A moment of pause in the spring

I've had a few appointments in and around the city recently, which has given me opportunities to check out some railway spots that I don't always get to see that often. On one my jaunts into the city's east end, I was able to swing by the main Via Rail train station, as well as the Canada Science and Technology Museum. When I went to the museum, I saw this sight, as volunteers with the Bytown Railway Society were busy doing some refurbishments to their 1913 wooden Canadian Pacific caboose 436436. 

Note: My series on the history of the Renfrew Subdivision will continue with my next post. You can check out Part I here and Part II here. 

It was a neat scene, as a volunteer on the roof and one inside the cupola were busy working on the caboose's windows. Later on, that scene I had captured gave me a moment of pause. It occurred to me that my grandfather likely did work like this in Chapleau where he worked as a rolling stock mechanic at the CP facilities there. It made me smile thinking of my grandpa, who worked much of his adult life for the CP, in Chapleau and then in Windsor. 

While I was there, it was also nice to see the society's fully refurbished maintenance of war car, Central Vermont 4313.

The crew at BRS sure does heroic work in preserving railway history in Canada, which is all the more impressive given how little fanfare the organization gets in a city like Ottawa. While outside, I made sure to get a shot of the society's old 1946 GE switcher as well, which was coupled to the CP caboose. If you didn't know this was Ottawa in 2026, you might mistake this scene as being from the edge of a busy rail yard just about anywhere. I suppose the modern museum building in the background is a bit of a giveaway as well. I wonder if I could photoshop out the building and create a vintage image out of this.   

One final surprise was out on display, which you might have already caught a glimpse of in the second photo. The society's 1958 Pontiac hy-rail inspection car was also sitting in the spring sunshine, in its brilliant orange CN livery. This car is in operating condition and can sometimes be seen when the BRS crew goes to train shows. It's incredible how much thought and chrome went into the styling of cars in the 1950s. This would have been a comfortable way for railway crews to make it out to remote parts of the CN system back in the day.

You can see in the background that the doors to the BRS indoor rail shop were open. I was hoping that I might be able to see the Thurso & Nation Valley Official's private car 27. I could see a bit of it behind the half open door, but I couldn't get any short worthwhile. 

While I was in the east end, I was sure to swing by the city's Via Rail station, just to see what was going on in the yard. Unfortunately, there was not much to see from the Belfast Road overpass, which is where I chose to set up.

I wanted to get a shot of this train from a bit more of an angle so I could capture its profile, but there was construction happening at that area of the Belfast bridge, which prevented a more suitable image. This was also the only image I could get where the power wires weren't slicing through the train. Other than a baggage cart on the platform, that was about it. This is the lull in the day when most of the early westbound and eastbound trains to Toronto and Montreal respectively are gone. Closer to the evening, the pace picks up as trains originating from the big cities make their way to Ottawa and the evening runs from this city make their way east and west.

It's interesting to be able to contrast the lines of the Via Rail Ventures set at the Via station with the more angular lines of the heritage equipment at the museum. All in all, it was a fun bit of railfanning before my appointment. 

I had a few other small adventures recently, but I'll save those for another post. 

 

  

GO Trains return to Stratford, but what about Ottawa?

The recent news that Metrolinx is once again extending its GO Train service to Stratford, Ont., well west of Kitchener-Waterloo, got me to thinking about Ottawa's beleaguered rail transit service. My thought was, if GO Trains can regularly operate between Toronto as far west as Stratford, what's preventing Metrolinx from applying the same logic to Ottawa? 

A shot of an evening GO Train making its way through Stratford in summer 2023. That pilot service was cancelled soon after this photo was taken.

For those who might not know, the province agreed to work with Ottawa so that Metrolinx would take over operation of the O-Train. That arrangement has led Metrolinx to send new axles for Line 1 O-Train sets that had been damaged due to spalling issues. We need not get into the many, many issues that have plagued Ottawa's east-west Line 1, formerly known as the Confederation Line. Rails not properly installed, axle issues, catenary failures, door jamming problems and weather delays are just a few problems that have reduced the line's schedule many times since it launched. 

The end result is the city's electrified rail transit line is notoriously unreliable and the winters make the problem worse. The state of the line is such that, trains now have to slow at various curves to avoid derailing and causing further damage. The trainsets, which were once coupled end to end, are now single sets, due to the same track issues.

The eastern extension of Line 1, all the way into Orleans, is set to open this year. The western extension, which will reach as far as Crystal Beach at Corkstown Road, will take more time. 

 

A commuter waits for the next eastbound trainset on Line 1 in March.

So, here's my thought. How about some sort of GO Train service here in Ottawa?

The city has already committed to seeing the second phase of the Line 1 extension through to completion, essentially linking Orleans with Crystal Beach. Fine. The missing piece here is how to serve the booming west end of the city, namely Kanata and Stittsville? Also, how to properly serve Barrhaven, which is a city in and of itself?  

I suggest that, instead of extending the problematic electrified Line 1 operations, make use of existing track and serve Barrhaven and western Ottawa with diesel trains. 

Metrolinx knows how to do this. I'm not saying that we should see massively long double-decker GO Train consists like we do in the GTA, but who's to say we couldn't extend a slightly modified diesel service throughout the city along our lightly-used tracks?

Possibly the answer would be to use the existing diesel trainsets that are currently in use on Line 2, or the Trillium Line, which now runs from Bayview all the way out to Riverside South. 

A northbound diesel O-Train makes its way past the Walkley Diamond en route to Bayview Station in early spring 2025

This is why I think it could work, if there was a will. Consider the trackage we have in the city that is greatly underutilized, to say the least. Using the city's Via Station on Tremblay Road as a possible starting point, consider the possibilities of heavy rail going west. The one challenge would be to time all diesel O-Train runs between Ottawa's westbound corridor train departures in the morning and its eastbound arrivals in the evening. This is possible, as Via has installed a passing siding at Wass, and there is also a possibility of holding trains at Federal Junction, where the Beachburg Sub connects to the Smiths Falls Sub.

Using the Beachburg Sub from Tremblay through to North Kanata*, Ottawa has the potential to connect vast neighbourhoods with hundreds of thousands of people.

Beachburg could easily host stations where the tracks pass over Merivale Road, Woodroffe Avenue and possibly Greenbank Road. After Greenbank, there would be a possibility at multiple points to connect Bells Corners, after which the train could make its way to March Road in Kanata via the Renfrew Spur (* Then, if there was a will to reconnect the Beachburg line from the old Nepean Junction, the Beachburg Sub could link North Kanata, where many people work in the North Kanata Business Park). 

And we all know CN would desperately like to be rid of the burden of maintaining what little trackage it still owns in Ottawa. 

Easy, right?

No. 

The bridge over Carling Avenue that once took the Beachburg Sub into Kanata and beyond is gone. The rails from Nepean Junction running northwest are long gone. That part of the plan would require time, money and planning.

I haven't even mentioned the Smiths Falls Sub so far, but I don't think it's unreasonable at all to assume that diesel service couldn't be extended to Fallowfield Station, as there is already a Park and Ride facility there. Fallowfield Station was originally designed to be a commuter rail stop anyway. Why not use it for its intended purpose? The passing siding is already there.

What about laying tracks on the former Carleton Place Sub, which would link Bells Corners to Stittsville, where tens of thousands of people could make use of a link to the downtown? That old trackage was initially acquired by the former Ottawa-Carleton region as a possible commuter option. 

A meet between two Via corridor trains in May 2023 shows that this station was originally designed to be a frequent stop for commuter rail. Its name was meant to connect it to the Fallowfield Park and Ride facility, where people can park and take the bus.

 

The Barrhaven part of any diesel extension would be far easier to accommodate, as the rails are in place and the station is well established, with perhaps only some small changes to be made on the platform. You can see how Via stations operate side-by-side with commuter trains throughout the GTA and even at Dorval in Montreal.

 

I guess my point is, before the city doubles down on its electrified O-Train service, which most agree has been a failure, why not extend a proven technology? Diesel O-Trains work well and are almost never out of service. GO Trains or some form of heavy commuter trains (nor LRT, in other words) can withstand the Ottawa winters. There is no catenary to maintain.

 

Better yet, Metrolinx knows how to operate diesel commuter service in the GTA. Why not let this organization do what it can do, but here in Ottawa?

 

How could it possibly be worse than what we have in place now? 

Enjoy the drama

I've written a lot this year about how I have changed my approach to watching trains, writing about trains and photographing trains. Quite frankly, I'm doing this because I find myself bored with what's out there. Ottawa is essentially a dead zone for railfanning. I find most fans in this city dedicate themselves to the Arnprior Turn, a short train that services Nylene Canada and sometimes Kott Lumber on Wednesdays, via the Smiths Falls Sub, Beachburg Sub and Renfrew Spur.

Online, I often find railfanning photos are focused exclusively on the engines. That's fine if that is what keeps you motivated, but I just don't find these photos all that interesting anymore. There is more to a train than the power up front. Many photos, I find, are tightly focused on the engine with no thought given to the scenery around the train. Again, if this is what you prefer, I can respect that. It's just not my thing.

Here's an example above of a tight shot of an old F59PH commuter diesel passing by the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last November. I took a tight shot of this unit because they have become increasingly rare on Metrolinx rails in the Toronto area.  

Now contrast that with another shot I took from the same vantage point, but with more context. I won't say this is massive improvement over the top shot, but you can at least see some buildings in downtown Toronto, not to mention the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Possibly the fact that there are two trains in the frame makes the biggest difference. Still, I like that I can see more of the trains in the frame. What comes after the engine matters as much as the engine itself.

This brings me to a point that I don't think I've made in all my ramblings about rail photography this year. In all my images, I feel that giving your photos context also gives your photos drama. I don't means to be dramatic (pun intended) but I will mention that there is an essential truth to what we all do.

That truth is this. When we stand trackside, we all have a sense of anticipation over what is to come or what may come. When we first see headlights on the horizon, we all feel some sort of excitement, wondering what we might be able to capture. Is there a heritage unit? An old piece of rolling stock? An old legacy piece of passenger equipment? A caboose? These are all possibilities.

Then there's this. As we stand trackside, there is always some sense of drama as these massive machines make their way over polished, smooth rail, on their way to deliver people to their loved ones, or to deliver essential goods to make life easier for us all. There is always drama in the movement of a train.

This shot above, taken last April at the Belfast Road overpass in Ottawa, is an example of drama. You can barely see the P42 in front, as it makes its way down the Alexandria Sub to Coteau, Quebec, where it will then make its way to Montreal via the Kingston Subdivision. Can you see the smoke from the engine? Can you sense the momentum building? Do you see the old LRC equipment with the original Via colours? Did you know the houses to the left of the frame belong to a neighbourhood in the city where all streets are named after letters of the alphabet (Avenue A, Avenue B, etc.)?

Here's one of my favourite images, taken last August in Stratford. I like that you see multiple lines of cars in the yard, the faded paint on the old CN engines, the Stratford Masterfeeds grain elevator, the grass in the foreground, the communications tower and some sky. The local was slowly making its way east through the yard on a hot day. I think you can get a sense of what it was like to be standing where I was near Niles Street and what it felt like to see this train.

In other words, I think we need to enjoy the everyday drama of watching these machines and capture some of that drama. 

Taking the track less travelled

This week, as I had a day off following Easter, I decided to head out and get some train photos in Ottawa, which I haven't done in a little while. True to my evolving approach to railway photos, I thought of some new perspectives to showcase trains as part of the landscape. My first thought was to get a shot of a Venture trainset going over the Rideau River on the Beachburg Sub rail bridge.

I have taken photos at this bridge before, but not from the south side. I have taken multiple shots from the north side. In this case, since the sun created shadows on the north side, I decided to try and find a piece of shoreline on the south side to get a decent perspective.

I'll even mix in some observations. This train was heading west toward Fallowfield station with the control cab leading the way, meaning Via Rail has resumed its push-pull operations in the corridor with its Ventures after wyeing many sets in the winter so that the engine was always pulling. A few readers mentioned this change in operations to me, as they had heard from Via personnel that the trains were having trouble in the push configuration over the winter months. 

Anyway, back to my image. In this case, I pulled back from the bridge a fair way so I could get an overall view of the west shoreline. I couldn't pull back far enough to get both the eastern and western shores of the Rideau, but perhaps that is a thought for future visits. The waters on the Rideau were not at their peak, as much of the snowpack has already melted. This allowed me to venture out onto some rocks that are sometimes submerged in the spring. It all helped to frame this image.

Since I had time to catch an eastbound train from Toronto, my thoughts turned to another spot along the Smiths Falls Subdivision, which would allow me to get another unique perspective. Alas, the train had made up significant time between Brockville and Ottawa on home tracks, which meant I had to quickly make my way to Fallowfield Station and try to get something unique there. I am generally avoiding the station these days, as there isn't much I haven't tried there. So I tried to get a shot that was near the station but didn't necessarily scream "station stop" in the photo.

This was the best I could do. I got to the edge of the parking lot and backed away from the tracks as much as I could. I tried to get a shot that showcased the sky and the fallow farm field behind the train. It's not a groundbreaking shot by any means, but it was at least an attempt to avoid the extremely sharp wedge shots that are all too common at this station. I have been guilty of this in the past.

Then, I figured I would try to get a shot of people disembarking from the train, but at a distance, so as to respect their privacy. 

You can see a gentleman in the centre of the platform, waiting for a loved one to get off the train. It would have been nice to get a little closer to the people, but I also wanted to see if I could get a shot of the end of the train as well. It was an imperfect trade-off. I had to decide to either get closer and lose the end of the train, or, by get closer and getting the people, risking having to blank out their faces. I also ensured that I got low, as it tends to add a bit of an element of size. You get a better appreciation as to the size of trains when you shoot them from ground level.

Some new territory

In my quest to find new topics and pursuits to fill this blog, I've begun the process of looking to the past. I recently applied to get a membership card to the Library and Archives Canada, as it is only a bus ride away for me. I have been digging through the online search tools in an effort to find some rail history that interests me and might be of interest to you as well.

One of the topics I've always had in mind is old train stations, especially the ones that have been demolished. It seems as though every city, town and village once had a train station but many are no longer standing. But we still see roads in many communities that are called Railway Street, Terminal Avenue or Station Street. Yet, the actual stations are long gone. 

With that in mind, I have decided to dig up some historic documents to see if I can find out more about some of these old stations. The first one I intend to research is the station in my hometown of Corunna. I did find one document dated 1936 that apparently outlines the details of the station's establishment, decommissioning and removal. 

My hometown station has been a complete mystery to me ever since I found the slightest mention of it in a document a while ago. I have no idea where is was located, what it looked like or how long it was standing. I do know it was shut down when the Pere Marquette Railway discontinued passenger operations in the 1930s on what became known as the Sarnia Subdivision. It's amazing to me that there was regular passenger service at all on that line. I hope I can shed some light on that station. My hometown's history is not terribly well known, and its old train station is almost a ghost in any records that I have found.

I also want to find out more about Kanata's old train station, in Ottawa's west end. That station, which sat on Station Street, is also a complete mystery. I know it stood near modern day March Road along the Renfrew Subdivision. The road remains, but there is not a trace of any old station there. 

Those research efforts are to come. For now, here is an interesting photo I found on the Library and Archives Canada online archives of the old CN station in Windsor, Ont. (Update - See the comments section below. The Library and Archives seems to have mislabelled this image. A reader says it does not match any Windsor railway landmark. In fact, looking at it, I believe this image to be of the Sarnia railway station, which still stands).

There was no information associated with the photo other than that it was the CN station in Windsor. Judging by the heavyweight passenger cars and power lines in the background, the photo could have been taken at any time in the war years. 

So that is a bit of a teaser as to what's to come, hopefully. I really need to shake up the direction of my efforts, I feel, as modern railways in Ottawa just aren't enough to keep this interesting. If you have any topics you'd like to me to research, feel free to let me know. I can't guarantee I will find anything, but I'm willing to try.

It's time to change the approach to . . . everything

I've been trying to put into words what it is that I have been trying to do with my rail photography recently, but I think I've fallen short. That was until I read the comments to my last post when a few fellow railfans commented and the words came to mind. So thanks to Steve and J.D.

And here is how I came to clarify my new approach to rail photography. It started with a memory of what my counsellor told me many years ago when I was struggling with my mental health. His name was Woody and what he told me I never forgot. He said, "No one makes you feel anything. People act and you choose how you REact." It was a revelation to me at the time.

That made me think of how I am approaching my photography right now. I thought back to what my counsellor said and I applied it to my hobby. I have no control over what railways do, which is in line with another thing my counsellor told me. He said, "You have no control over anything but yourself." I am applying those lessons in my photography. Since I have no control over how the rail industry has changed, I can at least control how I approach my photos.

So here is my new approach, boiled down to something more pithy, thanks to recent comments from readers and old lessons from my counsellor.

Railways might be more standardized, boring and faceless these days. I don't know if anyone can argue this. I cannot change this.

If you can't change the trains, change everything else in your camera's frame. That means change your angles, your spot, your height, your lighting, your choice of background, your location, your time of day, your approach to the sky, your . . . well, everything. 

This photo above is perhaps not the ideal image to prove my point, but bear with me. In this frame, you can see the interior lights of my Venture coach and the reflection of the laptop screen of the young lady sitting in front of me. I tried to get images that would avoid the interior glare but this is the best I could do. In the image, you can see a string of GO coaches in the background and part of an old Via F40PH-2 in the foreground. The Via engine looks like it has just completed a run from Montreal or possibly Ottawa. It needs to go through the washing station, for sure. The buildings in the background tell you this is Toronto and the platforms tell you this is near Union Station. Put all those elements together, and you have some context about where this photo was taken. 

As for the computer screen in front of me, I do have a funny story to share about that. I couldn't help but notice via the reflection in the glass that the young lady in front of me was attempting to study for an exam or possibly upcoming test. However, she was also clearly messaging friends, which meant her attempts at studying were distracted at best, and I say that nicely. She was mostly messaging. At times on the ride, I wondered when she would give up the ghost with her studies. Whatever it was she was trading messages about was clearly her main focus.

Here's another image that I have come to enjoy. I took this shot at Via Rail's Windsor Station when I paid a very brief visit to the city in 2024. Here you don't see the front end power or much of the train, but you get to see a timeless scene of people boarding an eastbound train for Toronto at the station. I like that you can see the people in silhouette (sort of), a beautiful fall sky, the coaches and the station. It's a scene that could have been captured 20, 30, 40 or even 100 years ago. The trains and stations might look different but the scene is the same. Timeless. 

How many times do we stop to capture a bit of humanity in our images? After all, trains are still a very human endeavor.

Here's an example of angles. I have more photos of Via Rail corridor trains than anything else, so I have given a lot of thought in past years as to how I can capture images of them in different contexts. This is a shot of incoming Sarnia-Toronto Train 84 making its way into Stratford across Niles Street. I deliberately stepped back and made sure I got the people waiting at the crossing (on the left) as well as the cars waiting on the other side. You can also see the railway stop sign. There are many elements in this image, which made the task of framing the train a bit of a challenge, but I like the end result. So often, I find we obsess over getting the train or locomotive itself but lose sight of getting its surroundings. 

I would have liked to attempt this shot from the other side, but the harsh summer sun meant the shadow side of the train would have ruined the image of that train on the curve.

Here's one final image that I captured in February 2021 on the Canadian Pacific Winchester Sub at Bedell, Ontario. There was a maintenance of way crew working on the South Prescott Spur to Oxford Station, with a genuine CP caboose sitting on the spur, offering a warm place for crews to get out of the biting cold. I took a few shots of the caboose but I made sure to back up and get a shot of all the surroundings, so I could have a complete picture. The fencing in the foreground and the enormous pile of ties gives you can idea of the scale of the work being done here. I only wish I could have done a better job with the morning sky, as it did not turn out nearly as crisply as I would have liked. 

With these images, I hope I have made my new approach clear. It's time to change my approach to everything in my rail photography outside of the trains themselves. I've done this in fits and starts over the years, but I'm really trying to make it a major focus going forward. It doesn't mean I'm not taking standard photos anymore. I am. But at a time when everything tends to look the same, the one major thing about rail photography that provides endless variety is your background. And that is what I am trying to change in my images.

Part of the landscape

Railways are as much a part of Canada's landscape as they are of the country's history. The same can be said for a number of countries. This week, I am busy working on my house, which needs some TLC, but I had a moment Wednesday afternoon when I took my children out for a drive. We encountered a Via Rail corridor train making its final last few kilometres east from Fallowfield Station toward Ottawa Station.

This is the quick photo I took while we waited for the train to slowly pass the Woodroffe Avenue crossing on the outskirts of Barrhaven. This was the shot that was taken while we were stopped.

I've mentioned several times this year how much I am emphasizing railway photography that includes the landscape. I like this shot because you get a lot of landscape elements. You can see the traffic waiting, the trackside signals governing westbound trains approaching Fallowfield Station and a nice profile of the clear winter sky over Ottawa.

Yes, there is a Venture set in profile, which is supposed to be the purpose of the shot, but I don't mind that it isn't necessarily the dominant element in the photo. I would be lying if I said I set up this shot intentionally. The shot was taken with what there was available in that moment. Using the zoom on a smartphone might have given me a shot with more of the train in the frame, but it would likely also have turned out pixelated, as the camera function on older phones doesn't give you the same crisp shot that an actual camera offers.

The other element I like in this image is that you get to see a fair bit of the train in profile, which I find can be much more interesting at times than a train taken from a very sharp angle. At some point, we need to get away from the 3/4 wedge shot. There has to be more to this hobby than that fall-back option.

Here's another technique I love to see in the other railway blogs I visit regularly. I love it when we are able to get shots of trains from overhead. This shot of a Venture set, which I took last Nov. 24 in Toronto, is one of my favourite recent shots. There isn't all that much to it. You can see a bit of Rogers Centre and the Blue Jays logo in the upper left. There is also a fair bit of the cityscape all around the corridor of railway tracks just west of Union Station. You can also see the signals in the distance. I'm not sure why I like this photo so much, but I do. I like that it looks different than my more standard railway shots. There's elevation, cityscape and a logo. In short, there's a little bit of a story that you wouldn't get if you had zoomed in and focused exclusively on the train.

Here's one final example of what I mean. I will state again that this shot was not taken intentionally. I was in Markham and was near a set of double tracks. There was a parked intermodal train that was waiting another container train heading in the opposite direction. I did get some shots from an overpass, but I was looking for something a little more dramatic, which I was able to get after climbing down a small gully. I found an area where I was safely behind a fence. I took this shot of one train heading one way while another facing the opposite direction waits for the line to clear to it can continue on in its journey. I kept the brush in the shot, as it meant I could also keep more of the containers in the shot. It's not my best shot by any means, but I like that it was a departure from my early railway photography attempts (this was taken in 2013, which was barely a year after I started taking railway photos again).

I know I have made this point a number of times this year, but I can't stress enough how important it is for me to be pursuing my railway photos this way now. We are railfans at at a time of increasing standardization. Much of the rolling stock looks exactly the same. Long lines of grey hoppers and black tank cars with no visual identifiers or logos are now the norm. Most Via Rail consists are essentially carbon copy Venture sets. Motive power on most major railways is essentially the same, in that it all looks very similar. 

For me, I am trying to keep it interesting by changing the one thing that can always be changed, which is the background. By getting new elements in my images to surround the trains featured, I am keeping this hobby interesting. I'd be interested to know what you are doing to keep the hobby interesting.

Winter surprises in frozen Ottawa (Part II)

Recently, I was able to get out and capture some winter images in the city's east end on a bitterly cold day in early February. In my last post, I shared some images of the Bytown Railway Society's equipment parked outside the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. 

While I was in the area, I paid a visit to the Ottawa Via Rail station to see if there was anything interesting to capture. The first thing I saw when I arrived was Via Rail's all yellow consist that's called Lumi. It was idling with the power facing east. That train was Montreal-bound. In the spirit of making railways interesting again, I tried to get what I consider to be a different shot.

I deliberately framed the end cab car against the Ottawa station sign and Via Rail banner. I didn't zoom in much because I also wanted to capture the snow and the distinctive platforms at the station. The train is in shadow, partly because of the position of the afternoon sun and the overhead canopies. I basically left the image untouched. I like the end result. I find many railway images are overly focused on the engines leading a train and not on some of the interesting details. I like the story this photo tells.

Here's another image of Lumi leaving the platform, heading east on the Alexandria Sub toward Montreal. I was waiting to capture a shot of the consist on the east side of the Belfast Road overpass (pictured), but the biting wind and long wait meant I had to change plans. This shot worked out okay, despite the fact that I was on the shadow side of the train. 

The platforms were pretty quiet on that Sunday afternoon. I tried a few shots on the overpass, but the wires make is close to impossible to get a good clean image of anything. I don't have the patience to use photo editing to remove the wires, so I tried to frame Lumi between the wires as best I could. 

Here was the other surprise of the afternoon. When I arrived at the station, there was Lumi facing east and another Venture set on the track closest to Terminal Avenue (south track) which eventually made its way west on the Beachburg Sub toward Toronto. When it left, I saw a single P42, 910,  parked near the station idling on its own. This was a revealing site.

As most know, Via Rail has not had a successful rollout of its Venture fleet. Its continuing struggles with CN over speed restrictions on CN tracks is well known by now. That process continues to play itself out in the courts. But an operational wrinkle has also begun to plague Via's operations in the corridor. You might recall that, recently, Via informed passengers that it was reducing train frequency between Ottawa-Montreal-Toronto. The railway didn't provide terribly clear reasons as to why its fleet, consisting mostly of Venture sets, is experiencing problems. Most people in the know understand that the Ventures are not performing as well as expected in winter conditions.

Here's an interesting explanation shared with me by my friend Kevin from Windsor, who is a contributor to this blog. Here's what he shared, after taking the train for a return trip between Windsor and Toronto:

"One flaw with the Charger/Venture sets that I haven't read about yet is that they apparently have operational issues in the snow when the locomotive isn't on the front end. The attendant who collected our tickets told us this. I paid extra on both trips to choose forward-facing seats but, on the return trip, we were seated backwards. Not good for my wife; she gets motion sick. 

 

I was very particular about choosing the seats and knew that I didn't screw up, so we asked to be switched. The attendant asked if we bought the tickets more than a month ago, which we did. She said that, when the snow got heavy, Via decided to replace the push-pull operations with pull only and keep the locomotive up front. She didn't explain in detail, but said it was a snow issue. So now, they have to wye the trains at endpoints, at least until the spring. 

 

And if you booked forward-facing seats before they changed plans, you have to ask to be re-seated. I would have thought that Via might have a feature in their reservation system that would just reissue seats automatically based on a mirror image when this happens, but clearly RESERVIA isn't that sophisticated." 

 

Thanks to Kevin for sharing this explanation. Kevin also shared that, when Via was running on its own rails between Chatham and Windsor, the train was often travelling much faster than it does on CN rails. Kevin said his train reached 160 km/h and the crossings along the route all worked normally. This is very much consistent with my own experience on Via Rail in November, when my train reached speeds of 163 km/h between Brockville and Ottawa when Via was on its own rails. Like Kevin mentioned, I did not see any crossing malfunctions either.

 

It's tough to hear about Via Rail's struggles, especially at a time when it seems as though there might be political will from the government to better support its operations. It's not surprising, though, that the government is not getting involved in the CN-Via legal battles nor is it doing much to support the passenger carrier other than to press it to do better, given its string of operational woes in the last year.

 

I sometimes wonder how much of Via's problems is due to benign political neglect and how much is due to management challenges. Either way, there doesn't seem to be any daylight ahead for Via, which reminds me of one of my favourite song lyrics:

 

I see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

Someone please tell me it's not a train. 

One last kick at the can for the F59PH

Recently, I shared some photos and thoughts about GO Train service in Kitchener, where Metrolinx has enjoyed success with its Kitchener-Union Station service. I was camped out on an overpass this past summer to capture the morning run of Train 3962 eastbound for Union Station. That train was being led by 559, one of GO's old F59PH locomotives, a reliable warhorse that was built by the old Electro-Motive engine production facility in London, Ont. 

At the time, I couldn't help but wonder if the F59PH was into its final days with GO Transit, as very few still remain on the GO roster. Later in that same day, I was told that 559 had broken down between Kitchener and Guelph. 

Shortly after the Kitchener post went live, I got some interesting information from a blog reader, which I will share here in its entirety:

GO bought F59s from Los Angeles Metrolink and they are sitting in North Bay for rebuild so, by the looks of things, the last days in green of that loco type is some time away. I suspect the idea is to add to the power pool as newer engines get fitted with ECTS signalling, and also possibly 2MW battery packs to replace one Cummins on the MP54s. 

Shortly after that comment, I got further confirmation from another reader that, indeed, more F59PHs were on the way, which means that these old engines will be seen in and around the GTA for the time being. 

In November, I had a small layover in Toronto on my way to see family in Sarnia, so I camped out trackside near the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, when I found this GO Train heading eastbound toward Union Station, led by F59PH 561 in the old GO scheme. As I don't get a chance to shoot much but Via Rail trains in Ottawa, it was a treat to find a few GO Trains with different paint schemes. 

Besides the continuing presence of the F59PHs in revenue service, it was interesting to see a few of the old cab control cars in the middle of some GO Trains, as they had been refurbished and converted to regular passenger cars. A friend of mine was nice enough to meet me at Union. He was the one who pointed this out to me. 
 

Speaking of 559, it was back in revenue service when I was in Toronto in November. I caught it creeping eastward toward Union with a newer GO unit heading in the same direction a few tracks over.

In my last post, I made a point to explore the different approaches I have taken of late to rail photography. These photos would not be reflective of those new approaches. I was simply watching trains on my layover and taking shots fairly casually as I hung out with my friend. Still, any time you can get two trains in a shot, with different units, it's not the worst shot.

The London plant built 72 F59PH units from 1988 to 1994, along with 83 F59PHI locomotives for American customers. GO once rostered 49 of the original F59PH units, many of which have moved on to other railways or retired. 

The one thing that I don't know is if the F59s on their way to GO are the original models that we all know in Canada or the F59PHI models, which look different, especially near the cab. 

Personally, I kind of like the boxy look of the old GO 59s, as they remind me of the F40PH-2s that have served Via Rail well for decades. The Metrolink units have a sleeker nose and cab, but they seem a bit awkward aesthetically, in my opinion. Details, details...

I wanted to share on shot from the day when I caught these F59s that might be considered a little different from the usual 3/4 wedge shot. Although I was not trying to reinvent the wheel with the above two shots, I did try and get a shot of the train sheds at Union. The Skywalk overpass didn't do me any favours from this vantage point, but I did like that I caught a GO Train on one end of the sheds and a Via corridor train on the other end.

My chances to catch something from the platforms were limited, as crews don't want people wandering around the train sheds so I tried to sneak a few shots here and there.

I like this as a slice of life shot where passengers were waiting their turn to get on the escalators that would take them into the arrivals hall of the station. Sometimes, train shots can have the trains on the periphery and still tell a good railway story. I have a few other shots in and around Union that I took on my way back to Ottawa, but I will save them for another post. 

I have to say, I am happy that the F59s are going to continue to ply the rails for a while. The old boxy ones that have served GO well for decades are unsung heroes. Catch them while you can. 

Via Train 84: The forgotten stepchild of the corridor

After a recent trip home to see family in November, I took Via Rail's Train 84 east from Sarnia Station to Toronto on November 24. A great deal has changed since I last took this train. I would estimate it has been 26 years. 

And I have to say the experience was a little disappointing. I mean no disrespect to the excellent crew who took care of the passengers on the train. They are great ambassadors for the company and are not to blame. However, the general state of Via Rail's operations in the Windsor-Quebec City corridor are to blame, without a doubt. Does that mean it's all CN's fault? I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to assume this. On the other hand, one cannot blame Via Rail entirely, either. The state of Via's relationship with its landlord in the corridor, CN, has never been worse.

This has to do with CN imposing speed restrictions on Via's new Venture trains at grade crossings. CN contends that these 24-axle trainsets increase the risk of crossing gate failures by a large degree, while Via disputes this finding and has made more than one comment in legal filings to suggest CN's network infrastructure might be to blame. To be fair, Via Rail has been quite consistent that no safety issue exists. These opposing opinions have resulted in Venture sets being held back in the corridor, which has harmed on-time performance and increased congestion in the network. It's a mess to be sure and there's no end in sight.

Read Eric Gagnon's latest post about this in Trackside Treasure for a much more comprehensive breakdown of the issues.

This brings me to Train 84, the daily morning eastbound that departs Sarnia at 8:40 a.m. with stops (some on demand) in Wyoming, Strathroy, London, St. Marys, Stratford, Kitchener, Guelph, Bramalea, Brampton and Malton. The train travels on CN's Strathroy Subdivision, through CN rails in London before following the Guelph Sub most of the way into Toronto before its lays over at Union Station before becoming an Ottawa-bound train later in the day (this was my train home to Ottawa, which I will write about in a later post). 

This shot above shows Train 84 backing out of its layover spur next to Sarnia Station on the morning of Nov. 24. The good thing about Via Rail using the Venture sets is that their bidirectional capabilities do not necessitate a wye movement to turn the train around in the yard. The train can simply be left on the spur when the evening westbound arrives. The spur is under video surveillance, which I suppose helps CN Police thwart any would-be vandals.

Rather than getting into a blow-by-blow of the entire trip, I will mention some of the highlights and low lights. The initial move out of Sarnia Yard was mostly smooth sailing, so to speak, as the train was able to move fairly quickly on the Strathroy Subdivision. This stretch of the CN network is well maintained and is able to accommodate freights at higher speeds, given that it is a crucial link between Toronto and Chicago.

On the morning of Nov. 24, our train encountered no freights on the sub and the station stops in Wyoming and Strathroy were skipped, as no passengers were there to get on board. At this point, the train was likely at five-percent capacity. It was quiet and peaceful.

 

Hello, Goodbye: Wyoming station early in the morning on Nov. 24. No one's home.

 

I have to admit that I didn't feel any noticeable reductions in speed as Train 84 encountered the level crossings on the Strathroy Sub. I credit the engineer for making the ride fairly consistent. I know this speed restriction mandate is a pain for Via crews on lines like the Strathroy Sub, as there are many country roads crossing the tracks.

 

Our train began to slow east of Strathroy where our train proceeded to enter busier CN territory near London. As you might expect, we were briefly stopped at a junction west of London, although I can't be sure it was the Melrose connection with the CP Windsor Subdivision or the Komoka Junction with the Chatham Sub. The area was the subject of a fair amount of maintenance of way crews. Possibly they needed to give the all clear before we crossed. Either way, the train's speed gradually slowed as we neared London.

 

A bit of a surprise. I saw an Essex Terminal Railway engine in London as our train made its way through the city toward the station. I have to say, I miss the old yellow, green and black ETR scheme. This one is okay, but not nearly as distinctive. ETR is cycling its engines to Lambton Diesel Specialists in Sarnia for maintenance and work. Since these units can no longer be routed via CSX's old line in Chatham, the easiest connection is from Windsor to London and then down the CN Strathroy Sub. 

 

ETR engine awaits its move to Sarnia by laying over in London. 

This is where Train 84 began to suffer from elements that are out of its control. After our station stop in London, the train had to pass onto the CN Guelph Subdivision toward St. Marys. Long story short, this stretch of the CN network between London and Kitchener is in rough shape. Our train made its way through the countryside at a fairly constant 46 km/h, which everyone can see as the train's display panels show you its speed in real time. 

 

This is not at all acceptable for a passenger train today. It's unfair to compare this train to the Sarnia-Toronto train I rode more than 20 years ago in my university years, but I can distinctly remember the train being able to move much more quickly back then. Did the Goderich Exeter Railway take better care of this track when it controlled the Guelph Sub on a long-term lease from CN? I can't say. That's just my impression. The trains didn't seem as slow when I was in university.

 

I've been told that CN would likely be glad to hand over the tracks from London to Kitchener, so it can rid itself of the maintenance burden on this lightly used rail line. Already, the Metrolinx-controlled tracks east of Kitchener show how much better things can be when a motivated owner is in charge. I can't imagine that Via Rail would like to take on the burden of owning the tracks between London and Kitchener, given it only uses this line twice a day for the Sarnia-Toronto trains. This means the line will continue to be operated and maintained by CN, which has very little reason to upgrade these tracks for fast passenger operations. CN's local freight service can operate at slower speeds given there is so little traffic on this line.  

 

What surprised me was was the number of passengers that got on from St. Marys to Guelph, despite the speed restrictions on this line. This train does much of its business east of London. 

 

All aboard in St Marys. This little town had lots of people who "love the way."

 

St. Marys is a good example of a small town that relies on Via Rail service, although the service is spotty. I fear for these small towns, as they are often the first to lose service when bigger issues are at play and threaten margins. 

 

I missed the old stone GTR station in St. Marys but caught the caboose.

 

There was no opposing traffic for our train to contend with on the Guelph Sub, thankfully, as our speed was already pretty slow. By the time we arrived in Kitchener, the train was already behind schedule, but not by a wide margin. Thankfully, the tracks east of Kitchener are maintained well by Metrolinx, which is expanding its rail service to Kitchener and points east in the coming years. This meant our train could actually stretch its legs and move at a more reasonable speed.

 

Kitchener's CN operations getting started for the day with lots of grain and covered hopper cars ready to serve agricultural customers in southern Ontario.

 

As we got closer to Toronto, our train was stopped for quite some time in Brampton as we had to wait for a meet with a GO Train because CN had a freight train blocking an interlocking east of the station. This delay, combined with the speed restrictions east of London, not to mention the delay in Komoka/Melrose, made for a slower-than-usual ride. This has to be frustrating to passengers and crews alike, as this train's scheduled 1:38 p.m. arrival in Toronto is already a pretty generous schedule. I can't imagine many people in Sarnia and London would take this train for its timetable. You take this train if you have to.

 

Passengers in London, in particular, have better options, as the eastbound trains that take a different route (Dundas Subdivision) through Woodstock, Brantford and Aldershot (Hamilton) are much quicker. I took a train west from Toronto to London on this route on my way down to see family and it was a much quicker ride, even with the occasional slowdown.

 

From a business point of view, this has to be troubling. If you cannot offer a fairly timely service, people will be less likely to take the train.

 

Finally in Toronto: Our train was more than a half hour late, which wasn't 

so bad considering the obstacles it faced. The Via Rail engineers are likely exhausted.

 

When we arrived in Toronto, I felt exhausted, given my car was quite loud, with screaming babies and a boisterous group in St. Marys. I'm not complaining. It was nice to see a full train, but I have to wonder how long Via Rail can count on its passengers' patience as it sorts out its Venture dispute with CN. Neither side appears willing to budge while the federal Transport Minister does not appear eager to step into this mess.

 

I went into this trip from Sarnia to Toronto with a certain excitement as it was a chance to revel in the nostalgia of taking the train in the late 1990s. How times have changed! Via Rail is struggling in every respect. It has not done a great job explaining to its passengers why its brand new trains are performing worse than its aging LRC and HEP fleets. Meanwhile, CN appears to be in no hurry to accommodate Via Rail in any way.

 

I suppose in a perfect world, Via Rail would have its own tracks that were free of freight trains that more often than not are prioritized higher than passenger trains. Of course, this is impossible. For every train that is rerouted to a theoretical Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal route via the Kawartha Lakes Railway and a potentially reactivated line east of Havelock, you lose all the passengers along Lake Ontario from Port Hope to Cornwall. This is just not feasible. You have to serve the cities on the lake.

 

And, although Via controls rails between Chatham and Windsor, Brockville and Ottawa as well as Ottawa and Coteau, Quebec, it is still very much at the mercy of CN. And there is no solution. 

 

And sadly, trains like Train 84 are the hardest hit. 

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. 

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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