Making (and breaking) the case for non-stop service

I found the coverage of Via Rail's recent announcement of non-stop service between Montreal and Toronto quite interesting, but not in the way you might think. In case you don't know, Via Rail was planning to make four trains between the two cities non-stop, which would mean no service for Dorval, Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, Belleville and Cobourg, to name the more important stops in Eastern Ontario and west of Montreal in Quebec. The trains chosen for this pilot were Trains 60, 61, 68 and 69.

What went missing in the coverage was that Train 50 from Toronto to Ottawa would skip stops in Belleville and Kingston, as a near non-stop train. There was no word on what the status of this train was, from the coverage I read. 

As you can tell from my wording, Via Rail has decided to halt the pilot project, which was due to start on Sept. 29. The railway cited operational constraints from CN, its landlord on most of the rails between the two cities. This comes just days after Via made its announcement seemingly out of the blue.  

As always, there are two sides to this story. Via Rail claims that this new service would allow travellers to arrive 30 to 40 minutes sooner. The railway says it chose the trains for this pilot project based on the lowest ridership counts at the smaller stations between the cities. In other words, the trains with the lowest demand in Kingston, Cornwall and Brockville for example, were chosen for the non-stop service. 

I find it interesting that Via Rail was going to try this experiment now, as it has taken a beating publicly for its abysmal on-time performance in recent years, which is a function of the speed restrictions CN has placed on Via's Venture train sets. For more detailed information on this ongoing saga, head on over to Trackside Treasure. No one has done a better job of explaining this story than Eric Gagnon.

I guess my point is, Venture trains have been consistently late for years now, so I wonder what difference 30-40 minutes will make given the restrictions Via Rail faces on CN-owned tracks? Also, is 30-40 minutes enough of a time savings to justify this service? If the train arrives in 3 1/2 hours as opposed to 4, I can't say that would be enough to sway me if I was on the fence about taking the train. It still does not compare to a flight, which still gets you to your destination faster, even after you factor in the security, screening, pre-boarding, baggage claim etc. 

 

 

The mayor of Kingston Bryan Patterson raised some interesting points, to support the case for continued full service for his city. He said Via Rail didn't consult any of the communities along the line to give them a warning that these service cuts would be happening. And make no mistake, although Via Rail maintains that these communities would all still be well served by the remaining intercity trains that call on these stations, the coverage was overwhelmingly negative. Service cuts by any other name are cuts, in the eyes of civic leaders.

 

The local media was unequivocal in describing the move as cuts and you can't blame leaders in smaller communities and cities to say anything otherwise. Via Rail making a decision like this with no consultation to the cities it serves is poor communications. 

 

Patterson also pointed out that Via Rail is also turning its back on the 1 million people who live between Toronto and Montreal, many of whom count on these trains. I would think at the very least, Kingston's stops would be left untouched, as Kingston has a high student population at university or college. As we all know, students have always made up a large chunk of Via's fares in the corridor. I took the train many times in my university years.  

 

The mayor also pointed out that taking away more options from these towns and cities means Via Rail will attract fewer customers. It's a fair point. 

 

As someone who has worked in communications for 25 years, I don't agree with the hasty approach here. Had I been in the room, I would have suggested that Via Rail perhaps choose one train pair (60 and 61, for example) and give itself 6 months to a year to prepare a proper promotional campaign outlining this service. Also, it would give the railway time to speak to the leaders of the communities who would be missing out on future service.

 

The rollout of this announcement was hastily planned out; the response was not at all what the railway was likely expecting. In theory, non-stop service between major cities makes sense and provides Via with a compelling product for customers. But the way this was handled was unfortunate from a communications point of view. When customers already booked on these non-stop train pairs were being forced to transfer their spots onto the next available train, it's a bad look.

 

It also doesn't necessarily engender trust in this railway at a time when Via Rail's reputation is already in tatters thanks to the Venture set debacle with CN. The railway has already endured a lot of wounds since the Venture fleet was brought into service.

 

But its communications strategy is producing unnecessary self-inflicted wounds. It makes me wonder how a company comes back from what Via Rail has been through in the last several years.  

 

 

This leaves me with one last thought. Many of these smaller communities in the corridor are very quick to complain when the prospect of Via Rail service cuts are floated. However, just how strong is the customer demand in some of these communities? I'm sure Via Rail took a hard look at its numbers and reassured itself that losing a few extra customers on these non-stop trains would be balanced out by the increased demand from travellers in Montreal and Toronto who might be more keen to take a faster train.

 

That is the logic, although as an infrequent train traveller, I have my doubts that there would be a substantial benefit from such a small reduction in travel time. 

 

But just how soft are the numbers? If I was a politician in one of these affected towns, I'd be very careful about being too vociferous in my complaints. I'm sure Via's attitude is use it or lose it. We've already seen many smaller towns in the corridor who have lost Via service in past years due to lack of customer demand. 

 

Then there's the issue of the investments that have been made in the new train stations in Belleville and other towns in the corridor. When you strip away this much service, what becomes of these stations? I have already seen many examples of Via Rail stations that have essentially become white elephants in many towns across Ontario. They are far too big relative to their use. Many have been repurposed for other uses, like the stations in Stratford, St. Marys and Smiths Falls.

 

I suppose the point of all this is Via Rail, once it emerges from the Venture set fiasco with CN, needs to reflect on what kind of passenger railway it wants to be. This past week's circus leaves it unclear to me what that answer is. 

The last days of the F59PH

In my travels this summer, I managed to find myself in Kitchener for a few mornings. I used to live in this city when I worked for the daily newspaper, the Record. At that point, I was not in the practice of taking rail photos. So whenever I find myself back in the KW area, I always make sure to check out what is happening on the rails. 

Kitchener's rails have undergone a fair bit of change since I lived in the city back in 2007-09 For one, the Goderich Exeter Railway has given way to Canadian National on the Guelph Subdivision. Also, Metrolinx has a dedicated daily commuter train going to and from Toronto Union Station. One morning, I had the chance to catch the GO Train. I was surprised by what I saw.

 

I didn't know that Metrolinx still rostered any of its F59PH units. In this case, 559 was the power for the day. I managed to get some shots from the St. Leger Street overpass just east of the Kitchener railway station. You can see a member of the crew to the left of the old F59PH, getting some fresh air before the morning's departure.

The F59PH was GO Transit's power of choice for years, as the commuter service rostered 49 of these locomotives, which were built between 1988-1993 at EMD in London. They served GO Transit (Metrolinx) well, and a few remain on the commuter railway's roster, which I have come to learn. My information puts the number at eight in total.

On this morning, 559 was leading Train 3962. I did run into an F59PH a few other times, although mostly I see the MP40PH-3Cs and MP54AC units when I am in the Toronto area. Still, it's fun to see the old F59s, which bear some resemblance to the F40PH-2, a few of which Via Rail continues to use. 

I did get a few more shots on the overpass before I headed out to another nearby road for a shot at a level crossing. There are many level crossings in this part of the city, which tend to snarl traffic, particularly on Lancaster Street, which is right next to the CN yard. 

The shot above shows you how far ahead the Metrolinx engineer has to pull the consist ahead of the station (to the left of the rear of the train), just to get the people into the right cars. They certainly never envisioned passenger trains this long when they built this station.

The shot below gives you a better idea of the changing skyline in and around downtown Kitchener. The mix of the old and the new is quite striking in some places. In this shot, I was trying to get a glimpse of the old Krug building beside the train station. You can just see a hint of it to the right of the end of the train, mostly hidden by trees. Contrast that with tall, sleep towers in the distance. 

I had time to get another few shots, below, at the Margaret Street crossing, as the eastbound slowly geared up and made its way out of Kitchener toward Guelph. Truthfully, I was trying to catch CN freight trains near Lancaster Street that morning, but the crew had yet to sign on for the morning and I was pressed for time. I was fortunate to catch some freight action on another morning, which I will share in another post.

I also made sure to get a good going away shot, which is always a necessity when you can do so safely and legally. Control cab car 255 was bringing up the rear on a very sunny, hot, hazy morning. Getting clear shots in the harsh morning sun was not feasible from this angle. Sometimes, you have to work with what you are given.

As an interesting postscript, I later learned that the old F59PH broke down shortly after leaving Kitchener, which leads me to wonder how many more days these units have left in revenue service. 

Update on Moderation of Messages 

In recent months, I have begun to moderate my messages due to the proliferation of spam messages that were infiltrating my entire history of posts. I have found that the number of comments I get from readers is down sharply. The good news is the spammers have only tried to break through my moderation feature one time since I began moderating the messages. I encourage you to let me know what you think and point out any additional information or mistakes. I monitor the messages submitted regularly.

Update on my Book, 1999

My new novel, 1999, is now available on Amazon.ca. It is printed in Bolton, Ont. and the proceeds go to the Canadian arm of the company, as well as me, as per my modest royalty. I can assure you no one gets rich selling books this way. It was the best I could do to put something out there without running afoul of the trade wars. 

 

You can check out the book on Amazon or go to my author's website to learn more about the four books I have published over the years. I can say that 1999 has a few dramatic scenes featuring railways. Most of my stories features trains in some fashion.

Finally, you can check out my other blog, where I talk about random things related to my writing. My latest post is about how truly bizarre the year 1999 actually was.  

All the book links are also included in the sidebar. This will be a permanent feature to the blog.  

Updated: The smell of diesel in the morning

In mid-July, after my family visited the Sarnia area, we paid a visit to Stratford to spend some time with my in-laws and catch a play at the Stratford Festival. My family ended up seeing Anne of Green Gables, which was an interesting, modern take on the classic story that I have read to both of my daughters numerous times.

While in Stratford, I was able to make it to the CN yard a number of times, but I was also in luck since our AirBnB was close to the Goderich Subdivision; in essence the main line of what it left of the Goderich Exeter Railway. 

Our place was near the Birmingham Street level crossing. Also, we were lucky that St. David Street also parallels the GEXR tracks for a long stretch, which means you are able to both hear the trains coming, when they come, and have the opportunity to scout out a spot to capture them. I was lucky enough to have run into a train twice. Once was on purpose, as I knew the train was outbound for Goderich so I waited. The second time was a fluke, as my daughter and I were stretching our legs during a walk when she heard the rumble to two GP38-2s coming toward us long before I did (my hearing is awful).

I had my iPhone with me so I ventured into the green space beside the tracks and found a small window to capture this shot. As always, with an iPhone, I never use the zoom function as it instantly pixelates your image. Always get as close as you can, safely and legally. Leave the rest of the work to your photo software.

I like this shot more than most of the images I captured this summer, because there's the human element. I was a a little hesitant about sharing it, because I didn't want to identify the crew capturing a bit of fresh air, but it was too good of an image to keep to myself. You can see the GEXR still has an old Southern Ontario Railway unit permanently assigned to Stratford, along with a GEXR unit as its mate. Update: Upon reflection, I blocked out the person's face in this version of the photo just because I didn't feel comfortable identifying him, even if his face is largely unidentifiable to begin with 

 

It was a blazing hot morning when I got this shot, so I'm not surprised the crew wanted a moment for some fresh air as the short train made its way northwest toward Goderich. I'm sure he was wondering who I was and why I was taking shots of the train. How to explain that I'm a train-starved railfan from Ottawa? I didn't come across any railfans around the Stratford CN yard, so possibly they're a rare breed in that area. I don't know for sure.

 

 

The train was clearly a run to the railway's agricultural customers between Stratford and Goderich, as there are many farm clients along this stretch of railway. This Potash Corp. hopper car added a bit of colour to a largely grey consists. Modern rolling stock has become very bland, sadly. 

 

 

The train ended up with a few tank cars on the rear as it made its way out of town. I was happy to catch this train by surprise, as it just added another set of photos among the many I took in Stratford during the week that I was there. I have a number of other photographs to share from around the town during my time there. 

 

My New Book 

 

Those who have followed this blog from the beginning know that I am also an independent author of (now) four books. I don't really have any expectations for these books. I put them out there because someone once told me, "Until you release them, they will never be art. They're just files cluttering up your hard drive." I appreciate the sentiment, but I know these books are not art. Even if they were, it would not be for me to say. 

 

 

My latest book is titled 1999. It's a story of that final lousy summer job you have before you graduate and join the real world. That was the genesis of this story, anyway. I had way too many surreal experiences in my summer of landscaping and working for a property management company for it not to fuel a story. 

 

Truthfully, my story about the real Trailer Park Boys (that's what I called them, for good reason) ended up being about much more.  

 

I am very proud of this book, which has been twenty years in the making. I originally began writing it in 2005 and have worked on it periodically since then. It never seemed like the right moment to release it, until my daughter convinced me to take up my writing again. So there it is. If you are interested in it, you can find all my novels listed on this page of my author's website. There are links to all my books, except for the first one, which was legitimately published by a real publisher, but is now out of print. 

Or you can skip right to the Amazon.ca page to find out about this book.  

Off the main line

This July, I was in the Sarnia area to visit family and was treated to some great train watching around Sarnia's CN yard. Granted, many of my images from this spot were a bit drab as the scenery was lacking. I have tried in past years to incorporate interesting scenes in my railway photography, instead of just focusing on the train itself.

So for this latest post, I wanted to incorporate some of the other shots I took while I was in Sarnia, which were a bit off the beaten track. As I mentioned in my last post, I did get to see quite a bit of main line freight trains roaring through the yard, but there was also plenty to see in the yard itself, not to mention in other spots.

Just a short drive from the CN yard, CSX still maintains a small local operation, at the foot of Clifford Street, tucked away behind the Imperial Oil refinery. The old railway station is still standing and has been renovated over the years. It once housed passenger operations, back when the railway was the Pere Marquette, but those operations ended nearly a century ago in the 1930s, if my research is correct. 

But CSX still serves its industrial customers in the Chemical Valley and along its Sarnia Subdivision south of the city. At one time, you'd have seen 4-5 locomotives in Sarnia. Now, there are just these two refurbished geeps.

 

These geeps are considered Dash 3s, as they have incorporated a number of new features, including remote control operation (hence the beacons), newly enlarged cabs, inset lights on the hood and a number of other improvements. I have to say that I don't really like the look of these geeps. They seem overly boxy and not in an endearing, quirky GP30 kind of way.

I took a few other shots, but didn't want to wander onto private property. so I did the best I could from the end of the street, where I could legally take photos. The shot below gives you an idea of how far I was from the power. 

 That track in the bottom of the photo once used to extend all the way beside the station. I often saw covered hopper cars stashed on that track with manual feeders beside them. See the shot below for an example of how it was once used.

In the CN yard, the yard power of choice is still GP9s as well as some GP38s. The old SW1200s are long gone, although a few linger near the Lambton Diesel Specialists roundhouse facility, but they are units for lease in LDS colours. 

The curiosity among the yard power was a lone BNSF geep that had been sandwiched between two CN geeps when I was there. Local railfans told me it's been in the yard for quite some time, so it's either a leased unit or possibly a purchased unit that has yet to be repainted. I didn't see a CN stencil on the engine, so I'm guessing it's a leased unit.

In the image below, you can see the crew heading into the yard from the fuel pad, to get going on some switching duties. 

Truthfully, the unit was a bit hard to catch, as it was mostly hidden behind long strings of cars in the yard. I had to get creative to catch a glimpse of it a few times before it finally came out in full view.

 

There were many other cool sights at the yard that I was lucky enough to capture but I will save those for other posts.

First taste of the main line

It's always satisfying for me to see freight trains on a main line, since we get almost no freight activity in the west end of Ottawa, save for the weekly Arnprior Turn, which operates once a week. In late June and early July, I visited my family in the Sarnia area and was able to carve out small windows of time where I sat trackside at the Sarnia Via Rail station, which sits at the edge of the CN Sarnia rail yard. The yard marks the end of the Strathroy Subdivision, a main line for freight trains into Michigan and Chicago.

The volume on the subdivision is pretty steady most days. You don't have to wait too long to see a freight train, with the exception of Via Rail's morning run of Train 84 as well as its evening return. Other than that, the line is exclusively a fast freight line. The trains whiz through small farming communities near Sarnia on their way to and from the tunnel linking Sarnia with Port Huron, Michigan beneath the St. Clair River.

On my first visit to the rail yard, I managed to get some shots of the various locomotives being serviced or used for parts at Lambton Diesel Specialists in the old roundhouse. I will save those for another post. This was the visit where I came across some chatty railfans. I chatted with them for a few minutes but moved on, as time is always at a premium for me when I am with my family. They come first, always.

Luckily, a mainline freight came rumbling from the west end of the yard as it was making its way eastward fairly quickly. ET44AC 3263 was leading a container train with a string of autoracks in the back. Considering the amount of force and power needed to climb the steep grade from the tunnel, I was impressed that the train was moving as quickly as it was. 

Given the sunny conditions and the lack of cloud cover, the shadows played havoc with my shots. Given that this is the only spot you can capture these freights up close, you have to work with what you have. Shadows are a fact of life when shooting at this yard under sunny skies. 

I don't often take close up shots anymore, but I did want to capture the Indigenous reconciliation logo that adorns some modern CN units, including this unit. It's interesting that just a slight change of angle makes such difference in the shadows.

In this case, I really wanted to capture a good going away shot, since you can see the yard engine in the distance, right behind the Indian Road overpass. I saw a fair number of freights and yard jobs during my visit, so I tried to capture as many shots as possible of meets or at least shots of multiple trains in the same frame. 

Then, it was time to capture a shot of the train making its way through the gantry that guards movements to the St. Clair River Industrial Spur turn off, the Point Edward Spur turn off and the main line into the tunnel. I like that this shot shows the curvature of the track, the noticeable grade and the gantry. 

Now time to capture a few logos. I haven't seen this logo, but remember that I don't see a lot of mainline freights! I did capture a few other logos and freight car shots over the course of my visit, but this one was worth showing as it is new to me. 

I walked down the station platform to capture the end of the train in the same frame as the Sarnia station. This vantage point at least allowed me to capture a bit of blue sky and some colour, as I wasn't fighting the sun from a difficult angle. 

If you look closely, you can see the railfans I was alluding to in my previous post. They are camped out beneath a tree right by the faded Canada flag.

All in all, it was a great first visit to the yard on June 28 in the mid-afternoon. I returned to the yard later that evening and caught more action. I will save that for another post.

The Railfans

On my recent trip to Sarnia to visit family, I was able to make repeated visits to the Sarnia Via Rail station, which sits on the edge of CN's rail yard. It's interesting that, in my recent visits to the yard, I have come across a number of railfans quite often. It's interesting, in that, I have very rarely come across railfans there in the past. But there is no doubt that there are a number of regulars who sit on the Sarnia platform and film the mainline trains. There are even some others that come and go, including kids (see picture below). Most seem interested in taking videos. 

I mention this because I don't know that I have ever shared my experiences as a railfan and my limited interactions with railfans. When you live in Ottawa, your experience with fellow railfans is limited. But this summer in Sarnia, I have to say that I saw a wide swath of railfans and it left me feeling somewhat ambivalent.

 

I will come out with the truth. I much prefer railfanning on my own, without any interaction with anybody. I don't say this because I am antisocial. I say it because railfanning, to me, is my own private time where I can zone out trackside, listen to the wind, smell the creosote and forget about the world. I've always been this way. Not many people know I am a railfan, even among my close friends. I prefer it that way. It's certainly not a popular hobby and, let's be honest, outside our railfan circles, we are ridiculed. It's not unlike the people who camp out at the end of the runway at the edge of the Ottawa Airport property, watching the planes. I think it's cool, but not everyone sees it that way.

For some people, I simply explain it this way. Some people like classic cars. Some people like following ships. Me? My family has a long history with the railways and this is my way of keeping up the tradition.

So I will say I was a bit surprised when approached by railfans in Sarnia when I was there in July. They were camped out trackside and had been there for quite a while, they told me. One of the railfans was from Guelph visiting family and was sitting next to his cousin. Beside the two of them was a woman who could not have looked any more disinterested. I felt for her. If you're not into it, I can't imagine why you would be there! The whole vibe to me was a little off.

What surprised me was that they were asking me when I was coming to the station next, because they figured we should all get together during the time when trains were sure to come. I appreciated the offer, of course, but told them I was squeezing in time trackside in between visiting my family, which was my main priority in visiting. I found it surprising that someone would come to visit family and spend hours watching trains instead. But maybe that was the plan all along for them. If so, I guess that's fine. It's just not my thing.

Even here in Ottawa, I rarely come across railfans. I think that we are a unique breed up here. Some rabidly chase the one west-end freight train each Wednesday. Me? I don't bother following CN 589 to and from Arnprior much. If I have a chance, fine. If not, I'm not all that bothered by it. Others fill their free time capturing Via Rail corridor trains at either one of our two local train stations. There's not much to choose from and, as I have a job, family and other duties in my community, I suppose my options are even more limited than younger railfans.

I generally find the vibe on the Eastern Ontario Rails Facebook group to be very friendly and supportive. I appreciate everyone's outlook on that group. 

But I can't help but mention my ambivalence over that encounter in Sarnia. I guess railfanning is not a social thing for me at all. I enjoy discussing railways online and trading messages with fellow bloggers, but I'm just as likely to trade messages about music, writing, current affairs or anything else that captures my attention. I hate to limit myself. That is why my railway photographs have changed quite a bit over the last few years. I'm more interested in capturing a railway scene, rather than capturing a tight shot of a train. Sometimes, we tend to limit ourselves, I feel.

Maybe I'm just not as big a railfan as others. Maybe it's because I prefer to split my time between multiple pursuits. That's why I find it fascinating when I come across railfans who talk about epic bike rides, or their family history, or their pursuit of music, or their love of hockey, or whatever else it is they do.

I suppose what I'm getting at is that railfanning is a small part of me as a person. I am in the midst of preparing my next two books for publication. My daughter is a budding writer and it's inspired me to take up a pen again. I find this just as exciting as being trackside. I'm thankful for my curious mind.

When I have these encounters with railfans, I wonder what else is there to these people? My guess is everyone has fascinating things to share and has many unique strengths and talents. We are all unique in this world. We all are complex, interesting and baffling in our own ways.

Railfanning is just a part of who we are.   

  

A quiet few moments to capture railway history

Last November, I visited my family around Remembrance Day because I hadn't seen my father over the summer and I wanted to visit with him in his new home. It was a busy weekend with not a lot of time, but I did manage to sneak a couple of minutes trackside to see if there was anything to see at the Sarnia CN Yard.

The yard was largely quiet, although I did manage to see an interesting CSX interchange train picking up a massive piece of equipment that was to be delivered to one of its industrial customers south of Sarnia. You can read about that here.

Other than that, I busied myself taking some shots of the odd assortment of locomotives parked around the old CN roundhouse, which is now the home of Lambton Diesel Specialists, which repairs, rebuilds and leases motive power. You often see old engines there, when they are stripped for parts. Sometimes, you see old units there that are given new life. It's always a mixed bag, which adds a little colour to your railfanning in this area.

This unit below was the one that really caught my eye. I had never seen this scheme before or heard of this railway. It was a misty, grey day so I did my best to grab a photo of it.

 

I was immediately stumped at to what GIO Railways was or where it would have operated. At first glance, the hood is a giveaway as to this engine's lineage. This is clearly a former CP Rail GP9. Thankfully, a couple of quick searches on this unit yielded some unexpected results. 

 

Since I no longer live in Southern Ontario, I didn't know about GIO, which is a fairly new shortline operator. This unit, which was leased from LDS, was first used several years ago when GIO took over operations on the dormant Cayuga Subdivision. The sub, which stretches from St. Thomas to Delhi (pronounced DEL-high), was once a CN concern before it was abandoned. After CN stopped operations, Ontario Southland operated the line before it went dormant again in 2020. In 2022, GIO Rail cleared the brush, laid some new ties and resumed operations, with this old GP9 as its first unit running light over the line.

 

That unit has since been returned to Sarnia, obviously, as operations on the line have been upgraded to include GP38s, judging by this YouTube clip. The newer units no longer have the GIO Railways grey scheme. Instead, they are straight black and are patched LDSX, which means the railway continues to lease its units from Sarnia. GIO Railways is perhaps better known as the company that bought Trillium Rail in the Niagara Region. 

 

This summer, when I returned to Sarnia, the old GP9 was still there, looking like it was either being readied to return to action or being kept in storage. It looked like it had been refurbed at the very least. Note the motors under tarps on flatcars right beside the old roundhouse.

 

While at the yard in November, I also caught this old SW switcher in a red and grey scheme. As this was the only vantage point I had, I couldn't get a side view of the unit. I'm not sure what railway it once belonged to, as I am not familiar with this livery. That's what I love about this old roundhouse. You never know what you are going to see. We live at a time when the number of railways is shrinking and many of today's trains cars are lease fleet blanks, which doesn't leave a lot of variety. This is a spot where you can see railway history.

 

There's also a straight red geep to the left of the image, with a livery similar to CP. I'm not sure where this unit might have originated, since I couldn't see its operating marks from where I was standing. In the centre of the image, there appears to be two other GIO units, one a GP9 of CN origin and a GP38-2 in the rear.

 

Here's a shot of some other SW units, including Nova Chemical's SW unit, which appears to be patched as LDSX 7316, meaning it's a leased unit in Nova colours. In my travels around Lambton County this summer, I noticed that a newer switcher is now handling the tank cars at the Nova Corunna refinery, where Nova handles its own industrial trackage, off the CN St. Clair River Industrial Spur. That means this old unit is either in for servicing or awaiting reassignment. 

 

 

Here's one last image from my November visit trackside in Sarnia. The LDS roundhouse is adjacent to CN's refuelling pad, which means when things are quiet, you can get a glimpse of a lot of yard horsepower in one image. Here's a shot of quite a few old warhorses sitting idle on a quiet November day.

 

 

It's always fun to see old engines that aren't common on railways anymore, like the SW1200s or old CP-style GP9s. I like sharing shots like these because you can look at the image for a while and always find something new. All of these shots have multiple elements that are worth exploring. It might not be as exciting as watching a mainline freight roar by, but for those of us who appreciate rail history, a few shots of a quiet yard can be quite illuminating.

 

UPDATE ON MESSAGES 

 

Since I have switched my messaging over to moderation mode, I'm happy to see that the spam messages have disappeared from my site. There are two sides to this, obviously. My messages from readers has also decreased, which is understandable. I don't want to make it harder for anyone to share their thoughts here or contact me, but I will be sticking with moderated messages for the time being, until I am satisfied that the spam scourge has abated. I'm curious to read what you think. 

Odds and ends on my summer travels

My family has done a fair bit of travelling so far this summer, as our life is more stable. After a wonderful visit to my hometown around Canada Day, we were able to visit my wife's family in London and Stratford in recent days. 

This being vacation, I was able to make my way trackside quite a bit and was fortunately, saw lots of mainline action in both Sarnia and Stratford. I have not even begun to process some of my better shots and figure out how to present them thematically. So, as these are the lazy days of summer and I am not thinking too hard, here are a few random photos that I captured in my travels that I thought would be interesting to share.

This shot made me laugh a bit. This was taken in the eastbound lanes of the 407 as we approached MacMillan Yard. There is an overpass in this area where container trains are often passing over the highway. On the other track, a trio of engines sat, awaiting their next assignment. The unit in the middle was clearly an ex-BNSF unit that was hastily patched over by CN. I shared this with a couple of my friends, and they had the same reaction. Nice patch job!

Over the course of any year spent railfanning in Ottawa, it is inevitable that there will be a large amount of Via Rail pictures. A friend jokingly told me as we were preparing to head home to Ottawa, "It's back to Via Rail purgatory." Don't get me wrong. I will take photos of any trains, but Via Rail photos can become monotonous after a while, which is why I wasn't all that keen to capture passenger rail photos in my travels. This shot is an exception, though. I thought it was cool to catch Train 84 backing into Sarnia Station from its overnight parking spur.

Via operates one train out of Sarnia each morning and one train into Sarnia each evening. The new Venture sets mean that Via no longer has to wye its trains in the yard, as they are bi-directional. All they have to do is tuck in to the spur beside the station each evening and back in to the station the following morning. Easy. 

Via Rail used to have early morning service from Sarnia when I was a university student, but the train now leaves mid-morning, which is better for those who aren't earlybirds. I wasn't specifically seeking out Via trains on this morning, but I was happy to catch this move. 

When we first arrived in Stratford, I headed for the CN/GEXR yard to see if anything was moving. This isn't like Sarnia, of course. You need to know when things are moving on the CN Guelph Subdivision or you will be waiting quite a long time. Luckily, I had some good information to work from, which allowed me to catch both CN and GEXR action. However, when I first arrived, there was nothing happening in the yard and the familiar GEXR units were nowhere to be seen from the station platform, which I found odd.

So I took a walk across Nile Street crossing to Guelph Street, which gives you a different perspective of the yard. Deep in the yard, tucked away behind long strings of steel coil cars, were the two GEXR units, parked at an odd angle. I was told that these tracks are situated like this because they once led to the old Stratford roundhouse. I didn't know that until I shared this photo with a friend who knows the local operations.

So it was cool to catch these units framed against the massive Masterfeeds complex. Those elevators helped frame many of my shots over the course of my visit. 

It was a ridiculously profitable vacation for me for future blog content, but as mentioned, I need to get some themes together to properly share some of my photos. I look forward to the challenge. 

 

Summer observations and musings

I spent a wonderful few days with my family in Southwestern Ontario for the Canada Day weekend. It was fun to be in my hometown for Canada Day for the first time in decades. While there, I was able to amass countless photos from the local railway operations. My challenge now is how to organize it all thematically so it makes sense in the context of this blog.

First, a bit of news passed along from a reader (thanks Michael F.). The City of Ottawa is planning to widen Carling Avenue and do away with a railway bridge over the road in the west end of the city. This old bridge carried transcontinental freight and passenger trains through Ottawa for generations, but the Beachburg Subdivision was torn up past Nepean Junction years ago, making this bridge a relic of the past. It will now go so that the one narrow stretch of Carling can be alleviated.

This is a photo I took from the passenger seat of my car three years ago. It always pays to take photos of the mundane, because you don't know when the mundane might become something worth remembering. I will be glad to see this stretch of Carling widened because the narrow fit beneath the rail bridge is dangerous and the rails are long gone, so it's time to do the practical thing. The city doesn't mention on its site whether there will be any bridge over Carling once the road is widened. I would imagine the old rail right-of-way would make a nice bike and pedestrian trail.

Isn't it interesting that, at a time when yet more of Ottawa's rail infrastructure is being removed, there are open musings from our federal government of building new railway infrastructure as part of the government's drive to devote two percent of the country's GDP on defense spending. Given how much of our area rail network has been removed, it would seem remote that there would be any strategic new rail infrastructure built here. However, those who have lived here for a while know that military vehicles and equipment were once delivered to CFB Petawawa via rail. I dare say this wasn't a huge source of revenue or regular thing for CP, CN or Ottawa Central, but there was a time when rail served our defense industry in the area. Check out this post from Trackside Treasure for more information about this piece of railway history.

Also, here's a YouTube video of Ottawa Central making a military delivery to Petawawa. 

Before I get to my treasure trove of rail images from the Sarnia area, I'd like to share a few attempts at rail photography on the 401/407 and the other major highways between Ottawa and my hometown. I did see two freight trains going through Kingston, but neither could be photographed from my vantage point in the passenger seat. 

Then there was the stretch of the 407 near CN's MacMillan Yard. This is wide highway and the safety barriers make a shot of the yard challenging to say the least, but with a little bit of cropping and luck, you can at least get a glimpse of this huge operation.

This image might look a bit strange. Why so much sky and so little actual railways? Well, that's because I had to crop out the highway safety barrier from the shot. You can at least get a small glimpse of a former CitiRail lease unit making its way toward the 407 while a string of autoracks to the right await their next destination. There are also some boxcars next to the CN building to the left of the shot. I wish I could offer something a bit more detailed, but I like scanning through this shot for all the various interesting elements.

Also, I did catch a passing container train making its way over the highway near Airport Road.

Here's one final shot that I had been meaning to get for years. It once again qualifies as one of those mundane shots that might not mean anything at the time, but can one day become more important. Here's a shot of the old CN ferry landing in Sarnia, as seen from Front Street. The old yard that the railway once maintained for shipping oversized cars over the St. Clair River is now occupied by a gravel dock. But notice how the rails are still there at the edge of the old ferry dock.

 

Given how quick CN is to tear up every last scrap of track here in Ottawa, I was surprised to see rails still there at the end of the old ferry dock, some 30 years after the new tunnel was put into use beneath the river, making the ferry operation obsolete. 

 

I also caught an interesting meet while looking over the old ferry operation, which was once connected by the CN Point Edward Spur, which is still in place today as it serves the grain elevator on Sarnia Bay.

 

Okay, so it's not the type of meet we usually like to see in a railway blog, but I thought it was cool to catch two Great Lakes freighters making their way north and south along the river. The southbound ship is the Mark W. Barker, an American ship owned by the Interlakes Steamship Company. This ship carries taconite, salt and limestone, although it has carried parts of wide turbines in the past. I was not able to get a clean enough shot to read the name of the northbound ship.

 

As I am about to head out on the second vacation with my family, which promises more railway photos to come, I thought a post with some random shots might work best, as I am still thinking about how to properly organize the stacks of images I intend to share from Sarnia in the months to come. Stay tuned. 

Summer vacation

Well, school's out and I have time off so that means I will be visiting family and in my hometown for Canada Day for the first time in decades. I'm sure it will be mean more than usual as my hometown is a border town. I have very fond memories of Canada Days from my youth. No matter where I've lived, I have found a special kind of national pride throughout this country.

So before I head off on my sojourn, I have one correction to pass along. In my last post, I talked about the Bytown Railway Society looking to dispose of its old Central Vermont crane. That was not the case. The society, in fact, has disposed of its old CP Jordan spreader plow. That old relic is on the move to an industrial history display at J. Tackaberry & Sons Construction Co. Ltd. in Athens, Ontario. That news was shared via the BRS Facebook page this past week and alert railfans let me know of my mistake. So I thank them for setting me straight on that one.

 

We'll miss this in Ottawa, but the BRS has tough decisions to make with its limited space at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. I actually found it a bit disappointing to read some of the comments from railfans who seemed annoyed at BRS for disposing of this car. This organization has done fine work and it can only do so much with the resources and volunteers it has. Also, its limitations at the museum are what they are. The museum is about more than railways, obviously, so BRS has to make use of the facilities it has and do the best it can. 

 

Anyway, in the coming weeks and months, there are a number of topics I'd like to cover and there are some cool railway photos I have yet to share that lend themselves to some interesting deep dives into some obscure railways. 

 

Also, I'm hoping to come home from my brief vacation with some railway photos from outside Ottawa. I think the blog could use a bit more variety.

 

 

All the best to everyone for this upcoming Canada Day. It's been a tough few months for our country and the future is indeed uncertain. The world seems like a meaner place these days, for many reasons and they don't all begin and end with the leader of the U.S. My point is, the world is facing a lot of uncertainty and division. 

 

Yet, through it all, there is no other place I'd rather be than in Canada. I was born here and I am so lucky to live here. We're not perfect, but we're not so bad either. I love that we have come together amid adversity and we still seem to value kindness. The world needs more kindness, to be sure.

 

Happy Canada Day and happy days to everyone else beginning their summers.

 

I'll see you all soon. 

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I came across some bonus photos this morning that I had forgotten I had taken back in April. I'm happy to share them, as I think they all tell a bit of a story about where this city is at from a railway perspective. 

Before I get to the found photos, I will share this image I captured along Conroy Road in the spring, which I found to be a bit of a surprise. It's an old Ottawa Central sign indicating that the Walkley Yard is private property. 

Interesting that CN didn't bother to pull down the OCR sign when it resumed freight services in the city years ago. That OCR sign is easily 10 plus years old. Amazing that it's still there. The day that I took this shot, Walkley Yard was essentially empty. It's quite sad to see that, even by our simple standards here in Ottawa, there is almost nothing to shoot, even from a distance, in the yard. CN seems to control most of its activities in the city out of its yard in Coteau. The old OCR building at Walkley is clearly vacant and is on the market. 

I hesitate to mention the fact that CN has long wanted to get out of its obligations to move freight in and out of Ottawa, as it has applied to discontinue service here. I have heard about attempts to establish short line freight service here but I cannot even venture a guess as to how serious these attempts are or whether this is a realistic possibility at all. Just know that it has been mentioned to me. 

For now, we continue to wait and see what will become of the limited freight operations in this city. After all, CN can service the steel mill in L'Orignal out of Coteau, which leaves just a few scattered customers in the Ottawa area, including Nylene Canada in Arnprior. That service is still mandated by the government, as far as I know. I can't imagine CN wants to continue providing that far-flung service, even with the line out to Arnprior being owned by Nylene and the land the line sits on by the City of Ottawa. 

Now onto some surprise shots. I was driving myself a bit mad the other day, trying to find some daytime images I knew I had taken of trains leaving Via's Central Train Station on Tremblay Road. But I couldn't find them anywhere on my hard drive. It turns out, I had yet to download these images from my camera. So, I was happy to review them and I can now share them.

This shot was taken from the Belfast Road overpass of an eastbound corridor train making its way along the Alexandria Sub toward Montreal. The presence of F40s and LRC cars is sure to become more and more scarce in the coming months, so I suppose getting in a last few shots will be necessary. I do like getting shots from this overpass, although the power wires are a pain.

I also like framing shots from this vantage point, with the curve in the line and the signals on either side. Looking at this shot, it makes me realize just what an awkward fit the F40s are pulling LRC coaches, when compared to the original Bombardier LRC locomotives, which were the same height as the coaches. But the F40s have served Via spectacularly over the decades. 

This image below shows you just how many visual distractions can get in the way of a shot at the main railway station if you don't work your camera's zoom lens and position your shot between the many wires. 

You can see that the train to the right is a double-ender with a P42 facing east and an F40 facing west. I couldn't really get a decent shot of this train, because, had I moved further down the bridge, my shot would have been obscured by brush. So I figured I would take a shot with everything in the frame. I count five wires in this shot, not to mention the light standard.

Also back in April, I had an appointment on St. Laurent Boulevard so I ducked behind the Canada Museum of Science and Technology to see what the Bytown Railway Society had on its tracks outside. 

The maintenance of way equipment was out in the spring sunshine, including this CP plow and the 1919 vintage Central Vermont crane. I believe the CV crane has been put up for adoption by the BRS so it can find a home at a museum where it can be enjoyed. I made sure to get a shot of the builder's plate, which shows it was made in Bay City, Michigan.
 

It would be a shame to have this old piece of MoW equipment leave the city.

 

However, if you follow BRS on Facebook, you will know that the society is bringing an old E.B. Eddy steam locomotive back to the capital region from its current home at Exporail in Delson, Quebec. Of course, E.B. Eddy and the paper and matchstick industry was a major source of railway business in downtown Hull up until even the 1990s. Back in the final days of CP Rail's presence in Ottawa, the railway still served industry on the riverfront in Hull via the Prescott and Ellwood Subs and the former Prince of Wales Bridge. I recall watching these freight trains rumble through Carleton University when I was in residence there in 1996 and 1997. If only I got a few shots of them when they still operated! Oh well.

One final note to readers and fellow railfans. My blog has unfortunately been hammered with spam comments for the better part of a year. I am growing tired of keeping tabs on these spammers and bots. I have tried to regularly clean out these messages (there have been upwards of about 400 or so). I have not been able to stamp this out so I will be moderating comments for the next little while to hopefully ease this process.

I apologize for anyone that might disagree with this approach. I can say that I have never once deleted a comment from someone because of what they might have said. Everyone has been generally respectful since I launched this blog. The only comments I have ever deleted are spam. I am hoping this additional step will help stop the influx. We'll see.

As always, I'm open to your suggestions and comments via the comments section or you can email me if you want.

hammond.michael77 AT gmail dot com

Michael 

 

 

 

Updated: Summer observations in Ottawa

I know it's technically not summer yet, but I thought I would share a few early observations as we head into the summer season here. So far, the weather has been decidedly springlike, with higher temperatures seemingly scattered amid a fairly predictable parade of pleasant weather, albeit a bit dry. 

It's hard to come up with any type of railway news in Ottawa these days, as CN continues it minimal presence, mostly serving Ottawa from Coteau. I've been by the Walkley rail yard a few times in the spring and it's mainly empty. The old OCR/CN building is empty and appears to be on the market. I can't imagine any business wanting to be there, but who knows.

The city's transit authority, OC Transpo, has been advising people that there will be delays on Line 1 of the commuter train system (the former Confederation Line). This is due to the ongoing construction to extend the east-west line from its current endpoints to Corkstown Road in the west end and Blair Road in east-end Orleans.

I was on West Hunt Club Road in my travels recently when I saw this piece of maintenance of way equipment being brought into the city on a flatbed truck. I've asked some people if they know what it is and no one has yet been able to pin down what it does, but I do believe it's likely going to be used on the O-Train expansion.

Maybe someone a little more knowledgeable than me can fill me in on what this does. I do see an ST-1 marking on the back. Also, I can't help but laugh at the notion that anything being delivered to Ottawa for rail purposes has to come in on a truck. It's amazing to me. I have seen examples of rail cars being delivered to the National Research Council or LRT equipment being brought in for the light rail network, but on trucks.

It makes me wonder. There are two ways freight could conceivably make its way to this city by rail and in each case, the rail lines are owned by Via Rail. Whether it would come in on the Smiths Falls Sub or the Alexandria Sub, I wonder how difficult it is to make arrangements to use these lines. I have no evidence to suspect that Via would give CN a hard time bringing in special freight shipments, but it does make you wonder just how difficult and cumbersome it is to book carload freight shipments to the city. Likely, it's just more cost effective by truck.

Speaking of Via Rail, I was taking my daughter to an appointment recently and we just so happened to be beside the Smiths Falls Subdivision on West Hunt Club Road. I managed to slip out of the office and catch an eastbound Via Rail corridor train, but not before I checked out what had become of the old severed industrial spur that once served the industrial park on Bentley Drive.

Short answer: Nothing has been done. The old rails and switch stand remain where they have been for well over a year (right/centre of the image). I'm not sure why nothing has been done to salvage this rail and switch stand. The next question might be who owns the rail. This spur was obviously once used by CN and Ottawa Central, but this rail line is owned by Via, so possibly it's not worth the effort to pick up the rails and move them elsewhere. The remaining lengths of spur behind the fence is still clearly in place.

After taking these photos and walking along the Hunt Club Road overpass, a Venture set came down the line toward me.

 

I don't often do tight shots of engines anymore, as they offer almost no context to the image, but I snapped a quick shot as 2220 led this consist under the overpass.

I suppose the biggest challenge ahead for me might be to catch a few modified Venture sets with *older other coaches attached, to comply with CN Rail's axle count minimum threshold. You have likely read elsewhere that Via has begun cobbling together these mixes, to ensure that its newer Siemens trains are not held to the CN speed restrictions at grade crossings. As others have already pointed out, Via had this option in hand when the safety feud with CN erupted, but the passenger railway has only now begun to implement this change on some trains. I haven't yet seen any of unusual combinations, but I intend to try. 

Those are a few of my limited observations from the last little while here in Ottawa. I haven't had much chance to spend any time trackside in recent weeks, but I plan to make up for it when my family goes travelling this summer. 

* - Please see comments below for an explanation of my correction to this post