The way it should be

Without getting into too many details, the last year has been tough for me. As a mental health public speaker, I have resolved to be honest about my mental health challenges, in an effort to encourage people to not be ashamed of their illness. As I began writing this, the sale of my former house was about to close and my family had already settled safely into our new home. We have peace. I have a feeling of immense gratitude these days for the smallest things in life. For example, I remember telling my wife how weird it felt to step outside my new home and not have to worry about being monitored by a neighbour's surveillance camera pointed at my property. It was a strangely wonderful feeling to just live my life in that moment without any concern. That's just one small example.

In the past year, much of my life has been turned upside down by the continual harassment we have endured at the hands of a neighbour, which was allowed to escalate through the inaction of the local police. Now that we have finished the process and broken all physical ties with our former life, I am beginning to pick up where I left off in my own personal pursuits. I am thinking about my creative writing again. I am thinking of new subjects to explore in this blog. I am thinking about reviving my mental health podcast. And I am getting out there again and enjoying myself trackside.

Last Wednesday, after dropping my daughters off at dance class, I did a little shopping and headed to the West Hunt Club Road overpass over the Smiths Falls Subdivision to catch westbound Via Train 59, which passes by this spot every evening at about 6 p.m. I haven't been trackside to catch this train in months, mostly due to the situation I have already noted above.

This was the surprise that awaited me. The flavour-du-jour Via Venture train set they are calling Lumi. It's the train that railfans are trying to catch, as it is the only new Siemens train that has been painted in this predominantly yellow scheme. I have seen some comments online that this train is a subtle tribute to Via's long-gone turbo train, which sported a yellow-and-blue scheme.

I have been waiting for a while to see when Train 59 was going to sport a Venture set, since all the photos I have of this train in the last several years are the usual consist of either P42s and HEP cars or F40s and LRC cars. I was quite shocked and happy to see that my first meet with Train 59 as a Venture set was none other than the yellow comet. It's nice to have good train karma, especially when you're an Ottawa railfan. 

The wires couldn't be avoided in this second shot and the sun was shining brightly, so there was a bit of glare to deal with, post shot. As you can see, the train was westbound with the power car leading the way and the locomotive in push mode in the back. No longer will we be seeing many of the old double-enders, where two locomotives bookended a string of LRC or silver streamlined cars. This is the new look of Via Rail, whether you're ready for it or not. Many of the railway's ordered Venture sets have arrived and are now actively plying the rails in the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, although they are more heavily used between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, by the looks of it and what I've read online.

One last shot before Train 59 passed under the bridge. I like that I caught the full Via Rail Canada script on the coach, along with the locomotive, which was my real objective. I don't think the asymmetrical application of the Via logo is a winning concept, but it seems to be the way of marketing right now, along with the superfluous use of the letter Q replacing c and k and the maddening use of unnecessary accents in misspelled corporate names. Can you tell I'm an editor?  

One Week Later

Daylight is quickly running out to get a decent shot of Via Rail trains on Wednesday evenings, which is why I tried to get out this past Wednesday night to shoot Train 59 again. I went to the same spot on the West Hunt Club Road overpass, as I was not feeling terribly creative to get a different shot. I set up in the same spot, wondering what Via was using for its equipment. Once again, it was a Venture set heading west toward Fallowfield Station. 

It wasn't Lumi, but it was the first time I saw Train 59 using a conventional Venture set. I'm sure this conversion from older equipment happened a while ago, but this is the first time I have seen this change in person. I guess I'm making up for lost time, as I have not been making a lot of observations in Ottawa lately. The lights on the power car were a bit blinding as it rounded the curve, so many of my photos did not turn out from where I was perched on the overpass.

Next time I shoot this train, I will find a new spot where the headlights won't be such an obstacle. But for last night, I was reasonably happy with this shot. I suppose the novelty of shooting Venture sets will wear off soon. For the moment, it was enough for me to be trackside, without any worries. 

I was just enjoying life. That's the way it should be.