Hello again, friends of the iron horse. Last October, I shut down the Beachburg Sub blog, thinking that I just didn't have any gas left in the tank (coal in the tender, perhaps?) due to my sheer exhaustion with the pandemic and my busy life in general. I pretty much said I was done, but you might recall I did leave the door open a crack.
Today, as I returned from the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls, I realized I have amassed enough content, thoughts and photos for a pretty good run on this blog.
I am happy to be back again sharing some thoughts with you and a few photos I have amassed in the last year or so. I will start off with a declaration, however. I can't commit to anything permanent at the moment. I will begin posting at regular intervals (every two weeks) for the time being and see how far I can go.
The reason I am being careful about this reunion tour of sorts is that I honestly don't have much time to be trackside and I don't want to post on this blog if my thoughts and photos aren't up to my own standards. Plus, I know most people who read this blog know a hell of a lot about railways, so I don't want to insult anyone with half-baked posts and substandard photos.
Life in the pandemic, especially with young children, has made any type of trackside photography extremely tricky for me. Working from home has proven to be a blessing and a curse! So, what little I have I will share, but that's all I can guarantee right now.
So, what direction is this blog going to take? It will still be about Ottawa and beyond, but I think I will be leaning much closer to the beyond for a while. To be honest, I was tired of blogging about all the nothing that is happening in Ottawa. So, what's to come in the months ahead? I have some adventures to share from my sporadic time trackside in Bedell (Kemptville), Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Toronto and Sarnia. I have also been giving some greater thought to the expanding light rail system in Ottawa, although I don't know that I will pay it any great attention in this blog, as I find the topic rather tedious these days. Same goes for the never-ending exit of Canadian National from Ottawa. When will this railway finally pull out for good? It's anyone's guess. Will a short line railway take over here? Many feel this prospect is remote. I am somewhere in the middle between cautious optimism and outright skepticism.
As always, I hope you enjoy what's to come. I have some material that I am very proud to share and explore in depth. If you are a regular, make sure to tell a friend and share the word that this blog has returned (for now, at least).
If you want to reach me, you can email me at hammond.michael77 AT gmail. You can always share your pictures if you want to see them in this blog.
Thanks. Highball!
Michael
7 comments:
Good to have you back, Michael!
That header photo cryptically, perhaps unintentionally, that you've been gon too long!
I know you have a receptive audience for whatever you choose to share. The biweekly posting schedule sounds reasonable and attainable. I view that as a key facet of blogging: predictability and pacing, whatever the time periods involved.
And, I can identity your thoughts on CN, OC Transpo and other rail doings in Ottawa. Though I live by the CN Kingston Sub, you'll notice the majority of my posts are not 'today trackside' but it's always there if I need it for a pop-up post! If I can find it through the trees!
Carry on blogging!
Eric
Welcome back, Michael!
I totally get your reticence to commit to any kind of schedule. With young children, it's hard to schedule anything!
I look forward to whatever you post.
Thank you Eric and Steve for your comments. Part of my return to railfanning means I am engaging in more online reading as well, beginning with your blogs. I have so much catching up to do! It's a great problem to have -- too many railways pics and posts to go through!
Welcome back!
I knew you'd be back!
It is a sad state of affairs in Ottawa for rail fans, and now the Prince of Wales bridge seems destined to rail oblivion too :( No real forward thinkers in Ottawa, but that's a political argument that I'll stay out of. They missed the proverbial boat, or train, a long time ago.
With that being said, I've seen the Arnprior turn, or local, or whatever it goes by a few times over the last few months at the Nylene plant in Arnprior. It was in town Wednesday, and I noticed a couple of guys who were set up for some pics. I'll grab a few next time and send them your way.
Cheers
Thanks Keith! I appreciate it. I am very proud to share the news that I caught this train on the Smiths Falls Sub in Barrhaven this week. Stay tuned for some really cool pics at the Via station.
Glad to see your back. I have passed this blog onto a few local ppl over the past year and can happily continue to do so knowing that it is alive and well and not an archive!
I get why you left for awhile and definitely know what it is like to have small kids and juggle things (doing it now myself) so I'll gladly take anything you put out regardless of when the next post comes.
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