Trackside Log for Saturday, June 27, 2009

This was the first day for the new weekend GO Transit service between Toronto and Niagara Falls. I wanted to get a few photographs of the occasion so I drove to St. Catharines for the Maple Leaf followed by the second GO train. Lo and behold, the first westbound GO train was very late so I got to see it first. Good way to start the new service.

• 0948 St. Catharines - GO 782 west - GOT 626 (photo)

While waiting for Amtrak I noticed Canadian National train 338 cross Bridge 6 in the distance. I couldn't photograph it. No real loss.

• 1015 St. Catharines - CN 338 west -CN 5662-IC 2725-CN 4119
• 1024 St. Catharines - Via 97 east - AMTK 104 (photo)

The next GO train was due in about an hour so I changed locations to Merritton where I viewed it from the now unused Trillium Townline Spur.

• 1135 Merritton - GO 783 east - GOT 201 (GOT 612 pushing)

After climbing down I drove to Niagara Falls to find a vantage point for its return. The 6th Concession worked nicely.

• 1235 Niagara Falls - GO 784 west - GOT 612

The next train was likely to be Via 92. I returned to Merritton to wait for it.

• 1431 Merritton - Via 92 west - VIA 6421

Since the next GO train wasn't due for quite a while I had some time to kill. I checked with the St. Lawrence Seaway website and discovered that the laker Algolake was to be at Lock 3 at 1630. Perfect. fter watching the boat enter Lock 4 West I made my way to the old railway swing bridge over the second Welland Canal to see the westbound Maple Leaf and the third eastbound GO train of the day. Both arrived within minutes of each other. How convenient!

• 1800 Welland Canal - Via 98 west - AMTK 190
• 1802 Welland Canal - GO 785 east - GOT 230 (GOT 626 pushing)

And with that I was done. I departed for Binbrook after a rather successful day.

Trackside Log for Saturday, June 20, 2009

It was a very wet day having rained all night and morning.  I spent the day indoors and turned the scanner on for the afternoon when it had stopped raining.  Before long I heard train 427 receive a clearance from Brookfield East to Kinnear.  I walked behind my house for a photograph in the dull grey day.

• 1811 Fenwick - CP 427 north - CP 9613-CP 8541 (photo)

Then I walked back to the house and resumed what I was working on.

Trackside Log for Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sam was visiting this weekend and went back to Toronto this morning.  I dropped her off at the Burlington GO station and then decided to spend some time at the tracks. I swung by Aldershot but nothing was imminent so I drove to Guelph Junction. No signals were set up there so I continued on to Scotch Block to relax. Eventually Canadian National provided a cluster of eastbounds for me to watch.

• 1254 Scotch Block - CN 148 east - CN 2575-CN 2556
• 1312 Scotch Block - CN eastbound - CN 5719-IC 1035-CN 2508
• 1329 Scotch Block - CN eastbound - CN 2566-BCOL 4619 (photo 1, photo 2)

Then it was back to the waiting game. At long last train 339 showed up.

• 1622 Scotch Block - CN 339 west - CN 8808-CN 2651 (photo)

A while after train 339 passed a Canadian Pacific northbound obtained a clearance onto the Galt Subdivision to proceed westward. Since that was the direction I needed to go I drove to Guelph Junction to intercept it. I was just a bit too late so I drove ahead to Victoria Road where I was able to photograph what turned out to be a rail train.

• 1720 Puslinch - CP westbound - CP 9547-CP 8724 (photo)

I was visiting my family in Binbrook that evening so after a few pictures I made my way there.

Trackside Log for Monday, May 25, 2009

Well, today was Memorial Day in these parts and I was flying from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Boston, Massachusetts. I slept in a little bit before leaving the Courtyard Hotel and driving to Newport. The Canadian Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe share track there. I hung around for an hour but nothing showed up. I had enough and figured I'd drop by Pig's Eye Yard before driving to the airport. There were a variety of Canadian Pacific locomotives there but nothing worth photographing. I did however photograph a couple of parked engines in the Union Pacific yard.

• 1129 CDT St. Paul, MN - UP power - UP 734-LLPX 2271 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3)

Then I dropped off the rental car and grabbed lunch at the airport before my flight.

Trackside Log for Sunday, May 24, 2009

Today I awoke to beautiful clear skies in Grand Forks, North Dakota. I set out fairly early to get to Canadian Pacific in Thief River Falls, Minnesota in good time. Since the tracks are aligned north-south I elected to visit there first to take advantage of sun angles. A southbound train was parked in the yard but I couldn't photograph it. However, I did notice a long line of stored power. While navigating to the east side of the yard I found an elevator switcher.

• 0819 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - elevator switcher - ILSX 1373 (photo)

Next I photographed the long storage line in the yard.

• 0827 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - CP stored power - SOO 6049-SOO 6026-SOO 6027-SOO 6040-SOO 6045-SOO 6059-SOO 6042-SOO 6044-CP 778-SOO 6036-SOO 6041-CP 5739-CP 779-CP 1512-CP 1513-CP 1511-CP 776-SOO 774-SOO 2403-CP 8270-CP 777-SOO 775

When Marcus and I visited in 2001 Independent Locomotive Services was using the old Soo roundhouse for maintenance. In 2009 they are now gone. Next to the storage line was a pair of snow plows.

• 0902 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - CP equipment - SOO 900078-SOO 900184 (photo)

Having photographed what I came for I started the drive back to North Dakota to locate the Northern Plains Railroad. Just before entering North Dakota I found another elevator switcher in Oslo, Minnesota.

• 1002 CDT Oslo, MN - elevator switcher - FECA 1920 (photo)

Why is everything so far apart in this neck of the woods? Eventually I arrived at Fordville, North Dakota, home base of the Northern Plains Railroad.

• 1103 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 3505-NPR 3503-NPR 3502-NPR 3509-NPR 2283 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5, photo 6)
• 1111 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 5558-NPR 5556-NPR 5555-NPR 3501 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)
• 1122 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 5557-NPR 3504 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3)
• 1125 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains equipment - CP 414651
• 1126 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - MSCI 700-NPR 410 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)

This little trip was so rewarding that I ran out of slide film while photographing the Northern Plains. At least I still had the digital. Having achieved all my shortline goals I drove to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline west of Fargo, North Dakota to see what action would present itself. I didn't have to wait long.

• 1437 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 9960-BNSF 9231-BNSF 8866 (photo)
• 1453 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound - BNSF 4503-BNSF 5308 (photo)
• 1502 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound Herzog - BNSF 791-BNSF 1082 (photo)
• 1505 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 1004-BNSF 7501-BNSF 5019-BNSF 4479 (photo)
• 1549 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound - BNSF 6609-BNSF 4096 (photo)
• 1554 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 9940-BNSF 8961/BNSF 9713 (photo 1, photo 2)

At 1600 I decided to call it a day. I had to catch a flight from Minneapolis to Boston the next day and wanted to get back before it got late. After a four hour drive along Interstate 94 I pulled into the Courtyard Hotel in Mendota Heights, Minnesota feeling very satisfied with a productive two days of photography.

Trackside Log for Saturday, May 23, 2009

Three days ago I flew from Buffalo, New York to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit Compellent in Eden Prairie. Some folks from work and I spent two days testing their disk storage array. Everyone else flew back home but I had made arrangements to stay for the Memorial Day long weekend.

This morning I departed the Fairfield Inn in Eden Prairie in my rented Dodge Caliber. The weather started out overcast but I was looking forward to the skies clearing up later on. The first stage of my trip was to follow the Twin Cities & Western toward Appleton, Minnesota. The first town to present a photo opportunity was Glencoe.

• 0833 CDT Glencoe, MN - Twin Cities & Western power - RRVW 406-TCWR 1503 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3)

While searching town further I noticed a pair of slugs at Seneca Foods.

• 0844 CDT Glencoe, MN - Twin Cities & Western power - TCWR 201-NS 9830 (photo 1, photo 2)

I continued following the Twin Cities & Western west. I checked out the towns along the way but didn't find any interesting railway subjects until Montevideo, Minnesota where I espied the Milwaukee Road Historical Park.

• 1057 CDT Montevideo, MN - Milwaukee Road Historical Park - MILW X19-MILW 991960 (photo 1, photo 2)
• 1059 CDT Montevideo, MN - Milwaukee Road Historical Park - NSP X-5 (79 in number boards) (photo)

I followed the rails all the way to Appleton, Minnesota but did not see anything else on the Twin Cities & Western. My next target was the Sisseton-Milbank Railroad. While en route I heard a Burlington Northern Santa Fe westbound report clear of mile 600. I looked for the nearest mile board on the BNSF track next to me and read mile 590. The train was a mere ten miles ahead of me. I kept moving and caught up to it just before Milbank, South Dakota. I was able to get ahead of the train on the west side of town for a photograph.

• 1238 CDT Milbank, SD - BNSF westbound - BNSF 4390-BNSF 4980

I went back to Milbank and found the Sisseton-Milbank. The west leg of the wye was full of covered hoppers and the mainline was full of empty coal hoppers. I couldn't find any locomotives though so I followed their tracks to Sisseton. I found plenty of cars parked along the way but no power so I continued to the Canadian Pacific in Hankinson, North Dakota. Once again there were many parked cars but nothing of interest. Next I drove to the Red River Valley & Western's home base of Breckenridge, Minnesota where I hit pay dirt.

• 1512 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 2001-RRVW 2002-ILSX 179-ILSX 180 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5)
• 1517 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 2005-RRVW 1276-RRVW 2051-RRVW 309 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)
• 1521 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 303 (photo)
• 1536 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 404 (photo)
• 1542 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western equipment - RRVW 113 (photo)

Wow, that was rewarding! Then I grabbed a bite to eat from the local Kentucky Fried Chicken and ate in front of the old station where a Great Northern caboose was on display.

• 1601 CDT Breckenridge, MN - preserved caboose - GN X111 (photo)

My next railway was the nearby Otter Tail Valley in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Soon after arrival I could hear them switching somewhere in town. I searched but couldn't find them. After the third time by their engine shed I got extremely lucky. They were just about to park three of the four locomotives inside.

• 1700 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - MNN 1484-MNN 1463-OTVR 192

The MNN 1484 cut off the trailing two engines before taking off westward. The previously set off OTVR 3900 then joined the two geeps inside the shed.

• 1708 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - MNN 1484
• 1710 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - OTVR 3900

After some photographs in nice light I followed the Otter Tail Valley Railroad northwestward to Dilworth, Minnesota where I checked out the BNSF yard. There were dozens of engines but nothing photographable.

I decided that Grand Forks, North Dakota would be my final destination for the day. During the drive there I ran across an elevator switcher at the Alton Grain Terminal.

• 1917 CDT south of Hillsboro, ND - Alton Grain Terminal switcher - DLSX 2307 (photo)

When I got to Grand Forks I immediately drove to the old roundhouse which I knew from my previous visit in 2001 would be my only chance for decent light.

• 2006 CDT Grand Forks, ND - BNSF power - BNSF 3404 (photo)

That was it for the day's photography. I found a room at the America's Best Value Inn, filled the car with petrol and me with a sub before calling it a day.

Trackside Log for Sunday, May 17, 2009

I was spending the day at home relaxing mostly.  It was a somewhat typical day for the Canadian Pacific Hamilton subdivision.  There were no trains until late in the afternoon.  Eventually I heard train 426 call out the Boyle mile sign.  I drove down to mile 23 for a photograph across a field of corn stubble.

• 1807 Pelham - CP 426 south - CP 9530-CP 8609

After my photographs I turned back for home.  That was all for daylight trains, but after dark there was a couple.

• 2235 Fenwick - CP 254 south - CP 8820-CP AC4400CW
• 2351 Fenwick - CP 247 north - CP 9766-CP SD40-2

Thus ended another (rather uneventful) day.

Trackside Log for Thursday, May 14, 2009

This morning I woke up with a migraine caused by changing air pressure.  Consequently I stayed home from work for the day.  The Canadian Pacific Hamilton Subdivision was quiet the entire day until about 1645 when I heard job 2 announce they were entering the main track and headed to Smithville.  By that time my headache was nearly gone so I popped up the road to take a photograph.

• 1700 Fenwick - CP job 2 north - CP 3032-CP 3097

The train had a Canada grain car for a buffer and four pipe loads.  A few minutes after I arrived back home I heard job 2 clear a southbound through its working limits.  After a few games of cribbage on my iPod I heard the southbound report mile board Boyle and out I went again to take a photograph.

• 1749 Fenwick - CP 426 south - CP 9586-CP 9806

I didn't know when job 2 would turn back but I knew it wouldn't be long.  I drove back home but as soon as I turned onto my driveway I heard its horn approaching.  Back out I went.

• 1759 Fenwick - CP job 2 south - CP 3097-CP 3032

As expected the pipe loads were now gone and the spacer car remained.

Trackside Log for Sunday, April 26, 2009

It was a cool, damp, cloudy morning and not long after I got up I heard horns approaching from the south.  I figured, "Why not take a photograph anyway."  So I picked up my D80 and walked to the crossing up the road.

• 0916 Fenwick - CP 427 north - CP 9537-CP 8792 (photo)

After watching the train pass I walked back home to sort out my day.  While working on my website I heard train 426 give a track release from Vinemount to the Hamilton Subdivision dispatcher.  When they called out the mile sign at Boyle I walked to Foss Road for a photograph.

• 1444 Fenwick - CP 426 south - CP 9824-CP 9503 (photo)

I chuckled when I noticed that 9824 still retains its Christmas lights from the Holiday Train.

Trackside Log for Sunday, April 19, 2009

Once again I was at home indexing photographs.  When you put it off they really pile up on you.  Again, I had the scanner on and in the afternoon heard train 426 south approaching town.

• 1348 Fenwick - CP 426 south - CP 9829-CP 8831

Train 426's opposite, train 427, had arrived at Welland Yard earlier and departed northward as soon as train 426 arrived.

• 1411 Fenwick - CP 427 north - CP 9520-CP 8549 (photo)

And that was the extent of trains in daylight on the Canadian Pacific Hamilton Subdivision for the day.  After darkness fell a further three trains blew through town.