Details matter

I found myself passing by Fallowfield Station recently when I decided to stop in and see if something was imminent. Luckily, a westbound from Ottawa's main station was making its way to the station, so I took to the east platform to get a few shots. It turned out to be a double-ended consist of the silver streamliner (HEP) cars with two P42s. I figured it was worth a few shots, just to get some seasonal variation in the photographs I share here. You can see a hint of the snow plowed off the end of the platform.

The first detail I noticed was how dirty the train was. The lead P42 920 clearly needed to go through the wash stand, but I suppose it's a tough assignment to keep these trains clean shortly after the first snowfall of the season, combined with the subsequent melt and the rainfall in the various regions where these trains operate. 

 

 

The second detail popped out immediately. Do you see it? Unlike the lead P42, the trailing engine still has a bit of its as-delivered blue paint shining through the wrap. It was a bit odd to see this, as it looked out of place. I have seen many wraps, but most have the plow of the front repainted.

 

Speaking of paint schemes, you can see the original lettering peaking through the wrap on this dirty trailing power. I'm guessing such minor details don't matter much right now, as I'm sure these units aren't long for this world. The Venture takeover will soon mean many of these older locomotives will retire from revenue service or head to another railway. 

 

This is a shot I took this summer of a genset locomotive that handles the plant switching duties at the Nova Corunna refinery. The detail I liked in this photo was the line of towers and power lines. Anyone who has been in the Sarnia area knows how much energy is needed for these refineries to operate. This is also an area where an immense amount of energy is managed through cogeneration, solar, battery storage and other means. And the power supply just keeps increasing. I could have zoomed in on the locomotive, but I also liked that I captured some of the refinery and the massive pipes in the bottom right of the image. This would be great information to use if I had a model railway setup right now.

 

 

Here's one last image from this summer that has a lot of details, like the photo from the Nova refinery. I wasn't really enthused about catching another Via Rail Venture consist while in Stratford, so I set up across the yard on a side street. The details in this photo are what make it more interesting than a standard railway photo. These are the details I wanted to catch: the station undergoing renovations; the rail yard; the grain elevator and the crossbucks. I left a piece of the tree in the shot intentionally, mostly because it was protecting my shot from a complete washout due to the sun.

 

The harsh sunlight required a fair bit of colour and lighting correction, but I think it was worth the effort. As I have mentioned quite a few times, I have been aiming of late for images that are more than just the standard wedge shot. I think setting a scene where a train is operating makes for a much better image.

 

The details are what fascinate me now as much as the trains themselves. 

Why I remember

Remembrance Day is always a solemn and meaningful day in Ottawa. I have lived here in this city long enough that I still remember attending ceremonies at the national cenotaph downtown and being able to see World War II veterans parade around the National War Memorial. 

You can make fun of Ottawa a for lot, and many do, but this city remembers and I am proud of that tradition. A few years ago, a colleague of mine from Carleton University sent me a message thanking me for convincing him to go to the national ceremony years earlier, as our university professors told us it was worthwhile to do so, as budding journalists and as Canadians. I had to confess that I don't remember much of that ceremony, but I'm proud I made a small difference that day.

Here's a story from my family that makes me think about war; how it sometimes brings out the best in us when we fight against the worst in us.

My grandfather, Egidio, grew up in relative poverty in northern Italy. When World War II broke out, he was forced to enlist with Mussolini's forces. My Nonno, as I called him in Italian, was part of the occupying forces in what was then known as Yugoslavia. As we all know, the Italians eventually overthrew their dictator and killed him in 1945.

When that happened, the country's army essentially disbanded, which meant my Nonno and his friends were stranded in Yugoslavia, amid the very people whose country they occupied. Making matters worse, the Germans were hunting down the Italians as traitors, as Italy had already brokered a peace with the Allied forces.

I don't know the particulars of much of the story, as it was told to me in pieces by my Mom and my Uncle John. They told me my Nonno and his friends ditched their uniforms and relied on the mercy of the various people living in Yugoslavia, as they moved by night to get back to Italy by foot. I was told they slept in barns, begged for food, were given clothes to pass as civilians, and kept out of sight. 

As if crossing a country on foot while being pursued by Nazis wasn't bad enough, my Nonno and his friends had a friend who was injured and could not walk. Although he told them to leave him to die in Yugoslavia, they refused. They fashioned some sort of makeshift sled and pulled him, using their belts. 

They dragged him home to Italy. 

This is the part of the story that always gets me. When asked why they would risk so much for one man, their answer was simple. They could not return home and face that man's family if they left him behind. That type of selflessness and heroism is but one example of countless acts of bravery.

My Nonno and I at Heritage Park in Calgary, 1991 

I know this is not a heroic tale of what Canada did during the wars. I love my country and have mixed feelings about my family's war history. 

We Canadians all know what a sterling war record our country has, a legacy that sadly was built on the blood and sacrifice of millions of people, many of whom whose stories will never be told. I can still recite In Flanders Fields word for word, as it was drilled into us as kids at school. That poem, to me, is the ultimate tribute to those whose stories will never be told, but whose actions paved the way for the Canada we enjoy today.

But I mention my Nonno for a reason. After the war was over, he made his way to Canada to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia, so he could earn enough money to bring his family over. Eventually, the family settled in Windsor, including my mom. 

I will never know more of my Nonno's story as he spoke mainly Italian and spoke very little English. I will also never know what effect the war had on him, but I'm sure it did. I do know that, were it not for his bravery, another man's family would have a very different history.

I also know that, had he not come to Canada, my own story would never have happened. 

In his house in Windsor, my Nonno always had a small Italian flag in his front room. Beside that flag, he had a Canadian flag. As proud as he was to be Italian, he was equally grateful that Canada took him in, a person who was an enemy just years earlier. That type of mercy is part of the reason I am here today.

That, to me, is Canada at its best. It's people doing their very best at a time when people are doing their very worst. 

Lest we forget.  

A Canada Day doubleheader

When I visited Sarnia this summer to spend time with family, I was lucky enough to have some time trackside at the Sarnia rail yard, which is always a treat for me. I already shared some images of my time in Sarnia, including shots of my first mainline freight train this summer, along with my commentary on the enthusiastic railfans down there, not to mention the oddities I saw off the main line.

First taste of the main line

The Railfans

Off the main line

For this post, I simply wanted to share photos of more mainline action from my time in Sarnia. As much as I love reading railway blogs (and I do) and learn from the commentary and knowledge of my fellow bloggers, I also like to read posts about just being trackside and capturing a passing train. It's a simple pleasure in my life. Sometimes, it doesn't need a whole lot of overthinking. So with that in mind, let's go trackside on the Strathroy Subdivison. 

This is my first glimpse of a westbound freight that was making its way to the tunnel when eastbound Via Train 84 made its way east of the platform of Sarnia station on July 1. I always love to catch a meet, but it's always a challenge to get the light cooperating at this vantage point. Sometimes, the early morning sunshine and the haze makes some compromises inevitable. 

By turning my camera away from the sun and having the Via Rail Venture set out of the way, I was able to get a better view of the westbound CN with a long line of empty autoracks making its way to Michigan. It's interesting how the glare from the Venture set seemed to influence the lighting of the shot in the first image. Take that distraction away and shift the direction of the lens and the sky comes into focus. But it wasn't until the train came closer to the platform that I was in for a true surprise.

 

 

Behind CN ES44DC 2228 was a Canadian Pacific-painted unit. I'm not going to say that shared or leased power is rare on this main line, because I have seen outside power here in my limited time trackside. But I don't recall seeing CP power here before. I'm sure it's more common that I think, but it's still the first time I have seen CP (sigh, okay CPKC) power on the Strathroy Subdivision. 

 

 

The engine was CPKC ES44AC 8907, in the railway's basic red scheme minus the golden rodent and badge logo. One thing I've loved about modern CP engines is how, even after the railway migrated to a more modern paint scheme following its longstanding action livery, the railway still kept its unit operating numbers in the same white italic font. It's a little detail. I'm sure there wasn't any deliberate thought put into this, but I like that it reminds me of days gone by when I would see CP action red units in Windsor with the same operating numbers on the cab. It's the little things that make me happy.

It's weird seeing these two rivals side by side. Look at the difference it makes when you're not fighting the morning sun! The eastward facing images make it look like a cloudy, overcast day but the westward images reveal that it's really another typical Southwestern Ontario sunny summer morning.

Here's a quick shot of Via Train 84 making its way toward the Indian Road overpass while the westbound autorack train picks up momentum as it glides down the descent toward the Paul M. Tellier Tunnel beneath the St. Clair River. 

And speaking of that CPKC railway, here is the unified railway's logo. The beaver and the maple leaf are still prominent, letting people know which one of these former companies was the buyer. 

 

And here's a shot of that action red scheme, which you can still find on occasion on old covered hoppers and autoracks. I've seen a boxcar with the old action scheme in recent years, but that is truly rare. Check out that image of an old CP Rail clad boxcar in this post from London, Ontario: Serving up suds?

 

And here's one final shot of the train making its way down the grade to the tunnel as the rear markers cross the signal gantry. All in all, a cool start to my Canada Day.

 

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Michael H.