It's the last day of 2005 and I'll be visiting friends for new year's eve. I was heading out to Binbrook when I heard the detector at mile 18 of the CN Grimsby subdivision. Train 421 was on the way so I dropped by Merritton.
I swung past CP's Welland yard to see if anything was there.
Here we go again on another exciting trip to Toronto. What wonders await?
Once again it was off to work braving the incessant mob of Toronto commuters.
Oh, joy! I get to go home now. We boarded slightly late this evening.
...and once again we made it back. It was time for food.
Here we go again to Toronto for work. While waiting for my train I heard the detector at mile 27 of the Stamford subdivision report dragging equipment at axle 139.
...and off to work I went.
The ride home tonight was powered by 909 and the first coach was a Budd. Hey! We had an on-time departure!
Hey, I'm home reasonably on time.
Then I continued on to the family Christmas gathering.
It was the day before Christmas and all over the rails only a few trains were stirring, train 421 was one. It arrived at Merritton the same time I did. The second engine was an Ontario Northland and I didn't have time to get a good photograph.
Via train 97 was due in town soon so I made my way over to the station to see it.
After photographing the two passenger trains I headed back to Merritton.
I heard Canadian Pacific train 256 get a clearance from Kinnear to Welland so I made my way to Wainfleet to see it.
I followed 256 over to Welland yard where it set out the two ES44AC's. The two AC4400's proceeded to Buffalo as light power. I then finished off my Christmas shopping (one gift), bought a few groceries, and returned home.
Well I headed back to Toronto on the Via again today. Train 90 was held up by the Welland Canal for a few minutes.
The TP&W GP20 has been removed. I was pretty sure I heard a CN train lifting it a few days ago.
After arriving in Toronto I made my way underground to work.
After spending the day working in downtown Toronto I headed over to Union Station to catch train 95 home… I would have to wait a while, it was nearly an hour late departing.
This morning I was off to work in Toronto and taking Via to get there. There were plenty of passengers for today's train. Many of them were Brock students going home for Christmas. While getting my ticket NS 327 went by.
It was impossible to read the unit numbers while in line, but I found out what they were later on.
While on the train prior to departure an eastbound freight flew by. I have no idea what it was.
Passing though Hamilton I noticed two RaiLink engines parked behind the shops and nothing in front.
We caught up to NS train 327 in Hamilton. Again I couldn't read the numbers.
Power parked in Aldershot was CN 4102 and another GP9 that was behind some cars.
Considering the volume of GO trains, I'll omit them. Suffice it to say I saw several.
Once I arrived at Union Station, 11 minutes late, I headed to the work location, but I'll be back on train 95.
Well, I made it back onto the train. It was quite late. Scheduled departure was 1745. Train 95 uses equipment from a Montreal inbound.
I finally got to St. Catharines!
I realize most people aren't terribly interested in this much detail, but it gives me something to do while I'm on the train. Who knows, maybe this will be noteworthy in 20 years.
This was the last weekday morning I'd have trackside for a while since my contract in Toronto was to start the next day after much aggravation. The weather was cloudy and dim but I went to Merritton anyway.
...and then it began to snow.
...with really large flakes.
But it calmed down a bit after 97.
The NI dispatcher informed a foreman that train 567 would be switching Stark lumber in St. Catharines. I'd never seen a local here before so that was something new for me.
It was a nice morning so I headed trackside before going to the Pen Centre to take care of my Christmas shopping. Since the mall is close to Merritton I stopped there.
OK. I made a change in plans. CP train 248 south was out of Hamilton with a new ES44AC. I headed over to Boyle to see it.
I then drove to Brookfield to see it again.
With that it was time to get some Christmas shopping done. To the mall!
I wasn't really motivated to go out in the morning so I stayed at home and worked on the new web site. However, around noon I thought I might like to see Via 92. I don't photograph it very often.
It was threatening to snow today but I wanted to see the new ES40DC's on Norfolk Southern train 328. On my way to Merritton I heard it pass the detector at mile 18.
The weather wasn't the most apealing so I called it a day.
On my way over to Merritton this morning the NI dispatcher mentioned that they were having problems with bridge six. Six trains were queued waiting to pass. Apparently it would be a busy morning.
Hokey smokes!!! Five trains in twenty minutes. I've never done that in Niagara before. I originally had a ticket for Via train 90. I would have been two hours late had I not rescheduled. Oh, and the new Norfolk Southern ES40DC's were a nice touch. Now there were still three eastbounds to come.
All the interesting trains were through and I was getting hungry so I went back home. It was a good morning though!
It was supposed to be a sunny day but when I looked outside it was snowing. I figured it was off Lake Ontario so I drove to Brookfield (away from the lake). This turned out to be a good idea; it was nice and sunny there. I just had to wait for something to show up.
I heard on the scanner that Canadian Pacific train 419 was parked in Welland yard and 256 was waiting for job 1 to get out of the way. I swung by the yard to see 419.
Train 256 was nearly ready to leave so I drove out ahead of it for photographs.
I then headed to Fort Erie to see if Norfolk Southern 369 was around. I got there just as CP 256 was pulling through.
Norfolk Southern train 369's lift for the day included the SD40-2.
Since I was clouded out for 369 I went to Duff to look for the sun.
It worked. I found some sun. There wasn't any word of anything else on the way, so I headed back home.
Today I was between contracts so before spending the day on education I headed to the tracks. Norfolk Southern train 328 was running early today with light power.
The GMTX locomotive is ex-CSXT 1957:2; ex-CR 7689; nee PC 7689. It was unusual so I decided to catch 328 again on film. I drove to Port Robinson where it met CN train 331.
After that excitement I headed back to Merritton to catch Via train 97.
Trillium had two empty Coalveyor cars, NSHR 2036 and 2047, that they traded for two more Coalveyor cars, NSHR 2069 and 2023, loaded with scrap steel. TR 108 then crossed over to the south side of the Canadian National Grimsby subdivision to head back to Welland.
It was almost noon so I went back home to work.
It was a snowy morning but I wanted to head out and see what was cooking in Merritton anyway. I figured to use the time to relax. I arrived at about 0900 and heard that four trains would all arrive at Merritton around 1000. I was caught by surprise when the first train I saw was Trillium Railway. They don't normally run on weekends. Today they had a caboose and a boxcar. I figured the boxcar was for Interlake Paper in Thorold which would mean that Trillium would be running the Thorold Spur.
Trillium headed into the stub track in Merritton and waited for four trains before they would be allowed to cross over the Grimsby subdivision.
Finally it was Trillium's turn. To cross the Grimsby subdivision they first enter the south track over beside Walnut Street and proceed west to the crossovers by the old Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto bridge over the Grimsby subdivision. They then travel east on the north track to the yard lead also beside Walnut Street and proceed on their own track once again. I photographed them just after crossing over to the north track.
After switching ends with the engine, Trillium headed north and entered what is now called the Townline Spur, part of the old Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto track. I photographed them as the travelled the bridge over the Grimsby subdivision where they had been previously.
As I predicted Trillium was headed to Interlake Paper with a boxcar. I headed up to Townline Road East where the track runs down the middle of the street and photographed them again.
After switching the paper plant they headed back toward Merritton. I photographed them again on the street running portion.
Not much else was going on and I'd had enough fun with the Trillium guys, so I ran a couple of errands and got some lunch. I headed back to the Grimsby subdivision to eat it and found one more train.
It had been a pretty good morning but I'd had about enough so I headed home.
It snowed overnight in St. Catharines and there was a nice layer over everything. I went out hoping it also snowed in Hamilton for the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train. To start the day I went to meet the "Maple Leaf" in Merritton.
I began my trek to the Hamilton area where Canadian Pacific train 167 was just arriving.
At this point I headed to Binbrook to visit with my friends, Pam, Andy and Sean. Andy and Sean would be joining me to see the Holiday Train. We headed out to Kinnear Yard where luck was on my side. There was a nice layer of snow to make pretty photos with a more seasonal mood. The train was due for 2000 but was about 30 minutes late. It backed from Aberdeen to the yard on the mainline down to the south siding switch and then came back on the siding. This maneuver took a bit of time. Once I figured out where they were parking it, I took a bunch of photos.
The Holiday Train raises food for the local food banks in the towns it visists. It was a bit chilly out (-2ºC) but not too bad. Once the photos were over and I deposited my food donation, Andy, Sean and I headed home.
It was a nice clear morning when I headed to the tracks. To start the day I grabbed my book of crossword puzzles and headed to the Canadian National Grimsby subdivision in Merritton.
The NI dispatcher alerted a foreman that Via train 97 was 36 minutes late out of Toronto. Norfolk Southern train 328 was right behind it.
I then decided to make my way to Fort Erie where both Norfolk Southern train 369 and Canadian National train 339 were working.
I had heard Canadian Pacific train 256 earlier while I was in Merritton but assumed that it was already across the border by the time I arrived at Fort Erie. Apparently the NI dispatcher put 256 behind 339. While 339 was leaving Canada I heard 256 call the signal at Duff.
Norfolk Southern train 369 lifted a tarped EMD unit in the yard and dragged it out to lift their train. The engine under the tarp is a BHP Iron SD70ACe destined for Australia.
Not much else was pending which is typical of CN in Niagara. Everything pretty much happens in the morning. CN train 421 was nearby while I was passing through Niagara Falls driving back to St. Catharines but didn't bother to stop. Trains 154 and 330 would be along in another couple hours so I just went straight home.
I woke up early this morning, not by choice, so I headed to Merritton to see what was happening before work. Just before I arrived I heard the detector at mile 18 of the Grimsby subdivision. Unfortunately it turned out to be a westbound that I missed. On the bright side 331 was at mile four.
Train 421 was coming but would take too long to get to Merritton. I heard from the Canadian Pacific Hamilton subdivision dispatcher that 419 would be leaving Welland at approximately 0900 so I headed that way.
It was nice seeing a consist of four SD40-2's. I like that about the Hamilton subdivision. Even more interesting is that all four engines are in dual flag paint. Train 419 would be meeting 256 with CP 6016 leading at Smithville. For me, however, it was time for work.
Later in the afternoon I took a quick break and headed out. I'd just gotten the truck started when somebody triggered the detector at mile 27 of the Stamford subdivision. If it was an eastbound, I could photograph it. Luck was on my side; it was train 154.
That was quick and easy. The train had a long string of empty intermodal cars with a fairly sizable cut of racks behind. With that it was time to head back to work.
This morning was grey and snowy but I figured it would make for interesting photography so I headed to Merritton to see the Maple Leaf. On the way there I heard Norfolk Southern train 327 get a clearance through the working limits around Glenridge. I showed up at Merritton the same time it did. It just had two NS GE's so I didn't worry about it much. Norfolk Southern train 328 was also on the way, but its train separated in the single track near Grimsby holding everything up.
Thanks to 328 the Via was forty minutes late. I then decided to head up to Port Robinson to catch 328 again.
The NREX 3928 is ex-UP 3928; nee MP 6028. While driving to Port Robinson I heard Canadian Pacific train 256 south get permission to enter the Canadian National Stamford subdivision and follow 328. I headed to the junction at Brookfield to see 256.
A special Via train was to be going to Niagara Falls so I headed back to Merritton to wait for it.
Once again I stopped by the Canadian National tracks in Merritton on the way to work. On the way there I heard both 331 and 332 call for permission to pass the rule 42 limits between mile three and eight of the Grimsby subdivision. I don't think I mentioned this before, but the work between mile three and eight is replacing the railway overpass for the Queen Elizabeth Way. The highway is being widened to three lanes but the old railway bridges were only able to accomodate two. New steel bridges are replacing the existing concrete structures.
It wasn't overly exciting power but at least there weren't any SD75I's and the Canadian cab C44-9W was nice to see. Alas it was time for work so I continued my way to Welland.
I had a late lunch and swung by Canadian Pacific's Welland yard. Train 162 was switching and train 256 was just arriving.
I then stopped off to pick up a sandwich at Tim Horton's before heading to the Canadian National Stamford subdivision to see the two CP trains again and Norfolk Southern train 328 which I heard down in St. Catharines. While heading over I learned that Canadian Pacific train 167 was also on its way. It was proving to be a busy hour.
After the excitement I headed back to work but stopped by Welland yard again to see train 167 again. The crew outlawed in the yard and I was able to record all the unit numbers.
I had to go into work tonight and on my way home I heard train 430 obtain permission to pass through the working limits from mile three to mile eight of the Grimsby subdivision. I knew I could make it to Merritton before it, and it was on my way home, so I figured why not take a look even if it is dark.
There were over twenty coil cars on the head end. After that excitement I headed home, eventually to bed.
I wasn't going into work until later today so I dropped by Merritton again for the morning. A few CSX detours have been coming through because of a derailment on the old New York Central St. Lawrence Division.
Bridge 6 was up and 421 had to wait for about a half hour.
At that point I headed to work. A train 331 east was on the way that I suspected to be another detour since 331 is normally a westbound. I planned to catch it near Welland by taking a quick break from work. My timing was good. By the time I got to Netherby Road it was calling out the signals at Port Robinson.
Well, it wasn't CSX power but I'm pretty sure it was a detour. Oh well. Back to work.
This morning I dropped by Merritton again before work. As I left home I heard NS 327 obtain permission through a foreman's limits at mile 9 of the Grimsby subdivision. I had a slim chance of seeing it in Merritton but it beat me. I only saw its tail pass by. While waiting for a pending train 422 I heard an emergency call. It turned out that train 331 struck and likely killed a tresspasser at mile 39 in Hamilton at approximately 0905.
No traffic was getting through Hamilton around the police investigation so it looked like I was out of luck. I had hoped to catch 421, 97 and 328 but they were all delayed and I didn't have enough time to wait for them before work.
It was a nice morning although I was very tired. I was at work the night before until 0230. I wasn't out very early but my primary target, the "Maple Leaf", is only at 1000.
The "Maple Leaf" was delayed for a few minutes by bridge 6 and train 430 was waiting on the other side.
That's the first time I've ever seen train 430. I heard that train 332 was on its way over the Stamford subdivision so I hung around for it.
By this time it was getting boring and my patience was at a premium because of fatigue so I headed back home.
Today I wasn't feeling terribly energetic, but I did want to see the Maple Leaf. I headed to St. Catharines station to see it since it was cloudy and fairly dark. While stopped at the station I would be able to photograph it on slide film.
While waiting for the Maple Leaf I heard CP train 167 north get a clearance from Brookfield to Welland. I was led to believe that it would have brand new CP ES44AC's on the train so I headed up to Welland yard, keeping my ears tuned in case it got a clearance out of town. When I arrived at the yard 167 was just pulling through and would be lifting.
I had a friend visiting later so I headed home. Actually it was a rather rewarding day.
Today I headed to Hamilton to meet up with Marcus. While driving on the Queen Elizabeth Way through Jordan I heard NS 327 calling out signals ahead of me. I caught up to him at Stoney Creek and headed to Hamilton yard hoping to get there first. As it turned out Marcus was there too. Marcus was unaware that 327 was just down the tracks.
Marcus and I decided to head to Aldershot after stopping by Hamilton West. While at Hamilton West CN 331 with two SD75I's and 385 with a C44-9W and an SD75I headed up the Dundas subdivision in tandem.
Train 435 had finished switching Aldershot and pulled out of the west end of the yard to get back on its train.
Marcus had to take off so I headed up to Copetown to see what else CN might show up with.
The sun was going down in the west and I only knew about another eastbound which was getting nigh on impossible to photograph, so I headed home. Not a bad day although there was nothing truly exciting.
I'm getting pretty sick of those two SD75I's. They've been on 330/331 for at least a week! Train 422 was getting ready in Port Robinson and 332 was at Duff on CN. CP 256 had just left Brookfield so I missed it. I wasn't going to be able to catch any of them so I headed to work. One train is better than none.
This morning was much brighter than yesterday. I stopped off at Merritton before work again to see what CN had around.
Well, that was fun, but once again it was time to head to work. CN 422 was on the way but I didn't really have enough time to wait for it.
This morning was really miserable and dark. I opted to head straight to work but wanted to duck out briefly hoping to catch CP 167 because it had two new GE locomotives. I almost missed it. I got to Welland yard just as it was heading out the north siding switch. I quickly decided to bolt to Boyle figuring I could make it there. I did with about one minute to spare. It was still ugly weather but oh well, it's digital so it isn't costing me anything. Considering how much rain was falling, the photos aren't too bad.
And then back to work. I was gone less than thirty minutes. After work it was still hideously dark but I heard a CP southbound coming so I went to catch it.
Then it was really dark so I headed home.
Once again I headed to Merritton before work to see what CN would run. I also took work with me this time and wrote documentation while waiting for trains. I got there at 0720 and before long a clear signal went up for a westbound.
There wasn't much activity but since I brought my work with me I got a lot done. I needed to head toward Welland anyway so I decided to catch 328 again. A CN crew was replacing rail at approximately mile 13 of the Stamford subdivision so 328 was going to have to stop and wait at Cambridge. I went to catch him at the Welland River in Port Robinson.
Next I headed over to CP in Welland where a work train was dumping ballast and a southbound was on its way.
I then started to meander toward Welland. I heard that 331 was approaching Port Robinson so I swung by. While waiting for 331 the NI dispatcher mentioned that 339 was still on the Halton subdivision. That's quite late.
Wow. That was exciting. That power was the same as 330 on Friday and 331 on Saturday. Oh well, it was time for work.
This morning started out not too bad. It was a light overcast, but fairly bright… until I left to photograph the Maple Leaf again today. Dark mean clouds were coming from the southwest. Oh well. I went to Merritton to photograph it anyway. While I was waiting I could hear thunder and see a few lighting flashes. I was hoping the rain would hold off long enough for me to video the Maple Leaf coming out of the storm, but no such luck. It started to rain quite heavily just before it showed up.
You can see the rain in the photos. I'd had enough of that and headed home.
This morning the weather wasn't looking very promising, but I wanted to see the Maple Leaf again. I figured on heading to St. Catharines station to photograph it. At least it would be stopped and I wouldn't have to worry about motion blur on my slide photos. I arrived at the station in plenty of time, with the hopes of catching another train or two before the Maple Leaf showed up. No such luck, although a westbound was waiting on the other side of the Welland Canal for bridge 6 to lower.
Drat! The battery died in my digital camera, so no photo of 331. Oh well. The weather was dismal, and I had things to do, so I headed back home.
I took a quick break from work today hoping to catch NS 328 but instead wound up catching two CP trains on the Hamilton Subdivision instead.
While waiting for 248 I heard that NS 328 still hadn't left Hamilton. Hokey smokes! Oh well, back to work.
After work there was still a bit of light left so I dropped by CP's Welland yard. Nothing was going on there, but I heard that Job 3 was over at CN's Southern yard and that CN train 330 was on its way out of Port Robinson. So I headed over to the bridge on the CN Stamford Subdivision that passes over the CP Hamilton Subdivision.
It was pretty dark by now so I headed home. On the way I heard CP train 419 north get a clearance but it was too dark to do much about it.
The "Maple Leaf" has gotten interesting again with the addition of the P32AC-DM 700's.
I don't know what happened to NS 328 but the last train for me was CN 154 before I had to go to work. Bummer.
This is becoming a habit. I stopped off at Merritton before work again. It was a nice sunny morning which I knew was going to cause problems with westbounds. When I arrived at Merritton at approximately 0715 CN train 332 was already going by. I didn't get a chance to see the power. Before long I heard NS 327 west ask permission to pass a rule 42 on the Grimsby subdivision. Great! It would be coming right out of the sun. I took a photo from the shaded side by using the road bridge to block the sun. All in all it was kind of crappy.
At least 421 was nicely lit. Then it was off to work.
Nothing else was pending on CN so I started making my way to Welland. I first stopped off at Lock 7 of the Welland Canal where two ships were headed downbound.
There was no word of anything else coming, so I continued on to work for the day.
Later on, after work, I was out running errands and happened to be in the vicinity of St. Catharines station just before Via 95 was due so I stopped to check it out.
It was quite dark, but I got to see it. After that, since the Grimsby subdivision is brutally dead at night, I headed back home.
I was going to a Hamilton Bulldogs game later so I headed closer to Hamilton. I arrived at Copetown on the CN Dundas subdivision at about noon and knew I'd at least be able to catch the Via trains.
It didn't sound like anything else was imminent on CN so I headed into Hamilton. First I stopped at CP's Aberdeen yard expecting to see 230/231's power.
I also dropped by RaiLink's Hamilton yard.
There wasn't much more around so I headed to the city hall parking lot to meet my dad for the Bulldogs game.
I was done work early so I headed out to the CP yard to see if anything was there. Train 256 was in the yard with an AC4400 but was buried behind the row of autoracks that have been parked on the CaSo track for months. So I meandered my way back to St. Catharines via CN and Port Robinson again. Typical for an afternoon on CN, not much was going on, but one of the locals was working in Port Robinson.
Nothing else was very close and it was getting pretty cloudy, so I headed back home. At least I saw something.
That was about it so I headed home. Not very exciting, but oh well.
Today was a miserable rainy day, but I heard that a CRIX lease unit was on NS train 328 so I headed to Merritton on the CN Grimsby Subdivision to see it. I waited for about an hour when I finally heard word from the NI dispatcher that it was in Stoney Creek and would follow the Maple Leaf.
After the two trains passed the NI dispatcher was talking to CN trains 331 and 422 to let them know that Bridge 6 would be up for a half hour. I didn't feel like waiting around in the rain so I headed home.
This was the last day of my trip to western Canada. I headed back from Revelstoke to Calgary. Along the way I found a few trains. The morning was pretty quiet on the Mountain Subdivision but things picked up a bit around noon.
I didn't have a whole lot of time left to make it to Calgary for my flight so I didn't have a chance to stop for the other three trains I knew were near me on my drive back. So, back to Calgary airport I went to drop off the rental car and head home. I would have lilked to have stayed longer.
This day I headed from Calgary to Revelstoke, British Columbia along the CP Laggan and Mountain Subdivisions. I headed out in dark, miserable weather hoping it would clear up at least partially.
While photographing these two trains I learned from the dispatcher that the Royal Canadian Pacific train was headed west along with several other trains. I was going to have to photograph it somewhere. First up though was a grain train. And wonder of wonders the weather was brightening up.
It was getting very dark so I headed into Revelstoke where I would spend the night. I got some food and headed over to the yard to see what showed up.
The following were parked in the yard when I arrived.
Then the trains started showing up.
Train 362 only had one working unit and picked one up east of Revelstoke.
The grain train dropped its second unit in Moberly. At this point I was done my food and headed to the hotel for the night.
This was the last day of the elevator portion of my trip. I was headed back to Calgary although my trip was not over since I'd be taking a two day trip to Revelstoke and back. However, for this day I managed to find one train. I followed the CN Rosetown and Oyen Subdivisions back to Calgary. I spent the better part of a day following this line and only heard from one train all day. I managed to photograph it in Kindersley.
This was an interesting train so I chased it west and photographed it again.
After searching for more elevators I heard some trains on the nearby CP Wynyard Subdivision. I headed down to try to catch a GP38-2 which I ultimately missed. Actually, had I stayed in Wadena I would have seen it. Little did I know that it was actually going to work the branch line. Doh! While on the CP Wynyard Subdivision I heard that a second local was working on the same branch. Double doh!!! Oh well, I did find out that there was a westbound on the Wynyard subdivision so I went to find it and chase it.
After that excitement I continued looking for elevators all the way back to Saskatoon.
Later in the day I wound up in Unity which is on CN's mainline. I saw two trains there.
At that point it was getting very dark so I headed to the hotel in Saskatoon.
This was a trip to the Canadian prairies primarily to photograph the remaining grain elevators. Any trains I ran across were a bonus. This day I only found one train.
Well, that was fun. Via 95 was coming too, but I headed home becuase it was getting dark. It turns out that 95 was attacked by vandals weilding rocks at Parkdale in Hamilton. Morons.
While waiting for train 154 to arrive I heard NS train 369 switching Fort Erie. After photographing 154 and recording the detector I headed to Fort Erie to see 369.
While in Fort Erie I also heard that CN train 332 would be crossing the border from Buffalo so I figured to catch it too. Unfortunately they had train line problems and were delayed sorting themselves out. Eventually, with NS 369 and the newly arrived CN 330 east waiting, 332 crawled across the International Bridge.
There is only one other detector on the Stamford Subdivision at mile 27.6 so I headed over to it to record 332 pass over it. First I had to find it, which wasn't too difficult. After that it was getting pretty cloudy and dark so I headed back home.
The "Mount Vernon" was built by Budd for the Union Pacific and named "Pacific Island". Later it became Amtrak.
Of note with CN 2507 is that its cab has been repainted with a different number style.
We waited a while for 393 and found out why. It was really struggling up the escarpment. But it was time to head to the fair so off we went.
The dispatcher told CN train 330 that it would follow Via train 72 from Copetown so 330 stopped at the Copetown West crossovers to wait for 72 to pass.
That was about all the time I had so I headed home. There was no word on any more pending trains so it seemed like a good time. I did hear from CN train 434 after I left but it was too late.
Well there wasn't much railway activity tonight but I did hear the CP Hamilton subdivision detector at mile 18 go off. It turned out to be Job 3 returning to the yard so I photographed it there.
Not much else was going on so I headed over to CN to see what was happening there. I attempted to head through Dain City but the road was closed so I tried to take Highway 48 over to Townline Tunnel Road. No good, Townline Tunnel Road was closed too. Later I found out that a cyclist had been killed near the intersection down there. I took a very long route around and eventually wound up at CN where nothing was going on. I followed CN to Port Robinson where the Algomarine was heading downbound on the canal so I photographed it in Allanburg at Bridge 11. I didn't hear much else so I headed home.
Next I headed to Lynden for a change of scenery. Along the way I just missed train 271 west. Oh well, it wasn't that interesting anyway.
The second unit on 394 was a new BNSF Gevo with the ugly new logo. I just managed to squeak the train into the sunshine. Clouds were becoming a huge factor but I also got lucky with another two trains in sunshine.
Then the next westbound wasn't so lucky. I missed the sun by about thirty seconds.
It was too bad I didn't get sun. I would have liked the DWP engine in nice light. However the next eastbound autorack train was in sun. Where are all the westbounds?
At this point the clouds were getting annoying and I had people to visit so I headed home.
This morning I got up with the plan to catch NS train 328. I headed out for 0900 since 328 often goes through St. Catharines before the Amtrak. This day however I needn't have worried since 328 was held by bridge six and then by a foreman. While waiting for 328 at Cambridge siding I heard a work train in Port Robinson. CN 9450 was dropping rail and then heading to Fort Erie to drop rail there.
The track at Port Robinson is aligned north/south and by the time NS 328 showed up it would have been poorly lit so I headed over to Brookfield where the track runs east/west. Since train 905 was restricted to twenty miles per hour I figured I might as well photograph it again in Brookfield.
Eventually NS 328 was cleared through the St. Catharines area and on its way. I decided to change up the scenery and headed to Stevensville to photograph it.
Earlier while waiting for train 905 in Port Robinson I heard Trillium blowing for the crossings while headed to St. Catharines so I figured I'd see if I could find them in town. While driving down Hartzell Road I noticed them on the old Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto track headed up to Thorold on the Town Line spur. So I turned around and headed back to Thorold to catch Trillium street running again.
After switching the Interlake Paper plant Trillium headed back toward Merritton.
Successfully photographing the street running again was rewarding and I decided to head home.
After 567 I headed along the canal toward St. Catharines when I heard Trillium 110 get permission from the CN NI dispatcher to enter the north track of the Grimsby subdivision. Trillium 110 was heading back south from St. Catharines so I headed to Thorold to photograph it climbing the Niagara Escarpment adjacent to the Welland Canal. Before they showed up I photographed the Wagenborg ship Virginiaborg as it exited lock 7 headed downbound.
If you look in the background of the photo you can see the Virginiaborg in lock 6 east. I figured that to be the end of today's fun so I headed home.
Some of that power looked familiar since the second and third units were the power for the previous Saturday's train 435. Shortly after 148 had passed I could hear diesel rumblings again. I didn't feel like roaming too far so I decided to spend the day at Copetown.
I decided to head home via Hamilton and stopped by Hamilton yard to see RaiLink. While there Via train 92 west arived.
I heard CN 435 working Aldershot and headed to Plains Road for it.
While waiting for 435 a group of guys from Cleveland, Ohio arrived on the Wolfe Island Bridge. After a chat I decided I was done for the day and headed home.
Apparently I had just missed NS 328 east but heard that it was meeting CN trains 422, 338 and 332 at Port Robinson. I decided to head to the Hamilton area for them and whatever else would show up there. Shortly after arrival CN train 392 east appeared.
Just after 392 passed by I heard a CP train call out Waterdown on the CP Hamilton subdivision so I headed over to Hamilton West to photograph it.
Since I knew three trains were coming from the CN Grimsby subdivision I wanted to move to a location where I could see them. Back to Aldershot I went.
Train 435 was dropping quite a few cars at Aldershot yard as well as the GP9.
I was getting tired of the miserable weather and boring trains so I decided to head home. I passed by the ex-Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo's Aberdeen yard first to have a look at the only interesting train of the day, CP train 230 whose power parks there for the subsequent return to Sudbury as train 231 north.
CP 9022 is one of only two SD40-2F's in the "dual flag" scheme, 9000 being the other.
I roamed around the Stamford subdivision when I heard CP job 3 hit the detector at mile 18 of the Hamilton subdivision and subsequently called up the CN NI dispatcher to ask permission to head over to southern yard. Since I'd photographed job 3 two days prior I passed on it. After waiting around for a couple hours with no trains I gave up and headed home. That's pretty typical for an evening on the Stamford subdivision.
That was pretty good for a twenty minute break. After work I headed back trackside again. CP job 3 was working Welland yard but nothing else was going on so I headed over to the CN Stamford subdivision. On my way over I heard CN train 531 east leaving Port Robinson. Amazingly I arrived at the Netherby Road crossing moments before 531. I hopped out and photographed it.
With nothing better to do that evening I decided to stay and see if anything else would show up. I was pretty sure CP job 3 was going to head to CN's southern yard, so I should at least see it. Sure enough it appeared before long. I photographed it on the CN Stamford subdivision where it dropped 40 cars in CN's Southern yard.
After dropping the 40 cars job 3 headed back to the CP Hamilton subdivision as light power.
It looked like that was going to be it so I headed home.
On my way back to Welland I heard that 419 was going to drop 5640 and 5717 for train 425's power.
Passing through Welland I heard CP job 3 working in the yard. I was heading over to CN to see what was up when I heard job 3 calling out crossings which meant it was operating in reverse. Job 3 was headed for the Stevensville spur again!
While waiting for job 3 to finish switching I saw CP train 257 west pass by on the CN Stamford subdivision from my rear view mirror. Power was CP 8573. The two tracks are about a quarter mile apart in Stevensville. I was going to head over to the Stamford subdivision but I didn't make it in time so all I could do was watch.
Then I figured I'd head to the Welland canal tunnel for job 3. For a long time I've been trying to catch a photo of a train coming out from under the canal while a ship passes over it. This was the closest I've ever come to date. I missed by about five minutes. DOH!!!
That was fun but it was getting late so I headed home.
I phoned Marcus to see where he was and met him at Bayview Junction where we saw Via train 93 west headed toward Niagara Falls with the funky wine tasting car.
Shortly after 93 CN train 421 west headed through Bayview Junction for Port Robinson. Just after Bayview Junction train 421 becomes an eastbound as it rounds Hamilton harbour.
Before 421 left for Port Robinson it had work to do in Hamilton yard where CN train 422 west was already working. When 422 reaches Bayview Junction it will become an eastbound.
The next train in the parade was CN train 394 east which we also caught at Bayview Junction.
Marcus and I headed over to Aldershot where we waited for train 422.
We noticed two LPG cars parked on the north track at the west end of Aldershot yard and that the angle of one car was odd. Also present was a mobile crane and quite a few men. Apparently this is why train 399 was so late. From what I could tell the drawbar on one car broke while 399 was pushing backward. This drove the first car into the car behind it lightly damaging both but also rendering them imovable.
The next train in the parade was CN train 385 west which had finished working Aldershot yard and headed past the two disabled cars.
Train 385 was closely followed by CN train 550 west which was to head to Bayview Junction on the south track, cross over to the north and then head back to the disabled cars.
Marcus and I broke for lunch and headed back to see what was up at Aldershot. Train 550 had coupled the two disabled cars and was proceeding to shove them back toward Aldershot yard at about two miles per hour. Upon close inspection I noticed that the west car was resting on the draft gear of the east car and not on its own truck. That was quite precarious looking.
Train 550 now east was taking a long time to get back to Aldershot and stopped several times to let other trains pass.Finally after 30 minutes train 550 east crept its way to Lemonville Road at Aldershot. It stopped here where the mobile crane was waiting. This was to be the rerailing site. I took a few photos of the fiasco.
While CN was messing around with the two LPG cars train 393 west departed Aldershot yard.
As I hear it 393 derailed near London later that day.
At this point I'd had enough fun and decided to head out to visit friends and family. All in all a pretty good morning with twelve trains in about four hours.Today after work the weather was nice and sunny so I headed to the tracks. I usually head over to the Netherby Road crossing of the CN Stamford subdivision first since there are signals on both sides. Well, I didn't need the signals to tell me there was a train coming. There was an eastbound right there. I hopped out and shot CN 5639 east. That was convenient.
At this point I could hear CP job 3 working out at Brookfield so I headed over to see what they were up to. I turned onto Brookfield Road and looked east down the CP Stevensville spur expecting to see what I always see, nothing. Wrong! Job 3 was headed east on the spur. In the three years I've been in the Niagara area I've never been able to catch a train on the Stevensville spur. So I chased down to the Schihl Road crossing for the first shot. CP 3096 was pushing four boxcars and a caboose toward Stevensville.
The Stevensville spur is the ex-Conrail/Penn Central/New York Central/Michigan Central main line to Buffalo. CP is currently only using the track from Brookfield to Stevensville and only about twice a month. The track between Stevensville and Fort Erie is out of service. Consequently the line is quite overgrown and difficult to find photo locations. I next photographed job 3 in Stevensville at the Stevensville Road level crossing.
Job 3 switched the ACG Canada plant for a while before heading back to Brookfield. In the meantime I headed back to see what other locations I might like to photograph. I decided to photograph job 3 at the western end of the spur at Brookfield Road. One of the NYC's old wooden sheds is still at the crossing so I used it as a prop. On the westbound return trip job 3 consisted of just CP 3096 and the caboose.
After work today I decided to head trackside. First stop was CP's Welland yard. Nothing was going on there but CP 3096 was parked in the yard. The CN NI dispatcher was talking to train 531 east who was getting ready to leave Port Robinson but the two units hadn't been FRA inspected for the US. Upon inspection by the crew CN 6012 was found to have a large quantity of oil on one of its trucks so the plan was to cut it off and head to Buffalo with only CN 5424.
CN 5424 was facing west so the crew ran it around the wye at Allanburg, lifted their train and headed east. During this time train 332 west was pulling through Fort Erie and would meet 531 at Robbins. At the same time train 330 east was pulling into Port Robinson but parking there for a recrew.
Well, there isn't a whole lot to report today. The CP TEC train with 8218 was out on the Hamilton subdivision today. Unfortunately I was at work all day and didn't get a chance to see it. By the time I got out of work a storm was brewing and it was too dark and wet to bother looking very hard for it.
I did however visit CP's Welland yard where CP 9500 was putting a northbound train together of empty autoracks. I took a few photos of it on the CaSo track and then made a very cursory search for the TEC train. I didn't find it but I suspect it was in Niagara Falls on the Montrose subdivision. Oh well, it was raining pretty good so I went home. Another day…
Today I was on my way home from work which takes me past the old Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto yard at Yale Crescent. At first I was surprised to see two boxcars and the Trillium Railway's ex-CP caboose parked in the yard. Farther along I saw why, TR 110 was beside Berryman Avenue with two tank cars. One of them was derailed. It appeared that while trying to deliver the car to Kemira at the end of the spur they derailed the lead car (the train was pushing the cars).
Stupid me didn't have my cameras so I rushed home to get them and came right back. Eventually they got the car rerailed and cut it off. I assume the plan is to fix the track and the deliver the car later. I figured this would be a great opportunity to photograph Trillium on this piece of track. To this point I'd never had the fortune of actually finding them working St. Catharines. So I first photographed them at the intersection of Yale Crescent and Berryman Avenue which is where the derailment occurred.
They had to lift the two boxcars and caboose left in the yard and so while they did that I moved to photograph them just south of the yard between Eastchester Avenue and Queenston Street.
At this point things got very interesting. I was hoping but wasn't convinced that they'd head up to Thorold on the Townline Spur but figured the more likely thing to do was head back across the CN Grimsby subdivision and back to Welland. Oh ho! They took the track to Thorold. This was my lucky day! I've been trying for years to catch Trillium on the Townline Spur. First I headed over to the old factory alongside the NStC&T track at the corner of Glendale Avenue and Merritt Street in Merritton.
After that though I headed to my primary goal, the street running portion along Townline Road East in Thorold. Trillium runs down the centre of Townline Road East for two blocks.
Then I snapped some more photographs as they delivered their two loaded boxcars and lifted four empty boxcars at the Interlake Paper plant at Merritt Street and Townline Road East. I was however really kicking myself for not bringing my video camera along. Oh well.
After switching the paper plant I expected them to head back down to Merritton but apparently the derailment did in the crew. They tied up the train on the track beside Front Street North and that was that.
So, no more photos for me. I shouldn't complain though. I think I blew away about 25 frames or so at them. That's one more item on my railfan list of things to do that I've checked off. This was a good day.
Brian Switzer 09/08/2005 18:33:54
Just an update, but I went by the spur where Trillium derailed the tank car. The derailment was at an old level crossing which has been removed and the track repaired. The car has been delivered.
Shortly thereafter I heard CP 9720 west get a clearance from Coakley siding on the Galt subdivision to begin/end CTC sign Nissouri with an item four to meet CP 242 east. At the same time I heard CN trains 399 and 271 coming on the Dundas subdivision. The plan was to try to get 399, 271 and 242. CP 9720 was already lost. CN 399 met 392 in Paris so I figured I could catch 399 and 271 before I needed to bolt to the Galt subdivision for 242. I got lucky, it worked.
A foreman was putting a track block on the Galt subdivision in Galt for three hours after 242 went by so there was no point hanging around CP. Back to the Dundas subdivision I went. Since Princeton is really nice I went there. Just as I was pulling into town the detector at mile 40 went off. It turned out to be 434 east. I got to the tracks just in time to see it blast through. I didn't note the engine numbers but the second unit was an SD50F. No great loss.
I picked up refreshments at the local variety store and waited. After a while of a very quiet scanner the crossing gates in town activated followed very closely by the detector at mile 40. Something was here and I didn't have much time to get my camera. Behold train 148 east.CN is pretty slow today. I heard 435 working Brantford so I know it's coming but first was Via 72.
The detector at mile 40 south track went off again with a speed of 20 mph. That would be foreman Crosby doing a track inspection. It now sounded like things would pick up. The RTC wanted foreman Crosby to clear the track for some action. First up was an eastbound.
CN 434 was taking the north service track at Paris Jct. for two westbounds.
The IORY was a brand new ex-SP tunnel motor that I didn't get a good photo of because I only had one frame left on my film. DOH!!! Luckily the battery on my DV camera survived long enough to get the train. Train 331 was right behind 385 but was boring and I didn't photograph it. Now the chase was on. I heard the DI dispatcher tell 385 that it would be recrewed at Gore Rd. in London. So to the 401 I head to catch 385 again in London.
When I got to Airport Rd. in London 385 was just coming into town. I headed to the Gore Rd. crossing and photographed it parked there waiting for a recrew. That was easy.
Since I drove all the way to London I checked out the CN and CP yards. There wasn't much of interest so I decided to head for St. Thomas and see what NS 327 had run with. On my way out of town I heard 385 had its new crew and was again under way.
In St. Thomas I found the NS power parked by the CN building on the Paynes subdivision where it always is.
Well I'd about had it for the day and decided to head back home. I took Highway 3 and stopped to photograph the St. Thomas and Eastern's HR-412 in Tillsonburg.
On the way back home I passed through Jarvis, Hagersville and Troy and checked out the abandoned right-of-way of the CN Cayuga subdivision, Michigan Central/New York Central/Penn Central/Conrail Canada Division, and the CN Dunnville subdivision respectively. It's always sad driving through that area. Nowhere is it more depressing though than in Canfield Junction where all three of those now abandoned lines converge. I chose to bypass the junction that day.
It was a really nice day, sunny and not too hot so I ventured out to trackside. I first wanted to catch Via 97 and headed to the Taylor Rd. overpass east of St. Catharines on the CN Grimsby subdivision.
I didn't feel like staying in Niagara so I headed for the Hamilton area. While on the QEW I heard CN 422 west talking to the dispatcher about working both Hamilton and Aldershot yards. I dropped by Hamilton yard where it was about to begin its work. The consist was interesting but the lighting was terrible so I opted to wait for it to head east on the opposite side of Lake Ontario at Aldershot. While waiting for 422 west at Aldershot 154 east arrived with a lift there.
Via 73 had to wait for 422 to cross over from the south track to the north before proceding out of Aldershot station.
CN 422 was also lifting another GP9, CN 4018 as I recall, but I didn't feel the need to head over to Aldershot East for that.
The construction at Aldershot on the Oakville subdivision third track is well under way. The two new bridges at Aldershot West are about complete. The north bridge will accomodate the yard lead extension while the south bridge will carry the new third track. The embankments have been cleared away and the track bed should soon be underway by the looks of things.
I didn't feel like staying at Aldershot so I headed up to the Dundas subdivision at Copetown for the remainder of my day. After picking up refreshments I headed to the old feed mill and waited. It wasn't long before I heard 393 working Aldershot. Now I just had to wait for it to show up. Before 393 arrived the detector at mile 15 went of and 434 appeared.
After these two trains I called it a day and went to visit with friends.
