First impressions of 2025 at Fallowfield Station

I needed to do something. My family's new house had sprung a leak, as in the outside air (-28C with the wind at one point) was gushing into a room in our house, making things very unpleasant. I have been wrestling with many renovations to our new house, which has been neglected for years and is in need of some TLC.

But on Wednesday night, I had had my share of being cold and frustrated in my own house, so I decided to be cold and frustrated outside and maybe see a few trains. My daughters were at a nearby dance class and I had no errands to run. Time for some nighttime photography at Fallowfield Station in Barrhaven.

Unluckily for Via Rail, but luckily for me, the ongoing drama over the Venture trainsets has altered Via's schedule, but has created opportunities for railfans. For me, it meant that Train 59 westbound, which usually arrives at Fallowfield shortly after 6 p.m., was due to arrive at 6:20 p.m. At the same time, a late eastbound Train 644 from Toronto was due to arrive at 6:23 p.m. In fact, Train 644 arrived first on the station siding (track two), while Train 59 could be seen meandering west down the Smiths Falls Sub, just east of the Woodroffe Avenue crossing, waiting for 644's passengers to get across the main line onto the station platform. 

In other words, it was a meet at night in the blowing snow. I only had my iPhone, as it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to try my luck, but I was quite happy with what I got, considering the limitations of an iPhone camera.

This was the scene shortly before the meet, looking east toward Ottawa and Federal Junction, in particular. Can you feel how cold it was by this photo? You can see a light sheen of ice and snow on the platform. The blur around the red signal lights was mostly due to the blowing snow.

This is a shot of Train 644 arriving nearly an hour late at Fallowfield, as a Venture set leads the way home for travellers on track two. It looks a bit blurred, but much of that was the blowing snow. I like the look it gives the train, as if it is tearing by the station at speed, which was not the case.

I went to the east side of the station platform to get a still shot, as the train was parked to allow passengers to hustle into the waiting arms of loved ones and the hopefully warm confines of cars that would take them home.

I like this shot because it's less blurry, but it also has a darker feel, since I was positioned a little further away from the platform light standards. You can feel the dark, cold night of an Ottawa winter in this shot. You can also see a few brave passengers on the main platform awaiting the westbound Train 59 on the main. 

It was ambling up the track at this point, far from its normal speed. In fact, I noticed at one point that the signals at Woodroffe Avenue activated too soon, as Train 59 was nowhere near the road, to my eye, anyway. The lights then shut off again and the guards went back up. At this point, Train 644 had crept forward on the siding, awaiting clearance to proceed to Ottawa Station, just as soon as Train 59 made its way to Fallowfield on the main.

Here's a shot I like, and it doesn't even really give you any idea of the profile of either engine. I like train shots that sometimes don't conform to our usual shots. I really like how this one turned out. You can see the blowing snow affecting the light and you can see the effect of the F40 lights on the Venture coaches.

Here's one final closer shot of Train 59, which was a consist of six LRC coaches being led by an F40. When the consist went by, I marvelled at how beat-up the LRC equipment looked. Decades of dents, nicks, scratches and abuse seem to have left their mark.

All in all, it was a peaceful few minutes at the station. I love being trackside for a few minutes, with nothing else to do but watch the trains go by. Good therapy.

When life hands you winter

True north strong and free, so our national anthem proclaims. Yes, winter is serious business here in Canada, particularly in northern cities like Ottawa. I have lived here on and off from the better part of 20 years. Even so, this last month has been challenging. Ottawa has regularly averaged highs of -15C (5 Fahrenheit) with wind chills often near -30C or even -40C. One of the most challenging aspects of this weather is how it affects my attempts to photograph trains.

In these past few weeks, weather played havoc with various attempts to get some winter photos. But, these misadventures offered some good lessons, which I think are key to surviving rainfanning in winter, especially in Canada.

Lesson 1 - Be sure that you stake out where you are shooting early. I took this for granted the other weekend when I intended to catch a Via corridor train and a weekly CN freight train. I scouted out a location late, which was made even harder by the fact that blowing snow had obscured the shoulders of the road where I was shooting. The conditions meant I couldn't pull over on Moodie Drive, which was my first choice, since I wanted to shoot a train on the Jock River bridge. I did find a stretch of the shoulder on McKenna Casey Drive that I thought would be safe from passing traffic. I did snag a shot of Via Train 643, en route to Toronto. My camera's burst mode froze up a bit for a second, which meant I missed out on shots when the train was closer to the McKenna Casey crossing. This all could have been avoided had I given myself more time.

Lesson 2 - Expect weather delays. The following weekend, I ventured out earlier to find a spot to catch Via 643 and the CN freight (The freight didn't show either weekend, since it is making its rounds earlier these days). However, I didn't account for the morning snowstorm and blowing snow. Yes, I was much earlier this morning, but I was unfortunately stuck behind a driver that was crawling along Moodie Drive, which ruined my timing.

That meant the warning lights began to flash well before I was close enough to the McKenna Casey crossing. I had to pull over onto the side of the road and shoot the train beneath the Highway 416 overpass. I had been meaning to get some shots in this area, since it offers some interesting sightlines and graffiti. Unfortunately, since I had to rush, I didn't get the greatest angle, which hampered the shots a fair bit.

However, I was reasonably happy with these shots, considering they were a first effort in this location. I think when the weather is better, I will be able to walk closer to the tracks and get some better shots. Still, I love the look of a train kicking up a lot of snow.

 

Lesson 3 - Take an extra set of gloves. I cannot stress this enough. Usually, when the temperature is -19C with a wind chill factor near -40C, I am better prepared. This past Saturday night, I picked up a friend at the Fallowfield Via station at 11:10 p.m. I usually have a big pair of woolen winter mittens that I use when out in the elements. On really cold days, I put on a thin set of gloves beneath the big mittens. You can get these things anywhere for a dollar or two. The benefit of using these is that, when a train is coming, you can take off your bulky winter gloves or mittens and get a better feel for your camera. The thin gloves will protect your hands and buy you some time before frostbite begins to set in.

 

I failed to do this on Saturday as I watched Via's Train 48 pull into the suburban station. Although I was thrilled with my first successful attempt at night photography, my hands were impossibly frostbitten in about a minute, which made the drive home extremely uncomfortable.

I could include a lesson here about checking your camera's night settings, but I will leave that for more experienced photographers. Needless to say, I studied my camera's settings and was sure to set it correctly before I arrived at the station so I could get some good shots at night. I also made sure to fire off a few test shots. This could also be lesson 4, but it's a more universal lesson, which isn't particular to winter photography.

 

I was really pleased with this above shot in particular. The snow on the tracks and platform served to brighten the ambient light and reflect the overhead floodlights, which helped illuminate the shot. I have tried nighttime photography at this site in the summer and it's ten times more challenging, as you can see from the shot in this post. I also like that my shots managed to capture the windy conditions in 6439's headlights.

 

So, to sum up, scout your location ahead of time, expect delays and always overdress. Winter rail photography is challenging, but worth it!