The tricky business of capturing the hidden Nova railway operation

Like it or not, plastics are vital to the global economy. Until we figure out how to properly recycle them all and keep them out of landfills, they will always be part of our lives. And someone has to make that plastic. This year in St. Clair Township, Nova Chemicals is investing $2.2 billion in a new polyethylene plant next to its existing plant, just east of Corunna on the Petrolia Line. This plant is crucial in the production of polyethelyne, which is the most common form of plastic in the world.

For those who like to watch railways in action, it means that Nova’s switching operations are likely to remain quite busy and quite possibly expand.

I’ve always been fascinated by this operation, which is partly visible from Highway 40, although it is not a great place to get photographs, since the rails are largely hidden behind a grassy berm. Also, the highway can be quite busy and the only place to get photos is on the overpass over the tracks that connect Nova’s railway to the CN St. Clair River Industrial Spur. Needless to say, there is no place to stop here.

Hoping for the best! This is a no-look shot. I left some of the highway guardrail in the shot. I was going pretty slow at this point.

My approach to getting any shots of this operation has always been the same. I only attempt a shot when I am sure the highway is not busy and there are no cars around mine. Next, I roll down the passenger window and slow down while keeping my eyes on the road. Finally, I point my camera in the general direction of the railway and hope for the best.

This summer, while visiting family in the area, I was passing by this operation when the conditions were right for a shot. The highway was empty in the middle of the day so I fired away and hoped for the best. Fortunately, I managed to get some interesting shots of this switching operation, which has a half diamond, what appears to be a genset locomotive and occasionally an on SW unit, although that old warhorse was nowhere to be seen when I was driving by.

Here’s a good shot of the genset switcher.

I did, however, manage to spot the SW unit later in the week as I was passing by CN’s Sarnia Yard, where I saw the old Nova switcher near the old roundhouse, where it was likely undergoing maintenance at the Lambton Diesel Specialists shop. I’ll save the rest of that adventure for another post.

The Nova operation isn’t terribly flashy, as it’s exclusively the domain of the tank cars you see on trains anywhere in Canada and the United States. But the refinery in the background does make for some interesting shots you won’t just anywhere.

I’ve always been fascinated by this operation, ever since it used to host those old GATX Tank Train branded tank cars. In recent years, Nova Chemicals has been expanding a fair bit in the area, which bodes well for the CN industrial spur that connects Sarnia to the Terra Industries plant at the edge of the old Sombra Township.

August 2017 at the Rokeby Line

In the last few years, trackage has been added off the CN spur near Mooretown. These tracks are shielded from view by a large metal wall lining the Moore Line, but some of it can be seen as you travel west down the Moore Line near Highway 40. I don’t know enough about Nova’s expansion in the area to be able to say what the purpose is of these new tracks.

I think the beauty in shooting the industrial switching in this area doesn't necessarily have to do with the trains, which are pretty standard tank car and covered hopper consists. I think the interesting element is the background.

Super Nova!

Last summer, I had an epic week back in the Sarnia area where I did more railfanning than I have done in a long time. One local rail facility that I tried to get some shots of is the Nova Corunna railway. It's an incredibly hard operation to get shots of, since there is no real public access, unless you are in the passenger seat of a car in the northbound lanes of Highway 40 and can get some shots at speed.

I did manage to get a few shots of the operation, which is connected to CN's St. Clair River Industrial Spur. I wasn't able to do much with the photos at the time and forgot about the shots. But something reminded me of the picture this week, so here are a few shots. And it just so happens that there is a story to go with these shots.

Nova Chemicals, as many in the Sarnia area know, is a major employer. And it's about to become a much bigger employer. Nova will be investing $2 billion to build a new polyethylene plant just south of the Nova Corunna site (you can see a piece of the Nova half diamond below). The company is also investing heavily in an expansion of the Corunna site. When all is said and done, Nova will have an expanded Corunna site along Highway 40 and Petrolia Line, its Nova Moore site (near Mooretown), a new plant on the Rokeby Line and its plant in Corunna (called the St. Clair River site). All but the St. Clair River site will be served by CN. CSX still serves the St. Clair River site.

Those in the area already know this news, as it was announced a while back, but I figured it was worth sharing anyway, since it will no doubt be news to those not familiar with this area. And it was a good excuse to share these photos.

Nova is a major customer for CN (you can read about this here). It has always handled its own switching. In fact, when I was young, this railway operation was one of the few places you can find long strings of GATX's old TankTrain branded tank cars. In recent years, I've noticed Nova using two switch engines, its old SW unit (above) and its genset (seen below).

This shot above isn't the best shot but it was the best I could do from the passenger seat of a moving car. You can see the SW unit and a piece of the genset (bottom right) in this shot. The Corunna plant itself was already in the midst of an expansion when I took these shots last summer, as evidenced by the cranes.

So, what does this mean for CN? I would imagine that its St. Clair spur is about to get even busier. This spur already sees a lot of action, as it serves numerous industries, both large and small, between Sarnia to well past Courtright.

When I was examining some of the expansion already happening last summer, I noticed a large rail yard being constructed on the Rokeby Line. Sadly, a sound barrier about eight feet high was blocking any possibility of pictures. The yard will look a lot like this tank farm, which is located on the south side of the Terra International plant south of Courtright, on the Bickford Line.

At the very least, I would imagine there will be more Nova branded switchers making their way to the area in the coming years, given the volume of work that will be needed to keep all these refineries operating smoothly. For those who don't mind seeing a lot of tank cars and covered hoppers, it's an exciting prospect. For someone who has to settle for the Arnprior Turn, I'm pretty stoked.

It's just one small spinoff from this massive investment.

Notes from Sarnia

On a recent trip to visit family in the Sarnia area, I was able to get away for a few minutes to see if there was anything going on in the rail yard. It was very quiet when I arrived there. Most of the engines near the old roundhouse were idling, still waiting for the day's work ahead. I did manage to spot something odd among the diesels. That switcher back there is Nova SW1500 2450. You will recall that, earlier this year, I snapped a few shots of the Nova Corunna refinery near Corunna where this diesel was parked. You can read about that operation in this post.

Here's a wider shot of the yard diesels idling, including a few slugs and an old geep in the safety scheme.

While we're on the topic of Nova, I did notice when I was passing by the Corunna plant that the railway there is now operating with two units, including a very similar SW model switcher, likely a sister unit to 2450. The railway also appears to have a genset like the one below operating again. I'm not sure if it's the same unit as this one, shot several years ago. I was driving by quickly and could only steal a glance.

I didn't venture off the old station platform on my trip to the yard, since I was tight for time. I did notice that one crew was already assembling a train on the east side of the Indian Road overpass, as it shunted autoracks into place. I was not able to catch this train as it made its way west to the tunnel, since my time had run out.

Here's another shot of the train being assembled, framed by a line of tank cars and a buffer car at the front of what will likely be a petroleum train headed somewhere east.

 

All in all, it was a quiet and disappointing morning. But for me, something is better than nothing. I have not been able to venture out in Ottawa for any train watching in a while. Such is life sometimes.