Improvements to Corkstown Road crossing

For those of us in Ottawa that are dedicated (crazy?) enough to follow the last remaining freight train on the Beachburg Subdivision, this may be good news. I read the other day that the City of Ottawa has received nearly $20,000 to fund safety improvements at the Fallowfield Road level crossing on the Smiths Falls Subdivision and other safety improvements at another crossing. What a surprise it was when I read that the city received $4,800 to fund small improvements to the Corkstown Road crossing on CN's Beachburg Subdivision in Nepean.

Corkstown Road crossing on CN's Beachburg Sub in 2014

The money, which is coming from a $10.9-million Transport Canada rail safety fund, will help pay for new LED warning lights on these crossing signals at Corkstown Road. Right now, there are incandescent bulbs installed. So what, you might be thinking. What's the significance of replacing a few bulbs on a line that hosts one train in either direction each week?

Well, to me, it's a positive sign that we will continue to see the Arnprior local operate each week, even if it's just once a week. Someone obviously thought the operations on this line warranted this small improvement.

Dare I even suggest that maybe these improvements were made because of other potential changes on this line, like increased traffic? I doubt it, but we can all dream, right? Remember that Nylene Canada, the customer at the end of the Renfrew Spur, has mused about looking at ways at increasing the use of the trackage out to its plant. The company, which owns the Renfrew Spur, has never elaborated on its vision for the line (the city owns the land beneath the right-of-way).

Fall 2015 meet with an eastbound Arnprior local consist returning to Walkley Yard

As for Fallowfield Road crossing, the federal money will go toward realigning light standards and other poles around the crossing, in an effort to improve sightlines on the busy road. Those of you who read this blog know that the railway crossings through Barrhaven have been the source of frustration for local residents, due to a number of signal malfunctions in recent years. You will also recall the tragic collision in 2014 when a city bus collided with a train at the nearby Woodroffe Avenue Transitway crossing. That accident killed five passengers and the bus driver.

May 2015 meet with a Via corridor train as it crosses the Fallowfield crossing

You can read about the railway crossing funding here.

Change on the Smiths Falls Sub

I thought I'd pass along a few observations from my recent travels along the Smiths Falls Subdivision.

I was in Barrhaven the other day when I decided to venture down Greenbank Road to see how the new railway bridge is progressing. This shot below was taken a few weeks ago. There still seems to be a lot of work to be done. You can see from the shot below how Greenbank has been diverted to a temporary crossing (right) while works proceeds to complete a road underpass.

Here's another look, below. For those who have visited this blog before, you know that Barrhaven residents have pushed for a number of measures to lessen the burden of living next to a busy Via Rail subdivision. Trains were recently ordered to refrain from using their horn in certain areas of Barrhaven. I would not be surprised if another bridge like this is installed in the coming years, likely along Woodroffe Avenue or Fallowfield Road. This bridge makes sense since it's a safer option for everyone involved. I still maintain, though, that Ottawa residents have largely forgotten about how to live next to a railway. I digress.

On April 8, I was visiting a friend in Richmond when I saw this sight near the Ottawa Street crossing. This collection of maintenance of way equipment was parked on a stub-end siding. The consist included an open top hopper, SETX 1002.

Here's a closer look at the hopper, which has appeared a few times around Walkley Yard as well as a few other points in Eastern Ontario. It seems this has been used a number of times for maintenance consists.

One final shot from the Ottawa Street crossing. Sadly, no Via corridor trains were forthcoming, judging by the signals.

I asked around the Eastern Ontario Rails Facebook group to see if anyone knew what the MoW consist was for, but no one had an idea. It occurred to me the other day that maybe work was soon to begin to align the track over the bridge on the new Greenbank Road railway bridge. I have not been back to that area since I took the top two shots, so I can't say for sure what that little work train was doing in Richmond. But I'm glad I caught it. It was just cold enough to snow, which actually made the shots much more interesting. You can really notice the snow in the final shot.

I heard some interesting news about the Beachburg Subdivision the other day, which I will share in a future post.

Three

April 30 marks three years and 156 posts since I first started blogging about railways on The Beachburg Sub. You can read the first post here and have a good laugh. I look back on what I first posted and am glad for all I have learned since then.

I think about what I've learned and experienced since then as a rail fan and it's the difference between seeing things in black and white...

... and colour!

Thanks to everyone for stopping by, whether you've been here since the beginning or have just recently discovered my little corner of the Interweb. I've had a lot of fun doing this, although I have to admit it has been rather challenging constantly finding enough material up here in Ottawa to fill this space on weekly basis. Thankfully, there's so much more out there beyond this city that interests me and hopefully you as well.

Even if I didn't expand my scope beyond Ottawa, I think I could keep people coming back simply by chasing the Arnprior local, CN 589 (some interesting news about this shortly).

As a way of moving forward, I'm pleased to share a few changes I've made in an effort to further entertain fellow rail enthusiasts and share more photos. I've recently uploaded many of my photos onto my Flikr page, which you can visit at anytime. I've divided a number of my photos by theme and geography, so you can easily find what you might be looking for. Feel free to drop by and spend some time. I should warn you that I mainly uploaded the photos as a way of backing up my photos. With that in mind, please be patient as many of my photos are not yet attached to specific captions. I will get to it eventually, but it will take some time.

Also, you might have noticed on the right of the blog's main page that I've added a number of links to some of my most popular posts. I might add links to other popular posts in the coming weeks and months as well.

It's been a great ride so far. Stay tuned for more!

Top photo: Work train in Sarnia in 1951 (Canada Science and Technology Museum archives). Second photo: CN interchange train in Sarnia Yard in August 2014.