Higher ground

The winter here in Ottawa just won't let up, which I suppose is a sign that the climate is behaving at it normally does. Silver linings. As I write this, I am watching more late snow fall. Recently, during the March Break, a friend of our family made her way up to Ottawa for a visit. She arrived by train at Fallowfield Station. I took the opportunity to tag along for the pick-up, just in case there was something worthy of a photograph.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, Oh great, he's going to share another Via shot from Fallowfield. I can understand this reservation. I have tried to avoid Fallowfield to be honest, as I really can't see many more opportunities to see something interesting there worth sharing. But in this case, I knew there was something that might make for some interesting photos.

A small preface to the first photo. Amazingly, as my wife and I tracked our guest's progress from Toronto Union, we were stunned that her Venture set, Train 52, was right on time. I scratched my head over that, until one of my railway sources, with inside knowledge, told me that 52 was part of a J-train, as it was joined with a Montreal-bound Venture set all the way to Brockville. That would allow the train to avoid the curious CN speed restrictions on the Ventures, since it would have more than enough of the required axles to activate the signals. I won't get into that story, as I have touched on it in a past post. Go to Trackside Treasure for the full details. Eric Gagnon has done yeoman's work detailing the finer points of this fight between CN and Via over whether the new Ventures are a safety risk for CN crossings.

Anyway, with the Venture set on home rails from Brockville to Ottawa, the train arrived right on time, as there are no restrictions on Ventures on Via's own network (and somehow, the crossing guards all seem to work!). But, back to the problem of Fallowfield. What was the point of taking a boring extreme-angle wedge shot from the edge of the platform? I've already seen far too many of those in my own blog as well as on the railfan Facebook pages with Ottawa content.

But, lo and behold, there was an enormous snow pile on the east end of the station parking lot, which was about a storey and half high. And, the Venture set was the all-yellow set nicknamed Lumi. So the elevation shot was what I was after. It's one of the few blessings of this Ottawa winter. A drone shot, if you will, minus the expense of a drone.

This shot gives you a much different perspective of Fallowfield. It shows you how difficult it is to get a shot without cars blocking your view. This is why you almost always see shots from Fallowfield as tight wedge shots. I think those shots are getting boring, so I try to avoid them when I can. I like this shot because it puts everything into perspective. I wonder if the person backing up their pickup was wondering what I was doing on top of a massive pile of snow. I know my wife was shaking her head on the station platform. 

After getting my elevated shot, I thought of a few other different perspectives I wanted to get, just to see if I could find other different perspectives that bring this late winter scene to life. After coming down from higher ground, I decided to get low. Very low.

As I said, I don't like these tightly angled shots from the platform, unless I can do something that makes the image a bit more interesting. I took a few shots with the salt box out of the photo, but I found this shot to be more interesting. The grey sky certainly helped make this yellow train stick out. As I was in the mood for different shots, I figured something patriotic might be fun as well, hence the maple leaf below.

One other shot that I thought I would try. I've been experimenting with these slice-of-life platform shots for a while, trying to ensure I am not identifying anyone in the photo. I like this one, although this passenger is a bit lost amid the vehicles. I would have liked a cleaner shot of her on the platform. I had to be careful because I didn't want to take any obviously intrusive or unflattering photos of people. I made sure to keep my distance and take a shot with an iPhone discretely. That way, no one is identified and no one is alarmed.

So that was my recent experiment in getting some different shots at Fallowfield. I was thankful that the Lumi consist provided such an interesting contrast to an otherwise blustery, grey day in mid-March. 

In recent weeks, I've made some small trips around the city to chronicle the O-Train's newly operational southern extension (which is now part of the Trillium Line or Line 2 as it is also known). These diesel trains seems to be handling the job with no problem. I even made a quick trip to Walkley Yard, or as close as I could get to the yard legally. With CN's presence in the city but a blip these days, this trip proved to be quite informative. Stay tuned.
 

Illegitimus non Carborundum

In the spirit of full disclosure, which is part of my mission as a mental health public speaker, I will share that I am once again struggling with my life as it is, mainly due to an ongoing situation in my neighbourhood where my family is still being harassed and intimidated by a local resident. Long story short, our attempts to stop this behaviour through legal means have only met with mixed success and the threat remains. We had to report this individual recently, as he shows no signs of stopping. We are also desperately trying to get the Ottawa Police Service to take ownership of its litany of mistakes (my opinion, not theirs, obviously) in (mis)handling this situation.

That brings me to this blog and my continued efforts to find new and interesting things, or possibly old and interesting things, to share about my love of railways. The title of this post is a nod to the Latin motto of the now defunct Whitehorse Star newspaper, which recently closed its doors after 124 years. The scrappy newspaper's motto roughly translates to You mustn't allow the b@stards to bring you down. I love this scrappy attitude, which seems to be right out of the Klondike era Yukon.

In the spirit of that motto, I am trying not to allow anyone or anyone's failures to prevent me from living my life. It's hard right now, when I have my family's safety on my mind and the everpresent threat from this person, but through counselling, I have been able to deal with stress and anxiety in ways I couldn't a few years ago.

Part of my therapy, quite honestly, has involved going out on Wednesdays, after dropping off my girls at dance class, and sitting trackside. In the last few weeks, I've found some new spots to shoot the evening westbound Train 59 and the eastbound Train 43. It's all therapy and if we all learn something, even better, right?

Milepost 1.63 Smiths Falls Subdivision

I'll start at Milepost 1.63 of the Smiths Falls Subdivision, which is where the tracks cross Merivale Road, one of this area's more notoriously congested arterial routes. It's a throwback to 1960s urban planning when commercial development was grouped together in an endless pattern, with little thought to surrounding neighbourhoods or some sort of natural balance. There are Merivale Roads in every city and Ottawa certainly has its share of similar areas (Hazeldean Road in Kanata, southern Bank Street in Central Ottawa, Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Innes Road in the east end).

The Merivale level crossing marks the point where the commercial properties end and the residential areas re-emerge. It's a crossing that has a wide sidewalk on the west side of the road, with clear sight lines down the arrow straight stretch of track. Two weeks ago, I took a few pictures of Train 59, just to see if this crossing had anything interesting for visual purposes.

I framed the train to the left of this shot because I wanted to capture the symmetry of the power lines to the right. That overpass in the background is the Hunt Club Road overpass, where I have taken a number of railway pictures in the past few years.

Here's a shot (above) at the Merivale crossing itself. F40PH-2 6432 leads a four-car LRC consist east toward Fallowfield Station, which is situated just past the next level crossing at Woodroffe Avenue, to the west of this spot. You can see the petroleum storage tanks at Eastway Tank to the left of the crossing signals. To the right, you can see a residential neighbourhood. This spot really is the dividing line between commercial and residential areas in this part of the old Nepean.

I waited around for Train 43 eastbound, which is scheduled to come through this area around 6:48 each evening, if it isn't running late. Lucky for me, it was on time, which meant I could catch a shot of it running eastbound. Given the shadows cast by the buildings next to the track, I had to wait until the train emerged into a sunny pocket to get this shot. Note the last car in this six-car consist. One of these things is not like the other things.

Here's a closer shot nearer to the crossing. Note the shadows from the buildings on nearby Capital Drive. You can make out the new Via scheme, the old blue-and-yellow scheme and a wrap, if you look closely.

I'm not sure why an old HEP car was added onto the end of this train, but it made for a nice little surprise. I don't think we'll see too much more of this variety in the corridor. 

So that was my late April adventure at a new spot. I'm not sure I will return to this crossing, as I don't see many opportunities for new shots, but it's always fun to capture images of places in the city that I haven't documented before. This level crossing is at an interesting spot. It is worth a try, if you are a local train enthusiast and are looking for something new.

This past week, I returned to the Rideau River bridge, to get a new angle I hadn't tried yet. I will share those images in the weeks to come. 

These Wednesdays have been therapeutic for me, because they give me an evening away from my house and allow me to be free of household concerns and chores for a few hours. I'm sure I'll grow tired of taking shots of the same train at some point, but I have already identified two new vantage points I'd like to capture in the weeks to come, so I'm hoping to continue my efforts to find new ways to capture railway images in Ottawa.

Even if I don't come up with anything new, just being trackside seems to be enough for me right now. 

Not quite a wonderland, but...

I left it until the final day of Christmas vacation to get out there and do a little railfanning in Ottawa. It was a very quiet couple of weeks with my kids at home, which is exactly what I needed after a hectic couple of months leading up to Christmas. But I was feeling the itch and I figured I might as well get a few shots of the new Via Rail Siemens equipment while there was actually snow on the ground. I would not call it a winter wonderland, but it was something a little different. It was a dry couple of weeks through Christmas, so the sight of falling snow was a welcome sight, even if it was a bit chilly for photography, at least by recent standards.

True to my desire to get a variety of different photographs, I started by taking a shot at the signals just east of the Fallowfield crossing, the left of which was showing straight green over red. The signals to the right govern the movement of trains on the Fallowfield passing siding, when it is used. They are almost always showing red over red.

I then moved to the end of the east parking lot of the station, to get an unobstructed view of the train approaching from the east, as the lot was full and the views from the west lot did not look promising. My daughter came out to see "the new Vias" as she calls them. She has taken to doodling the Via and CN logos at home, which is a hopeful sign. I'm not sure I made a railfan of her, but I have managed to get her interested in hockey, so maybe trains aren't a huge stretch. 

The approaching Siemens consist was headed up by the control cab car in the lead and the locomotive at the rear. A blog reader said these trains don't have much of a horn. Since Via trains usually use a horn as they approach the Woodroffe Avenue crossing before the station, I was curious to hear what they sounded like, but I didn't hear any horn from this train, which was Via Train 43.

Let's get the obligatory 3/4 wedge shot in there. As much as I am trying to get different shots these days, I still have to take some of these more straightforward shots, as the new Siemens units really do demand it. That's car 2303 in the lead.

I like to get shots of trains loading on the platform, since it is a different image. I try to position myself far enough away from the crowds, to avoid taking photos of anyone that would allow them to be recognized. I like this shot, since I made sure to frame the Via logo on the locomotive in the upper right corner. 

Next, I tried to get a shot of locomotive 2204 at the end of the platform. It was a little trickier than I thought it would be since the Siemens trains are a fair bit more lengthy on the platform than the more usual consists with P42s/F40s and a mix of 4-6 cars in tow. Even with the double-enders that Via has been using in recent years, this train was sitting much closer to the eastern edge of the platform. I had to angle myself carefully to stay on the edge of the platform and get a shot safely.

Before leaving, I went to the west parking lot to get some more shots of the train making its way west toward the Fallowfield crossing. Luckily, the western lot was mostly empty near the end so I was able to get a shot of the train leaving, but the light standards at the edge of the lot didn't help with the image. Those shots didn't work out, so I focused on framing the train against the signals near Fallowfield Road. I like this shot best, as it captured the snow against 2204.

All in all, it was a fun, quick trip to the station and my daughter thought the new train was pretty slick. She is looking forward to our family's first train trip to Toronto in June, when we will take our daughters to their first Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. I was glad in a way that we received some unexpected snow (this as before the massive 20-25 cm snowfall we saw on Jan 22-23) and well into Sunday, as it allowed me to get some winter railway shots. It's just not as fun when the winter shots have no snow on the ground. A good first effort for 2024.

The curious history of Fallowfield Station's name

Fallowfield Station is 21 years old this year and, for its entire history, has drawn confusion over its name. Look through old news coverage of the station when it opened in 2002 and you will see that people wrote letters to the editor of the Ottawa Citizen, asking Via Rail to change the name of the station to Barrhaven, where it is located in the southwest of Ottawa's urban area. 

There are a few interesting points to consider when considering why the station is named Fallowfield. The most important point is that the station is technically located on Fallowfield Road, which is an arterial road on the northern edge of the massive suburb. That is a reasonable enough explanation on its face, but it's not that simple. Those who know their geography in the Ottawa area know that a small rural village, located between Bells Corners and Richmond, is called Fallowfield. This beautiful rural community traces its routes back to the 1870s. It boasts a beautiful old stone church, St. Patrick's, which sits atop Steeple Hill (naturally), just off Old Richmond Road. 

For our purposes, it's important to note that the Fallowfield community is located nine kilometres away from the actual station that bears its name. Using St. Patrick's as a reference point, Google Maps shows that the distance from the Steeple Hill area, where many Fallowfield residents live, to the station is 9.1 kilometres. For Ottawa area residents, this is no longer an issue, as most people understand the station and the community are not the same thing, but for people unfamiliar with this city, it begs the question why the station would be named Fallowfield.

The second point to consider is that the station's name is not without precedent. Consider that Via Rail's suburban station in Scarborough is called Guildwood, although in that case, the station is located in a community by the name Guildwood, that eventually was subsumed by Scarborough. Also, Via Rail's station in Hamilton is called Aldershot. Both of these names predate Via Rail, so neither of these unique choices can be credited to Via. But for our purposes, there is historical precedence for giving a station a name that does not align with the community it serves. 

It's important to note that railways have often located their stations in areas that are most advantageous to them, rather than what is convenient to the town they serve. This was often done to discourage land speculators from benefiting from selling overpriced land in an area where a railway was expected to be built. In some cases, a station was built along a rail line that bypassed the nearest town altogether. Look at Gananoque's station in Cheeseborough as an example. In the case of this town, a branchline was opened to the station so the town wouldn't be left behind. Also, look in Ottawa's south end, where the old CP Prescott Subdivision as once located. Consider how far the Manotick Station area is, where the line was went through, from the actual community of Manotick.

In the case of Fallowfield Station, the name is not the product of Via Rail shenanigans. It was the product of an OC Transpo suburban pack and ride facility for its city buses. The park and ride facility was built at the corner of Fallowfield Road and Woodroffe Avenue before Via Rail began to consider opening up its station.

This is where the bizarre railway policy in Ottawa municipal politics enters the picture. When Nepean city council began lobbying for a train station in Barrhaven, one idea was that the Via station would be a useful resource for people in the west end of the Ottawa urban area, who didn't want to travel to the Ottawa Station, east of Ottawa's downtown to catch a train to Toronto. 

But even more than the convenience factor for west end residents, the Via station was seen as an important potential link in a commuter railway network using existing rails in the city. Look at the news coverage from the late 1990s and early 2000s and you will read about numerous local politicians extolling the virtues of a multi-modal commuter station that linked together buses, commuter trains and Via Rail. The idea was for the station to be a GO station, in addition to a link on the Via Rail network.

When I was researching the history of the station, there it was in black in while: proof that this city once had a coherent, reasonable commuter railway policy that included the common sense notion of using the infrastructure in place to move people to and from the suburbs into the core using existing rail. 

Of course, those notions of using existing rails were repeatedly dismissed by so-called progressive visions of a more European rail network, using electric light rail vehicles on a new right-of-way on an east-west axis. We know the rest of that story, which is still sadly unfolding today.

So, why Fallowfield Station? Well, because at one point, Fallowfield Station as supposed to double as a commuter rail station for OC Transpo, so it needed to have the same name as the OC Transpo park and ride bus station that was already in place.

When successive councils repeatedly quashed the idea of using existing rails to serve as a basis for commuter rail service in the city, the name for Via Rail's Barrhaven station became even more questionable. Eventually a decision was reached to include the name Barrhaven in parenthesis on the station signs. 

As Paul Harvey used to say: Now you know, the rest of the story.

Happy 21st Birthday, Fallowfield Station (Part I)

Here's a quick trivia question. How many Canadian cities have more than one active passenger railway station? This is easy for many railfans. Montreal has its Central Station downtown as well as Dorval Station to the west. Toronto has Union Station as well as Guildwood Station in Scarborough. And, for the last 21 years, Ottawa has had its Central Station on Tremblay Road, which is east of the downtown, as well as Fallowfield Station in the southwest neighbourhood of Barrhaven.

The story of this suburban station is an interesting one, and it requires a little bit of local and national history to understand how it came to be. After all, it's a rare feat for any city to open a second railway station in the 21st century, never mind an urban centre like Ottawa, which had a population around 800,000 when Fallowfield was opened in 2002.

 

I began taking shots at Fallowfield Station in 2012. This is a shot of Fallowfield Station at dusk in 2013 as a P42 leads an eastbound corridor consist into the station before finishing its run at Via's main station on Tremblay Road.

So how does a station get built in an urban centre in what was then known as Ottawa-Carleton? Well, that is your first clue. Up until 2001, the City of Ottawa as we now know it was an urban centre that housed 11 separate municipalities, including the old City of Ottawa, Gloucester to its east, Nepean to its west, as well as Kanata, Vanier, Rockcliffe Park and some other townships and smaller municipalities. 

Nepean, for our purposes, is the most important of the former municipalities, since it encompassed a huge chunk of land to the west of the old City of Ottawa. Given its massive suburban neighbourhoods and communities, the issue of transit in this geographically large former city was critical. In the 1990s, the city council for Nepean put great emphasis on transit as one of its priorities. There were also strong voices for better regional transit at the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, which was the senior level of local government that handled issues that transcended the boundaries of the old municipalities.

One area that required transit solutions was the burgeoning community of Barrhaven, which is now a city in and of itself, with a population north of 50,000 alone. Despite the efforts of Nepean city councillors and regional councillors, nothing was done with the idea for a west-end train station until a former Nepean city councillor and regional councillor broke into federal politics.

Former Nepean Councillor David Pratt, who would go on to become a minister in the Paul Martin government, was the champion who revived the idea of building the Fallowfield train station in 2000, when the government had set aside $400 million for Via Rail infrastructure improvements. It's important to note that, at this time, Via Rail had many friends in the federal government, including Transportation Minister David Collenette. Collenette would be Via's last true blue friend in government, as he was a big proponent of railways as a solution to many modern environmental and infrastructure challenges.

Surprisingly, from Mr. Pratt's proposal in 2000, the idea to build a suburban train station did not take long to become a reality. With the political will in place, the project gained traction and started quickly. The project was officially unveiled in June 2001.

Already, there were elements in place, such as an OC Transpo Park and Ride parking lot for commuters at the corner of Woodroffe Avenue and Fallowfield Road, on the northern edge of Barrhaven. At this point, the bus-specific Transitway system of bus lanes had not been completed to Barrhaven, but was on its way. 

In November of 2002, construction of the $1.2-million station was completed and regular service as a stop began. The train station is the first stop on all westbound Toronto trains and the last stop on all eastbound trains terminating at the Tremblay Road station. 

This is a scanned image from the Ottawa Citizen of former Transportation Minister David Collenette (left) and former Via Rail Canada Chairman Jean Pelletier (right) on the first day of operations at the Fallowfield train station in November 2002.

The opening of the station was imperfect, as Via Rail had a multibillion-dollar wish list of items it needed to modernize its fleet and operations at the time. However, the $400-million government funding did not go nearly far enough in addressing any of those operational goals, which tended to overshadow the opening of the suburban station.

There were plans leading up to the opening of the station for Via to establish overnight service to Toronto, which never happened. There were also plans to shorten the travel time between Ottawa and Toronto, but this never really happened, although it can hardly be expected that shortening time would be a guarantee when Via is a tenant of CN on much of the rails between Ottawa and Toronto. 

Via now controls its own rails on the Smiths Falls Subdivision to Smiths Falls and the Brockville Subdivison (ex-CP) to Brockville. From there, it is a tenant on CN rails all the way to Toronto and beyond. This means it is at the mercy of CN dispatchers, who often give priority to their own freight trains. There is also the matter of Metrolinx GO Trains in and around Union Station, as well.

The opening of the Fallowfield station happened not long after Via had discontinued service in Prescott, Trenton and Maxville in Eastern and Central Ontario. In many respects, it was a time of mixed messages and uncertain fortunes for Canada's national passenger railway. Even then, its fleet of F40PH-2 locomotives and HEP cars seemed old. Its LRC coaches had long since been imperfectly coupled onto the F40s, since the original Baombardier-built LRC locomotives had proven unreliable in the corridor. The railway's experiment with British renaissance cars was not yet on the horizon, although we all know how that turned out. 

Much like today, Via was an operation in flux, in search of a more secure future with better equipment. But, as a Crown corporation subject to political whims of the government of the day, planning is never easy for this railway. It certainly wasn't easy then either, despite the backers it had in its corner.

In the next post, I want to tackle some questions about the station. Why was it called Fallowfield Station? Why not Barrhaven? Why was it built where it now stands? Why not closer to the more populated parts of Barrhaven? Can you ride the train between the Tremblay Station and get off at Fallowfield? 

Indeed, there is more than meets the eye when you're talking about this station.

Two for one

I've noticed that I've featured an inordinate amount of Via Rail trains on the blog so far this year, which is a function of where I've been between January and July. In other words, I haven't left Ottawa much, so it's been a persistent parade or passenger train perfection of late. This can be tiresome for railfans, many of whom in Ottawa yearn to see regular freight trains. However, once in a while, even Via Rail can offer up something a bit different for the jaded Ottawa railfan, which makes it worthwhile to be trackside. I do not count myself among the jaded railfans locally. To be honest, I've been so busy trying new photographic techniques and finding new places to shoot as well as new perspectives to capture, even the repetition of Via Rail corridor consists has been fun.

On May 28, my wife was returning to the city after a weekend working in Waterloo. As she was making her way back east, I tracked Train 44 on the Via Rail tracking app, which was pretty cool. I didn't check the schedule otherwise, but I probably should have, since there was a westbound five-HEP consist waiting to leave Fallowfield Station when I arrived. It was Train 59, being led by F40PH-2 6410 in the pre-wrap Via Rail green/grey/yellow scheme. As I pulled into the west parking lot, the train was easing west on the main line, which was a bit disappointing, as I wanted to get a quick shot. But then, it stopped. 

Given the harsh sun at 6;20, when I arrived, there were some pretty intense shadows being cast on my side of the station, but I had to make do. Train 59's departure time is usually 6:12 p.m., as per Via's schedule, but on this evening it was starting late. As it idled west of the station, right before a crossover onto the station's second track, it hit me that Train 44 was given clearance to arrive ahead of Train 59 taking the main past Fallowfield Road. Train 44 was already running late, since it was scheduled to arrive at the same time as Train 59 left. My wife was texting me from the train and explaining through gritted teeth that CN was routing a number of trains ahead of Train 44. I tried to explain to my wife that this is the way it goes when you are a tenant on CN rails. 

After a few minutes, I could see the lights of Train 44 heading east toward the station. This meant that, in the 11 years I have been coming to Fallowfield Station, I was finally being rewarded with a meet. A dubious drought was finally going to end. This also allowed me the chance to once again try something different, as I have made it my goal this year to be different in my approach to trackside photography and musings.

The sun's positioning totally washed out the sky to the west, but I was really pleased with this shot nonetheless. Looking carefully, you can see Train 44 making its way east, but also the crew of Train 59 getting some fresh air next to the F40. Not sure why they got out of the cab, but it made for a human element in the image. You can also see the signal reading red over red. I didn't zoom in on the crew, for the purpose of their privacy. 

The next shot would be when Train 44 made its way past the end of Train 59, which would be another cool shot. I had my two daughters with me, ready to greet their mom, so I had to make sure they were not getting in the way of my shot and also keeping their distance from the rails. Luckily, they know their railway safety as I have taught them to respect the power of trains and the potential danger. So, it was a waiting game to get this shot, below. You can just make out the silhouette of the Train 59 crew in this shot. F40PH-2 6448 eases Train 44 into the station, about 20 minutes behind schedule.

I played with the zoom on the camera and tried a longer shot. I'm not sure which one I like better.

After Train 44 made its way to its spot on Track 2, I turned around to get a shot of its arrival at Fallowfield Station.

You can just make out the Via Rail employee crossing to the Track 2 platform to ensure everyone gets back to the main platform safely. All in all, it was an unexpectedly fruitful few minutes trackside on the Smiths Falls Sub.

In the last few months, I have been doing a bit of light research on this train station, which has an interesting history, given that it is now 21 years old. I am fascinated by the fact that Via would build a suburban station in Ottawa at all. At some point over the summer, I am going to share a three-post series about this station, how it came to be built and why it's such an oddity in today's highly centralized railway industry.

Stay tuned for that. Some of the information I dug up about this station might surprise you. At the very least, it will make some local rail watchers laugh. That's a small hint of the politics surrounding this station.

But for now, I hope you enjoyed this meet as much as I did. The only other time I have caught a meet like this was in Smiths Falls in front of the old Via station in the CP yard there. But having finally captured my first meet in Ottawa, I have to say this one was a little sweeter.

The ghost that haunts me (Part I)

I've called the weekly CN freight run to Arnprior the Ghost several times, and for good reason. It's a tricky train to catch, if you are so inclined. The Arnprior Turn, as it is commonly known, has changed a fair bit since I have begun to take notice of it with the advent of this blog in 2013. When I first started blogging, CN made two weekly trips to the west end of the city. It made a run out to Kott Lumber and SynAgri on the Smiths Falls Sub on Sundays (and sometimes Thursdays I'm told, depending on demand). The run to Arnprior was on Wednesdays, which continues to this day. 

Of course, the two runs out west have been combined into one run now, as CN 589 heads up the Smiths Falls Sub early in the morning before backing up to Federal Junction and then proceeding  west up the Beachburg Sub to what was Nepean Junction, where the now continuous line becomes the Renfrew Spur, which takes the train to Nylene Canada in Arnprior. This is the usual routine, if both runs are needed. If there is nothing to do on the Smiths Falls Sub, CN crews proceed directly up the Beachburg Sub to Arnprior.

To be honest, I don't pay as much attention to this train as I once did, because I have been branching out in my blogging a bit, trying new things, finding new subjects as well as thinking about new spots and angles to capture railway action in this area. That doesn't mean that I don't sometimes look out for it. Since I work from home, I do have opportunities to swing by trackside to catch this train, in theory. But, even breaking away on my break time is a difficult thing to do, which means I usually don't chance it, as my workday can become busy in an instant (like it did this week).

But as I find myself in the Colonnade Business Park every Wednesday evening, when my daughters go to dance class, I have time to keep an eye out for 589's return to Walkley Yard. Over the winter months, the timing hasn't worked out, as the daylight was nonexistent. However, I did see the train twice over the winter months. It got me to thinking that, once the time change happened and I had daylight, I would start bringing my camera each Wednesday, just in case I got lucky.

For the most part, the timing hasn't worked out, as the Arnprior Turn has been unpredictable. There are shifting factors that affect this train's timing. The most obvious is the switching that needs to be done in Walkley Yard before 589 prepares for its trip west. The next factor is whether 589 needs to make a run to Kott lumber or (rarely) SynAgri in Twin Elm, which isn't always the case each week. Depending on its timing on the Smiths Falls Sub, there is the Via Rail Toronto-bound trains that CN needs to accommodate, as they have the right-of-way usually. 

Add all those factors together and it can be hard to predict when this train makes its way to Arnprior and back to Walkley Yard again. There's also the factor of how many tank cars of caprolactum that Nylene Canada requires. There have been weeks where I saw a single tank car in tow on this train, while other weeks see as many as 6-7 cars. The unloading process is not terribly straightforward, I'm told, as caprolactum isn't like unloading a tank full of petroleum gas.

So, long story short, it's anything but predictable, which means you always need to be ready. Case in point was a few weeks ago when I was bringing my daughters to dance class and nearly left my camera at home. I was having no luck catching this train and I was getting a bit discouraged by my bad luck. At the last minute, I decided to take my camera anyway, just in case. I'm glad I did. The railway gods finally smiled on me.

This is a shot of the train heading east back to Walkley Yard on a flyover. Since traffic was at a standstill on Merivale Road, I quickly snapped a few shots through my windshield as the train trundled by. I would never attempt this otherwise, but I knew it was relatively safe as the cars around me were not moving. For once, I was thankful for an unusually congested Merivale Road, which is a nightmare of outdated urban development, with retail plazas tacked onto each other in seemingly endless links.

This shot shows two GP38s in a somewhat faded safety scheme. There were four tank cars in tow being brought back to Walkley. This shot came out surprisingly well, as it fits with my newfound desire to get some different shots of trains this year. You can see the hydro towers that follow the Beachburg Sub in this part of Nepean. You can also see the billboard for a local store on Merivale, which is a strip mall nightmare. But, I like that all these elements came together in this lucky shot.

As I followed the train, I tried to get a few more of the tank cars in the shot, but the glare and reflection from the windshield killed a few shots. The shot above was the best I could do. 

The interesting thing here is that, given the speed restrictions on the Beachburg Sub, I knew I would have time to proceed to Prince of Wales Drive ahead of the train, since it was in the direction of my daughter's dance class on Colonnade Road. Since we were early for class, I passed by the dance class on Colonnade Road and headed for the Prince of Wales flyover, which sees Via corridor trains every day, as well as this weekly freight train. I knew it was going to be tight, but there was a parking lot where I could safely park and a grassy hill next to Prince of Wales Drive, with a great view of this rail bridge.

I have been experimenting with shots from this vantage points recently, as Via's Train 59 passes by at the same time every night. It's a great spot to get a different image, if you're so inclined. I will be sharing shots from this spot in the comings weeks and months. Stay tuned for that.

Something different: Challenge accepted!

You might recall that in a recent post, I declared 2023 as the Year of Different, where I challenged my fellow rail enthusiasts to get creative and capture different railway images this year. A good friend of the blog Keith Boardman accepted the challenge and shared this shot from near Fitzroy Harbour, a picturesque community in the extreme northwest edge of the amalgamated city. Fitzroy a spot where the old Beachburg Sub crossed the Ottawa River into the Pontiac Region of western Quebec, before crossing back into Renfrew County before reaching its terminus in Petawawa. Of course, before CN dismantled its Northern Transcontinental line through Algonquin Park, this was once a busy rail line with regular freight trains. Even after it was truncated, the old Ottawa Central regularly serviced customers in the Pontiac and even as far as Petawawa, before the economic recession in 2009 led to OCR selling its assets to CN. That was it for the Beachburg Sub past Nepean Junction.

But, even though the rails are gone past Nepean Junction, there are still reminders of what once was in this area. I'll let Keith pick up the story. Here's what he wrote:

I happened to be travelling on Galetta Side Road where you'd turn north to go to Fitzroy Harbour a couple weeks ago. I've been on this road many times over the years, always wondering what the scene would have been like had the Beachburg Sub still been in use. As I passed by where it crossed, this little structure caught my attention. It was interesting in that it's still painted and lettered with the CN logo. Pretty sure nobody has bothered going in it now for several years, but it still stands.

Thanks to Keith for sharing this shot of an old CN utility shed, which seems to be near a telecom tower, which might explain why it's still in place. You can even see the CN 8231 numbering on the side of the shed. 

I was thinking of Keith's shot the other day and I figured it fit thematically with this post. As I looked at the shots of CN 589 making its way over Merivale Road, I wondered how many trains used to ply these rails in their prime? How many trains did people see each day on their commute? It's funny how many rail fans talk about these days with fondness, when a generation of Ottawans probably couldn't even tell you anything about this rail line at all. Many think it's abandoned and they'd be forgiven for thinking that.

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, as the song says.

By the way, the title of this post is a play on the 1991 album, The Ghosts That Haunt Me, by Canadian band the Crash Test Dummies. I was never a huge fan of theirs, but they had their moments. I appreciate their devotion to their craft. Their music was anything but dumb.

2023: The Year of Different

I remember not so long ago that my fellow blogger Eric Gagnon dubbed 2015 the Year of the Mundane, as he felt that we railway shutterbugs would be well served to start paying better attention to the small details trackside (the treasures, as it were, Eric?). In that spirit, I am hereby challenging all my fellow rail enthusiasts to get out there and find something different in 2023. I haven't really realized it until now, but I have been taking every opportunity in the last six months to get a rail shot that is different. I have been exploring new areas of the city and trying to get shots with new sightlines, just for the sake of finding new ways to capture railway action.

So, let's make 2023 the Year of Different.

For me, it's partly a necessity. I have not been far afield from Ottawa lately, which means my choices are pretty slim. It's either Via Rail in the west end of the city (Nepean, in my case) or a weekly crapshoot to try and catch up with CN 589 when it makes its way to Arnprior. I wish I could catch it on one of its runs to or from Coteau in the east end, but that's going to require a fair bit of planning one weekend and some help from my fellow railfans here in the city.

So, if my choices are Via Rail or the Arnprior Turn, then my challenge will be to find new ways of shooting the same trains. To be honest, I've grown a bit tired of the Arnprior Turn. I realize it's the only game in town for most of us, but I find that it tends to dominate our energies in this area at times, to the detriment of other trains, sightlines, areas, discussions and topics of concern.

A good example of this desire for different is the recent shots I have taken near Federal Junction. This is an area of the city with some fascinating rail history. It's where the Beachburg Sub meets the Smiths Falls Sub. In the area of the Colonnade Business Park, there are a number of dormant and partially buried old tracks that once served this industrial park. You don't need to venture far into the rear parking lots of businesses to see these tracks. Given that I am in this area every week, I am now regularly getting shots of Via's evening westbound Train 59. Last week was no different as I climbed onto the Hunt Club Road overpass and took this shot from the north sidewalk. 

This was my favourite shot of the all HEP consist, with a familiar F40PH-2 on point. That business to the right is the HLS Linens facility at the end of Gurdwara Road. You can also just make out the signal tower peaking out from around the bend in the tracks. Given the strong sunlight at 6 p.m. when the train goes by, I had to make sure I was on the sunny side of the train to get the best shot. I had to crop the image a fair bit to remove the wires from the image, which tend to frustrate my efforts at this location. I did keep the hydro towers visible in the shot, however, as it gives the image context.

This past weekend, as my family was recovering from a housewide outbreak of COVID, I found myself going a bit stir crazy, so I ventured out to take some train pictures in the fresh air, since our Mothers Day plans were essentially grounded. I went to Fallowfield Station and saw a typical corridor train approaching and sighed. An F40 and four LRC cars. I wondered whether I needed another set of shots of this train. I actually barely stayed at the station once the train arrived, since I couldn't think of anything creative to do. But then I had an idea.

Just down the road from the station is a recently constructed flyover on Greenbank Road, which replaced a level crossing in 2016. I have been wanting to shoot a train on that bridge since it became operational, but I have never been in a position where I could. So I left the station as the westbound took on passengers and set up at a vantage point on Greenbank Road to get a shot of the train crossing the flyover. Again, given the sun, I had to make sure I was on the sunny side of the bridge and at a vantage point free of major obstructions. With about a minute to spare, I set up and the train arrived.

I wasn't completely happy with this shot, but I think it turned out reasonably well. The sunlight was surprisingly tricky and the trees behind the bridge tended to darken the image a bit. I did want to be far enough away that I could shoot the train from a level perspective or somewhere close to level. I decided not to zoom in, because without the road in the picture, the shot would have lost some of its context. I wanted a shot of a train as part of the cityscape. That's a big priority for me right now. I want to shoot trains in the context of their surroundings, rather than isolating them in a shot where you have no idea where they are.

This shot when the train is a little further along turned out a bit better, simply because the light was more favourable a second later. It's amazing how quickly the natural backlighting can change in a series of shots. 

Even when I was at the station, I tried to incorporate a few elements into my shot, to make it a bit more interesting. This shot below incorporates the safety fencing at the end of the parking lot. It's nothing special, but it's something different to look at anyway.

One final example. As I was waiting for the westbound to show, I noticed a farmer in his field on the other side of the tracks. Given the wind was whipping up the dry soil, I thought it would make for an interesting shot while I was waiting.

So here's my challenge to you. Get out there and find something different. It could be different angle, a different spot to shoot or a different trackside element. Let's expand our horizons and make things a bit more interesting.