south.

I like the moon over the unit.

As I approached McGivney I saw the east-facing signals were green over red, but I didn't have time to sit and wait for a train to show. Experience has told me it could be half an hour at least before something shows. Miss #3.

On the way south I stopped and took a few photos of the old railway bridge at Renous. I've been meaning to do this for some time.


Not a great day for watching trains, but what can you do?

Northern New Brunswick Railfanning

First... being in the right place at the right time.

I was heading north from Fredericton to Bathurst this afternoon. As I approached McGivney I heard a chirp on the scanner - someone calling the RTC. I didn't hear anything else but I decided to take five minutes and go to the depot to see what the signals said. As I approached the crossing, I looked right, then left.. TRAIN! I had just enough time to put the car in park, turn the video camera on and get out before the eastbound freight passed the depot.

14:00 CN ??? - CN 4730/6025 with empty centerbeam flats and loaded log cars - about 15 cars in total.

Good timing!

It was the usual crowd in Miramichi later that afternoon, with NBEC 402 (CFMG 6910) and NBEC 403 (6903/6902/6900) both milling about. 403's power was wyed to have 6903 lead on the way back to Campbellton.

Here are trains 402 and 403, both by the crew shack in Miramichi.


Train 402 got its TOP at 16:03 and left at 16:13 with 10 cars.

NBEC train 403 got its TOP right after 403, and left Miramichi at 16:24. I held the video camera in my right hand and shot blind with the digital camera in my left hand. I'm quite pleased with my aim!

Notice the sundog above the train.

I left Miramichi and headed to Bathurst. I heard train 597 shunting in Bathurst. Train 403 called ahead and asked when it could enter the yard. They were told to hold at mile 88 (yard limit) for a few minutes. Here they are approaching highway 11 at 17:31.

This was another left-hand shot as I taped the train. I had to level the horizon on this one.

They rolled right past train 597 and stopped by the station for a few minutes.

Train 403 rolled out at 18:04.

I went to check into my hotel, and came back at 19:30ish to wait for VIA 15. I checked with the station staff and they told me it wouldn't be in until 21:00-21:15 (1 hour late). When I returned at 20:45 the story was the same. I heard them get a TOP for the Bathurst-Campellton stretch at about 20:05. Shortly thereafter NBEC 403 reported it lined the Irvco switch for the main line. VIA 15 arrived at about 21:20 with 6414 (Loto Quebec) and 6453 leading a Renaissance train. I shot them arriving and leaving, then called it a night.

Grumpy's World

I stumbled across a very entertaining railway blog, Grumpy's World. The author, a curmudgeon who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, has some very acerbic comments on motive power, railfans, and pretty much everything else. It's entertaining to read and his photos are excellent.

In that vein, he has a railroad photography guide online that is a must-read. Although the articles are a bit dated, the tips and techniques are relevant even in today's digital world.

Photo of new NB Southern units

Bruce Tiemann got this shot of de-lettered CIC 110 and 112 at the Rockford Road shops in Cedar Rapids yesterday. These are the two "new" NB Southern units coming soon.



Thanks for the photo, Bruce!

NB Southern new units

Bruce Tiemann reports that "As of today, Ex-CIC GP35M #110 & GP35M #112 are now tied down on the same track as CIC display GP9 #100 on the Southeast side of the
Rockford Road shop complex, clearly visible from the street overpass. Both were dusted with snow and have had their stacks capped."

CN number boards update

I've updated the list of CN number boards for sale by Ron Leblanc. He has had a lot of interest so far.

FRN

A quick shout out to the FRN blog for listing me in 12 Railroad Blogs. Good to be noticed!

NB Southern new units

I'm back from Mexico. No trains sighted (except the Pearson shuttle) but a great time was had by all. Back to rail news..

Crandic units GP35M 110 and 112 were spotted outside the Rockford Road shops January 3 with their heralds removed and road numbers painted out. They are waiting for the money transfer to be completed, then they will be on their way to New Brunswick. They should arrive in Saint John on CN 306 and will go straight into the shop at Island Yard for repainting before they are put into service. No word yet on what NBSR numbers they will receive. I vote for 9804 and 9805, not that my opinion matters!

December 29, 2002

I would post this tomorrow but I won't be near a computer.

Tomorrow, December 29, marks four years since my father, my son and I went to Cantor, N.B. to look at a railway bridge.


My dad had been looking at a contour map of the area and noticed that there must be a bridge at the west end of Cantor siding, near Hardwood Ridge, just north of Minto. He asked me if I was interested in going to look at it, and of course I was. We tried a few different dates, but finally went on December 29. My wife was 8 months pregnant with my daughter, so she stayed home with my mother while my dad, my son and I went out on a cool December day.

We parked near the highway and made the long walk through the snow to the west end of the siding. The siding itself has a gentle curve near the east end.


It was 8150 feet long, according to the 1980/06/08 CN timetable. I remember it being a long walk!

Finally we reached the west end and saw the bridge. It was worth the trip.


According to the builder's plate, it was built in 1909 by the Structural Steel Company Ltd. of Montreal. Of course it was part of the National Transcontinental Railway, before that was acquired by CN.

After taking numerous photos, we were ready to head back when we heard a hum in the distance. We quickly decided an eastbound train was coming, so we waited to see it. Those of you more observant than I was would have noted the green signal facing west we were standing beside.

At 15:30 what I believe was CN 308 came through with SD50s CN 5446 and 5439 on the point with 50 cars. I taped them going by and I remember the wind of their passage buffeting me as they roared by at track speed. My dad took a few snapshots; I'll have to post them when I scan them in.

The video is here.


All too soon, it was gone:


I still remember that trip very fondly.

See you in a couple of weeks.

VIA photos by Kevin Gaudet

Kevin Gaudet was kind enough to pass along a few VIA photos he took of the Ocean on a recent chase. I'll share two, which I believe were taken at Amherst, NS.


VIA 6409 at the head of VIA 15


Renaissance cars

Thanks, Kevin!

Comments on Canon S3 IS

I purchased my Canon S3 IS camera back in September and I've thoroughly enjoyed using it. It's fast and easy to use and the pictures it takes are a few steps above the old 3-megapixel Fuji point-and-shoot I was using. The image stabilization allows me to shoot hand-held in situations I'd never dream of shooting before, and I can tweak the camera to get shots I couldn't do before.

I stumbled across a site with S3 tips: Bagelturf. I can't tell who the blogger actually is but he has a Mac and he has an S3 like I do. Check out his tips on things like focusing on tricky subjects and focus bracketing are especially good.

2006: A Review

A quick review of railfanning in 2006 for me...

Favourite Photos










Worst Photos




Favourite Trips
2006/03/25: In Saint John with my daughter, seeing pretty much all the power in the city
2006/03/11: Chasing an NB Southern freight from McAdam to Welsford
2006/05/05: The last Budd VIA train of the spring
2006/05/13: Chasing the NB Southern passenger train
2006/06/20: CP track evaluation train
2006/07/18 to 19: Part 1, part 2, and part 3
2006/08/25: VIA chase from Rogersville to Folly and back to Moncton
2006/11/07: VIA War Bride train

It was a good year for railfanning. How was yours?

Best of the holidays

I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and the best in 2007 and beyond. This has been a good train-watching year for me, but personally a very mixed year. My newest son was born in April, but my father passed away in July and my grandmother passed in November.

I will probably post once or twice more this year, then nothing for a few weeks until mid-January.

I'll leave you with this shot of VIA 15 arriving at Amherst in a blizzard on January 20, 2005.

NBEC railfanning Wednesday

After checking out of my hotel in Campbellton Wednesday morning, I drove over to the yard to see what was going on. At 07:30 CFQC 4202, NBEC 4210, and CFMG 690x were shunting as train 591 (Dalhousie shunter). I'm not sure why they were using that train number.

I hit the road and finished my work. On my way south toward Bathurst I stopped at Jacquet River to get a few photos of the VIA station there.

There was nothing in the Bathurst yard at 11:00 except for a ballast regulator.


I was wondering where southbound freight NBEC 402 was. I would have expected it to be in Bathurst at 11:00. I assumed that since it didn't have to wait for VIA 14 (it being Wednesday) it went early and was already on the way to Miramichi.

When I arrived in Miramichi shortly after noon, I heard NBEC train 578 (shunter) doing some shunting somewhere. NBEC 402 was nowhere to be found, CFMG 6903 was idling away, and a worker was doing some work on a switch.




I then realized that I was ahead of 402 and it would not be in for a while. I didn't have time to hang around, so I headed out. On my way out of town I saw NBEC 1854 and 1866 shunting at UPM at 12:38.


That was it!

Northern New Brunswick railfanning

I was late leaving the Fredericton area, but while I was there I bagged this shot of a runaway caboose:


While approaching Miramichi at noon, I noticed NBEC 1854 and 1866 (RS-18s) shunting the UPM mill. As usual for UPM there was no angle for a photo. I took a quick look through the NBEC yard on my way through, and saw CFMG 6903 idling away and poor old NBEC 4219 and 4243 still rusting away in the back of the yard.


I don't condone graffiti, but this one on CN 598211 amused me.

I especially like how the reflectors have been applied over the graffiti.

I heard the ore train working at Belledune as I drove past.

This being Tuesday, there was no VIA 15 tonight. I figured my best chance was to maybe catch NBEC 403 returning to Campbellton in the dark. I left work at about 19:00 and proceeded toward Campbellton. As I approached Dalhousie Junction I heard NBEC 403 on the radio counting down cars. "15 cars, 403." "15 cars" I figured I was hearing them shunt in Campbellton, so I got off highway 134 and onto highway 11. Imagine my surprise when I passed over the tracks at the Junction and saw CFMG 6910 slowly rolling toward me.

I turned around and exited at Blair Malcolm Road/Dalhousie Junction. They were blocking a crossing south of the highway. I saw the conductor kicking snow on the wheels of one of the CN covered gondolas, and looking around underneath. I guess it must have tripped the hotbox detector. I tried a few shots in the dark but this is the best I could get, with a flash:

The best I can say about that poor shot was that the reflectors definitely work.

I mucked around the Junction trying to decide where to set up, and I finally decided to go to Blair Lane a little past where the rail line crosses highway 134. I set my camera on the tripod, with my car's headlights illuminating the crossing. At 19:42 they slowly rolled past, with the conductor giving me a wave.

The consist was CFMG 6910, NBEC 4214, CFQC 4202 and NBEC 6901 leading a 97 car train. The train included 5? woodchip cars, 8 loaded log cars (mostly CFMG), the usual collection of boxcars and tank cars, four cars loaded with Chaleur Lumber, a bunch of CN covered gondolas, and the usual Ultramar 17-car ram on the tail end. One really unusual pair of cars were two beat-up CN gondolas with an odd load in them - they almost looked like dumpsters or containers, 3 to a gondola.

I caught up with the head end and got to the VIA station before they did. Here I tried a few more stills in the dark and this was the best I got, by panning with the engine movement:


For comparison, here's what happens when you don't pan and you don't use a tripod:


Clearly I have a LOT to learn about using my still camera in the dark.

It appears the NBEC crew just cut the power off and left the entire train there, as it was still in one piece at 22:50 with the FRED still forlornly blinking at the end of the train.

With any luck, I might actually see something in daylight tomorrow.

Copyright?

I was amused to find an eBay listing for a St. Martin's railway pass featuring prose stolen from my web site. From here, actually.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it is nice that someone found it useful, if even to make $35.00 on a piece of paper. On the other hand, some acknowledgement would be nice.

NB Southern units in pieces

As reported earlier, GP38-3 NBSR 9803 will be receiving the prime mover from GP9 NBSR 3700. Dwayne Porter very kindly passed along a few excellent photos of the two units in the NB Southern Dever Road yard from a day or two ago.


9803 with not much left up top


Gutted 3700. Both engines are on flatcar NBSR 421009 behind 3700.


3700 with 9803's hood next to it

Thanks for the photos!

New NB Southern units...

I understand they should be on the move soon. They are just being checked out now before shipping. I believe they are CIC 110 and 112.

Beta version of Rail History site

I've been working on a new version of my Rail History section. Please check it out and offer your comments. This version is based on a "wiki" (like WikiPedia) and it is very easy to update.

I appreciate any feedback you can offer.

Groupe-TRAQ mention

I was pleased to see a link to a section of my web site (CP timetables) was published in Groupe-TRAQ's latest email newsletter. Groupe-TRAQ "is a non-profit association dedicated to supporting rail transportation and industry interests in the Quebec province." They put out a fine newsletter.