'Til the midnight hour

Last month, I had to go for a test at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital (nothing serious). The hospital runs many of its diagnostic equipment around the clock, which meant my appointment was at 12:30 a.m. Not exactly ideal, but it did provide a rare opportunity for me to get some nighttime rail photography. I will readily admit that I am not a photo expert, nor can I describe the technical aspects of what you do to maximize nighttime photos.

My two techniques are simple. The first was the mount my camera on a solid surface while ensuring my camera was on night mode. Then, when the shutter activates to get a shot, let the process play out as the camera takes the time needed to get the shot. That was the first technique. Check.

The second technique was to find a source of artificial light when available. In my case, I made sure to use the lighting at the Ottawa train station on Tremblay Road to my advantage, as it makes the camera's job easier. So that is what I did as a second step. Check.

The Ottawa train station is not all that far from the General so I made sure to head out for my appointment early, just in the off chance there might be something interesting to shoot at the station at night.

This first shot I got through the fence next to the station yard. In recent years, Via Rail has stepped up security at the station, with fencing installed around the entire platform area. This is likely a good thing, but it does tend to complicate photography. Luckily, there are square holes in the fence where you can get some shots. These holes are likely for fire fighting purposes, but I like to think it's also for us railfans. Likely not, but we'll go with that. This image is of F40PH-2 6446 idling close to a bumper while a Venture set idles further out from the station. Not the most exciting image, but it is something different.

Next, I ventured onto the Belfast Road overpass, where it was significantly darker, which would complicate photos, but I had to give it a try.

This shot isn't as crisp as I would have liked, but I did like how it turned out nonetheless. The wires next to the overpass are largely hidden. You can see the F40-led string of LRC cars that I had just shot, as well as the Venture set a few tracks over. What you can also see is a third Venture set on the edge of the yard. Three trains idling at midnight. They will all sit until morning, no doubt, for the first departures for Toronto or Montreal/Quebec City. The day is done for Via in Ottawa at this time.

There's also a very bright light on the platform in the middle of the image. That is a cart being used by Via crews who are servicing these trains. I also like how the station is lit up like a lantern at night. The Ottawa station is a decidedly modern-looking depot, but some of its style choices make it an appealing place to wait for your train. It has won architectural awards in the past. Normally, I prefer the classic train stations, but this train station is right up there with my favourites. I've always liked it.

That was my brief foray in March into some nighttime rail photography. The other images did not turn out. But I did like that these two images told a story of railways that we don't always see.The city was pretty quiet when I got these shots. The nearby Queensway was pretty empty and the sound of the idling diesels was pretty evident at that hour, when all else was pretty still.

It was a neat moment to capture. 

A journey to Montreal in February

Now seemed like as good a time as any to share some photos of my trip to Montreal a few months ago, when I took my daughter to her first Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre. Sadly, the Habs lost that day, but it ended up being a day full of wonderful memories as my daughter, now a big hockey fan, got her first taste of what Montreal is like when the hockey team is humming. 

We took the train, of course, as I do not have the desire, ever, to drive in downtown Montreal or on its highway system. I've been there and done that and I do not wish to ever do it again. Our train was one of Via's bright, shiny new Ventures. Before heading to our train, I took a quick Via family photo through the windows of Ottawa Station. The light wasn't great in the morning and the windows overlooking the platforms were dirty, but I did like the fact that I caught a few Ventures and a few F40PH-2s in one shot. No P42s, which would have completed the generational shot.

The cool thing about boarding our train was that it gives the motivated photographer the chance to get a few quick images on the platforms. There was a time when you could wander onto these platforms at any time and take shots, but now you need to be a passenger to be on the platforms, as it is mainly behind fencing. I did manage to get a few quick shots of two trains in the brilliant morning sunshine.

I like this shot because it captures four elements. You can see both the new Venture set pointing east and a Via Love The Way-wrapped F40PH-2 pointed west. You can also see the passengers making their way to their assigned car as well as the station Danger sign to the right, warning people to stay off the tracks. I love getting different railway shots these days, which include many elements besides just the trains themselves. When you have to take shots of Via Rail trains as much as I do, this improvisation becomes a regular part of the hobby.

If you look closely at the display in our car (We were car four on Train 624), you will see that we were humming along at 160 km/h at one point on the Alexandria Subdivision. Via Rail is having all sorts of trouble maintaining its on-time performance over its fight with Canadian National regarding Ventures slowing down at CN crossings, but we encountered no such problems while travelling along between Ottawa and Coteau. Our train somehow managed to keep its pace between 160 km/h and 120 km/h for much of the length of the Alexandria Sub. The delays began when we got to Coteau and we held for a two freight trains on the Kingston Sub. Curiously, the on-board crew didn't mention we were being held for a a freight train, which was clearly the case. 

I saw the CN yard power at Coteau and, being on the right side of the train, was preparing to get a shot of the geeps in some wonderful early morning sunshine, as our train crept along the tracks, waiting for the westbound freight. Right when we were in the right position, this happened. Denied by autoracks.

Those two freights we encountered at Coteau essentially killed our chances of arriving on time in Montreal, which is why I was glad I booked my daughter and I on an earlier train so we could make the hockey game in time, which we did.

I wasn't able to get any decent shots of either freight train around Coteau. Instead, all I could get were a few shots of the yard, including this line of freight cars off in the distance and this snow clearing equipment near the maintenance shed.

The morning sun did me no favours, but I thought this shot turned out reasonably well. It at least gives you a sense of the weather and the relatively quiet Sunday morning atmosphere in Coteau on Super Bowl Sunday, which is when we made our trip.

Closer to Montreal, the CN yard was relatively full but nothing was moving around and no power could be seen anywhere. Another minor disappointment.

We encountered another freight that slowed us down closer to the city. I was on the wrong side of the train and couldn't cross over to the other side to get a shot of the CP freight with a KCS unit on point. It would have been my first shot of the KCS unit. Another near miss.

 

Once we arrived in Montreal, we made sure to walk by the old Windsor Station on our way to the Bell Centre for the hockey game. The people in Habs sweaters were absolutely everywhere. My daughter and I had found our people. It was fun to see the festive atmosphere downtown, as the city's team was overachieving, relative to its youth and inexperience, and fighting for a playoff spot. Spoiler alert: Mission accomplished.

 

The day was a lot of fun and the Via personnel in Montreal's Central Station were absolutely wonderful to us. The baggage crew allowed us to stash our bags for the day for free, because they were enchanted with my daughter, who was wearing a Nick Suzuki sweater. People really like young girls who cheer for their city's team. My daughter was stopped more than once and given compliments, in both official languages, for her choice of jersey. It warmed a father's heart.

 

But still, I hadn't really gotten any really cool railway shots, which was a bit of a disappointment. On the way home, however, a bit of redemption.

 

The train stopped in Coteau to let off a few passengers, which allowed me to get my shot of the CN yard power after all. It's not a perfect shot, but it's something. All in all, a great day and a little bit of railfanning thrown in. It doesn't get any better than that.

It's time to talk about the O-Train again

I've avoided it long enough. Mostly, my neglect of the O-Train has more to do with the fact that I no longer commute to work. But with federal public servants mostly mandated to be in an office three days a week, there is a good reason to check back in with Ottawa's ongoing efforts to convert its public transit into a well-oiled rail network. 

So far, the results are understandably and predictably mixed. That's being charitable.

We all know that the Confederation Line, which will soon run from Orleans in the east to Crystal Beach in the west, has been a failure from the get-go. It was built poorly and opened too early with trains that were not suited to Ottawa's climate. And many, many details were overlooked. That is likely the shortest way to sum up years of light rail turmoil here. The scariest part is that successive city councils deliberated over the best way to establish a citywide rail network for many years and the process still produced very few positive results. All that time and we still got it wrong in many ways.

I have blogged about the O-Train and its failures many times in the past. In fact, I looked back to the last actual post I completed that was solely about the O-Train and it was in 2020. Since that last post, we have seen news about trains with improper trued axles, tracks that were not built correctly, trains that had to slow down on turns due to the track issues, frequent weather service disruptions and the list goes on. Let's skip ahead to something a bit more positive.

As people in Ottawa know, the north-south Trillium Line, which is now called Line 2, has been operational for a few months and it seems to be operating well, as the diesel trains are much better equipped to deal with Ottawa's temperamental winters. I took this shot in the evening, facing west, from the Bank Street bridge several weeks ago. Most know this as the Walkley diamond, although in truth, it's a half diamond. 

The longer Stadler FLIRT trains are roughly twice as long as the old diesels and they now ply a 19-kilometre route between Bayview Station, on the western edge of the LeBreton Flats, and Limebank Station, on the northern edge of the Riverside South subdivision. Much of this extension of Line 2 follows the right-of-way of the old CP Prescott Subdivison, some of which was still in place up until a few years ago. 

The route has additional stops including Corso Italia (Little Italy), South Keys, Leitrim and Bowesville. The original O-Train line, the old CP Ellwood Subdivision, was the main focus of city council's rail ambitions years ago, when local politicians wanted to build on the success of this line. The thought initially was to extend the north-south line, as the right-of-way was already in place. However, that made too much sense, so that plan was shelved for far too long in favour of an electric east-west line (Confederation Line or Line 1). The rest is a miserable local history.

One bright spot about the new Line 2. Some might recall that, in the original plans, local politicians insisted that a new maintenance facility was going to be built in Bowesville, which despite the name, is largely unoccupied land on the edge of airport lands. At the time, the owners of the Ottawa Central Railway questioned why the city didn't want to make use of existing capacity at Walkley Yard.

Luckily, saner heads prevailed. Looking at Walkley Yard now versus what it was years ago, you would be amazed. The shot below is from the Bank Street bridge in 2017.

 And here's what it looks like now, in 2025. Walkley Yard hasn't been this busy in decades.

The area just south of the Walkley diamond is South Keys station, where Line 2 has a junction with what is now known as Line 4, the spur to the Ottawa International Airport. This line is also being served by smaller diesel trains that only operate between the airport and South Keys.

This shot was taken near the EY Centre, a convention centre near the airport, which has a station stop for people going to a convention. The trains are small compared to what is used on Line 2. The issue that has been raised in a recent opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen is that the airport spur does not provide through service to the end of Line 2 at Bayview. Instead, those wishing to get downtown from the airport need to take the airport O-train to South Keys, then hop onto a Line 2 FLIRT train to Bayview, before transferring again onto an electric train on Line 1. 

This lack of through connections has been heavily criticized, as the process of linking a major source of passengers, in this case the airport, is not seamless. In reality, the Line 1, Line 2 and Line 4 trains all work independently of each other. Not a great option for someone unfamiliar with the city.

Comparisons have been made to the other major airport links in Canada, like Toronto's Union-Pearson Express and Vancouver's Sky Train. The consensus is that Ottawa's rail link falls well short of these other services, particularly since the airport O-Train station is not terribly visible unless you are in the departures level of the airport.

This shot, above, was taken when I was dropping someone off at the airport recently. As you can see, unless you are on the second level of the airport in the departures area, you might be hard-pressed to find the O-Train station. That is the criticism, anyway. I'm sure the station was well thought out and every effort will be made to ensure the station is well promoted within the airport. 

I have yet to ride on the new north-south Line 2, but I look forward to it, just to see the extension of the line into Riverside South. It was behind schedule and over budget, but at least Ottawa can say it has a light rail line that is reliably running. It's more than we can say for Line 1.