Going west in the corridor

In early June, my family took the train to Toronto so we could take in a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. The trip west from Fallowfield Station was my first time taking Via Rail since 2015. It was also the first time I took the train between Ottawa and Toronto since 2009, when I used Via Rail to travel for business. For my daughters, it was their first time on a train that wasn't the O-Train.

We began our day from Fallowfield, as mentioned, before 6 a.m., as we waited for the 5:45 arrival of Train 41, which was the earliest train out of Ottawa. Our consist was led by P42 918 and it featured four silver streamlined HEP cars. My family was in the fourth car. It was an ex-CP coach and it was a bumpy ride. My wife and I were assigned seats at the end of the car, which gave us more leg room, although our window was half the size. Makes it hard to take photos!

As I mentioned in a previous post, the first thing I noticed trackside was a long line of empty intermodal cars parked on what blog readers confirmed to me was the last remnants of the CP Chalk River Subdivision. I was told that CPKC sets cars aside on this track when they are not in use for long periods. I was told that it is not uncommon to see grain cars parked on this track for long periods.

It was in Brockville that I captured my first photo at CP Chelsea, where the former CP Brockville Sub takes a sharp turn to the right for westbound trains, which forces the train to slow down. You can really hear the wheels screeching as the tight turn applies pressure on the train. It was on this turn that I attempted my first "Dutch door" style photo of a train. This was the best that I could do. It was at milepost 27.57. I was happy to catch the two signals as well.

The old windows on our coach made for less than stellar images, but I still like the fact that I could get a shot of our train from this vantage point. This is the first type of image in this style that I have ever captured. While we were in Brockville, I made sure to get a shot of the station. I have been through this town on the train many times, but I never have taken shots of the station.

This was about as much of the station as I could shoot from my narrow window in the fourth HEP car. There wasn't much else to see in Brockville during our stop, even though this is a good spot for railfanning, as this is a good place to see the convergence of the CN and CPKC's eastern systems. I did see a few flatcars, though.

I kept my eyes peeled for interesting scenes trackside. When we approached Kingston, I looked out for something on one of the two station tracks but I wasn't on the right side of the train to see what was on the other track. It wasn't until I was west of Kingston when I caught a quick glance at the abandoned ex-GTR, ex-CN Ernestown station, which still sits trackside, having long since hosted its last passenger train. This station continues to be a source of fascination for railfans and history buffs in the Kingston area.

I made sure to saunter down to the end of our car at times to get a shot of the tracks as we raced through Eastern Ontario. The harsh early morning sun was not my friend on these shots. But, as this train was not a double-ender, you could at least get a shot of the scenery rather than the back of an engine.

It wasn't until we arrived at Belleville that my vigilance finally paid off. As we approached the station, I saw a parked container train just east of the station. The engines did not seem to be idling, so I'm not sure if it was a case of a crew timed out and a train waiting for its next crew to bring it further west. I tried to get a shot as passed the head end. But again, the narrow window imposed limits to what I could do.

As we waited for our train to ease off the Belleville platform, I wandered to the back of the train to see if I could get a shot of the container train. This time, I was able to get a more complete shot. I was much happier with this shot. There is a bit of window glare in the bottom of the image, but I was happy that I could capture the curvature of the tracks and the contours of the train as it stretched into the distant horizon.

I also tried to frame the train with the overhead walkway of the Belleville station. The shadows were pretty harsh as it was still relatively early, so the freight train is a bit lost in the shadows, but I figured it was worth a shot.

I got a quick shot of the Trenton Junction Station, as I don't recall taking much notice of this stop when I took the train in the 1990s. I know there was a time when Via service was discontinued in Trenton for a time. The roof of the station needs to be replaced. It looks rough.

When we approached Cobourg, there were a couple of ballast cars in the yard, all with tarps covering the tops. The station in Cobourg looks very similar to the Belleville Station, only on a smaller scale.

I thought it would be fun to capture this scene in Cobourg, where you can see both rail lines over the water. There's a sizeable stretch of tracks where both the CPKC and CN lines are within eyesight of each other.

Those were some of my observations in June as we travelled from Fallowfield to Toronto. I will continue with Toronto observations in the next post. 

Note: I have aimed to post three items a month on this blog, but that will not be case this month. As I mentioned recently, my family is closing in on the final steps that will see us move. We are very close to wrapping up the process, but it is dominating my time. Thank you for your patience.

Memories of Ottawa to Sarnia in the late 1990s (Part I)

I wasn't in the habit of taking rail photos in the late 1990s when I began my post-secondary education in Ottawa at Carleton University in September 1996. In retrospect, it would have been a fun time to take shots. That's because every one of my trips home to see family at that time meant spending the better part of a day on the train. It was a time when you could still buy your student-discounted ticket at a Travelcuts travel agency on campus and the ticket you got might still have the red carbon copy. That quickly changed to those thick cardstock paper, one-fold tickets with the perforated lines to separate each leg of your journey. For me, taking the train regularly over those four years (1996-2000) was an eye opener, as someone who had seen almost no part of Ontario beyond Toronto for the first 18 years of his life. So, let's take a journey down memory lane and across the province back in the glory days of the late 90s.

A quick note about the equipment. As far as I can recall, every one of the trains I took were pretty much the same consist. I don't recall ever riding behind a P42. It was always an F40PH-2. The cars were almost exclusively LRC coaches. I don't recall riding in an old silver HEP car once during my university years. I don't know if that's a coincidence, but I'm almost positive of these facts. 

Ottawa

It's important to mention this off the top. In all my time taking the train in university, there was no Fallowfield Station. The train would roar through Barrhaven in Ottawa's south end and throttle up for the short leg to Smiths Falls. That meant all trips started at Ottawa's train station on Tremblay Road. Despite the fact that Ottawa doesn't have an historic train station as in Toronto, the east end station in Ottawa is a fascinating building, which is an award-winning architectural work from the 1960s. Given what many buildings of a similar vintage look like in Ottawa, the central train station is downright beautiful. Its main hall, with an endless wall of windows facing the tracks, is a bright, welcoming space. The circular ticket office in the middle of the hall is a creative way to create separate areas. The underground tunnel from the outside platforms is quite beautiful as well, especially the circular ramp to take you back up to the main station. The Via Panorama Lounge is well appointed as well, although I have only been there once. That was when I accompanied my friend, a person with a disability, who was accommodated in the Business Class (formerly Via1) car. All in all, the building hasn't changed much since I frequented it in my university years. The biggest change might be that there is no Harvey's at the station anymore. The food options are not great. Also, the rail yard is much smaller and the old Governor General's cars are no longer there. A small complaint.

Smiths Falls

Heading southwest, the first stop was (and is) always Smiths Falls, which had a classic railway town feel the moment you eased into the old platform at the former Canadian Pacific station on the edge of the CP yard. Of course, in those days, that old building still functioned as the Via station, which has since changed. The new Via station is more of an enlarged kiosk on Union Street, on the edge of the town.

The old station is now a centre for the arts and seems to be well used. Depending on which way I was travelling, Smiths Falls was either the stop where I was getting restless or the stop where I would be settling in with a book, magazine or my walkman (yes, I still listened to cassette tapes then). It was a town I didn't know much about until I learned of its history. It was the longtime home of the Hershey's chocolate factory and was once a very busy division point on the CPR, the dividing point between the Brockville, Winchester and Belleville subdivisions. It still is, but the Brockville Sub is now exclusively Via controlled while the Winchester and Belleville subs continue on as the eastern leg of the CP system to Montreal (and now beyond, once again). But the activity here is not what it was in the 1990s.

Brockville

Brockville is another town that I must confess that I still don't know a lot about, other than it is still sees plenty of rail action each day, as the CN and CP eastern main lines converge here. There's plenty of history in Brockville, including its famous old railway tunnel, not to mention its name, which pays tribute to Sir Isaac Brock. Brock was a British military leader who many credit with preventing a successful American invasion of the Canadian colonies in the War of 1812. The red coat that he was shot and killed in on the Queenston Heights in the Niagara Region can be found at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. A gruesome relic, but a fascinating story.

Gananoque

This town was probably the most surprising stop in my early years taking the train to and from Ottawa. I didn't know the town existed, to be honest, and was absolutely shocked when I saw its railway station for the first time. I wondered what kind of one-horse town Gananoque was. I didn't understand at the time that the town's train station was actually not in the town at all, but in a rural area named Cheeseborough to the north. This station remains a vital link where Gananoque is connected to the main line. A short branch line south into the town itself served Gananoque as a passenger link until 1962 and as a freight spur until 1995, when the last freight service ended and the rails were pulled up. However, the first time my train stopped there and I looked around the station area through the window, it was hard to comprehend how a station could be placed in the middle of nowhere. That's what it appeared like to me, anyway. You can read about the town, its famous engine the Susan Push (below), and its heritage in this post, where I explored some of the town's railway history.

Kingston

Prior to my university years, I had only been to Kingston one time. Over the years, I have made some visits and I really do love the city. It's an eclectic mix of historic charm, academia, Upper Canada Loyalist, blue collar ethos and innovation. The city's history, of course, is what underpins much of Kingston and its beautiful downtown and waterfront.

From a rail traveller's perspective, there isn't much to be gleaned when you stop at Kingston station. The Via Rail schedule here is packed, as Kingston sits arguably about half way between Toronto and Montreal and also hosts a number of corridor trains to and from Ottawa. I suppose my memories of Kingston in the 1990s are closely tied to my high school friend Chris, who went to Queen's University to study engineering. Chris and I often found ourselves on the same train between Sarnia and Ottawa, although rarely on the return trip west. Chris was (likely still is) a real card back in high school and university. He had a gregarious personality and didn't mind making fun of himself in a crowd if it meant drawing laughter.

My clearest memory of our rides together on the train happened when we somehow got onto the topic of Stompin' Tom Connors and his famous ditty, The Hockey Song. I'm not sure how it came about, but I remember Chris singing the entire song word-for-word on the train, just loud enough that the people around us could hear him, but not too loud that he would annoy them. I think he left a few people befuddled, to be honest. 

Chris made many a train trip a little more bearable, although I should point out that I had no problem sitting by myself, reading, writing or listening to my cassette tapes. I do recall that, in the days before everything was available online, my brother would sometimes tape a cassette's worth of my favourite radio morning show from back home, which I used to listen to over and over. 

I should also mention that Kingston to me is closely tied to nearby Ernestown, a railway ghost town if ever there was one! The old stone station still stands trackside and it was on my rides between Ottawa and Sarnia that I first saw that old abandoned station. Back in the days before everything was online (man, I'm sounding old now), the story of that station remained a mystery to me, which I think was part of its appeal. Later on, I was filled in on the Ernestown story by Trackside Treasure's Eric Gagnon, but back in the 1990s that old station was the stuff of my imagination. 

These rides featured many other memories and lessons for me, but these are the ones that stick out as part of the Eastern Ontario portion of my journeys. I'm grateful for that education.

Meet me at the station

I had an interesting experience in Smiths Falls recently, which saved what was otherwise a disappointing day trackside. I found myself with some free time recently and decided I would either head to Prescott or Smiths Falls to catch some trains. Prescott promised many more trains on the busy CN Kingston Subdivision, but there were no really solid spots to set up and get the shots I wanted. And Prescott was farther away. Smiths Falls was indeed closer but promised far fewer trains on the somewhat light Winchester Subdivision. I made my decision that I would try my luck in Smiths Falls since there were great sightlines on either end of the CP yard, not to mention a safe, shaded railfanning bench to sit on and read while waiting.

What I hadn’t thought of was that the yard and the mainline would be quieter than usual, due to the Saint-Jean-Baptiste holiday in Quebec, which shut down just about everything in the province and likely whatever was happening at the end of the CP line. That meant I saw no mainline freights coming through the yard, which was really disappointing.

However, I did manage to see the Perth turn head out of the yard with ECO unit 4301 pulling a sizeable string of tank cars and covered hoppers for the OMYA plant in Glen Tay. I have caught this train before, so it was a decent consolation prize to see it again. I will share photos of this train next week.

There were two interesting factors that made the day unlike other trackside experiences I have had in the past. One was there were other railfans at the old station, waiting to see something like me. They had a scanner, which was a bonus for me, since I usually don’t use one. I generally really on watching signals. I don’t usually encounter other railfans when I am out there trackside. In fact, I think this might be the third time I have ever run across fellow photographers since 2009, when I rediscovered my trackside pastime.

After a while, it was obvious that all we were going to see were Via Rail corridor trains, which was not worth the drive for me. But then something interesting happened. A westbound Via stopped on the outside track in front of the old station, as it waited for an eastbound train to clear the switch from the Via Brockville Subdivision, just past the station.

This was the first real meet I have caught in several years (not counting shots of multiple trains at Via’s Central Station). Two for the price of one is always fun. The other railfans sitting near me didn’t even bother to get up and take shots of two earlier Via consists that came by, each pulled by a F40 with typical LRC coaches. I don’t blame them. I took a few shots, but neither had anything worth sharing. The angles, track curvature and trackside buildings offered some new elements, but I didn’t have anything I was thrilled with.

But then at the back of the stopped train, I spotted something that I had never seen. This consist had some stainless steel streamliners, which is always a bonus. But one of the stainless steel cars was adorned with Via’s unfortunate renaissance colour scheme. I was the first to catch this and point it out, which had the other railfans up and taking photos.

The eastbound train came soon enough, which allowed me to get a few cool shots of the meet between two wrapped P42s. It’s not what I was hoping to come away from my free morning trackside, but it was something new, which is always a good thing.

And that stainless steel car with the new colour scheme? Not impressed at all. I am glad Via got rid of the faded Canada flag decals. I was disappointed that they have retained the bureaucratic Government of Canada wordmark. But that gaudy colour scheme on a stainless steel car?

Why, Via, why?

Making lemonade again (Part II)

Last week, I shared some photos from a mostly empty Canadian Pacific rail yard in Smiths Falls. I was disappointed that I didn't see more, since I was told mornings can be the best time to see some action there.

But as I have mentioned in this post and this post from last year, there is always something interesting to shoot, even if it's not readily apparent.

After taking a few shots of two idling geeps in the yard as well as a few strings of rolling stock, I began to think about the type of shot I might like to capture when Via's Train 643 made its way through the yard. With some limited options, I began to do some test shots and plan what I wanted to get.

First things first. I knew I wanted to capture 643 rounding the bend into the train yard. I am shooting from the edge of the old passenger station in the shot above. I was fairly happy with this shot.

P42 909's lighting didn't help with my shot as the train crept closer, but I made sure to adjust where I was shooting so I could get the signals into the shot as well. Again, it's a small difference, but it at least gives me something different.

As I mentioned in last week's post, I set my camera in at a spot where I was hoping to catch the Via corridor train and the idling CP geeps in the same frame. It was not an easy task, since the CP tandem was pretty far back in the yard. But I readied my shot and waited for the passenger train to enter my frame. This was the result.

This is not a conventional shot by any stretch, but I did like what I captured. You can see how empty the yard is, you can see the snow and ice and you can see the nose of Via 643 making its way across the old passenger station platform.

Speaking of the old station, I tried a few going away shots of 643 leaving the yard and merging onto the Via Rail Brockville Sub. Here's a shot with more of the old station in the frame.

And here's a shot that was a little more tightly focused on the train itself.

Before I left Smiths Falls, I dropped by the new Via Rail station on Union Street, just to get a few reference shots. Not a whole lot to look at, but it has its own charm.

I did notice a few pieces of MoW equipment on the siding at the Via station, so I made sure to capture that string before I returned home.

Overall, it wasn't a terribly productive morning for quantity but I liked that I experimented a bit and captured some interesting shots, even if there weren't any freight trains to shoot that morning.

Making lemonade again (Part I)

I think the theme of making lemonade from lemons might just be a recurring series on this blog. You might recall last year that I had to make the most of a dry spell by looking for new locations and new perspectives to make the most out of some slim railfanning choices up here in Ottawa. Last summer, I gave a lot of thought to some shots I wanted to get on the Smiths Falls Sub and I managed to get some interesting rail photos as a result.

Making Lemonade Part I
Making Lemonade Part II

This past weekend, I found myself in Smiths Falls and was looking forward to catching something interesting in the yard or on the main line. Unfortunately, I probably chose the worst possible time to visit the yard as it was largely empty and no freights seemed to be forthcoming, judging by the signals.

This is what I saw:

Deep in the yard, CP GP38-2 3089 and GP20C-ECO 2279 were idling, although they didn't move when I was there. Likely they were just keeping warm in the cold weather until they were needed.

Other than that, there were maybe 20-30 tank cars and a few cylindrical hoppers. EHH's CP is not terribly interesting, even with the man now gone and setting his sights on CSX.

Nothing special in either shot, but the tank car shot gives you an idea of the curvature of the Smiths Falls yard, which offers some great opportunities for photographs, if only something in the yard is moving!

As I said, there wasn't much to look at or shoot while I waited for a train. There was an assortment of MoW equipment, but it was quite far off.

After I shot all the obvious items I could, I began to think about whether there were some obvious details I might be missing. It turned out, there was something staring me right in the face. Along the track closest to the old Smith Falls Via Rail station, some signaling equipment sat on the ground, begging to be included in a shot.

This was the result.

Compare that shot to the top shot. I was much happier with this shot. It gave me a more dynamic visual. It also got me thinking about the morning Via from Ottawa, which was due to make its way through the yard.

So I began to put some elements together in my mind. I could take advantage of the curvature of the track on either side of the yard and I wondered whether I could bring together the Via corridor train with the two geeps idling in the yard.

There were some challenges, the most obvious being that the geeps were quite far from where I was standing, but I had to try something because it appeared as though no freights were imminent.

I'll save the rest for next week.