2016's Favourites, Part I

I'm coasting into the Christmas break this year and with good reason. I am about to start a new job and have already finished Christmas preparations at the homestead. So, in the spirit of things winding down, I thought I would go through my posts this year and share a few of my favourite images with you. This post covers the first half of the year. I will cover the second half of the year next week.

This first shot was taken shortly after the new year. Ottawa had just emerged from one of the freakishly warm Christmas seasons in recent memory, so the site of snow was a welcome site for me. I made sure to find some time to take shots at the end of Cedarview Road in Barrhaven to get some winter shots of this passing westbound Via Rail corridor train. Later on in the year, I took a shot from the same point of view and was surprised with how different the view was. For example, there are a number of homes behind that train that are obscured by the snow flying in the train's wake.

Later on in January, I began to experiment with shooting around Twin Elm, a rural hamlet that is crossed by the Smiths Falls Subdivision. I found myself at the Twin Elm Road crossing a few times with my baby daughter, since I was on parental leave and these rides in the car would calm her down when she refused to nap in the afternoon (ahh, the memories).

This was my favourite image from these meets with Via Rail corridor trains. This shot was taken of an eastbound corridor train right around sunset. The sky really made this shot work, even though the light was less than ideal. It did take a fair bit of editing to get this shot to look like this.

My efforts in catching up with the Arnpior Local (The Arnprior Turn) on the Beachburg Subdivision were largely fruitless, although I did catch the train one time on the way back from an appointment. I caught this tiny consist on a snowy March morning at Northside Road in Bells Corners. I almost missed the train, so I had to fire off some blind shots as I drove along Northside and focused on the road. This was my favourite shot from that meet.

On the March Break, my family spent a few days in Toronto as a little vacation. We stayed in a condo near GO Transit's North Bathurst Yard. From our 37th floor perch, I captured countless images of commuter trains, Via J-Trains, and the Union Pearson Express. I took a few trips trackside and caught this shot of the UP Express. I think this shot really captures the essence of downtown Toronto. You can see the Bathurst Street bridge, a pedestrian bridge to Front Street, numerous trackside signals, a gantry, condo buildings and a whole lot more.

Those days in Toronto were filled with all sorts of opportunities. I decided to make the most of the time there and get shots of GO Trains from a variety of vantage points. Here is a shot of an eastbound consist with a Metrolinx painted car first in tow. You can just see the North Bathurst Yard to the right of the shot with a few trains waiting for rush hour.

As I mentioned, being on the 37th floor next to the tracks offered some unique opportunities to get shots that I wouldn't otherwise ever be able to get. Here we see two eastbound Via Rail consists heading to Union Station, one led by an F40 and another led by a P42. Note the contrasting paint schemes.

In the midst of all the family fun, I was able to get a few minutes at Roundhouse Park, right across from the Rogers Centre. I was able to capture a few cool images, like this olive green clad Canadian National geep.

In April, I was visiting a friend in Richmond when a late season snowfall dusted the area. I was surprised when I approached the Ottawa Street crossing to see this maintenance of way consist on the spur. I later learned it was used by Via Rail for a number of their area track improvement projects over the course of the summer. If you look closely, you can just make out the snow falling over the swamp next to the tracks.

In June and July, I began to experiment with the area of the Smiths Falls Sub which crosses beneath Highway 416. This shot below is probably my favourite because it also captures a storm headed north toward the city.

Here's another shot from the same shoot with a little more of the train crossing beneath the highway.

In Part II, there were a number of shots I managed to get outside of Ottawa and a few other surprises.

Fall observations in Ottawa

Fall is here and it's time to get out there to catch some railroad action amid the autumn colours. It's one of the great opportunities for railfans in Canada. With that in mind, I had some time recently to check out some of my usual spots, just to see what was happening along the local tracks.

This first shot shows a string of five hopper cars at the SynAgri feed mill in Twin Elm. Those red hoppers are Potash Corp. hoppers, just like the ones I caught last year in late fall. I thought about trying to catch a train going by the mill, since I was already there and I knew a train from Toronto was due. Unfortunately, the neighbouring farmer hadn't yet harvested the corn, so the visibility to the tracks was limited at best. I grabbed this shot but made a mental note to come back. Capturing a train going by this mill would make a great shot, especially with a string of hoppers parked on the spur.

I returned the next day to get a shot of the mill from Cambrian Road (the above shot was taken from Twin Elm Road). Here we see a Potash hopper and a AEX patched hopper. I think these hoppers are empty and waiting weekend pickup since it appears in the top shot that they were busy unloading the cargo and tarping off large piles next to the tracks.

In the shot below, you can see the first traces of the leaves changing colours. And get a load of the licence plate on the fence. I thought I'd keep that in the shot for some variety.

Speaking of hints of fall, I took this shot at Fallowfield Station recently and caught this fairly typical corridor consist headed west toward Toronto. I was happy with the clouds and the colour of the field next to the station. Again, fall! I'm hoping to catch some fall colours in the railway shots in the coming weeks. Looking through my railway shots, I noticed that my fall collection is a little thin.

As I cruised along the Smiths Falls Sub, I noticed that most of the MoW equipment on the spur in Richmond is gone, which suggests to me that most of the track work in the city has been finished for the summer season, although you will notice that there's a large pile of ballast next to the Via train in the above shot, so maybe there are a few tasks left to finish.

Prince of Wales Bridge

Recently, the city decided to fence off the Prince of Wales Bridge, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a bad thing since it means there are no immediate plans for the city to use this bridge for commuter rail, which seems like a natural move. However, coupled with this move to fence off the bridge, we have finally heard from city councillors regarding what should be done with this bridge. Happily, we have finally heard from them that the city's long-term plan for the bridge is to indeed use it for light rail, which is the first time we have heard this from the city in a long time. Baby steps...

Many people were disappointed by the move to essentially do nothing with the bridge, since many were pushing for this bridge to be converted to a recreational path. The city says it doesn't have the budget for this. Those who have been using this bridge as an informal recreational path have balked at this and have cut through the fences that now bar people from crossing the river on the old CPR right-of-way. Others staged an informal picnic on the bridge as a way to protest the city's inaction.

City police and bylaw officer intervened and put an end to the impromptu picnic. It should be noted that, although this bridge has been used as a pedestrian crossing for years, it's private property and should not be used. Besides, it has not been maintained properly for years, so there's always the safety issue as well. If that's not enough to dissuade you, the city has warned would-be trespassers that they have dispatched more police and bylaw officers to the area to catch people on the bridge.

One final note. The Municipality of La Pêche in Quebec says it has worked out a deal to bring the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train to town, to use as a static display at the old CPR turntable in Wakefield. Those in the Ottawa area may recall that this steam train was a poplar fixture on the old Canadian Pacific Maniwaki Sub on the Quebec side of the river. The train stopped operating in 2012 when heavy rains washed out part of the track. The owners of the tracks, the municipalities along the line including the City of Gatineau, have not been able to commit the funds to repair the extensive damage to the line.

A number of offers have surfaced over the years to resume operations on the line, but nothing has solidified. So it appears that the rail line will more than likely not see any more trains. Creating a display in Wakefield isn't a bad idea, since there have been suggestions that the rolling stock and engine used on this line could be scrapped if nothing is done to resume operations. Curiously, the steam train operated with Swedish equipment, so any display in Wakefield will not celebrate the trains that actually operated on the Maniwaki Sub, but will remember the equipment that was purchased to operate the steam train.

There have been a few mentions in the local coverage that there are still efforts to find an operator for a seasonal tourist rail operation. We can only hope, since it would be a shame to see this amazingly scenic line scrapped.

Change on the Smiths Falls Sub

I thought I'd pass along a few observations from my recent travels along the Smiths Falls Subdivision.

I was in Barrhaven the other day when I decided to venture down Greenbank Road to see how the new railway bridge is progressing. This shot below was taken a few weeks ago. There still seems to be a lot of work to be done. You can see from the shot below how Greenbank has been diverted to a temporary crossing (right) while works proceeds to complete a road underpass.

Here's another look, below. For those who have visited this blog before, you know that Barrhaven residents have pushed for a number of measures to lessen the burden of living next to a busy Via Rail subdivision. Trains were recently ordered to refrain from using their horn in certain areas of Barrhaven. I would not be surprised if another bridge like this is installed in the coming years, likely along Woodroffe Avenue or Fallowfield Road. This bridge makes sense since it's a safer option for everyone involved. I still maintain, though, that Ottawa residents have largely forgotten about how to live next to a railway. I digress.

On April 8, I was visiting a friend in Richmond when I saw this sight near the Ottawa Street crossing. This collection of maintenance of way equipment was parked on a stub-end siding. The consist included an open top hopper, SETX 1002.

Here's a closer look at the hopper, which has appeared a few times around Walkley Yard as well as a few other points in Eastern Ontario. It seems this has been used a number of times for maintenance consists.

One final shot from the Ottawa Street crossing. Sadly, no Via corridor trains were forthcoming, judging by the signals.

I asked around the Eastern Ontario Rails Facebook group to see if anyone knew what the MoW consist was for, but no one had an idea. It occurred to me the other day that maybe work was soon to begin to align the track over the bridge on the new Greenbank Road railway bridge. I have not been back to that area since I took the top two shots, so I can't say for sure what that little work train was doing in Richmond. But I'm glad I caught it. It was just cold enough to snow, which actually made the shots much more interesting. You can really notice the snow in the final shot.

I heard some interesting news about the Beachburg Subdivision the other day, which I will share in a future post.

Capturing a ghost: CN 589

Thanks to Beachburg Sub readers, I finally captured a ghost in the form of an actual CN freight train in Ottawa. With so few freight trains to catch in the capital, I think calling these locals ghosts is appropriate.

On Sunday, April 27th, I decided to venture outside and try and catch CN 589, which makes its way over Via trackage out to Twin Elm, a small rural four-corners nestled beside the meandering Jock River. The picture below is CN 589 crossing Moodie Drive, near Bells Corners, which was the happy end result of a curious morning adventure. Notice how CN GP9 4114 has made its way to Ottawa, which is the first I have seen such classic motive power here this year.

Here's the story of how I ended up getting this shot. I will disclose that I rely solely on schedules, and not scanners, adding an additional layer of difficulty to my chases. My journey started as I drove down Old Richmond Road heading south, since the road parallels the Smiths Falls Sub for the most part. My destination was Twin Elm, since that was the final destination for 589 on its Sunday trip. When I arrived there, nothing was happening at the SynAgri feed mill, but I did snap a shot of two hopper cars, one of which looked like a former Chicago and Northwestern car, which was lettered for the Arkansas Oklahoma Railroad (see comments below). I was reasonably happy with this catch.

However, seeing nothing happening, I then proceeded further down the line to the village of Richmond, since maps showed there were a few spurs there. I arrived at the McBean Street crossing and saw nothing, except an old piece of track maintenance equipment on a stub track.

Crossing the tracks in my car, I looked around and noticed some lights coming down the track. Success! CN 589 was coming. I raced to park the car to get back to the tracks with my camera. When I returned, I was a little disappointed that the train was actually an early morning Via corridor train bound for Toronto. The train was moving at its maximum allowed speed, which made it very difficult to get my camera settings right. Also, I was in a very awkward position to shoot, due to the sightlines and the fact that I couldn't safely cross the tracks. So, this shot was about all I got from Richmond. Scanning through my images once the train rushed by, I was disappointed that this shot below was the best I could manage.

Sometimes, it is just not meant to be.

 

Heading back home, I decided to take a short detour down Moodie Drive, just to see if maybe CN 589 was waiting for the Via corridor train to clear the tracks. I was pretty sure the local hadn't done its rounds any earlier. I crossed the tracks and again saw lights coming down the tracks. This time, I knew it was 589. And, obviously, it was making its way much more slowly, allowing me to set up close to the tracks in a much better position. The top shot in this post was my favourite, but I also loved this shot of the old geep making its way toward the Jock River bridge. Notice the retrofitted ditch lights. The unit had a similar pair on the other end as well. 

 

I knew that CN services the Kott Lumber facility, so I was hoping I could catch some switching action.

As you can see, this is what passes for a freight train in Ottawa these days. Back in the days of the Ottawa Central, these tiny consists were the exception, but they are now sadly the norm. In the shot below, 589 heads for the Jock River trestle.

And, as luck would have it, the train stopped as the crew threw the switch for Kott lumber, to retrieve an empty lumber car. This is the type of shot that will not be possible later this spring, as the brush will make any such vistas impossible. Still, I was incredibly excited to catch this action, the first freight action I have caught outside Walkley Yard since I began my blog last year.

Again, this will be a shot that will not be possible later this summer. 4114 makes it way toward the empty centre beam lumber car before it proceeds on to Twin Elm. I toyed with the idea of chasing the train to Twin Elm, but I decided to call it a day, with the thought that I will return another day to Twin Elm to take shots, since it is an incredibly scenic little rural spot for shooting trains.

And that is the story of my first successful pursuit of the 589 to Twin Elm. Now that I know the schedule Sunday and what to look for, I will be sure to capture this local more. And I will be sure to be ready for the Via too.