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.
 

That's a wrap! (Well, almost)

This winter has been much busier than previous winters, as anyone with a young family can understand. The end result has been that I have not had very many opportunities to get out there and capture some winter railway photography. Aside from a brief morning at Ottawa's central train station and a quick sprint out to Smiths Falls, I have not been trackside much since I caught up with the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in late November.

So as I had some time last week, I headed out to Fallowfield Station to try and catch some Via Rail Canada 150 clad cars or locomotives.

As I set up trackside, it was hard to determine where the main track and siding were, since the blowing snow tended to obscure the track. I fired off a few test shots of the Fallowfield sign and tried to capture the blowing snow.

A few minutes later, Train 55 made its way west toward the station, with F40 6441 leading the way. As I saw it headed my way, my first thought was there would be no P42 wrap for me to shoot. It might be the first time I have ever been disappointed to miss a P42.

But as the train made its way, I realized that I hadn't captured any good winter railway shoots this winter. So my disappointment over not catching a newly repainted P42 was replaced by some excitement over these shots. I like that you can barely make out the tracks in this shot. Winter railroading at its finest!

As Train 55 got closer, the dramatic combination of strong winds, snow and a steadily moving train combined for some interesting and dynamic shots. This shot was one a few I caught before I was swept up by a snow shower.

Now compare these shots with one I took last June. This is the beauty of photography in Canada. The four seasons can allow you to take a photo from the same spot many times and you will rarely get the same shot.

This next shot might be my favourite. The shot gives you the illusion that this train is flying, when in fact it was creeping into the station. The snow and the wind suggest otherwise.

I like that you can't even see the Business Class car. Sadly, none of the LRC cars were Canada 150 cars, which was disappointing. In fact, none of the cars were even repainted at all. They were all in their original LRC paint scheme. This train was a real throwback.

One final going away shot from the other side of the station. The lighting wasn't great but I was going for something different, so I wasn't looking for perfection anyway.

This gives you an idea of what it's like to get caught in the wake of a train on a winter day. So even though I didn't get what I set out to capture, I did take care of some seasonal business.

The Beachburg Sub's 1st Anniversary

A year ago today, I posted my first entry on this blog. Without dwelling too much on a year, here are a couple of observations on the past year.

Observation 1: Much to my surprise, the Canadian National Beachburg Subdivision, from which this blog takes its name, is still standing. For how long? I suspect it will be gone by the end of this spring, but stranger things have happened. With it, the last remnants of a transcontinental rail line will disappear from the Ottawa Valley.

Observation 2: There's treasure everywhere. Even in Ottawa, I have found that it is possible to maintain a railway blog, provided you really, really scour around for photos. This is one photo I took this past weekend when I finally caught CN Local 589 on the Via Rail Smiths Falls Subdivision, headed toward Richmond. To catch this train on this track, you need to be at the right place at the right time twice a week, since this is twice-weekly out to Richmond. More on this to come.

Observation 3: Throwing away film is perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever done. The next dumbest thing is throwing away old prints that I didn't deem to be interesting at one point. When it comes to railroading's past, everything is interesting, I'm finding. Sadly, this is a realization that came too late. This shot below, taken July 20, 1993, is one of a few rolling stock photos that I kept from my archives. I'm glad I did, but it only makes me pine for my shots of the Central Vermont and Burlington Northern rolling stock that were thrown out.

Observation 4: When life hands you lemons... I have tried over the last year to present a mix of photos that tells the stories of railroading in Ottawa as well as other locales in Ontario and occasionally elsewhere. Since the opportunities for train watching here at limited at best, it means you have to look for opportunities to get creative shots. This shot is one of a few that were taken on a very windy day in January. I've taken many shots at the central Via station, many of which I have not posted, but I do try and share the ones that are a little different or tell a story. Like this one.

Observation 5: This blogging thing is fun. I was a little reluctant to start blogging, since there are many knowledgeable people out there who know far more than me. I didn't want to create an uninformed blog that was scoffed at by the experts. This has made some posts tricky, due to the limits of my knowledge. But, thanks to a very forgiving and supportive community out there, I have learned a lot and I hope to have returned the favour a bit. The shot below is of me at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology next to CN's Northern steam locomotive 6400.

 

So, those are just a few thoughts from the past year. The Beachburg Sub thanks all its readers for their support over the initial year, especially those who took the time to leave messages or to educate me when I was a little off the mark. Over the last few weeks, I have collected a fair bit of material that will begin my second year with a bang. All Aboard for the second year!

Whiteout!

It's at least -30C with the wind chill and I'm standing on a wind-blown stretch of overpass waiting for a train. I must be nuts.

The Beachburg Sub has been neglecting the railways in its own backyard lately so I set out this week to take some winter railroading photos in Ottawa, even if it meant risking my limbs to frostbite. With that, let us enjoy Ottawa's winter wrath and beauty along the rails.

I paid a visit to Ottawa's Central Station to catch some arrivals. I walked over to the Belfast Road overpass, just east of the station, since I wanted to catch Via Train 33 arriving from Montreal on the Alexandria Subdivision. When I arrived on the overpass, I was dismayed to see the east sidewalk covered in snow, which forced me to shoot Train 33 from the west sidewalk. I was lucky that traffic was sparse and no trucks blocked my vantage point. The train, pulled by P42DC 907 had six renaissance cars in tow as it approached the overpass. The wind had begun to pick up at this point, but the sky was relatively clear.

After capturing a few postcard images, I made sure to turn around, face west and get an overhead shot as Train 33  passed under Belfast Road and into the station.

You can see how much the wind had been whipping up against Train 33 on the way to Ottawa, judging by the roof of the first class coach and the rear of P42 907. I like this spot for taking photos, but it is rather restrictive facing west since so many hydro wires obscure the view of the station. Note how the tracks are all but hidden by blowing snow except for the section with the switch heater, directly ahead of the train.

After Train 33 arrived, the wind picked up quite a bit, which actually made me happy since I have so few true winter railway shots in my collection. I made it to the station in time to wait for Train 50 from Toronto, which usually arrives about 20 minutes after Train 33. While I was waiting, I saw an interesting consist on the far track. Several generations of Via in one train! P42 918 idled away with a consist of LRC coaches in tow, with the exception of streamliner 4002, which was the designated Business Class (Via 1) coach for the day.

Now, check out the same consist after the wind picked up (below). It appears as though Ottawa is in the midst of a blizzard, but by this point, it was far too cold for snowfall. However, given the overnight snow that had blanketed the city, there was more than enough of the white stuff to blow around, creating the illusion of a blizzard.

This happened in the span of about 10 minutes. I tried to stay warm as Train 50 approached. Usually, one can see eastbound trains coming into the station fairly easily from the platform. Unfortunately, I could not see Train 50 approaching, since the wind had created whiteout conditions. But, my keen hearing picked up the sound of a bell, so I fixed my camera west into the white abyss.

At this point, my fingers were frozen, so I tried to snap a few more images before I called it a day. Here's a closer shot below of Train 50, with F40PH-2 6457 and a string of three LRC coaches. Of course, I couldn't confirm the consist until the train actually emerged from the white wall of flying snow.

And with this shot below, it was time for me to head back indoors and let my hands thaw.

I am by no means done with this subject of winter railroading in Ottawa. My new goal is to shoot some freight trains that use the trackage near my house in Bells Corners, in the west end of Ottawa. There are several amazing vantage points for photographs, but the line is only used twice a week, so it will be incredibly tough to get the shots I want. But I shall persevere! Thanks to several Beachburg Sub readers who gave me a summary of Ottawa's local CN freight assignments. 

Beachburg Subdivision Update: I've been meaning to blog about the remnants of this subdivision recently. The news regarding the fate of this sub is not encouraging. In December, the Pontiac region in Quebec lost a provincial court battle to maintain the remnants of the CN rail line that still lies within its jurisdiction. Essentially, the region is arguing that, according to a bylaw it passed, the rail corridor has been designated for rail use only, making any attempt to pull up the rails illegal. That argument was struck down in court. The municipality has vowed to fight on, but it seems that the remainder of this rail line will likely be torn up in the spring, as CN seems anxious to tear up the rail line all the way to Nepean junction, where Beachburg branches off from the Renfrew spur (formerly CN's Renfrew subdivision). You can read about the latest developments in the Pembroke Daily Observer here.

Our first stop in 2014: Mandaumin, Ont.

So, where is Mandaumin anyway? Mandaumin is a tiny farming hamlet that straddles Mandaumin Road, the dividing line between Sarnia and its neighbouring township. It is a rural community of less than 100, just east of the city. It has a farmer's co-op, a few homes, a United church, an ancient barn and an abandoned (and supposedly haunted) farm house. For our purposes, it is also bisected by the east-west CN Strathroy Subdivision at milepost 50.9 (Sarnia Yard is at 57.2) Long freights eastbound for London or westbound for Sarnia's rail yard and the St. Clair Tunnel speed through this community regularly.

On Dec. 23, I was on my way into Sarnia when I saw this intermodal train (above) making its way east. The first thing worth mentioning is this area's resemblance to the prairies. Sarnia and Lambton County is an area of fertile farm land, which is as flat as the prairies, albeit with more trees. The ice storm that blasted Toronto on the 23rd brought rain to the Sarnia area, which produced the above shot of this train making its way next to a fallow corn field, dotted with snow.

By way of contrast, this shot below is Mandaumin in the summer months, with the corn stalks at their peak.

As I drove down the road, I pulled over a few times to take a few shots of CN 5451 (SD60) and Illinois Central 1038 (SD70) hustling with a full train bound for London. You can make out the barns on the other side of the main line. I was really pleased with this shot and the one at the top of this post, since the terrain allowed me to get full shots of the train.

I was even luckier as the train made its way to the crossing (shot below). The sun managed to peak through the clouds to provide the perfect lighting for the train as it passed the railway's Mandaumin sign. You can see a small piece of the farmer's co-op to the right. I was pleased with the lighting and the clouds, which all contributed to some of the best rail photos I have taken. I have a few more from this meet that I will share later.

I made sure I was first in line at the crossing as the train sped by. You can see that the sun was in the perfect spot for photos. Due to the speed of the trains, this crossing has had crossing guards for a long time.

Almost as if on cue, the sun began to retreat behind the clouds as the end of the train came into view. I snapped a few shots of the end of the train through my car's open window before making my way into Sarnia where I spent an enjoyable morning getting some great shots at the end of the CSX Sarnia Subdivision, on the Point Edward spur and around Sarnia Yard.

Happy New Year to all my fellow train fans. Hope you enjoyed our first stop in 2014.

Winter railroading in Ottawa

Winter has unquestionably arrived in Ottawa, which has allowed me to correct a longstanding gap in my railway photograph collection. Searching through my images the other day, I realized that I had but one winter railroading photograph. With that in mind, I lugged my camera into the arctic air to get some shots of the most Canadian of scenes: trains trudging through the snow.

The first shot, which I grabbed this past week, was Via Rail No. 33 arriving at Ottawa Station from Montreal, with P42 910 leading an all-Renaissance consist. The long shadows in the morning light, combined with the restricted vantage points around the station, made this shot tricky. I wasn't thrilled with it, but I do like seeing the exhaust from the locomotive in the crisp winter air. There wasn't much activity at the station at this point, so I didn't stick around.

On Dec. 7, I made one of my periodic visits to Walkley Yard to see if there was anything interesting to shoot. My daughter accompanied me for the first time, although she was busy watching Barney in the back seat. I did find several of these tank cars in the yard, which were a nice surprise. This tank car, Procor 50265, upon closer inspection, has a marking reading "Fluid Recycling Services" painted over on the left side. As to what fluids it carried, I'm not sure. I dug around a bit online but didn't find anything conclusive. Maybe a reader knows more than I do.

I also spotted CN's two local cabooses side by side near CN's local offices. I've shared photos of these two cabooses before, but never together. From what I've noticed, the former Devco Railway caboose never seems to move from this spot in the yard, which makes me wonder if it's operational at all. The old millennium caboose seems to be the unit of choice. The graffiti on the Devco caboose makes me shake my head. How bad is security in this rail yard?

I've shared photos of this old RDC unit before. I'm lucky that there is a service road running the length of the east end of the rail yard, which allows an excellent vantage point of this old gem. I noticed some interesting light and the cloud movement as I drove by, so I took a quick photo and was quite happy with the result. I wanted to capture a shot of this old unit, hooked to a former CN caboose, in a way that makes it look as though it's moving.

The best thing about shooting in the winter is the overgrown weeds in the yard are gone, which allows me to get a full shot of the RDC, complete with the old trucks and undercarriage. One of the small perks of this arctic weather.