Trackside Log for Thursday, October 5, 2006

This was the last day of my Saskatchewan elevator trip with Sam. We left Wadena and followed several rail lines. It wasn't long before we found a Canadian Pacific train on the Tisdale Subdivision.

• 0950 CST south of Nora, SK - CP southbound - CP 3070-CP 3085-CP 3123-CP 3061

A few hours and a couple subdivisions later we were photographing the elevators at Lake Lenore on Canadian National's Saint Brieux Subdivision when we heard a northbound on the way. A grain tramp was stopping to drop cars at the Pioneer elevator.

• 1231 CST Lake Lenore, SK - CN northbound grain tramp - CN 5536-CN 5624

After running the Saint Brieux Subdivision we concluded our elevator hunt. We had some time to kill before meeting Matt for dinner in Saskatoon so I decided to see if we could find some trains. While driving south toward the mainlines the Canadian Pacific dispatcher mentioned that several trains were converging on Lanigan. Well, I was sold.

• 1435 CST Lanigan, SK - CP eastbound - CP 5922-CP 5953
• 1555 CST Lanigan, SK - CP 541 west - CP 3103-CP 5602
• 1623 CST Lanigan, SK - CP 670 west - CP 9751-CP 5392
• 1651 CST Plunkett, SK - CP westbound - CP 6037-CP 3124

I was happy to see train 670 since it is an interesting unit train. It was getting on so we drove back to Saskatoon where we got a room at the Best Western and met Matt for dinner. It was a great trip and I was sad it was over.

Trackside Log for Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Today Sam and I continued our trek across Saskatchewan searching for grain elevators. We followed rails the entire day but didn't find any trains until the afternoon in Canora. The power from yesterday's train 885 was parked there with some other locomotives.

• 1535 CST Canora, SK - CN power - CN 8023-CN 5673
• 1535 CST Canora, SK - CN power - CN 2427
• 1535 CST Canora, SK - CN power - CN 4795

Grain train 853 left Canora while I was photographing the parked power so we decided to give chase.

• 1613 CST Buchanan, SK - CN 853 west - CN 9581-CN 5786-CN 5557
• 1634 CST Rama, SK - CN 853 west - CN 9581-CN 5786-CN 5557
• 1649 CST Invermay, SK - CN 853 west - CN 9581-CN 5786-CN 5557
• 1717 CST Kuroki, SK - CN 853 west - CN 9581-CN 5786-CN 5557

The sun was getting low and it was getting late so we called it quits. We decided to stay the night in Wadena.

Trackside Log for Tuesday, October 3, 2006

This morning Sam and I departed north from Tisdale, Saskatchewan searching for elevators. While following the Canadian Pacific Tisdale Subdivision we discovered a southbound. We chased back to photograph it.

• 0805 CST north of Tisdale, SK - CP southbound - CP 3070-CP 3085-CP 3123-CP 3061

We continued our quest for elevators that eventually led us to Arborfield on Thunder Rail.

• 1231 CST Arborfield, SK - Thunder Rail power - Thunder Rail 2004

We continued our eastward trek toward Hudson Bay where we found a Canadian National southbound switching. We also heard talk of a northbound grain train on the way.

• 1508 CST Hudson Bay, SK - CN 420 south - CN 2427-CN 5557
• 1547 CST Hudson Bay, SK - CN 885 north - CN 5673-CN 8023

Further travels took us to Preeceville but no more trains were to be found.

Trackside Log for Monday, October 2, 2006

Sam and I were back on the road hunting for grain elevators around Saskatchewan. We spent the entire day following rail lines but didn't see a train until the very end. While photographing the elevator in Eldersley we noticed a train switching the Pioneer inland terminal east of town. We waited for it to finish switching so we could photograph it at Eldersley elevator.

• 1743 CST Eldersley, SK - CN westbound - CN 5536-CN 5624

We decided to stay the night in Tisdale so we chased the train back.

• 1801 CST east of Tisdale, SK - CN westbound - CN 5536-CN 5624

The light was waning so we checked into a motel for the evening.

Trackside Log for Sunday, October 1, 2006

This was day two of my elevator trip in Saskatchewan. I started in Shellbrook where I discovered a Carlton Trail northbound parked just out of town on the Blaine Lake Subdivision.

• 0949 CST Shellbrook, SK - Carlton Trail northbound - HBR 2508-HLCX 9522-HLCX 9647

A crew had just arrived to take the train north to Meadow Lake. I drove ahead to photograph it again on the Big River Subdivision.

• 1025 CST Shellbrook, SK - Carlton Trail northbound - HBR 2508-HLCX 9522-HLCX 9647

The rest of the day was spent driving across the prairies photographing elevators and stations.

Trackside Log for Saturday, September 30, 2006

This was the first day of my Saskatchewan grain elevator trip with Sam. Although I was primarily hunting for elevators I did photograph the Carlton Trail.

• 0954 CST North Battleford, SK - Carlton Trail power - HBR 2508-HLCX 9522-HLCX 9647

That was the only train we saw.