Off the main line

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

First taste of the main line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Long live the SWs

Back in November, I was visiting family in the Sarnia area around Remembrance Day, which meant a bit of time trackside, of course. I don't get many chances to see large rail yards or busy rail freight corridors in action, so it was a nice change of pace for me.

When I was at CN's Sarnia rail yard, I trained my camera lens on the nearby former roundhouse, now a workshop for LDS, Lambton Diesel Specialists. It's a bit of a challenge getting good shots of the motive power outside the old roundhouse, as you have to shoot across a fair number of tracks. However, this is the only way to get quality images legally as there are no other publicly available vantage points around this facility. The mist in the air the day I was there didn't help.

This was the image that got me to thinking a bit.

This is a shot of two old EMD SW units, one appears to have been painted black. It's possible it was used as an LDS switcher, as the company has used old SW1200s over the years in a black and grey scheme, like the one in this image below. Both of these units still have bells atop their hood, which is increasingly rare these days. I've seen many old engines at this facility being scavenged for parts, but these two still look to have some life in them.

The SW1200 was once an ubiquitous presence on most major freight railways. In Sarnia, these units were all over Sarnia yard, not to mention the industrial spurs radiating out of the yard. CN would use them on the St. Clair River Industrial Spur all the way south to Courtright, not to mention on the Point Edward Spur, which used to connect to the CN ferry for oversize cars. The SWs would bring lines of autoracks and hi-cube boxcars to the old ferry yard near Front Street, so they could be ferried across the river to Port Huron, Michigan.

Now, these units are almost exclusively the domain of private owners and industrial trackage. You'd be hard pressed to find them on any major railway. CN now uses its rebuilt GP9s in Sarnia, some with slugs attached. CP uses its GP20ECO units, which were built off the platforms of old GP9s.

Yet, seeing those two SW units back in November was a cool sighting for me, especially as one was clearly numbered 7316 and appeared to be a Nova Chemicals switcher. Nova owns several refineries in and around Sarnia, all of which are rail served. Its recently expanded Corunna operation has a large rail yard running along Highway 40, mostly hidden behind an earthen berm. You can see it from a nearby overpass and can get some shots if you are in the passenger seat.
 

This shot, above, is not an SW1200, but an earlier model from the same EMD line. This unit has no number, so it's a bit difficult to figure out what it is. But the point of sharing the image is that this engine is one of the survivors of a highly successful line of switcher locomotives, possibly one of EMD's most successful freight lines outside its GP38-2s and SD40-2.

The SW line of switchers began with the SW1, which began production in 1935. The SW line continued in production until 1974, when the most popular of the series, the SW1200 and SW1500 (and the variations) ended production. That's a remarkable run of nearly 40 years. At one point, this line was meant to be a response to the popular Baldwin S line of switchers, which were common at one point in many rail yards. It wasn't long before EMD claimed the title for the most successful yard power.

 

Today, many of the old SWs are long gone or hidden away in industrial operations. I find it interesting that they were largely supplanted in some cases by GP9s, engines that in some instances were much older. I suppose the rebuild program in CN's case was what tipped the scales in favour of the GP9s.

 

Whenever I get back to Sarnia and see a few of the old SW1200s kicking around the roundhouse, I smile and think back to when I used to see them doing yeoman's work in the yard, up until the mid- to late 1990s. 

 

I also think back to when they powered some of the freights on the Kawartha Lakes Railway through Peterborough when I lived there. 

 

There's even these shots I inherited of a few SWs in Essex Terminal Rail colours in Windsor. 

 

 

It's safe to say that this could be one of the most successful engines to ever grace the rails in Canada and possibly North America. I miss them. 

A journey to Montreal in February

Now seemed like as good a time as any to share some photos of my trip to Montreal a few months ago, when I took my daughter to her first Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre. Sadly, the Habs lost that day, but it ended up being a day full of wonderful memories as my daughter, now a big hockey fan, got her first taste of what Montreal is like when the hockey team is humming. 

We took the train, of course, as I do not have the desire, ever, to drive in downtown Montreal or on its highway system. I've been there and done that and I do not wish to ever do it again. Our train was one of Via's bright, shiny new Ventures. Before heading to our train, I took a quick Via family photo through the windows of Ottawa Station. The light wasn't great in the morning and the windows overlooking the platforms were dirty, but I did like the fact that I caught a few Ventures and a few F40PH-2s in one shot. No P42s, which would have completed the generational shot.

The cool thing about boarding our train was that it gives the motivated photographer the chance to get a few quick images on the platforms. There was a time when you could wander onto these platforms at any time and take shots, but now you need to be a passenger to be on the platforms, as it is mainly behind fencing. I did manage to get a few quick shots of two trains in the brilliant morning sunshine.

I like this shot because it captures four elements. You can see both the new Venture set pointing east and a Via Love The Way-wrapped F40PH-2 pointed west. You can also see the passengers making their way to their assigned car as well as the station Danger sign to the right, warning people to stay off the tracks. I love getting different railway shots these days, which include many elements besides just the trains themselves. When you have to take shots of Via Rail trains as much as I do, this improvisation becomes a regular part of the hobby.

If you look closely at the display in our car (We were car four on Train 624), you will see that we were humming along at 160 km/h at one point on the Alexandria Subdivision. Via Rail is having all sorts of trouble maintaining its on-time performance over its fight with Canadian National regarding Ventures slowing down at CN crossings, but we encountered no such problems while travelling along between Ottawa and Coteau. Our train somehow managed to keep its pace between 160 km/h and 120 km/h for much of the length of the Alexandria Sub. The delays began when we got to Coteau and we held for a two freight trains on the Kingston Sub. Curiously, the on-board crew didn't mention we were being held for a a freight train, which was clearly the case. 

I saw the CN yard power at Coteau and, being on the right side of the train, was preparing to get a shot of the geeps in some wonderful early morning sunshine, as our train crept along the tracks, waiting for the westbound freight. Right when we were in the right position, this happened. Denied by autoracks.

Those two freights we encountered at Coteau essentially killed our chances of arriving on time in Montreal, which is why I was glad I booked my daughter and I on an earlier train so we could make the hockey game in time, which we did.

I wasn't able to get any decent shots of either freight train around Coteau. Instead, all I could get were a few shots of the yard, including this line of freight cars off in the distance and this snow clearing equipment near the maintenance shed.

The morning sun did me no favours, but I thought this shot turned out reasonably well. It at least gives you a sense of the weather and the relatively quiet Sunday morning atmosphere in Coteau on Super Bowl Sunday, which is when we made our trip.

Closer to Montreal, the CN yard was relatively full but nothing was moving around and no power could be seen anywhere. Another minor disappointment.

We encountered another freight that slowed us down closer to the city. I was on the wrong side of the train and couldn't cross over to the other side to get a shot of the CP freight with a KCS unit on point. It would have been my first shot of the KCS unit. Another near miss.

 

Once we arrived in Montreal, we made sure to walk by the old Windsor Station on our way to the Bell Centre for the hockey game. The people in Habs sweaters were absolutely everywhere. My daughter and I had found our people. It was fun to see the festive atmosphere downtown, as the city's team was overachieving, relative to its youth and inexperience, and fighting for a playoff spot. Spoiler alert: Mission accomplished.

 

The day was a lot of fun and the Via personnel in Montreal's Central Station were absolutely wonderful to us. The baggage crew allowed us to stash our bags for the day for free, because they were enchanted with my daughter, who was wearing a Nick Suzuki sweater. People really like young girls who cheer for their city's team. My daughter was stopped more than once and given compliments, in both official languages, for her choice of jersey. It warmed a father's heart.

 

But still, I hadn't really gotten any really cool railway shots, which was a bit of a disappointment. On the way home, however, a bit of redemption.

 

The train stopped in Coteau to let off a few passengers, which allowed me to get my shot of the CN yard power after all. It's not a perfect shot, but it's something. All in all, a great day and a little bit of railfanning thrown in. It doesn't get any better than that.

Some rare mileage for some rare cargo

In November, I went to see family for a quick visit and to drop off some Christmas presents. It turned out to be a stroke of genius, as the postal strike scotched any mail delivery for Christmas shortly after my visit. I shared some details of my visit to Windsor on that journey, but there were other cool rail sightings and meets that weekend, including this incredibly lucky shot I snagged at Sarnia yard, as a CSX interchange move contained a most unexpected surprise.

I dropped by the yard late on a damp November morning, and it appeared at the outset that nothing was happening.The yard was largely quiet, except for the string of diesels idling at the refueling pad near the old roundhouse (more images from that to be shared in a later post).

Deep in the yard however, east of the Indian Road overpass, I could see something happening in the yard through the fog.

A CN yard engine was idling there for a few minutes before I spotted an engine with a yellow nose emerging from the refineries and industrial operations east of Indian Road. I was a little surprised, as I have never seen a CSX train this deep in Sarnia Yard. I will admit that my time spent at this yard is quite sporadic, so it might be quite common. Still, every time I see CSX in Sarnia yard, its transfer or interchange jobs are usually situated closer to the Via station in the west end of the yard. So this train being this deep in the yard was unusual, at least to me.

As the train began to slowly make its way toward the station and toward its home rails, I noticed something interesting with the power, to say nothing of an oddity at the end of the train. First, the power.

You can see from the rebuilt cab that this is not the typical GP38-2 unit that has been the power of choice in this area for decades. This unit, with a boxier cab is actually a rebuilt GP40, from what I could find online. I see it referred to as GP40-3 6547, part of a series of old geep rebuilds that have been rolling out of CSX's Huntington shops for years. From what I could read, the new cabs are safer and more resistant to crashes.The units are also equipped with new heating and air conditioning, new control systems, new positive train control technology and refurbished starters. Both units pulling this train were rebuilds. The new cabs remind me a bit of the old GP30 cabs, which were a bit more boxy than their peers of the time. I think I might like these rebuilds better if the cabs had curved corners like the GP30s, but that's just aesthetics.

You can see from the photo above that I tried to capture the CN unit deep in the yard in my shots. I love capturing multiple railways in one shot. 

Here's a better shot, below, of the power from the side. You can see the noses and the cabs both look much boxier than the old geeps, with the headlines in the nose recessed and other features that have been modernized. Not sure what I think of this new look. It's something different for CSX in Canada for sure.

So let's focus on the back end of the train, with that impressively large cargo bringing up the rear. I was pretty stunned to see anything on a CSX train other than tank cars and covered hoppers. Its customer base is almost exclusively industrial operations in the Chemical Valley in Sarnia and related industry south of the city. The goods it carries are always in a tank car or hopper.

A giant tarp-covered piece of industrial equipment sat on a 12 axle centre-depressed flatcar, buffered by two empty gondolas.This is a serious piece of machinery. But what is it? For that answer, I turned to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canadian Division Facebook group, where people much more knowledgeable than me had an answer. There is writing on the tarp, which says Do Not Hump. That seems obvious, but a good reminder nonetheless.

 

 

I was told this car was carrying a gas turbine used in stationary power generation. It was produced by GE Energy in Greenville, South Carolina. From there, it was shipped via Norfolk Southern to East Point, South Carolina.

 

At that point, CSX took over the move as it moved it to Wixom, Michigan. 

 

From there, it was taken through to Flint, Michigan via Lake State Railway (LSRC). 

 

From Flint, CSX power took it to Port Huron on CN H710. 

 

In Port Huron,CN brought it through the tunnel under the St. Clair River into Sarnia. 

 

From there, CSX took it back to home rails where it was delivered to a customer in Courtright, a small town south of Sarnia with a number of industrial customers in the area, including the CF Industries plant (formerly Tera, C-I-L).

 

UPDATE: The one missing piece of information that I could not figure out was the identity of the customer that needed the turbine. That was, until the day I put this post online and a Sarnia local told me the turbine was delivered to Greenfields Energy, a cogeneration plant beside the CF plant. There are a number of power generation facilities in the Sarnia area that are producing vast amounts of electricity, some of this generation being fed by the output of refineries themselves.

 

So that is the story of how this piece of industrial equipment found its way to Sarnia and how I just so happened to be around when it made its final move onto the CSX Sarnia Subdivision. Here's a going away shot below of the train making its way around the tunnel gantry on the rails curving by the roundhouse.

 

 And one more shot around the gantry.

 

 

I didn't stick around much longer, as I didn't want to keep my family waiting. But it was nice to have a few quiet moments at the rail yard and be treated to a surprise.

 

I have shot mainly CN and Via Rail photographs in the past few years, so it was nice to be able to capture something different. In a way, the fog and cloudy skies also helped, as they cut down on the shadows that usually plague shots in this area on clear days. Some good railway karma for a change.

I'll take it.

An alternate history of rails in the Ottawa Valley

There is no shortage of lamentations online about the state of railways in the Ottawa Valley and loss of much-loved rail lines. The other day, I found myself in Bells Corners with a few minutes to spare, so I sat trackside, hoping to catch CN 589 on its way back from Arnprior. The train never showed, but I began to think of some documents I read years ago from the Canadian Transportation Agency about the Renfrew Spur, a long stretch of track, between the former Nepean Junction and Arnprior, that would be long gone by now if CN had its way. Strangely enough, you can thank the Canadian Pacific Railway (okay, CPKC if you want to get technical) for the survival of the former Renfrew Subdivision.

Long story short, in 1987, CN applied to discontinue service on what was then known as the Renfrew Subdivision because the railway claimed it lost more than $328,000 per year on the line. The reasons were pretty obvious. Its one main customer was Nylene Canada (formerly BASF), which required weekly service, mostly one to three tank cars of caprolactum from Texas. CN, in its filings to the CTA, said there weren't enough customers on the line to justify continued service. In 1987, there were less than 100 car movements on the line. Hardly worth the price of maintaining the tracks for a large railway.

Read the specific details of this line's status from my earlier post.

At the time, the Teamsters Union claimed that Sullivan's Lumber in Carp (later Rona) and a flour mill both wanted rail service, but nothing seemed to come of the union's claims.

Instead, there were discussions with both CN and CP over how Nylene Canada would continue to get rail service in a way that didn't cost a railway money. When you consider that the Renfrew trackage now runs roughly 50 kilometres from what was once Nepean Junction (where the Beachburg Sub once veered northwest toward Fitzroy Harbour and beyond) out to the Nylene plant, you understand that this is a lot of infrastructure to maintain for one eastern and western movement a week. 

At some point in these proceedings, it was decided that Nylene must have rail service, as the cost of shipping caprolactum by truck wasn't worth it for the company, which remains a major employer in Arnprior to this day. So the issue was how would the plant get served and which railway would provide the service in a way that was workable for everyone involved?

In 1987, Arnprior had both the Renfrew Subdivision and CP's Chalk River Subdivision running through the town. At the time, neither line could be described as a critical stretch of track, but CP did still use its Chalk River Sub for through freight, even if there was little to no trackside business. Also, Via Rail used the Chalk River Sub, as well as the CP Carleton Place Sub, for the Canadian, which once ran through Ottawa all the way to Montreal.

We all know how the story ends. We don't know what happened during this time between the government and the two railways, but we know the discussions over rail service to the Arnprior plant ended with the decision that CN would continue to serve the plant, instead of CP. But here's the question that I find intriguing. What if it was decided that CP would serve Nylene Canada?

If the Canadian Transportation Agency's discussions about rail service to Nylene Canada resulted in CP being the railway to provide the service, would there have been an Arnpior Turn originating in Smiths Falls? It might have happened.
 

Here are the possible scenarios that could have resulted from this decision, including my take on how likely they would be in a parallel universe.

1. CP would have retained part of the Chalk River Subdivision. (LIKELY) I think this could have been a likely scenario. Would the track have been owned by CP or would the land have been sold to local governments and the rails sold to Nylene? Possibly over time. But what makes this scenario less likely is the fact that, at the time the decision was made in 1987, the Chalk River Subdivision still hosted daily through freights as well as the Canadian. That's a far different situation than what CN was facing with the Renfrew Subdivision, which essentially hosted nothing but a weekly freight out to Arnprior and back. Possibly the Chalk River track would have remained a CP concern. 

2. CP would have retained the entire Chalk River Subdivision. (FAIRLY UNLIKELY) The other fascinating question would be if this weekly service, as mandated by the CTA, have caused CP to rethink its plans to abandon the Chalk River Sub in 2010-11? I ask this because possibly the weekly Arnprior service would have ensured that the subdivision between Smiths Falls and Arnprior remained in place. If that was the case, possibly Via Rail could have come in to maintain the remainder of the track to ensure the Canadian had its connection to Ottawa and beyond. And if that scenario seems possible, would it be a stretch for CP to keep running through freights on this line as a guest on a Via line? Or would the Ottawa Valley Railway still be involved on the sub? There are a lot of factors to consider here, but I think it might have happened.

The issue working against this possibility is that Via Rail did not have multiple trains using this line. Think about Via Rail's ownership of the old CN Smiths Falls Sub and the old CP Brockville Sub. These two lines see many movements a day, which makes sense for Via Rail to own and maintain them. The Chalk River Sub is not in the same league as these other lines. I think the entire track would likely not have made it.

3. CP would have retained the Carleton Place Subdivision. (UNLIKELY) This is where the alternate history gets a little murkier. Remember that Via Rail used the Carleton Place Sub and the Chalk River Sub as its route for the Canadian up until 1990. If CP had been forced to provide service to Arnprior, which would have necessitated a major stretch of the Chalk River Sub to be saved, would it mean that the Carleton Place Sub would have been saved? I don't think it would have saved this piece of track, which is but a memory now.

The reason I think this line was doomed no matter what was because it was essentially in the same situation as CN's Renfrew Subdivision, with no freight activity. In its final days, it was hosting Via Rail and nothing else. The discontinuance documents show the line had two car loads in and out in 1986 and nothing else afterward. This document from 1988 shows that CP was essentially losing anywhere from $250,000 to nearly $500,000 a year on this stretch of track, even though Via and officials from Carleton Place wanted the line kept in place. Notice from the document that the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton did not take a position on the rail line, but asked for the right of first refusal to buy the land.

My guess is that the Canadian, if it still had access to the Chalk River Sub and was running through to Montreal, would have gone to Smiths Falls and switched onto the old CN Smiths Falls Sub, where it could then continue on its way to Ottawa and then Montreal. It's fascinating to consider that train stopping at Fallowfield Station.

Is the platform at Fallowfield long enough for the Canadian? It's interesting to consider.

 

4. CN would have torn up the Renfrew Subdivision (SURE THING) There's no doubt at all that the Renfrew Sub would have been a goner had the CTA decision on rail service to Arnprior been different. Most likely, the land would have either been converted to a trail or sold off in parts of the city where it could be developed, like in Kanata. As it stands today, the line is still in place, with a 10 mph speed limit, giving you an idea of the condition of the rails. 

The final factor to consider in this alternate history is the fact that CPKC now has a transcontinental link across Canada re-established. Given that CP can run trains all the way out to port in New Brunswick, possibly there could have been consideration to keeping the Chalk River Sub in place or at least re-establishing a connection between Chalk River and Arnprior, if that part of the line saw a discontinuance even with the CP service to Nylene.

 

Of course, in the early 1990s, no one could have foreseen CP relinquishing its cross-Canada network only to reacquire it years later, but it's fascinating to think what might be possible if CP had been mandated to serving Nylene in Arnprior.

Five reasons to be grateful in 2024

As the year winds down to its precious last few weeks, I find myself somewhat glad to be rid of 2024, although not for the reasons you might think. Yes, as many of you know, my family went through a terrible ordeal, having to move from our home due to the very serious threat posed by a former neighbour. Happily, that is behind us and we are safe. But I don't want to be rid of 2024 to be rid of this experience. In essence, a new year is simply a new number. I am happy to be heading into 2025 because I want to use my experiences from this year as a way of moving forward as a better, more grateful person.

I hope this is reflected in the tone of the posts I include on this blog. Just yesterday, someone sent me an email with an inspirational quote/graphic. I usually discard these emails out of hand, as they are a throwback to the days when people used the internet to perpetuate tired old jokes. But I read this message for some reason and I'm glad I did. It basically said, I have a roof over my head, my home is heated, and I have food on the table. I am grateful. Something like that. 

And I am. Grateful, that is. For all the discontent in the world and all the endless bickering, political grandstanding, political manipulation, tribalism, shaming, irrational hatred, old world grudges and general lack of courtesy, we are lucky. There is no other place I'd rather live than Ottawa, Canada. I have gone out of my way since we've moved into our new house to thank people more often, praise people for doing good work and letting people know they matter. I cannot believe what a difference it makes when you actively show gratitude and share it. I have been like this increasingly in the last few years of my life, but I have made sure to more actively show gratitude with others lately.

With that in mind, here are some reasons for me to be thankful.

1. I am grateful that I was able to share my writing with the Western Ontario Division of the National Model Railroaders Association's online magazine, Model Railroad Inspirations. For the sake of their intellectual property, I'm merely offering a screenshot of part of my article.

If you wanted to read about the Point Edward Spur, you can read my original post here. My thanks to Paul Hurly, editor of Model Railroad Inspirations, for reaching out. This is good lesson for bloggers out there. It pays to check out the comments on old posts. You never know.

2. I am grateful to be inspired by other writers. They should know that their writing matters and sometimes, their writings move people to action. 

Recently, I read this post on the Prince Street Terminal blog. I have to admit, when I read it, it felt like Chris, the blog's author, was reading my mind. He explored the beauty of an imperfect image and went on to muse on the people who operate trains, how they are masters of a very rare skill. They know how to balance the immense power of their diesel engine and the sometimes intimidating crush of the weight behind the engines. This dance between push and pull, slack, resistance, strain and raw physics is indeed an incredible skill. We should be thankful for these people, who help bring us the goods that make our lives more comfortable.

Chris is one of a number of great writers in the train blogosphere that inspire me to think harder, research more, write more clearly, and remember what my strengths are. 

I must admit, I have often thought about writing a blog post about the human element of each train. When Chris shared his thoughts in the blog post I linked to above, he managed to express some of the thoughts that have been rattling ahead in my head for years. He read my mind. And he managed to express those thoughts in a way I never could.

His post reminded me of this photo below, which is another reason I am grateful.

3. I am grateful for surprises. As someone who often relies on road trips to get the train photos that feed this blog, it's the surprises in my travels that make this blog sing.

This photo above was taken in late November as I was driving on the Rokeby Line back to my brother's house after visiting with my sister's family. This was a CN local picking up cars and doing its switching duties on the St. Clair River Industrial Spur, a long stretch of track that serves a number of industrial customers south of Sarnia's Chemical Valley.

And just like Chris mused in the Prince Street Terminal blog post above about imperfect shots, I'd like to take a moment to share how much I love this shot above, even thought it's far from perfect. I had to scramble to get anything as I was in my car and there was almost no light, save for the light of the engine's headlight. The signals, as well, did me no favours, as the red lights often washed through the images I was taking.

But this shot, which was the last one I took, worked out pretty well. It reminded me of that human aspect of railroading that we often forget, when we get caught up in talking about heritage paint schemes, locomotive numbers, axle counts and other technical aspects.

To me, there is a human story to be told here. Who was working this train late on a Sunday night, when he/she would rather be home with their family? What was the train picking up or dropping off? Why was it important that it be done at that time? How many other people relied on that engineer and conductor in the cab of that GP38 so their company could continue operations? Do the people who need these trains to operate even realize the work railway employees put in around the clock to keep their companies operating? These people are our unsung heroes in these blogs. They keep the wheels in motion (literally and figuratively) so that we can enjoy the lives we live.

Catching that train late on a cold November evening after spending time with family was a wonderful surprise.

4. I am grateful for the chance to learn from others. Since I relaunched my blog in 2022, I have been fortunate enough to pick up some new readers and reconnect with people who have been reading this blog since I launched it in 2013. To everyone who stops by the read my ramblings, I thank you. I have never considered myself anywhere near the calibre of other bloggers and I don't try to pretend I know more about railways than I do. That is why you will often find me making educated guesses and opening myself up to being corrected. It's the only way to go, if you want to survive online and learn.

But I am thankful for some of the new people I have met along the way since I relaunched, because it has allowed me to explore new territory. For example, I have been trading messages with a reader from Windsor, who has fed me all sorts of railway information from the city. I am slowly working on a few blog posts about Windsor, with his help. Thanks, Kevin!

Here's a shot from my brief time in Windsor in November, when I was lucky enough to catch a Venture set about to depart the city's Via terminal in the Walkerville part of the city. More on Windsor to come.

5. I am grateful to be published. I saved the best one for last. I don't want to go into great detail, as the details are yet to be finalized, but I can share with you that one of my photos will likely be published in a forthcoming book from a writer who is a well-known name in Trains and Classic Trains Magazine. 

A tip of the hat to Steve Boyko of Traingeek.ca for putting me in touch with this well-known writer. Not surprisingly, this writer reached out to Steve, who was able to relay the message to me. As I said higher up in this post, I don't consider myself anything other than what I am. I am an okay photographer and I know a bit about railways. But I am no expert. Everything I know I learned by reading or listening to people, especially those in my family who worked on the railways. I don't want to share the photo that will be published in the book on this particular post, but I can assure you that you can find it on one of the 400 plus posts I have already published on this blog. 

Instead, I will share this shot from 2015 of CN 589 making its ways to Arnprior, led by a GP38 in the CN North America scheme. The shot was taken along the Trans-Canada Trail crossing near Corkstown Road. No, the author was not looking for photographs of the Arnprior Turn. He was interested in another shot I have of a CN diesel in the short-lived North America scheme.

I hope to share more details about this new book of his soon. 

To conclude...

Would I do it again if I could redo my family's troubled time between September 2023 and 2024? I might have done a few small things differently at the outset, but even when things were at their worst earlier this year, I took time each day to remind myself to be grateful, even for the smallest things. Being a person of faith, I constantly remind myself that there is no guarantee in any sacred scripture from any faith that says a Higher Power promises us an easy life. Even if you're not a believer, I think we can all agree on the old adage, what doesn't kill us...

Let me expand on that for a moment. Whatever doesn't kill me will make me more thoughtful, more grateful, more sympathetic, more alert, more understanding, more aware of my mental health and more patient. All those things make me stronger.

So I wouldn't trade in the last year at all. Because if I did, I wouldn't be a better version of myself today. Even in hardship, I am grateful. 

This will likely be my last post before Christmas. Merry Christmas to everyone who has dropped by this year. I will see you all after Christmas.

Michael

hammond.michael77 AT gmail dot com

Strathroy, finally...

I've written a lot about railways in southern Ontario over the years, mainly because that is where I grew up. One place that I've had precious little to share anything about is Strathroy, a small town at the southwestern edge of Middlesex County. The town lends its name to the Canadian National Strathroy Subdivison. Strathroy is amalgamated into the surrounding Caradoc Township. Located about 35 kilometres west of London, it boasts some small scale manufacturing operations, not to mention agricultural and food processing businesses, largely centered around turkey breeding and chickens. 

I've been asked in the past if I had anything to share from Strathroy and I've always said no, sadly. Until now. First, a bit of railway context.

Not far east from Strathroy in Komoka, you will find the junction between the CN Strathroy Subdivision and the Chatham Subdivision, a rail line that is now largely used by Via Rail for its Toronto-Windsor service. Also, you will find a junction nearby with the CP Windsor Subdivision. The point is, Caradoc Township, and Strathroy in particular, owe much of their development to the railways. 

Strathroy still maintains daily flag stop Via Rail service, as Via's Sarnia-Toronto trains call on the town's station in each direction once a day, upon request. The station is an unheated shelter now, which is common in small communities on this line. But the town once boasted a large train station, reminiscent of the station in Sarnia at the western end of the subdivision.

In my time on Via Rail trains, mostly in university in the late 1990s, I don't recall the train stopping in Strathroy very much, if ever. I suppose it would be hard to remember a tiny shelter on the side of tracks.

Earlier this month, I paid a visit to family on the Remembrance Day weekend, since I had family business to attend to in Windsor (more on that in a later post). 

Whenever I travel home, I leave Highway 402 at the Centre Street exit in Strathroy. I follow Centre Street until I reach Napperton Road, a county road that becomes the Confederation Line in Lambton County, which parallels the Strathroy Sub between Strathroy and Sarnia. 

On my way west on Nov. 8, I took a quick glance over at the tracks and saw a CN eastbound freight making its way toward Strathroy. I was able to turn my car around and head back east toward Strathroy, where I turned onto Pike Road, as the western edge of the town, to try and capture some images.

Given the very tight time I had and the restricted visibility at the crossing, I had to make do with less-than-ideal sight lines. I did, however, have time to get to the sunny side of the train before the crossing guards were activated.

I had a choice, as I was the first car waiting at the crossing, to get close and get a very tightly angled shot, or stay back a bit and get a shot with a more forgiving angle, but less of the train in view. I chose to stay back. The eastbound was led by CN ES44DC 2256.

CN C44-9W 2578 was next in line. Given I was in my car, I had to include my rear view mirror in the shot. It couldn't be avoided. I had no time and no place to set up a shot on the side of the road. Safety first.

Given the harsh late afternoon sun I was contending with, the going away shot was a little more forgiving, although that hydro pole couldn't be avoided. This was not an ideal spot to set up! But you have to take what you can get sometimes. 

This was the payoff for doubling back to Pike Road. This train was quite short and overpowered, as it only had about 20-30 cars. But at the end of the train, there were about five flat cars carrying these massive metal rings. Are they used for city water mains or pipes? Possibly they are used as braces when boring a tunnel or pipe? I'm not sure.

Whatever these rings were used for, I was happy to get a shot of some pretty rare cargo, not to mention a shot of a train in a new location. It was a cool moment for me on my way home to see family.

The last car in the consist was a heavily graffitied steel coil car, which made for another interesting image. As railfans today, many of the trains we see offer very little in the way of variety. This small train had a bit of everything. 

I managed to snag a lot of varied rail photography on my trip to southern Ontario, including a few shots in Windsor, some nighttime shots on the CN St. Clair River Industrial Spur and a rare shot of a CSX interchange train deep in CN's Sarnia yard. It was a great weekend filled with good times with family and a few really great bonus moments trackside. 

A nice break from this year's steady stream of Via Rail content.

Grand slam in Stratford (Part II)

In my first post about this strange lash-up I saw in Stratford, I shared some  photos of the CN crew bringing a short string of cars into Stratford's rail yard. The crew did a little switching, which was perfect for someone like me who never gets to see freight trains. My time in Stratford earlier this summer was quite prolific from a railfanning perspective. Not only did I get shots of a unique triple-header leading a CN freight, I also was able to catch an inbound Goderich Exeter Railway train returning from the Goderich Sub.

So you would think that would have been enough for one trip. And it was. However, I was surprised when I returned to the yard the following day for a quick peak to see this consist coming into the yard, with the same triple header I saw the day before.

CN had clearly kept the trio of geeps together for a return trip to the yard on July 19. This time, it was the BNSF geep in the lead, bring in a mixed load of mainly tank cars and a few covered hoppers. I tried to get a shot of the train emerging from behind the parked cars in the yard, as it made its way toward Romeo Street and the Masterfeeds elevator storage facility.

I also tried to frame the local with the entire elevator in the frame, just to give myself an idea of the scale of the Masterfeeds operations against the small consist. At least this way, I didn't have to fight the heat swivels coming up from the ground, which is always an issue in the summer when you are using the zoom on my camera. You can see the two searchlight signals showing the crew what it was allowed to do. The main line is red over red while the secondary track is red over green.

I don't take a lot of close-up shots of power anymore. I prefer shots where the train shares the frame with some other element of the landscape. In this case, the trio of geeps was too rare for me not to capture it in its own shot.

While I was in the yard, I made sure to try and find some unique rolling stock. I did spot these old Burlington Northern ribbed covered hoppers, which were in pretty decent shape considering how old they are.

That was the last really cool surprise before my family returned home from our trip. It was a really fun time for my kids and it was a very peaceful time for me at the rail yard at a time when I needed it. Great railway therapy.