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.
