On The Road Again

I'm pleased to be able to offer up something new, which is a little less heavy than my previous two posts. I thank those of you who reached out to me regarding my post about mental health and the situation my family and I find ourselves in at the moment. I'm happy to say that the situation has stabilized as the police have helped us restore calm for the time being. My mental health has improved and I am starting to feel more like myself again.

Recently, my family went on a short trip to Waterloo, Ont. for a music conference. This was a business trip for my wife, as she is the chair of a provincial music association. For me, I was giving a mental health presentation, but it was also a chance to get out of Ottawa and visit family in nearby Stratford. I have a pile of interesting pictures from Stratford, including some images from my summer visit, but I will save those for other posts.

I should also note that I had a chance to visit the Waterloo Central Railway yard in St. Jacobs and the CN yard in Kitchener, both of which yielded some cool, and even unexpected, shots. It was an incredibly productive trip for me as a train-starved railfan.

For this post, I wanted to share some images captured while my family was travelling to and from Waterloo. This has always been a fun game I have played while on Highway 401. In this case, we had incredible luck, as my wife managed to get some fantastic images of trains.

Our first meet was in Kingston, as we were approaching the Highway 15 interchange, where the CN Kingston Subdivision is visible from the highway. An eastbound local had made its way past the highway overpass (Ed note: A reader said the photo was likely taken near County Road 11A) when my wife captured this image. The train is being led by CN ES44AC 2933, with two boxcars and a long string of covered hoppers in tow. As we were going in opposite directions, I give my wife full credit for getting this shot. I have really grown to love these shots, which are from a distance and do not have any of the 3/4 wedge effect. It's almost a full-on parallel shot. I am of the opinion that a train image doesn't need to have the train as the dominant feature in the image for the shot to be compelling.

We didn't see anything else on our way, since we were driving fairly late and the darkness prevented any further shots. But I did get this shot of a fading western sunset as we were on the 401 in the Toronto area. I was in the passenger seat at the time, I should add. All these images, in fact, were taken from the front passenger seat. Safety first!

On the way home, we took the 407 toll highway, as we were leaving on a weekday morning and the traffic around Toronto was a major obstacle to our timely return to Ottawa. I'm glad we took the 407, since we were able to catch this image of three CN units resting near its Brampton yard. This is second time I've caught a string of units on this flyover. Unlike the other time I caught engines on this bridge, this time around, these are all heavy hitters. The last time, I remember catching an old GP9 warhorse. This image, again, is courtesy of my wife in the passenger seat.

A little further along, after we had rejoined the eastbound 401, we were travelling through Clarington on the east side of the GTA when we levelled up to an eastbound freight train that was moving at a pretty good clip.

My wife managed to snag a pretty decent shot of the DPU unit operating mid-train. Once again, I love that this shot captures more than just the train. The cloud bank in the sky and the scattered sunshine makes for a visually interesting image. You can see the DPU peaking out between some brush, as well as some lumber cars, a boxcar and a tank car. The DPU is CN 2222, an ES44DC.

Sadly, we were not able to successfully get the front end of the train, as the roadside brush and the differing speeds of the train and our car meant we couldn't find a clear line of sight, although I will say that the train was lead by a lone unit, possibly another ES44DC. I can't be sure, as I only had time to quickly glance over since I was driving.

As I have mentioned before, I always try to snag a few bonus train shots when I am travelling along the 401, as the CN mainline parallels the highway for a stretch in Kingston, as well as in parts of Toronto. We did pass by CP trackage a few times in our travels as well, but I was not able to catch any CP trains, which is a shame.

Much of my photography this year has been remarkably consistent in that the railways featured on this blog are predominantly CN and Via. In the coming weeks and months, I aim to change that, simply by sharing some great shots of the Goderich Exeter Railway in Straford and some shots of the Waterloo Central Railway in St. Jacobs. 

Stay tuned.

Spring observations in Bedell

Last weekend, I had the chance to take a break from my hectic family life to have some “Daddy time” as my daughters called it. I decided to go to one of my favourite railway spots, Bedell, Ontario. I haven’t been out to this spot in several years and was surprised how much has changed.

For those not familiar with Bedell, check out some of my older posts about this spot, which once hosted a CP passenger station and active rail yard, right outside of Kemptville, Ontario, south of Ottawa.

The rolling pipeline in Bedell (2016)
Bedell, Ontario, Part I (2014)
Bedell Ontario, Part II (2014)
Bedell, Ontario, Part III (2014)

Getting back to my observations from this past weekend…

First, the vegetation on the north side of the CP Winchester Sub has clearly been allowed to grow a fair bit. That’s obviously not a big deal to the railway, but it’s a big deal to me, since it made my vantage points of the line much more difficult. Witness this shot, which essentially shows how high the bushes are in this spot, making the going away shot tough to get! (More shots from my meet with an eastbound freight next week)

Note the bush on the left. No going away shots were possible during this meet!

Second, the railway has stacked hundreds of old railway ties along the tracks in this area as well. Once again, a big visual hazard that forced me to reconsider where I might be able to set up for a shot of a passing freight train.

Third, the old remnants of the North Prescott Spur (formerly the Prescott Sub to Ottawa and Hull) have been groomed and fully converted into a multi-use recreational trail. I was impressed with how nice it was, although it didn’t seem all that busy.

Finally, I noticed this old facility, which hosted what was evidently that last customer to be served on the old spur, has been demolished. There was still a for sale sign up at the front of the property, which suggests there are no immediate plans for the land. My guess is the old building had to come down to make way for housing and something that is non-industrial in its focus. It makes me glad I took a few snapshots of the rails while they were still in place.

The old industrial building and rail line in this 2014 photo have all vanished.

I should mention that the remnants of the old Bedell rail yard are largely intact, including the stub-end spurs that are marked for bad order cars. The yard was empty when I arrived there on Sunday, which was no surprise as I have never seen anything parked in this area since I have begun visiting the spot periodically.

I should mention one last observation from this spot. I have read a few comments on the Eastern Ontario Rails Facebook group about the double track status of the Winchester Sub. Some have asked why CP maintains two tracks when the volume on the sub clearly doesn’t require two lines. I read some comments from railfans who suggested that removing the second track is too much trouble and too expensive, which seems like a reasonable theory.

That got me to think when I was there recently, what is the purpose of the two lines? I have been to this spot several times and each time, I have a caught a westbound train on the north track. Well, I’m guessing I might have received my answer. This time around, I finally caught an eastbound train on the south track. Does anyone know if the railway routes its trains westbound on the north track and eastbound on the south track?

My first eastbound meet at Bedell from June 16

Anyway, I’ll save most of my shots of the train for next week, as there are a few more points I wanted to bring up that didn’t fit the theme of this post. Stay tuned.

Some more random photos and thoughts

My brother sent me some really cool photos from Florida this week that make me rethink what I was going to post. In other words, I liked his shots so much that I thought I would share those shots. It wasn't until I was looking through my "random shots" file on my computer that I realized that I had a treasure trove of photos to share that I haven't gotten around to organizing. Sadly, some of these shots have been waiting to see the light of day since 2015! Well, time to clear out the closet.

First shot and it's a special shot. My brother snagged two Florida East Coast ES44AC locomotives, with a liquified natural gas tender in between, pulling a mixed freight. What's more, the engines are also sporting the railway's retro sunshine theme paint scheme.

Florida East Coast is a railway worth shooting, in my opinion. I have seen this railway in action but have never captured it with my camera. The railway just announced recently that it has converted all its mainline locomotives to LNG, which should prove to be an interesting experiment. Of course, the parent company of this railway is hardly what one would call a conservative company. FEC's parent company is behind the Brightline high-speed rail service on Florida's east coat.

The next shot I thought I had lost until I unearthed it while putting together this post. This is a BNSF freight train somewhere in Denver, Colo. The shot was taken in August 2016 by my brother's wife. I'm lucky that they have a railfan in the family, which is why they are always looking out for railway photos wherever they go. My nephew and I get to share the spoils. Sadly, I don't have any further details on this shot.

Here's another shot from my brother that has been sitting in the queue for two years. This was a shot he took during a snowstorm in November 2015 of a CN freight train barreling west toward the St. Clair Tunnel.

This is a shot I captured this summer in London of a Via Rail corridor consist inching its way along the end of the Goderich Exeter Railway's Guelph Subdivision in London. I didn't see much of anyone on the train, so I assumed it was deadheading, but then I saw someone in the window.

Can you see the passenger? That train was left to idle on the track for a while, since I could hear it from the parking lot where I was participating in the preparations for a family event. Someone with better knowledge of London might be able to inform me of the route Via trains take through the city.

I included this shot just to show that the first class coach was second in line, which I found odd. Can anyone explain why this might happen?

One final shot of a Via corridor train loading up at Fallowfield Station this past May. I tried to get some shots that conveyed just how close the parking lot is to the tracks. It makes for some tough shooting for railfans! This train was due west for Toronto and had a wrapped P42 on point.

So, there you go. A few random shots for your enjoyment. I'm glad my brother's adventures in Florida made me think about some of the lost shots that have yet to see the light on this blog.

The rolling pipeline at Bedell

I was recently able to spend some time trackside on CP's Winchester Subdivision, as I mentioned last week. Although the sub isn't seeing the frequency of trains it once was, I was happy that I stuck around long enough to shoot something I have never shot before: a unit tank train. In this case, it was an eastbound empty ethanol train, which means it's either CP 667 or 643.

Before you laugh, remember that I live in Ottawa and I rarely see any big time railroading. I can honestly say this is the first time I have seen one of these trains in action, although you may recall that I did shoot a parked tank train in Smiths Falls last summer.

The fast moving westbound train was led by CP ES44AC 8752 and paired with fellow ES44AC 8780.

I was happy with how the shot below turned out, since the sky showed up beautifully, although that bush nearly ruined the shot. I can explain. I had set up trackside and had been waiting for some time before I was ready to pack it in and head home. I had begun to turn my car around to head home when I saw this train coming, fairly quickly it turns out. I had to rush back to my spot and set up quickly. Hence, I wasn't paying attention to the bush as I tried to frame this shot.

I snapped a few going away shots as the train made its way to the Bedell Road level crossing. The train had two buffer cars up front, a CP Rail multimark cylindrical hopper and a ribbed Soo Line hopper. Hey, when all you see is a line of tank cars, you have to make sure to get shots of anything out of the ordinary.

Here's a shot with a little more of the consist in the frame as the locomotives cross Bedell Road. Most of the tank cars on the train wore the Renewable Products Marketing Group logo on the side meaning this train was an ethanol train.

Here's what 99 per cent of the train looked like: a long line of black tank cars. This did not make for very interesting photographs on the surface. But, as I have mentioned recently, I have tried to get as many different shots as possible lately to make up for the limited railfanning opportunities I have. In this case, I tried to think about some nonconventional shots that might work.

This shot below isn't terribly nonconventional, but it is a shot that I would not normally take, since it's basically just a long line of tank cars. However, I managed to get that old signal tower over the South Prescott Spur in the frame. I do like the symmetry of the lines in this image. Although, I was disappointed that the sky kept washing out in some frames.

One of these things is not like the other things. Can you spot the outlier in the consist? Amid a sea of black, one lonely white tank car stood out. You can see it just past the Bedell Road crossing. You can also see the remnants of the old yard in Bedell. That track that is broken up by the crossing is now used for bad orders, although I don't know how often it is used.

And this is the end of the train as it clears Bedell Road and makes its way westward toward Merrickville and beyond.

So there you have it. More than three years into blogging, I have captured my first rolling pipeline on the rails. I was pretty happy with this meet. When you're accustomed to chasing a once weekly three car freight train, something like this is pretty special.

Bedell Ontario Part III: Big Time Railroading

At long last, I am able to share some big-time railroading photos from my recent adventures in Bedell Ontario, a small hamlet south of Ottawa. Bedell is situated on the Canadian Pacific's Winchester Subdivision, the main line between Montreal and Smiths Falls. Due to computer issues, which have finally been resolved, I was able to recover my Bedell shots and back them up. Yes, this was a very good lesson for me to regularly back up my photos.

Click here to read Bedell Ontario Part I.
Click here to read Bedell Ontario Part II.

On July 17th, I made my first visit to Bedell and was able to capture shots of the remnants of the old CP Prescott Subdivision, which was being scrapped. After doing a little exploring in the weeds of that old line, I heard a westbound freight making its way toward my spot along the main line. For those unfamiliar with Bedell, it is a former CP stopover and servicing point. There is little left now, but the area does offer a spectacular view of main line action from an old parking lot and plateau perched trackside, both of which offer safe, legal places to shoot trains.

This freight was being led by ES44AC 8719 and AC4400CW 8565. After shooting mainly old geeps around Ottawa, it was refreshing to see some modern workhorses. As I was putting this post together, I thought about the last time I shot CP action and I realized that it was in 1992 in Banff, Alberta. You can read about those adventures here and here.

As you can see, I was unfortunately on the shadow side of the train, which wasn't a huge loss considering the lighting was decent. You can see the steel coil cars trailing the lead units above and below. In the shot below, you can also see a turnout for bad orders. This turnout was once part of a much larger rail yard in the area, most of which is gone. You can also see a bit of an old signal tower behind the trailing 8565 unit. You can see that tower in the final shot below.

Although it may seem I was right beside the track, I can assure you I was a safe distance from the train and using my camera's zoom.

As I have mentioned before, a mixed freight is the best freight to shoot, in my opinion. Intermodal double-stack trains are the most common, but they don't offer much variety. This train was a true mix. It reminded me of the mixed freights I shot along the CSX Sarnia Subdivision as a teenager. Boxcars closely followed the coil cars on this train, as you can see below.

It wasn't long before a few ballast cars came into view with some old CP Rail multimarks. I have a HO-scale blue hopper car painted in this livery at home, so I took a shot.

There was a long line of tank cars before a couple of hopper cars gave way to the double stacks at the end of the train. You can see the whistle sign in this shot, as well as old rail that had just been lifted from the old turnout that led to the abandoned North Prescott Spur, formerly the Prescott Sub.

The double stacks included a number of Canadian Tire containers, which wasn't unusual since CP is the retailer's main long-distance cargo hauler. The sunny blue skies, scattered clouds and full summer foliage made for a perfect backdrop.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, as did this manifest freight. You can see the bad order turnout more clearly in this shot as well as some angled crossing signals at the Bedell Road crossing. These lights are angled due to the path of the road, which parallels the track before taking a sharp turn at the crossing.

A few weeks later, I made sure to get a shot of the old signal tower, just in case the railway decides to get rid of this relic.

 

So that was my first encounter with a CP freight on the Winchester Sub. I am planning to return to Bedell very soon to see if there is anything left from the old Prescott Subdivision. Also, I hope I won't have to wait 22 years to shoot my next CP freight.