Track work in Ottawa

This summer has been spent trying to keep up with my two daughters, one of whom is now nearly five months old. The end result of our recent addition is that my train watching has basically ground to a halt for the most part, minus a trip to Smiths Falls in July. On Labour Day, I made my first trip to Walkley Yard just to see if there was anything to see. I ended up with a few tidbits I thought I'd pass along.

The shot below was my favourite from my quick trip. In the distance, you see CN 4771 parked in front of the local CN facilities, framed by a few bulkhead flatcars and a string of gondolas. Those flatcars, gondolas and that pile of wood next to 4771 lead me to my first bit of news.

 

First off, gondolas and these types of flatcars are usually a sign of two things in railways. Either a railway is transporting scrap metal, pipes or some other similar commodity or the railway is doing track work. I took a shot of this car, below, because the colours, including the yellow stripe, intrigued me. The reporting mark was for American Metal and Iron LP.

 

A close-up of GP38-2W 4771 shows that there is a load of ties next to the engine. Also, get a load of the paint. The red cab paint is bleeding through the black and white safety scheme on the long hood. I've seen a lot of shabby units in Ottawa over the years, but this one might be the worst (or best, depending on your point-of-view).

A little further down the road alongside the yard revealed more wood and other supplies in the vicinity of a ballast car (below). This looks to be wood that might be used at a level crossing or as decking on a trestle. I wouldn't have thought much of this if I hadn't found out earlier that track work is being done on the Renfrew Spur in Carp. I appreciate Eric Gagnon of Trackside Treasure for passing along the news.

It's great news to know that, despite the final removal of the Beachburg Subdivision northwest of Nepean Junction, there is some work being done to maintain train service in western Ottawa. This is also a great opportunity for me to pass along some pictures that local rail watcher Patrick Stever sent to me from the siding in Carp. He spotted this equipment in the spring, including this brush cutter.

The below shot, also courtesy of Patrick Stever, shows that the groundwork for track improvements was being done months ago. Look at the piles of ballast to the left of the main line. I'm glad Patrick sent me these photos. I was trying to fit them into a post and now I am able to pass them along.

For those who don't know, this spur is owned by the City of Ottawa and maintained by Nylene Canada, a customer in Arnprior that requires rail service once a week. CN continues to operate a weekly train, usually consisting of three to four tank cars, to and from the plant. The spur has seen pretty restrictive speed limits for years, due to the condition of the track. I don't expect this work to change things. But, it's good to see that there is work being done to keep trains operating in the west end of the city for years to come.

A few days later, I was trying to catch the Arnprior local and noticed bundles of ties along the Beachburg Sub, just northwest of Bells Corners, where the line turns toward the Queensway. Here is what I noticed trackside. When I blew up the photo, I noticed that bundles of ties have been placed trackside all along this straightaway, meaning CN is investing in a bit of maintenance on this line. You can see the ties below. The case was the same on the trackage in Bells Corners near the junction between Beachburg the old CP Carleton Place Subdivision spur. New ties are all trackside, awaiting work crews.

Getting back to Walkley Yard, I noticed when I first arrived that the former Devco caboose, still in its Devco green black and yellow colours, was not at its usual place close to the CN offices and maintenance facility. I also noticed that the hideous Millennium caboose was missing.

As I drove east down the access road next to the yard, I noticed an addition to DAWX caboose and RDC on a storage track. It turns out, the old Devco caboose has reached the end of the line.

It's sad to see this caboose is being left prey to looters and vandals. Here's a shot of this caboose in (slightly) better days. I guess it's no longer being used for shoving maneuvers in the region anymore. I'm not sure if the Millennium caboose is still around either. It makes me wonder what's being used for shoving these days.

 

Also sad to see that vandals have continued to have their way with this old CN caboose. A fire was clearly set in the cupola at one point. As I have mentioned before, the security at this yard is a joke outside of operating hours.

 

One final note to pass along. Via Rail had completed work on a new passing siding at Wass, east of Federal, to allow corridor trains to operate more efficiently. The siding is part of Via's investment in its local network. As I have pointed out before, Ottawa's main train station is Via's third busiest station in Canada, behind Toronto and Montreal. Thanks again to Eric at Trackside Treasure for passing along that news via another local rail watcher.

 

So there a few tidbits from my trip and from my readers. Not bad considering I have only railfanned a handful of times this summer.

Going, going, gone: Nepean Junction

The photo below, taken last spring, us now a historic relic. Nepean Junction, a point on the CN network that once brought together its transcontinental main line with its former Renfrew Subdivision, is now gone. The turnout you see below has recently been replaced with the second photo down.

Read last year's posts about the final days of the Beachburg Subdivision north of Nepean Junction here and here.

It's tough to see in this photo since I was shooting into the blazing sun, but you can clearly see by the two long ties near the bottom of the image, the switch has been replaced by a continuous link to the Renfrew spur.

 

Here's another shot of the turnout last April. Even then, it was apparent that Beachburg northwest of this junction was doomed. The rails were covered with snow and not maintained while the Renfrew Spur was in reasonable shape. The shot below is looking south. You can see that the switch was already permanently aligned to accommodate the Renfrew spur.

And this is the site on Sept. 4. Remnants of the transcontinental line are still in place, although I would imagine CN may run a work train out here at some point to collect what's left. Given that Nepean Junction isn't accessible by road, it would be tough to get the rest of the rail out of this area. You can see the CN sign in the shade. It used to signify a junction but now it's just a place name on the CN map.

This begs the question in my mind, what now for the Renfrew Spur? The shot below shows that the spur is now the main. There is no turnout, just a curious curve on the line. My guess is that the Renfrew Spur moniker will remain. This is because the rails west of that Nepean sign are owned by the city and maintained by Nylene Canada, a CN customer at the end of the tracks in Arnprior. This plant requires one train a week to deliver raw materials to the facility. You can read more about this weekly train here and here.

As you head northwest on the old Beachburg Sub, this is what you will see. This is not the world's narrowest gauge railway. This is the end result of a dismantled railway track. I found this image amusing. It was a little bit of levity.

This also was pretty cool. As I walked alongside the track (it is still private property), I saw this family of deer having an afternoon snack. They didn't pay much attention to me until I got closer. Still, it was cool to see the local wildlife. I also came across a small garter snake, which was surprising. It was the first snake I have seen in Ottawa in ages. Makes me wonder why snakes bother to live this far north in the first place.

 

So, that closes the book on this rail line. You will notice that I have refrained from ranting about this line not being purchased by the city for commuter purposes. After all, a stretch into north Kanata was still in place until very recently. I have said my piece and am ready to move on.

 

I have to thank fellow blogger Eric Gagnon of Trackside Treasure for passing along an email from a local rail watcher, who found out about this work going on, which inspired me to pay one last visit to the old junction.

 

I should mention that I had three other titles in mind for this post, which I rejected.

 

Don't call it a junction: Nepean Junction scrapped

From Junction to junk: Nepean Junction scrapped

Junction no more: It's just Nepean now.

 

Can you pick out the LL Cool J reference?

Getting creative shots at Fallowfield station

Whenever friends or family visit me and take the train, that usually means I get to go and pick them up at Via's Fallowfield Station, in the city's southwestern Barrhaven neighbourhood. The station, which opened in October 2002, has become an important transportation hub for west Ottawa residents, considering Via's main station is anything but centrally located.

For train enthusiasts like me, this suburban station's a convenient and safe place to capture some images of Via corridor trains on occasion. On Aug. 1, while I waiting for a visiting friend to arrive, I was struck by the station's ridiculously challenging sightlines for rail photography. Most of my images from the last few years end up like this one, taken in 2012.

There's nothing wrong with capturing these shots, but after a while, you can only stockpile so many of these before you begin to look for other vantage points. In the case of this image below, I wanted to get a better shot of the entire train's consist, since this string of cars included a baggage car, which is not a terribly common site on this type of corridor train between Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto.

The map below and the photo above illustrate train fan's challenge. The parking lots at this station are up tight against the platform, which rules out backing up from the track to get a better wide shot (unless you want a bunch of cars in your shot). The platform itself is relative narrow, which also prevents you from being able to back up a bit and shot for a wider shot. You will notice in the photo that I have marked a yellow arrow. This arrow marks the spot that solved my problem as to how to get some wide shots at this railway station.

Just beyond the end of the parking lot, there is a small patch of ballast extending from the railway right-of-way. This patch of ballast is essentially level with the tracks and it also has the added benefit of offering you an unobstructed view of eastbound trains crossing Fallowfield Road. I backed away from the tracks as far as I could manage without getting too much foliage in my shot. As you can see from the shot below, I didn't eliminate all the foliage, although a little cropping took care of most of it. In the spring, fall and winter when the leaves are off these trees, this vantage point will offer a better view, although the shots won't be as colourful as the one below.

The end result was worth a little bit of advanced scouting. Usually, when I am waiting for a train at this station, I will set up at the end of the platform facing in the direction of the incoming train. This also ensures I don't take photographs of people without their consent.

This little patch of ballast, which is easily accessible from the edge of the parking lot, makes things a lot easier. I was quite happy with this shot, although the clouds above tended to blur some of the streamliner coaches in tow, but that's a minor complaint. I like what I was able to capture here. There's a wide expanse of clouds and sky, a corn field, some bright green wildflowers along the right-of-way and some signals behind the train. All in all, there's a lot going on in this shot.

Having successfully experimented with this area, I thought I'd pass along the tip to local railfans.