A reminder of better days

I saw something on June 30 in Sarnia that reminded me of better days. I almost hesitated in writing that in the headline, because I find it frustrating when older railfans (I suppose I'm edging into that demographic) insist that everything was better before. 

For younger railfans, this is their golden age. They will grow up, become adults, and become nostalgic for these days. In other words, I think we need to be mindful of dealing in absolutes. If you asked me whether trains were more interesting to watch when I was younger, I would say yes. But that is just my reality. I respect that people will have different perspectives.

That being stated, I will share that I miss CSX. I miss the days watching the old Chessie System and B&O pained GP38s rumbling through my hometown with long trains bound for Sarnia or Chatham. The old CSX Sarnia Subdivision is a shadow of what it once was, and that is indeed a shame. I won't get into the recent history. I've covered it all before. 

This summer, when I was in Sarnia visiting family, I spent some time in the Sarnia rail yard just to get my fix of main line railroading action. That was when I saw CSX's interchange (transfer, some call it) making its way into CN's yard. This was at the same time that a CN westbound was making its way through the yard.

CSX's operations are down to a very small crew and stable of power. The geeps working the CSX customers in the Chemical Valley are modified, with boxier cabs and other features. Personally, I think they are a step down aesthetically. In this shot above, the power has just curled its way around the LDS roundhouse. As per usual, the crew was pulling tank cars into the yard. CSX handles tank cars and covered hoppers almost exclusively in Sarnia.

This might be one of my favourite shots of the year. As the CSX interchange slowly made its way into the yard, the westbound freight was moving at quite a clip toward the downward grade to the Paul M. Tellier Tunnel. To be honest, I was afraid I wouldn't get any better shots of the CSX train, as this is more of a rarity than the CN freight. Thankfully, the westbound CN cleared the yard quickly, allowing me to capture both trains in motion beneath the gantry. 

Here's a better look at the train making its way west through the yard. What became clear to me as the consist inched forward was that this was an unusually long train. Since the years when I watched CSX trains passing through my hometown when I was younger, I have rarely seen consists this long. 

This shot doesn't really do the length of the train justice, but it was somewhere near 70-80 cars long, which is something I have not seen from CSX in many years. Granted, these are based on very limited observations when I am home visiting once a year. So take that it for what it's worth. You might be able to see another railfan taking in the scene on a bench on the station platform.

One final shot of the westbound transfer coming up to two CN yard jobs around the Indian Road overpass. You can see both of those trains amid the blur of the summer heat and the morning shadows. Three trains in one shot. 

That was one of the highlights of my time in Sarnia on a morning when I saw multiple trains in short succession. It reminded me of a time when CSX was a going concern and handled long freight trains between Chatham and Sarnia on the Sarnia Subdivision. Of course, those days are long gone, but it was nice to be reminded of busier times for a few minutes.

So long, Stratford

All good things must come to an end!

In the last several years, I have been lucky enough to spend long spells at the Stratford rail yard, but no more. My relatives who are living in the city are moving away, which means my family's summer vacations will be shifting west to the London area next year.

So, I will begin this celebration of the Festival City with a nice parting shot. This might be one of my favourite shots from 2026.

I took this shot quickly with my iPhone as I spent some quiet time at the station on vacation in the city this summer. The tracks in the yard have been realigned in the middle, which meant the GEXR units were parked closer to the platform, compared to years past. This allowed me to get a shot of the orange units with an interesting cloud pattern overhead. The Stratford Masterfeeds grain elevator is visible in the background, along with the ever-present covered hopper cars, which are a permanent fixture in this yard.

But if you look closely, you will see that there is a lone CN unit parked deep in the yard. There was no way to properly capture all the engines in one shot that did them all justice from this spot, even with my camera. If you strain your eyes, you will see a speck of dark red level with the bottom of the elevator. That is the lone CN unit, marooned on a yard track, close to the CN work buildings just east of the Via Rail station.

So here is a clear shot of the lone CN geep, on its own. I'm not sure why it would have been left in the yard. CN operates its local moves on the Guelph Subdivision out of the Kitchener yard, which means all work done in Stratford first has to come from Kitchener. When work is done here and further west in St Marys, the crew returns to Kitchener. Possibly this unit had mechanical issues. I'm not sure why it was left here, but it was gone the following day.

I do like that it allowed me some creativity to frame a shot that is a bit more like a landscape shot. You can see the red track signals, a string of Potash branded hoppers and the CN unit next to the imposing grain elevator.

So back to my quest to get both the GEXR and CN units in the same shot that does them some justice. After a few attempts up close to the GEXR units, I backed up on the platform and tried a different approach with my camera. I think this more closely captures the idea in my head of having both railways clearly represented in the same image.

I will share more images from Stratford in coming posts, as I had a few more meets with local CN trains in my days in the city. 

In my time chronicling the Goderich Exeter Railway, both in Goderich and in Stratford, I've been lucky enough to document a lot of change along this short line railway. In Stratford, I have been able to capture both the Goderich Exeter Railway as well as CN numerous times. I've seen this yard when it was the sole domain of GEXR and then watched as the transition back to CN control took hold.

I've seen GO Trains come through the city, not to mention Via Rail corridor trains. There has been no shortage of interesting sights to see from this quiet part of the CN network. 

While I will miss it, I also look forward to possibly chronicling rail activity in a new area. I'm not sure there were many new challenges for me in Stratford. As I have written about a fair bit, I am trying to find new ways to capture railway images in new locations and from new perspectives. My focus has very much shifted to rail landscape shots whenever possible. 

Stratford has much to offer a determined railfan. I'm glad for my time there.  

Summer days along the main line

Earlier this summer, my family burst out of the gate for our summer vacation. We were gone after the last day of school to visit Toronto for a few days and then proceeded to the Sarnia area to visit my family. While there, I made good use of some free time to visit the CN yard in the city. The yard, if you know what to look for, has many things a railfan can tick off his and her list. 

1. The yard has an old roundhouse still standing where Lambton Diesel Specialists work on all sorts of motive power, both new and old. You are guaranteed to find something you haven't seen.  

2. The city hosts one eastbound Via Rail corridor train (Train 84) for Toronto in the morning, as well as the returning westbound train in the evening. For those who don't see a lot of passenger trains, this is your chance. 

3. The yard is also located on a main line (Strathroy Subdivision) between Toronto and Chicago, meaning it regularly sees a number of through freights in both directions.

4. The yard is also a place where trains are put together, meaning you can see big-time switching action, if that is your thing.

5. CN also has a number of smaller locals that originate and terminate in the yard, with older motive power, sometimes in older schemes. 

6. Finally, the yard is the point where CN and CSX interchange. This is your best chance to see CSX in the Sarnia area these days, as CSX does not operate very far from its industrial customers in the Chemical Valley these days. 

I saw all of these things during my visit this summer, but I thought I'd start with a quick few observations from the first through freight train I saw on June 29.

I mentioned the locals deliberately, as I was trying to get a picture a local working deep in the yard east of the Indian Road overpass on the morning of June 29. When the westbound freight made its way up the main track, I tried to get a shot of both trains in the harsh morning sun. You can see the exhaust from the westbound freight obscuring the overpass. Once I got these two framed together, I backed up on the platform as quickly as I could.

Despite the harsh light and the washed out sky, I was happy with this shot, as it captured the movement of the train in the morning haze. The exhaust was the element I liked the best. It captured the movement. 

I moved the west side of the platform because I wanted to catch the early morning Via Rail passengers, who were waiting for the Via Rail crew to back up their Venture set, just visible beyond the station to the left, onto the main line. Again, you can feel the early morning heat and haze in this shot. I had to do a bit of touching up to work with the shadows cast by the morning sun. This vantage point in the yard is a tough spot to work with the natural light if the sky is clear. 

The lead unit was a CN centennial unit, which was a cool catch, as I don't see too many of these painted units in my summer wanderings. I like that I was able to capture the sky in this shot, as the light was a little more forgiving from this angle. It's hard to imagine that this image was taken just a few seconds after those other shots. It looks like an entirely different day, judging by the sky. I also got the station in the shot, which was my goal. I often find when railfans are presented with the opportunity to get photographs from a station platform, we often stay too close to the tracks and don't get enough of a profile of the train. These head-on shots have their merits, as evidenced by my first shot in this post, but I much prefer shots that are a bit farther back, with more of the train and rolling stock in the image. 

A long line of lumber cars making its way past the station. It sure beats a long line of grey hoppers or black tank cars. 

An old Government of Canada cylindrical hopper, a bit the worse for wear and smeared with the ever-present graffiti, but still an interesting site. It's hard to imagine a time even 20 years ago when capturing one of these would be a rare catch. 

I was happy to catch these cars as well, filled with pipes. I don't often see these cars.

I also liked this shot, as I captured a few different types of loads, not to mention a special duty flat car, usually used for special cargo. It was empty, but it's still something you don't see as much as other cars.

One final shot of a steel coil car bringing the end of the train through the gantry before descending downgrade to the St. Clair River Tunnel to the United States. I tried to frame the various engines clustered around the old roundhouse for interest's sake.

As mentioned, there are a number of things you can knock off your list as a rail enthusiast at this yard. I pretty much ticked off the entire list that I mentioned above, but that can wait for another post.