Trackside Treasure

Railfanning Regina

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:50:00 +0000

Railfanning Regina, Saskatchewan is not something I have a lot of experience doing. In fact, I've railfanned Regina three times in thirty years, the most recent time vicariously. The first two were from trackside, in 1982 and 1986, while the former CP station was still in use by VIA's Canadian. In June 1982, my aunt and uncle and I drove west from Portage la Prairie to Regina to take in the Farm Equipment Show. On June 18, we stopped in Indian Head, Saskatchewan, checking out elevator row as VIA No 1 rolled west behind 6507-6607-6611. The following night in Regina, we stopped by the former CP station, as an eastbound freight behind CP 5999-4706 trundled by at 2048 with van 434504:

VIA No 1 was next at 2057: 6505-6606-6604-617-124-116-514-5742-Irondale-1377-Elnora-Entwistle-Extew-York-Chateau Levis-Chateau Maisonneuve-Dawson Manor-Kootenay Park:

Chopnosed GP9u CP 8200 (ex-8615) was in the yard, with 8483 behind, and six other units idling nearby:

Another chopnosed unit GP9u CP 1569 (ex-8625) was down by the station on September 29,1985 (below). I'd arrived in Regina at 0430 on the Canadian, which was 3 hours late at Winnipeg. I stayed in the station until 0500, noticing the vintage doors and tunnels that led from the concourse to other tracks, and as the station was about to close, I headed out to spend two and a half hours occasionally doing jumping jacks to stay warm in the 0 degree Fahrenheit air, huddled in a law firm doorway across from the car rental agency. My patience was rewarded with a free upgrade when the clerk finally opened up. My Dodge Omni was still at Regina airport, so I was given a Chrysler Fifth Avenue at the same rate. As the kids say today, "Like!". I spent a couple of days in my tricked-out ride, exploring elevator towns east and south of the Queen City, including CN's Lewvan Sub.

A final drive around Regina included RCMP's Depot Division, where I observed my car's Dodge Diplomat brethren's speedometers reached blistering 120 mph, with mine only reaching a sedate sedan 85 mph. At Regina's station, an assortment of CP switching jobs were arriving to yard their trains, and drop their Angus vans on the van track near the station as the crews disembarked. GP35's 5019-5012 and 434473 arrived from the east at 1700 (top), then GP38-2 3031, also from the east, kicked its van 434403:

Like most CP terminals, the CP Police were well-represented, so I remained inside the Fifth Avenue while photographing. An eastbound grain train at 1720 was powered by CP 5965-3022-5015-Conrail 7799 (below), plus three other CP freights before boarding No 2 at 2315: 1925 WB 5907-Chessie 3716-5693-3011-8493, with newly-outshopped van 434309, 1932 EB 6057-5626, and 2043 WB intermodal with 6006-5732-5716, the last two SD's with high multimarks and full nose striping.

After a carwash and before returning the rental, I had posed it for posterity near the front steps of Saskatchewan's Legislative Building on Wascana (name of a CPR diner) Lake. Classy, unbridled plush luxury fully loaded and built for looks and speed, unexpectedly reserved for an otherwise undeserving Ontario railfan!

Regina railfan and loyal Trackside Treasure reader Elijah Hall helped me with my third railfan visit to Regina in absentia. While touring the SaskTel building in July 2010, Elijah took these photos of the Regina station (now casino) area as it exists presently.

A model railroad-like view of intermodal equipment, stacked containers and tank cars makes an interesting scene several floors down. GP9u 1535 (ex-8620) and a van nearly too tagged to read its side number are switching some tank cars.

GATX 58613 and CP 434412:

Elijah also sent along a bonus shot of Last Mountain Rail's motive power west of Bethune, Saskatchewan. Thanks, Elijah!

Running extra...

While reading Say Everything...How Blogging Began by Scott Rosenberg, I came across this apropos passage, "Most bloggers, in fact, are far more assiduous than the proprietors of other kinds of websites about preserving their outdated material. They know their own back-catalog[ue] well, and link back into it to support a point, to explain a reference, or just to highlight something that tickles them. For the great mass of bloggers who would never have jotted down their thoughts in the first place if they didn't have a blog, their posts represent the opposite of oblivion: they are a personal archive that can serve as a bulwark against forgetfulness." What he said.

Having watched Witness, the 1985 thriller starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Czech-born Canadian actor Jan Rubes, due to the year of production, I was not surprised to see at least three unmarked Dodge Diplomats in the denouement, as the murderous plot has been resolved. Luxurious law-enforcement limos.

Postscript: GO Transit

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:12:00 +0000

I've come across a smattering of selected GO consists to complement my previous GO Transit post. While on the way to the CN Tower in September 1986, this GO train with cab car 206 (above) and F40PH 512 (below) passed us, west of Union Station. Here are a couple of GO consists from June 7, 1986:

EB:

725-800-2114-2154-2103-2060-2028-2002-2006-2047-2150-205-707.

WB:

709-2117-2100-2041-2148-2055-2118-2110-2029-2038-2036-801-724.

On November 25, 1992 the following GO consist was eastbound at Union Station:

1650 EB:

521-908-2013-2112-2044-2412-2409-2027-2218-2025-2020-2237-2030-2405-723.

On January 20, 1999 handicapped-accessible GO bilevel 2311 wearing GO 30th anniversary and Bombardier logos passed the SkyWalk platform west of Union Station:

GO 2311 was on one of two GO trains in motion, while ONR's Northlander consist also passed by.

GO consist:

540-2003-2116-2112-2318-2225-2048-2252-238.

ONR consist:

1809-203-601-700-609.

On April 14, 1993 I was at the south end of the SkyWalk from Union Station to the CN Tower, and recorded 16 GO movements in my 40 minutes waiting for my train to Kingston:

1608 EB:

537-2100-2300-2130-2335-2415-236.

1611 EB:

560-2054-2418-2024-2225-2230-2037-2124-2132-219/ WB at 1633.

1618 EB:

551-2232-2444-2416-2242-2455-2339-2147-2235-2432-234.

1620 WB:

203-2403-2052-2441-2424-2428-2246-2402-2128-529.

1622 EB:

557-2122-2400-2066-2144-2321-2104-2202-2055-2021-239.

1622 EB:

556-2205-2114-2411-2151-2310-2404-2438-2308-2012-2410-2243-2213-521/WB at 1642.

1633 WB:

209-2423-2013-2040-2073-2433-2448-2108-2140-550.

1634 EB:

545-2209-2216-2204-2340-2431-2217-2407-241.

1637 EB:

524-2429-2445-2422-2253-2142-2058-2419-216-212.

1639 EB:

554-2127-2430-2450-2244-2206-2123-2219-226.

1643 EB:

520-2499-2119-2229-2072-2227-2067-2150-2118-2011-217.

1646 EB:

540-2234-2004-2062-2248-2046-2153-2069-2079-2101-220.

1648 EB:

525-2203-2070-2126-2061-2222-2050-2152-2026-2211-237.

1648 EB:

539-2442-2065-2238-2201-2016-2452-218.

With all these GO movements passing by in such a short space of time, I was at times hard-pressed to record the consists, but it was a great location to take in a very enjoyable burst of big-city commuter railroading at its best.

Running extra...

Check out the latest addition to Trackside Treasure's sidebar. Train of the Week is an intriguing and interesting blog highlighting passenger rail world-wide, including several posts on GO Transit and VIA Rail. A great site for armchair travellers and inveterate train riders alike.

Here's a Train of the Week post I can identify with - One Morning in Kingston. Shot without a tripod, the video seems more...realistic, pulse-pounding, and definitely comes under the heading of Kingston platform scenes.

Featured job opportunity of the week on the Monster career website: Italian cruise ship captain. Qualifications do not include night vision, customer service, near-shore navigation experience or swimming ability. Lifejacket fitting will take place at interview. Feeling like your career is currently on the rocks? Do you want your future to grow to titanic proportions? Does it seem that only 10% of your potential is currently visible and you're ready to abandon that nowhere job you're in? Then this could make you king of the world!

GO Transit 1981

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

GO Transit has been carrying commuters to and from Toronto since 1967. GO's unique green & white paint scheme and large Government of Ontario logo (letters G and O, plus a thin letter "T for Toronto" hidden in between) are instantly recognizable, and GO's distinctive bilevel cars originally built by Hawker-Siddeley in Ontario are in service with commuter agencies around North America.

Chris Mears, Trackside Treasure blog partner and keeper of GO's most easterly destination in Charlottetown, is a GO Transit fan. Recently on his blog, Prince Street Terminal , Chris blogged about some 1981 GO consists he discovered while exploring Trackside with VIA: The First 35 Years . This post includes those trains. On a weekend trip to Bayview Junction in Hamilton, I photographed some inside the 'triangle' at the junction of the Dundas and Oakville Subs, an area no longer accessible to railfans.

On the evening of June 22, a Hamilton-bound train passes the assembled railfans at 1810 (above) 502-2054-2006-2023-2068-2036-2039-2044-2041-2007-2057-507 . A few minutes later, the push-pull consist returns to Toronto, now led by 507:

An hour later, another Steel City-bound train passes: 103-2046-2001-2035-2030-2000-2002-2012-2065-515 .

GO F40PH is in push mode:

This consist also then heads back toward Toronto:

Early next morning, June 23 two trains head into Toronto from Hamilton. At 0639: 902-2058-2040-2019-2078-2077-2015-2076-2059-706-709 .

On the tailend, 706-709 pushing, with red marker lights illuminated:

Within the hour, a second train passes the Junction, at the Royal Botanical Gardens walkway: 507-2057-2007-2029-2044-2039-2036-2068-2023-2006-2054-502.

While on a visit to Spadina roundhouse , a short train heads east: 515-2058-2066-2031-2020-107. Those are flags on a background building, not some sort of Pennsy-like antennae on 515:

On a daytime layover waiting for VIA train No 3 out of Toronto on August 22, I was able to see a plethora of trains from the Spadina Street bridge. At 1347, a westbound GO train negotiates crossovers at 1414:

704-2039-2006-2049-2057-2068-2036-2044-2029-2007-2017-513.

GO APCU 907 leads bilevels toward Union Station: 907-2034-2071-2020-2073-2032-2016-2056-2070-2079-707-710 .

A westbound train passes the under-construction flyunder west of Spadina Avenue, with Spadina coach yard's wash rack and Tempo cars in the background at 1447: 501-2008-2035-2074-2051-2018-2048-2067-2053-2066-2037-514 .

Running extra...

7, 8, 44...VIA's F40PH-2 fleet as of early January with unrebuilt, undergoing Renaissance rebuilding, and rebuilt units respectively. Yellow noses are now few and far between. As Bruce Springsteen sang, "Baby we were born to Ren."

6427, 6451...VIA train No 1 had these two unrebuilt units on the head-end ex Toronto January 9. Thanks to Brian Schuff of Winnipeg for this OS. Could this be the last time the Vancouver sun rose on such a power consist on the Canadian? Prairie Oyster's Canadian Sunrise with Winnipeger Randy Bachman on guitar comes to mind.

Freestylin', mega-pick, junk-drunk, bundling...some of the terms used by Mike and Frank on American Pickers weekly on the History Television. My favourite show; these two characters unearth history one piece at a time, finding themselves in some unpredictable and unusual locations, "Yo, Danny D give us the co-ordinates."

Bad Order, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:15:00 +0000

Bad order cars set out en route have to be moved to a car shop for repairs, once made safe to move. Until the introduction of Railinc's Damaged and Defective Car Tracking system, that meant paperwork. CN 9595-9488-4534 set out bad-order VIA LRC car 3358 on the east leg of the Queens wye on May 4, 1985 with cabooses 76687 and 79906 in tow. Here are both sides of a CN bad order card for gondola CN 157023 from 1982:

Here's a CP bad order card for boxcar CP 51309 from 1975:

Railways meticulously recorded particulars of each set-out car. Today this information is written on the train journal, and radioed to the RTC and Car Control. Here's a CN report from 1979, for CN 286371 carrying glass and set out at Minaki, Ontario:

CP train 445's conductor fully documented defects on CP flatcar 505526 in 1981:

After repairs, the Rail Traffic Controller would send a message to the nearest station's operator, to attach to the train orders of the train designated to lift the car:

With its long Kingston Sub trains, CN has certainly had its share of Bad Order cars to deal with in recent years. Some examples:

Nov/08: CN 406586 boxcar door popped open, two rolls of newsprint fell out, and loose door clipped VIA train Nos 46 and 64. Car set out at Queens, road repair truck called, door chained.

Sept/08: CN train No 120 IC Eng 1006 fuel leak, set out at Queens, environmental field crew called.

Mar/08: GATX 46209 tank car lost drawbar, set out on Cataraqui Spur.

May/07: AOK 111926 boxcar broken trainline, set out at Queens.

Feb/07: MMA boxcar defective 'B' end brake rigging, set out at Ernestown.

Dec/06: CN train No 309 bad order car on west end, set out at Gananoque.

Mar/06: CN 49291 flatcar, after Kings detector, set out at Queens.

Feb/06: GMRC 78197 boxcar, set out at Ernestown.

Feb/06: CN train No 369 two bad order bulkhead flatcars: CN 624429 flat wheel set out at Queens, and CN 601865 drawbar set out at Millhaven.

Oct/05: CN train No 368 cars with knuckle and drawbar, set out in east leg of wye at Bath.

Running Extra...

Housekeeping item #1: Recent changes to Trackside Treasure's design include sidebar moved to left side, and increased width for entire blog. This allows photos to appear extra-large, using Blogger's updated posting format. I'd appreciate your feedback, and whether this enhances photo viewing and photo clickability for readers.

Housekeeping item #2: Trackside Treasure's latest poll shows that 31% of respondents check in daily, 31% weekly, 19% once in a while, and 19% were visiting for the first time. The good news is that posting frequency here will likely remain weekly, but I check in a couple of times per day to see what my blog partners are posting.

Housekeeping item #3. Vacuuming spruce needles while taking down the Christmas tree, unstringing lights outside, then finding 'reduced for quick sale' fruitcake at No Frills while grocery-shopping.

Christmas Break Trains 1984

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:50:00 +0000

A recent discussion of freight units leading VIA trains, either leased from CN or rescuing VIA units included a rescue train from 1984. Jason Shron of Rapido Trains wondered whether I'd seen this consist. No I hadn't, and that got me wondering why. What was I doing on my Christmas break that year? Here are the results, following some research in the dusty Trackside Treasure vault. After a very pleasant Christmas party at Kingston's Hotel Dieu Hospital, where I was interning at the time, Christmas break began. The very next day, it was off to the chilly Kingston station platform .

Friday December 21: Kingston station 1140-1515 - seven passenger and three freight trains. (Above) VIA train No 44/54 at 1203: CN 4362-6624-deadheading backward Tweedsmuir Park-612-Boulevard Club-3210-5495-5541-759-117-3200-Chateau Laval-CN business car 95, including some through cars from VIA No 2. (Below) 1205 WB CN local behind 4566 and six cars, heading west from Queens on the north track.

VIA No 43/53 at 1205: CN 4360-6623-6616-9653-3226-4886-5455-5627-3241-Laurier Club. Second sections followed about 20 minutes behind both noon trains, each with two engines and nine cars.

Saturday, December 22: Hockey Night in Canada broadcast Leafs 6 - Bruins 4.

Sunday, December 23: Operating my HO scale Manitoba Western Railway, with Manitoba Pool elevator and grain trucks lined up with deliveries for Paterson elevator at Gladstone (below).

Monday, December 24: Christmas Eve, snow.

Tuesday, December 25: Christmas gifts included latest issues of Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman. Turkey. Stuffing. Stuffed.

Wednesday, December 26: Operating my brother's HO scale CP Rail layout, under the auspices of Happy Valley Railway Management. Long grain train on the upper-level Heron Bay subdivision, with expansive Thunder Bay yard in foreground:

Thursday, December 27: -17 degrees C.

Friday, December 28: No railfanning. Photo op with 1000+ matchbook collection instead. New Year's resolution - start smoking.

Saturday, December 29: Picked up latest film developed. Included steam-heated cars and cars from major railways on cabooseless demonstration train at Kingston outer station November 16:

Across the platform from the display train, a group of track machines including ballast regulator/broom and tamper, and boarding cars wintering at Kingston:

On the same film, a westbound LRC on November 25, possibly late-running VIA No 65 heading west at Collins Bay Road with 6927-7 cars-6920:

As well, Canada Steamship Lines straight-decker Whitefish Bay at the Kingston grain elevator, at the southern end of the Cataraqui Spur:

Sunday, December 30: Kingston station 1900-2000 - two passenger trains including VIA No 56: CN 4361-6637-5627-120-3230-5495-3215-Chateau Papineau-9623.

Monday, December 31: Painting and decalling two CP cars.

Tuesday, January 1: Shovelling the driveway.

Wednesday, January 2: Painting and decalling potash and grain covered hoppers.

Thursday, January 3: Railfanning 1300-1500 - two passenger trains and two freight trains. Inaccessible tangent track west of Benjamin's Cut, Mi 184 Kingston Sub. Walked north from Taylor-Kidd Boulevard, gingerly crossed a recently-frozen creek. 1330 WB LRC with 6900 on tail-end crossing a classic Grand Trunk limestone culvert:

Six minutes later, CN local behind 3741 with eight cars: covered hoppers, tank cars, boxcars RF&P 2035 and Railbox:

Caboose 79712 trails. It would be six years before cabooses were withdrawn from mainline service.

Far enough off the ballast, but close enough to avoid the pole line, shadow-nosed out of the low winter sun at 1402 EB freight with 2307-2003-2105 and a healthy cut of produce refrigerator cars on the head end. Smokin!

Friday, January 4: Hobby shop visit, building Elephant Fertilizers elevator from styrene. Then back to start the next phase of internship. Christmas break was over.

Running extra...

Happy New Year to all Trackside Treasure readers. May you enjoy health, happiness and hobbies in 2012. Cathy Griffin, Anderson Cooper, Ryan C. Crest and Dick Clark were all in fine form on the New Year's Eve coverage. Global TV included Simple Plan concert with backdrop 'SP' logos looking suspiciously similar to lettering on Southern Pacific locomotives' red noses.

Speaking of red noses, Rudolf Diesel likely never imagined his robust, high-torque design for a diesel engine would be ultimately used in the ugly-duckling ultrakanadisch GMD-1 , recently announced in HO scale by Rapido Trains. Be sure to keep tabs on Rapido's new blog, recently added to Trackside Treasure's sidebar. No doubt it will be full of information on Rapido's other impending releases: FP9's, FPA4's, and The Canadian.

Are you a foamer? Hop to it, get your glass in gear and see what's brewing at Steam Whistle Beer, brewed in CP's former John Street roundhouse. OK, it's also occupied by Leon's and the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, and their event space is booked solid for the next two years, but my son visited and all I got was a T-shirt. Cool green T-shirt, though. Australian visitor on brewery tour "What's a two-four?"

Bad Order, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:44:00 +0000

Railway rolling stock has lots of moving parts. When one or more of these parts becomes dangerously defective, the car is deemed Bad Order in need of repair. Sometimes referred to as RIP`s, short for Repair In Place, the track designated for car repairs. Some repairs can be made en route, such as a conductor wiring a cut lever or changing an airhose. More serious problems can include loose strapping or chains, doors or hatches that need to be repaired at the next RIP track. VIA F40PH-2 6402 has a bent pilot, and has been set out at Queens after striking the crossing at Collins Bay Road on March 6, 2005 (above).

There are problems that prevent the car from going past the next available set-out track. Serious axle or wheel defects, draft gear or shifted loads are set out at the nearest siding or back track. On CN`s Kingston Sub, a reduction in mainline switches and potential set-out tracks has made this process more challenging for crews and Rail Traffic Controllers. A Grand Trunk Western 86-foot hi-cube auto parts boxcar is being taken to Belleville by a four-car local behind 4563 and caboose 79506 on June 15, 1979 (above). Six months later, a Chicago & North Western four-door hi-cube boxcar has been set out on a spur across the Kingston Sub from the former Collins Bay station site. Look ma, no 'B' end drawbar:

There are no more set-out tracks at Collins Bay or Ernestown, so RIP's now have to be dragged even farther along the main line. CN train 519 behind 4123-4111 has VIA LRC coach 3300 sandwiched between its 11 freight cars as it heads past Kingston station on August 13, 1997 at 1400. Note the jury-rigged trainline along the side of 3300:

If bad-ordered cars are set out, the nearest road repair truck will drive or hi-rail to the car to make the repairs. CN's International road repair truck, complete with extra wheels awaits a call near the former Belleville roundhouse site in March, 1994:

CN`s current Belleville road repair truck is at the Invista nylon plant on the Cataraqui Spur last winter:

Cars that are able to move, and require heavy repairs to be made at a railway shop, contractor shop, car owner or other railway`s shop are placarded `Home Shop for Repair`and moved in a freight train to that shop. Until recently, bad-ordered cars had a Bad Order defect car rolled up and left in a car holder on the carbody, detailing the exact defect requiring repair. While this card is intended to accompany the car, someties the cards came loose, were blown away, and lost or recovered by railfans scouring the right-of-way. CGTX 30524 rides toward repair aboard CP 315541 at Kingston station on May 4/09:

On January 1, 2011 Railinc, an AAR subsidiary, launched the Damaged and DEfective Car Tracking system, a computerized program which provides a streamlined, accurate and real-time database of cars with defects requiring repair. Next post will feature some Bad Order documents.

Running extra...

Recently-arrived junk mail included Harvey`s restaurant coupons. I was surprised to find an accurate representation of Kingston`s rail system included on the coupon page. It even includes tracks that have been removed. (click to enlarge)

OK, so I added the red print on the map for clarity. Obviously Harvey`s printer is using an old map.

'Twas the Blog Post Before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:19:00 +0000

'Twas the blog post before Christmas, and all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, just one cordless mouse,

The train books were stacked on the night table with care,

In hopes I would find them when I needed them, there,

Timetables and magazines were stacked by the bed,

While visions of new posts danced in my head.

My wife sighed loudly, hit her forehead with a slap,

"I'm tired of hearing about all your train crap!"

When out on the Kingston Sub arose such a clatter,

I figured a CN freight might be a-splatter,

Away to the scanner I flew like a flash,

Turned up the volume, to hear RTC teeth gnash,

The crack of slack action over new-fallen snow,

Gave the sound of derailment, but thank goodness, no,

Up the grade towards Belleville, I heard the train disappear,

I resumed talking 'blog' (blah-blah-blah, to my dear)

More creative and inspired, my thoughts again came,

As I remembered my blog partners, and called them by name:

Now Steven, now Adam, Chris, Dave, Scott and John,

Second Chris, third Chris, Matt, Robert and Jas-on,

You share such neat stuff, each blog a different creature,

A definite highlight for my sidebar to feature,

As thoughts in one ear, and out the other ear fly,

I thought of more posts as I scanned the night sky,

On CN! on CP! VIA yellow and blue!

Rolling stock, railfan adventures, and train-riding too,

My imagination throttled up, new ideas reached the roof,

My wife simply said, "Turn the light off, you goof!"

I had one last thought, which I want you to know:

From west coast to east coast, and also my bro',

You speak not a word, but go straight to your work,
Filling readers with thoughts, as they comment or lurk,
You've left us with gifts, they're true Trackside Treasure,

You photograph and write, with aplomb beyond measure,

(As I heard a train coming, 'twas a P42 whistle
I knew it was time to end this epistle)

A toast to your efforts, with coffee, pop or beer,

Thanks for making 2011 a congenial year!

To all of you I say, as I call it a night,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good write!

--Home for Christmas--
Meeting ONR No 121 Eng 1803 at South River, Ontario in 1994 (above)

CN Insulated Boxcars in MOW Service

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:11:00 +0000

A cut of CN insulated boxcars with 8-foot Superior and 9-foot Youngstown plug doors in CN's Belleville Yard on February 17, 1992 included billboard 'big apple' CN 283032. Ironically, this car was one of four billboard cars that debuted during railway week in Belleville in July 1971 behind Century 2335 and restored CN steam locomotive 6218. Since much of CN's Great Lakes Region track gang equipment was based in Belleville in 1992, wintered there and was sent afield each summer, it seemed the presence of these 1965-68 built insulated cars indicated their impending conversion to maintenance-of-way house cars, some with roll-up doors.

Photographed in Armstrong, Ontario the car has indeed been renumbered, to CN 73728, with its new number stencilled higher than its previous reporting marks near the underframe.(Gerald Harper photo):

CN 73726 has its 'Insulated Car' designation painted out, with its new AAR code MWM stencilled near its number, in March, 2000:

Some cars such as 73737 and 73723, also 73743 seen at Belleville in April, 1996 had been equipped with roll-up doors in place of their plug doors, and new Home Hardware doors for crew access. Equipment is being loaded for the upcoming trackwork season.

CN 73723 in service in 2005 in London, Ontario with steps and handrails for the crew door, hydro hookup on the 'B' end and DANGER placards clearly visible (Peter Mumby photo):

Although this car series included CN 73600-73773, CN car tracing records on CN 73700-73745 in October, 2001 showed many cars still in MOW service from Quebec to Alberta:

73703 to CPRS 16/8/01*
73711 Redditt track RE66 27/7/01
73712 to Selkirk via Paddington 7/01*
73714 to Selkirk via Paddington 7/01*
73717 Jasper-Hinton-Edmonton 8-9/01
73718 to Selkirk via Paddington 7/01*
73722 Bethnal-Oatland-Capreol 8-9/01
73723 Hornepayne track HO60-Argolis-Agate 8-9/01
73724 Edmonton track TH01 10/01
73725 Capreol 8/01
73729 Riviere des Prairies-Fitzpatrick 7-9/01
73731 Joffre track JF13-CN train No 309-arr Winnipeg 28/9/01
73732 Capreol 8/01
73734 Bethnal 8-9/01
73735 Capreol 8/01
73738 Agate track RC39-Hornepayne-Longlac-Fort Erie
73741, 73743, 73744 Belleville 18/7/01
73742 Foleyet track FL72-MacMillan Yard Toronto 9/01
73745 Agate track RC39-Hornepayne-Longlac-Fort Erie

Note that four (*) cars are heading to Selkirk, Manitoba, likely for scrapping at Mandak Metals. Perhaps CN 73741 is making its last trip midtrain in a westbound freight at Kingston on June 9, 2002:

Running extra...

Tonight's report from Brian Schuff in Winnipeg just in: VIA No 1 with 6451-Ren 6434 and Tremblant Park on the tail end. It's been quite a while since the Canadian had a yellow-nosed, non-Ren F40 on the point. CN hogger Mark Perry was in the cab of CN engine 2600 heading for Melville as the Canadian passed.

Christmas specials abound this time of year. Last night it was the Polar Bear Express, with Tom Hanks and his young passengers sloshing across a cracking, ice-covered lake before they reach the shore and safety. Kind of like Saving Private Ryan on ice. To paraphrase Zuzu in It's a Wonderful Life, "Every time a bell rings at the crossing, it means a train is coming."

Merry Christmas to all Trackside Treasure's readers! May this festive season bring lots of relaxation, time with family and friends, a break from work, enjoying festive food and drink (bring on the fruitcake!) and reflecting on 2011 as we look forward to 2012.

Santa Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:19:00 +0000

It's that time of year again - Christmas shopping looms, but you can beat the crowds by picking up an item or two for yourself or someone you know at Trackside Treasure's online Santa Sale. The first email received indicating interest in each item at mile179kingston@yahoo.ca makes the item yours, shipped well-protected via Canada Post upon receipt of payment. Shipping cost will be actual postage, payment of total by cheque or money order. Please refer to item # when ordering. Thanks for looking, and Merry Christmas!

ITEMS SOLD SO FAR: #8

ITEM #1 (Top) From the Operator's Desk: A full day of train orders, clearances, symbol sheets, train lineups, crew call sheets, operator's trainsheet and messages - over 80 items in each package. Twenty-four hours of CP Rail action between Thunder Bay and Kenora on the Ignace and Kaministiquia Subs. Did I mention this is 1981? In excellent condition for their age, and each package was dated and stored until today. For this item only - I have more than one package available, but quantities are limited - operators are standing by. $25 per package.

A nice selection of books on regional railway subjects from across Canada:

ITEM #2 (above) Cinders to Saltwater by Shirley E. Woods. Atlantic Canada's Railways since 1829. Nicely-illustrated with maps and photos, 227 pages, 1992, hardcover with dustjacket, $21.

ITEM #3 (below) McCulloch's Wonder - the Story of the Kettle Valley Railway by Barrie Sanford. Detailed history of the KVR. 20th Anniversary Edition, sixth printing 1998, 260 pages, illustrated, softcover, $16.

ITEM #4 (also below) The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill by Graeme Pole. Tales, maps and factoids about this spectacular CPR route. 1998, 80 pages, softcover, $13.

ITEM #5: (below) The Town that Arrested a Train by George Campbell. Fort William's drastic actions in the 19th century profiled. First Printing 1981, illustrated 24 pages, softcover, $7.

ITEM #6 (also below): Banff Springs - The Story of a Hotel by Bart Robinson. Couldn't export the scenery, so CPR had to import the tourists. Second Edition 1988, illustrated 120 pages, softcover, $7.

ITEM #7: (below) Vintage VIA...It's a tote bag! It's a pillow with pillow case sanitized for your protection! White plastic, blue VIA, 1980's in original packaging, $15.

Item #8: (below) Vintage VIA shoulder tote bag made in Canada by Curtis Agencies, brown and yellow with strap. 1980's, comes in a VIA shopping bag, $18. ITEM #9: (below) CN LINES Volume 13 Numbers 1 and 4, $5.50 each or both for $10.
ITEM #10: CN Predecessor Roads bicentennial units - Grand Trunk Western, Detroit Toledo & Ironton and Central Vermont units each numbered 1776. Two 8x10's, one Audio-Visual Designs Super Post Card, all three for $12. ITEM #11: Glorious Colour 8x10's - ONR 1808, F-unit and Northlander consist at North Bay in 1992; CN 5302 leads four other units at English, Alberta in 1981, $6 each or both for $11.

Railfanning from the CN Tower

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:33:00 +0000

When the CN Tower was built on railway lands in downtown Toronto, it was surrounded by major facilities used by the railways: Union Station, CP's John Street roundhouse, and CN's Spadina roundhouse and coach yard.

While most visitors to the world's tallest tower (1,815 feet in height) enjoyed views to the horizon from the observation deck (1,136 feet - Hey look! I can see Hamilton!), I preferred the view below, where I could see train movements taking place. The trains could also be viewed from ground level, but it was more interesting to watch and photograph trains wending their way through the terminal trackage, often featured on tourist postcards often featured the tower from various angles and altitudes (above & below):

From the outdoor observation deck (1,122 feet) the tower's shadow falls between the safety bars onto the white skirting that covers satellite dishes. Upper Canada Railway Society's private car Cape Race is next to the steam plant. Stored CP intermodal flats, 40-foot yellow insulated boxcars and Service boarding boxcars line the coach yard tracks nearby in May 1980:

Looking east along Toronto Terminal Railways trackage, the Union Station train shed is visible between the bars. An inbound GO Transit train races past a CP wayfreight beside the Gardiner Expressway, which runs beside the postal terminal near Union Station:

Pointing my Kodak Hawkeye straight down, a VIA F-unit and a yard switcher with coach in tow both head west. Rapido Trains' president Jason Shron will be depicting such scenes on his HO-scale Spadina-CN Kingston Sub layout. That's our school field trip's school bus beside the F-unit:

Looking west from the outdoor deck, a bidirectional GO Transit train slides past Spadina coach yard, while at least two CN switchers drill passenger cars. Compare the view to the third photo in this Canadian Railway Observations article by Walter Pfefferle. Today's view is markedly less-railroady and more Albert Speer-esque, as wide avenues guide condo owners home to their high-priced birdhouses along the lake. In both views, historic Fort York is visible at mid-top of photo:

What a difference a telephoto lens makes. While a scruffy ex-CP VIA F-unit peeks out from the trainshed, an eastbound CP transfer powered by two switchers hauls 13 gons, four covered hoppers, two boxcars and five tank cars in September 1986:

The stainless steel roofs of three RDC's glint in the late afternoon sun:

Farther west, two short F-led VIA passenger consists and a brace of RDC's pass Fort York at Bathurst Street:

Forty-foot CP Rail boxcars, ex-baggage Service car, and two tank-bearing flat cars are stored:

An end-cupola van, piggyback flats and 'roundhouse queens' TH&B 72, 74, 401, 402, 76 and 77 await conversion to CP's 1680-series with chop noses, reposing on CP's trackage:

Rail & transit: A Toronto Transit Commission Peter Witt car is on an afternoon excursion:

You'd never see this while railfanning in the vicinity of the CN Tower: an artist's fanciful conception a four-track (in reality, only two-track) flyunder to be constructed west of Spadina Avenue. A CP F-unit hauling a boxcar meets the LRC prototype, two GO single-level and two double-level consists, a CN RS18 hauling Tempo coaches(?) and the Turbo near Spadina's coaling tower, all in one view from UCRS's November/December 1976 newsletter. Now that's railfanning CN Tower style!

Running extra...

Most modellers just buy models and kitbash, paint and decal them to match a specific prototype. Jason Shron started Rapido Trains to produce the cars he wanted, and oh, to sell a few to fellow modellers in the process. Rapido's recent announcements include MLW's FPA4. Schenectady serendipity and MLW melodrama in all-encompassing ALCo-mania.

How many Torontonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one, then five more to hold a panel discussion about what a world-class event it was. Why doesn't Hamilton have an NHL team? Because then Toronto would want one too.

Toronto takes a few jabs, but it still features some world-class railfanning opportunities. Be sure to check out the blog partners featured in my sidebar: Chris Mears' Prince Street Terminal features GO Transit among myriad other subjects, and Adam Walker's Walker Express featuresa recent visit to GO's Willowbrook yard.

But it's a TRAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:08:00 +0000

The 30th anniversary of the 1981 VIA Rail cuts got me thinking...there's still lots to see trackside. Instead of wallowing in nostalgia about the F-unit era, it's important to appreciate what's still rolling by. To express this, it seemed appropriate to publish a post on this very topic. The Turbo, Rapido, Atlantic Limited are all gone, but VIA rolls on and although the rolling stock has changed, it's DIFFERENT, but it's a TRAIN.

This is Trackside Treasure's first multi-media post. Instead of simply including photos, I did what anyone who appreciates what VIA has offered us over the past 35 years would do...I produced a rap video.

Enlisting the services of Spadina-based rapper E-series and his crew, here is the global premiere of "But it's a TRAIN". Enjoy.

Modelling a CN auxiliary crane

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:56:00 +0000

My previous post on the 1993 derailment at Mi 180 Kingston Sub reminded me of the modelling I'd done after viewing the derailment clean-up. Over the next year, I kitbashed/painted/decalled a new 7-car auxiliary train. First of all, I'd decided it was time to modernize my HO scale CN auxiliary, bringing it up to date from CN's basic black scheme of earlier years.
To do so, I brush-painted my Athearn 200-ton auxiliary crane in CN's striking, high-visibility scheme with orange sides, silver roof, yellow deck and broad black & white stripes on both ends. I also added some details to the roof: air horn, spotlight and a muffler. Opposite side:
I also thought CN 60329, the idler car was neat and modelled it as well. Of course, 50016's boom needed a prototypical resting place, as well as providing a place for the crew to get out of the weather if needed.Details I added to 60329 (not sure why I decalled it 60239) included rerail frogs, yellow-painted ladders, smokejacks, lighting along the deck, deck-mounted fuel tank and various supplies such as blocking timbers and chains carefully stowed and ready for use. My car is unweathered, and does not include those interesting cutout sections on the side of the flatcar deck, no doubt for additional storage. CN engine 5595 is seen switching the auxiliary train, a common occurrence that would take place in the siding nearest the derailment, to place the train's cars in the order needed for the job at hand. Clothes dryer/generator car CN 43699 provides power and creature comforts to the train and its crew:
A tool/cable car was also included in the 1993 consist. I used VIA 9070, a Con-Cor baggage car I'd picked up for this project. I cut out one door, adding a crew member who is retrieving some important piece of equipment from the car, which would also carry cables and slings for special lifts. Underbody details include timbers for blocking the auxiliary outriggers and more rerail frogs. Rerail frogs are heavy. You can never have enough of them, and they need to be readily available and stored as close to track level as possible.
Another crew member keeps an eye on the passing scenery on the idler car. I lettered both these cars for the 'Winnipeg Auxiliary' with CDS VIA car lettering. This was before my reading-glasses era.
Of course the full auxiliary train needs to be filled out with more cars: accommodation, dining, lighting, track panels, trucks and axles and more. Click on the Derailments tag in my right sidebar to find more derailment posts including auxiliary train consists I've observed in action.

Derailment at Kingston, May 1993

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:11:00 +0000

A 93-car westbound CN freight derailed at 2200 hours, Thursday, May 13, 1993 just west of Kingston, Ontario. The derailment was in an interesting location, at Mi 180 Kingston Sub: at the Collins Bay Road level crossing, bordering the playground of Collins Bay Public School. Four loaded auto racks derailed from the north track, across the south track and into the trackside pole line and schoolyard fence. CAUTION tape was deployed, and wrapped around two track wrenches that had been driven into the schoolyard. This kept the young students away from the site at recess, but we could still hear them yelling "Mister, get away from the train! It's going to crash! It's going to explode!" No doubt merely an expression of youthful, enthusiastic hyperbole. Arriving at the derailment site, three auto racks had already been rerailed, with CN 711931 remaining. The Toronto Auxiliary was at the scene:

Consist of the Toronto Auxiliary:

CN 5358 (NA map scheme) -5355 - 250-ton auxiliary crane 50008 - idler car 60329 - tool (ex-baggage) car 60337 - hazmat boxcar 57948 - generator boxcar 43621 - crew sleeper 72909 - ?coach - ?coach - 3 flatcars with panel track - gondola 59110 with spare trucks - 60305 - flatcar 57935 - flatcar 57551 with portable lights - caboose 79902. The auxiliary worked the west end of the lift, while Kershaw road-rail crane CN078836 worked the east end. A 20 mph slow order was in effect between Mileages 179-182, with trains passing the derailment site at no more than 10 m.p.h. The auxiliary's outriggers have been blocked with timbers sledge-hammered into place, and a freight car truck rolled into place for the lift of the errant auto rack:

The auxiliary train's consist had been re-marshalled placing 50008 was at the east end, with the idler car, tool car and boxcar ahead of the power. As the Kershaw crane held the east end of the car steady, the west end was lifted up and over the south track, shown in this series of photos:

Once rerailed, the timber blocking was lifted by the crane onto the adjacent idler car:

A CN hi-rail truck brought some additional rails to the site, and VIA train 60 passed at 1100, 6902-3461-3346-3368:

The auxiliary's boom was lowered, and the auto rack chained to its east end coupler for the trip to Ernestown, to be set out there (below and top photo). There, the train was likely re-marshalled before returning to Toronto via Belleville. CN 50008 was the Belleville auxiliary in 1961, rerailing 23 cars that derailed into the Trent Canal near Trenton Junction.

More trains continued by after the auxiliary left. As often happens once the track is fully open, the floodgates open and trains start to flow through as fast as the dispatcher can get them going, with passenger trains and high-priority freights having precedence:

1402 EB VIA: 6428-3468-3362-3360

First freight past the site: WB CN Laser 9570-9526-9441-77 platforms

1420 EB VIA train 42: 6429-3475-3371-3329

1440: EB CN freight 9425-2317-2333 - 71 cars

1505 WB VIA train 65: 6407 - 4 LRC cars

1508 EB VIA train 64: 6414-3339-3366-3350-3331-3471-8622

1517 WB CN train 391: 6001 - exCNW NRE 882 - 5031

1533 EB CN freight: 9443-2324-3548

A newspaper photo from the Kingston Whig-Standard (above) shows an early morning view of the accident scene, while Kingston This Week (below) shows the Kershaw crane at work, later in the day. 50008's boom is visible in the background, while the road-rail crane is blocked and in position.

One day before the accident, a crossing accident fatality occurred one mile east, at Mile 179. This was the ninth crossing accident in the Kingston area in seven years. The private crossing was in use by a mechanic who was going to work on a car located at the house on the north side of the double-track mainline, when his Olds Cutlass was demolished by VIA train 68. This crossing, two other private crossings between Mi 179-180, and Hillview Road crossing were subsequently removed.

Running extra...

Lots of speculative discussion online this week after VIA's train 692 took some last-minute measures to clear the track for CN train 853 on CN's Togo Sub in Manitoba. Only those involved know for sure what happened, but it reminded me of the events leading to the CN-VIA Hinton, Alberta collision/derailment twenty-five years ago. Fortunately, no such calamitous event ensued.

I still can't believe a Canadian senator suggested replacing the beaver with the polar bear as Canada's national animal emblem. Is this some kind of an ONR (polar bear) vs. CPR (beaver) competition? While the polar bear is a majestic ursine animal citizen of Canada, there's no animal as clever, resourceful, family-minded and handy as the Canadian beaver. (No wonder it's the emblem of the Canadian Forces engineering branch.) A dam dumb idea if you ask me.

Remember Canada's fallen this coming week - John 15:13. The average age of surviving World War Two veterans is 85 years of age, with the average Korean War veteran being 76 years of age. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Nous nous souviendrons d'eux.

Train-to-Train Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:47:00 +0000

Train-to-train photography happens rarely. It's comparatively easy to photograph trackside scenes or equipment from the train, or trains from trackside, but imagine photographing one moving train while aboard another. That's right, two moving trains. Standing cuts of cars or stationary trains don't count. Train from another railway? Bonus. Vestibule views are the best, but sometimes that other train just appears seemingly out of nowhere, and you've got to grab a shot through dirty or rain-streaked coach window or a scratched dome panel. A few examples follow.

The Fraser and Thompson Rivers are the happy hunting ground. CN and CP lines parallel each other on opposite sides of the canyon. On May 29, 1986 (top) the entire consist of VIA train No 2 is visible on CP tracks, across the Thompson River east of Boston Bar, with three units and thirteen cars. On September 22, 1985, things are reversed as we're aboard VIA No 1 chasing a CN Piggyback train westward, west of Spuzzum BC at 0730 (above).

Later that same day in September at 1850, we're meeting CP westbound coal across the river behind 5809-5836-5971. Helpers 5715-5767 and van 434208 follow:

CP also parallels CN for quite a distance between Belleville and Oshawa, Ontario. On May 17, 1994 I grabbed a shot of a CP westbound to the south with 5729-5747, from VIA train 61:

On a trip from Kingston to Montreal, we met CP freights north of us, in the starting blocks near Dorval ready to head west. There's also this slow-moving eastbound behind CP engine 9513, photographed from VIA train 52/40:

On a drizzly September 17, 1985, I'm in the dome aboard VIA No 1 as we meet an eastbound CN freight of paper cars behind 5207-5053, paralleling us on tangent track near Hurkett, Ontario:

Around the same area on May 21, 1986 we're meeting another CN eastbound behind 5148-5057 with 50 cars and caboose 79723, as seen from the lounge of Strathcona Park:

On May 23, 1986 at Basque Junction BC, still aboard VIA No 1 but running a disappointing four hours late, we meet a two-SD eastbound CN freight. It's half grain empties and half sulphur bathtub empties, all wrapped in the canyon dawn:

Another passenger-passenger train-to-train photography opportunity presented itself on June 9, 1984. Aboard VIA train No 2, we'd taken the siding west of Franz, Ontario. After enjoying the afternoon sun on the spruces for awhile, No 1 edged around the curve behind 6531-6633. While both trains were stopped, there was an exchange of supplies for ex-CN diner 1340, which is shown just ahead of MacDonald Manor:

VIA No 1 is smokin' it up behind ex-CP 1414 and two CP RS10's (hence the smoke) as it meets our No 2, east of Marathon, Ontario. The photo is taken from the vestibule of Butler Manor, and needless to say that at the speed No 1 was travelling, 1414 was the only number I was able to get before I quickly drew my head in!

Running extra...

Another nice round trip Kingston-Toronto this week, courtesy VIA trains 651/46. On the trip home, I enjoyed reading Rails & Rooms by Dave Preston. Dave travels across Canada sampling VIA routes and former railway hotels. Dave was travelling VIA 1 in the Corridor, as was I. When the warm towels were brought, I was reading about that. Then, both my seatmate and I selected the salmon entree, and when I turned the page, I found that Dave and his seatmate had done the same. Sounds fishy. I kept reading just for the halibut.

Even though it was raining, I stood under an awning for about 10 minutes, watching the Toronto Transit Commission CLRV's roll along Carlton Street. Even in the evening, there was rarely a span of more than one minute that at least one CLRV wasn't visible.

It took me over 70 years, but I finally viewed Gone with the Wind this week. Combined with a recent trip to Virginia, and a Trains magazine article on the US Military Railroad and other Civil War railroading efforts, I'm just about ready to start work on a Civil War model railroad. I can see it now...a little 4-4-0 pulling a train of munitions into a fortified arsenal with horse and mule teams standing by ready to ferry materiel to the troops at the front. (Oxymoron...civil...war. It's like...jumbo...shrimp) Bernard Kempinski's site serves as inspiration.

CN's Double Deck Auto Transporters

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:21:00 +0000

CN's double-deck auto tranporter fleet comprised 150 cars with 9-foot end doors built by CC&F: 25 75-foot cars built in 1956 (CN 570400-570424 renumbered CN 730000-730024 in 1966), a further 50 75-foot cars built in 1959 (CN 570425-570474 renumbered CN 730025-730073 in 1966), and 75 57-foot cars built in 1959 (CN 570700-570774 renumbered to the CN 720100-series and eqipped with tie-down troughs in 1974. CN 730034 is shown at CN's London Reclamation yard in 1989 (Peter Mumby photo - above). Note: due to the use of flickr and cnrphotos photos in this post, I've included 9 links to the original photos on their respective websites.

The 57-foot cars included some like CN 570717 that were painted in an overall blue with large CAR-GO-RAIL lettering to publicize this new service in 1963. Otherwise, both series of cars were delivered centrally lettered 'Double Deck Auto Transporter' in the CNR maple-leaf scheme, with some 57-foot cars later receiving the CN wet-noodle logo. Both types of cars had double decks each approximately 6 feet in height. The 57-foot cars carried six autos, and were built to offer more flexibility to shippers than the a-little-too-large eight auto 75-foot cars. Revolutionary at the time, the oversize dimensions of these cars bridged the eras of 40-foot double-door automobile boxcars and open bi-level and tri-level auto racks. Providing all-weather protection, the 75-foot cars were even equipped with interior lighting.

Due to their large dimensions, these cars were not interchanged to other railways, being stencilled with instructions 'Do not load off CN lines in Canada'. Ten 57-foot cars were renumbered CN 15501-15509, retrucked for narrow-gauge service, and sent to Newfoundland in 1971. Returning to the mainland, retrucked with standard-gauge express trucks and repainted, CN 9500-9507 entered Auto-With-You service. Their eye-catching black & white scheme with red CN logo included a 'cutaway' drawing of three autos. Photos show these cars were equipped with steamlines, and I've only seen one photo of such a car not on the tail-end, instead between two CN passenger cars. CN 9501, 9504 and 9506 were definitely equipped with steamlines.

Some 57-foot cars remained in service for many years, such as CN 720127 at Churchill in 1987 (D.J. Gagnon photo - above). Between Wabowden/Thompson and Gillam/Churchill, the road network was poor or non-existent. For this service, the upper deck was removed, enabling single-level ramp loading of vehicles larger than autos. When the Hudson Bay Railway assumed operation of the line, such cars retained their original numbers with HBRY initials added to the reporting marks. Fifteen cars were convered to unique Auto Loaders for service on CN narrow-gauge lines in Newfoundland in 1975 - CN 18020-18034. The cars' roofs were removed, and large 'portholes' cut in the lower deck car sides. Some Auto-With-You cars were renumbered back to their earlier freight service number series, still wearing CN passenger paint, such as CN 9501 renumbered to CN 720045 in 1987. Another such car was CN 720026.

Other cars were used by CN in maintenance-of-way service, including CN 9503 which was converted for the masonry gang at Belleville, Ontario's car shop, equipped with roll-up doors and renumbered CN 72026. (Kingston Rail photo - below):

I kitbashed an HO scale Bachmann auto transporter to represent CN 75107:

I came across CN 75107 at Gananoque Jct in 1994, with roll-up doors and retaining its original initial '7' numeral (both sides shown above and below). This car was also converted at Belleville in 1993, for use by the regional steel gang. Note repainting around the new doors added side ladders, ACI labels and car end electrical plug-ins. With the advent of auto racks, the 57-foot cars were off CN's active roster by 1992. At least 64 75-foot cars were sold to Auto-Train in 1973 for Washington-Florida service. When first delivered, the cars retained their CNR maple-leaf scheme, with reporting marks and logos painted out: AT 36, and AT 32, later repainted in the garish white-purple-red Auto-Train scheme. CN found other loads for the remaining few cars, such as boats and tent-trailers, until the last of the 75-foot cars also left the active roster in 1992. If you have the May 1979 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman, Protofile 3 written by Stafford Swain is a good source of information on both types of double deck auto transporters. Thanks to Claude and Roman for your kind assistance.

Running extra:

VIA train nos. 651 and 48 took me on a round-trip from Kingston to Toronto this past week. Delayed about 30 minutes eastbound into Belleville, for two westbound VIA trains, a westbound freight, plus the unseen freight we were following. Delicious key lime truffles, strong coffee, plus cognac made the delay much more palatable. Bring on the triple-track!

Thanks to readers who participated in last week's supreme passenger scheme poll. Can I conclude from the voting results that we are dealing with a 'younger' readership who appreciate the fifties CN green & black scheme, as well as VIA's blue & yellow, but whose votes are solidly behind CN's 1961 black & white?

It's that time of year when advertisers are using hokey seasonal slogans again. Rocktober, Sales Spook-tacular, even the clucking bunny with its Cadbury Screme Eggs. Q: What kind of car does a ghost drive? A: A Boo-ick.

CN's Car-Go-Rail and Auto-With-You Services

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:42:00 +0000

One of the most confusing HO scale cars ever produced was Bachmann's Auto Transporter in CN's black & white scheme. This was a total foobie. Were such cars really used on CN passenger trains? When, how and why were they used? Are there photos of the cars in use? In an attempt to clear up the confusion, I humbly submit this post, and another post to come about the cars themselves.

Car-Go-Rail, introduced by CN in 1963, was a service that allowed a passenger's auto to travel between the same two cities as the passenger, but on a slightly different schedule, aboard a freight train. Auto-With-You, introduced by CN in 1972 (timetable artistic rendering -below), was an extension of Car-Go-Rail. Auto-With-You allowed a passenger's auto to travel on the same train - the daily Super Continental, train Nos 3 and 4 between Toronto and Edmonton. Handling the auto transporter on the tail end of the Super facilitated switching en route. Advance reservations were required for passengers and autos. Unlike the Bachmann auto transporter, CN's shorter 57-foot cars were actually used for both services (75-foot cars were only hauled on freight trains).

Car-Go-Rail recovered all transportation costs through freight tariffs, whether the passenger travelled by train or not. Purchase of a passenger ticket was necessary for both services. Car-Go-Rail operated between Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver. Avis Rent-a-Car operated an over-the-road pickup and delivery service, linking Calgary, Regina, Prince Albert, Brandon, Ottawa, Kingston, London and Quebec City with CN's Car-Go-Rail loading points.

Passengers' autos were driven carefully (very carefully) on and off the double-deck auto transporters, as shown in this early CN publicity photograph showing new car deliveries on a 57-foot car (CSTM photo - above). CN publicized service improvements to Car-Go-Rail in 1966 (below). In 1969, Car-Go-Rail service between Moncton and Calgary cost $168. In 1974, service between Toronto and Edmonton cost $303 (excluding passenger fare). Rate reductions were offered for compact autos and shared passenger sleeping accommodations.

Auto-With-You was an attempt by CN to not only grow passenger traffic, as passenger operations became a costly millstone around the railways' necks, but to recoup some of the cost of the service by generating additional revenue. VIA Rail terminated the service in 1976.

Rental companies such as Tilden and Avis provided Car-Go-Rail terminal handling in cities between customer drop-off points and railway loading facilities. Halifax' facility was at Fairview yard, at the foot of Chisholm St. Toronto's facility was located north of Parkdale station, off Lansdown Ave., and in 1975 near GO Transit's Bathurst yard. Winnipeg's was in East Yard, adjacent to Union Station.

The following publications include photos of Auto-With-You cars in use:

-The Canadian National Railways' Story (Patrick Dorin) p.56

-CN Lines Vol 8 No 4 p.28

-National Passenger Chronicle Premiere (Dale Wilson) p.59

-Canadian National Through Passenger Service (Kevin Holland) p.122-123

-VIA Rail (Christopher Greenlaw) p.49

and the following publications include photos of Car-Go-Rail and Auto-With-You cars:

-Canadian Rail Car Pictorial Vol 4 (Richard Yaremko) p.5-8

-Canadian National Color Guide Vol 2 (John Riddell) p.36-37

In the next post, I'll discuss the similarities and differences between the CN car series used in these unique services. CN provided details of Auto-With-You in 1972:

Running extra...

A recent trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina included sightings of a couple of Carolina Southern Geeps at Conway, SC; an NS train in the Selma, NC yard; northbound Amtrak near Emporia, VA; and no CSX or Amtrak trains but one awesome location at Harpers Ferry WV.

It was good to meet blog partner Adam Walker during his railfan trip east to Belleville, Kingston, Brockville, Smiths Falls and Ottawa. Kingston didn't disappoint, with 6 trains in a couple of hours. Try Adam's idea of photographing CN's yellow labels on crossing signal bungalows to place your ensuing digital photos.

Occupy This...democracy is alive and well. Down with corporate greed, and up with masses of people meeting in parks and other public areas voting on stuff. Sure, I feel like part of the 99%, but 1% of me wishes I was really, really rich like the 1%. See also: lottery ticket.

October Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 08:29:00 +0000

Following Trackside Treasure's successful Summer Sale, here are some items you might consider adding to your railway collection: timetables, photos, a TTC book, postcards, operating manuals, plus other interesting and unique documents. The first email received indicating interest in each item at mile179kingston@yahoo.ca makes the item yours, shipped well-protected via Canada Post upon receipt of payment. Shipping cost will be actual postage, payment of total by cheque or money order. Please refer to item # when ordering. Thanks for looking!

ITEMS SOLD SO FAR: #3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

Three 8x10 lots, $8 each lot:

Item #1: CN 1032 at Brada SK in 1981/ CN 1082 at Humboldt SK in 1980 (top);

Item #2: CN (NAR) 4610 at Armena AB in 1981/NAR 311 at Bon Accord AB in 1981 (above);

Item #3: CP 4555/CP 8486/ CP 3006 at Macklin SK in 1981 (below):

Item#4: VIA Standards and Limits for VIA Rail Rolling Stock Equipment: inspection requirements for RDC, diesel, LRC cars, steam and HEP, 73 pages in English and 73 pages in French, 1991 $6.
Item #5: Early VIA-CN Train Conductors' Memorandum Tariff showing Corridor ticket charges, 1976 $6.
Item #6: Four Vanishing Vistas oversize postcards- 2 CNR 1958: Maritime Express at St Bruno QC in 1958 and Continental Limited at Lachine QC, 2 CN 1962: 6763 at Montreal QC and 6759 at St Lambert QC. Lot of four $3.Item #7: CN Bilingual St Lawrence Region employees' time table 1988, $5.
Item #8: British Columbia Railway 1978 Employees' Timetable - 38 pages, 1978, $8

Item #9: Unique full-colour Rail Traffic Controller's Oakville Subdivision 2001 train sheet, showing all daily VIA and GO trains and equipment moves. Four-and-a-half pages loaded with information, $5.

Item #10: Sarnia-Port Huron Operating Manual: 71 pages of local operating procedures including four foldout car control trackage maps: St Clair Tunnel, St Clair River Spur, Tunnel Yard, and Sarnia Yard, 1990 $6.

Item #11: Fort Erie-Buffalo Operating Manual: 59 pages of local operating procedures including five foldout maps: NS Tifft yad, Frontier yard, Buffalo, Fort Erie Yard and track profile, 1990 $6.

Item #12: Fifty Years of Progressive Transit - A History of the Toronto Transit Commission by Bromley and May. Fully illustrated in black & white, 175 pages, some binding and wear issues, rare 1973, $15.

Item #13: CN Lines Volume 7, Number 1, includes Part 2 of the CN Lines freight fleet roster, Thousand Islands Railway article, 43 pages $4.

A Tug on the Coupler

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:54:00 +0000

A train trip always starts with a tug on the coupler.

Sometimes almost imperceptible, sometimes not. The station platform starts to slide away, and our journey has begun. It doesn't matter whether we're sitting in a coach on a day trip into the city, or in a sleeper beginning a transcontinental tour. The power throttles up - GM's gallop, MLW's burble, and GE's chug. The countryside moves past the window, like Fred Flintstone running through the repetitive background of one of his cartoons. Who knows how many hours and miles until we reach our destination. Who knows what sights we'll see or what other trains we might spot. It will be a trip to remember.

And it all started with a tug on the coupler.

Railfan Vehicles

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:04:00 +0000

Do you live beside the tracks? If not, to go railfanning you need a railfan vehicle of some sort. Anything with two to four wheels will get you there, but what makes the ideal railfan vehicle? It should be all-weather, roomy, well-appointed and look good in trackside photos. Here are a few examples I've been fortunate to spend time driving around in. Ailing VIA 6409 and an LRC consist are assisted by CN 9551 in the North America map scheme at Kingston on June 5, 1999 (above). Railfan vehicle 'Vanna Blue' in foreground, contributes a few horsepower to the scene.

Volkswagens as railfan vehicles? Not known for their heaters but with a spare engine in back, here's a 1976 Beetle at Napanee in February, 1985. At least the low, late afternoon sun provided some heat while waiting for this eastbound CN freight behind 9465-2332-2335. Near the Bath Spur, I once tried to shoehorn a too-long decommissioned wooden whistle post into a too-short Beetle. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the windshield. Before long, I was leaving Speedy Auto Glass after unloading the whistle post and adding a new windshield. My sister was amazed at how 'clean' I'd gotten the windshield since last time she drove it.

1961 Beetle meets 1973 GM (above). CN 5513-5565-5518 at Mi 184 Kingston Sub on a cloudy August 22, 1976. Sixteen years old and still running. Just don't kick its running boards, because it would result in a manna-like dropping of rust flakes on the asphalt. 1979 VW Rabbit at Napanee (below) with the tailend of an eastbound freight behind 9634-2547-2583-9588 and caboose 79555 in 1986. Lots of 'giddy-up' when chasing fast-moving trains.

Import-ant. My aunt and uncle's Datsun hatchback shown at CP's Portage la Prairie station, witnessing an eastbound behind 5852-8657 with 100 grain loads. A westbound with 5928-5904 waits in the yard in September 1985. This little gem was easy on gas, plus I could drive it like it was stolen... er...borrowed.

Chasing CP 5796-4202 north out of Portage on the Minnedosa Sub, I was able to get ahead of the train, then skid to a stop in the wet gravel to get this shot:

Also in 1985, I was temporarily lost between Montmartre and Francis, Saskatchewan. I decided to prop my camera on a nearby fencepost to capture a photo for posterity. My rented Tilden Chrysler Fifth Avenue is showing a little road grime after a morning of prairie backroad southeast of Regina:

Interior view of the Fifth Avenue. Note overturned floormat to keep Saskatchewan mud off the plush, velour carpeting. On the power seats, note zoom lens, obligatory ballcap and fast food bag. Definitely Railfan Mobile One - and giving 'the wave' to every vehicle I met along the way.

Luxury on the Lewvan Sub. All cleaned up and ready to return to Tilden. A new metal-clad elevator at Rowatt (pictured in Steve Boyko's recent post here) with grain boxcars spotted serves as a backdrop for a power-washed, now-shiny Fifth Avenue (hey, it was full-size at a compact price):

A much more practical alternative, a Chevy Cavalier took me to an evening visit at Sovereign, Saskatchewan in 1986. Rented from Hertz in Saskatoon, I drove this plucky people-mover 1000 miles in 3 days for $35.99 a day. It even survived a dead porcupine strike near Wartime. Speaking of Cavaliers, my current backup railfan vehicle is an '01 Cavalier painted Soo Line white.

Another Chevy compact, and the only 'Vette I'll likely ever own, this racing-striped 1981 Chevette watches 6914 and 4 LRC cars whiz through Napanee. When the hatchback cylinder finally failed, a propped-up snowbrush did the trick. It's February 1989 and that CN brush-cutter will be weed-whackin' soon:

Compact car, compact train. CN 4101 brings a pike-sized turn comprising 2 cars and 79691 down the Belleville Yard ladder track, returning from Port Hope and Trenton on April 30, 1990. In the foreground is our 1984 Chevette. The rear-window baby blanket shields a budding six month-old railfan from the afternoon sun. Photo taken from a sizeable ballast pile perch:

Olds + old wheels. CN 49483 hauls replaced wheels at the end of CN train 321, westbound at Kingston station on March 9, 2001. 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham definitely qualified for pimpmobile status - power everything. Leaky fuel line sealed its fate and its date with the scrapper. It passed this same location on Counter Street, heading for Kimco Steel's crusher, as a four-wheeled fire hazard.Perfect for railfanning with a crew, this 1994 Voyager offered lots of glass through which to watch the action. Back it in, pop the hatch, spread a blanket on the liftgate, spread out the lawnchairs and you've got a sun-proof, weather-resistant railfan tailgate party. Dining car steward prepares the bar service at White's Road in Trenton between CN and CP (in background) main lines:

I'm currently driving a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan, with Ontario plates BCNR XXX (not personalized, but railfan-themed). It's a big, silver umbrella at Shannonville, Ontario on a drizzly September 27, 2008, as CN 2250-2628 carry containers into Belleville. Tinted glass and double sliding doors mean covert viewing and quick exits.

Running extra...

Saturday, September 24 is George's Trains' annual customer appreciation day and charity BBQ. I've been invited to sign copies of my new book. We'll be donating $5 from each copy sold to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. There will be a variety of vendors and manufacturers at the event in Markham, plus a huge operating layout, all adjacent to CN's main line. Lots to see and do - hope to see you there!

Travelled Kingston-Toronto round trip yesterday aboard VIA Nos 651/68. Note to Kingston VIA station users who show up for No 651: ticket sales counter now not staffed until 0700. Use the self-serve ticket kiosks (and earn 25 VIA Preference points). VIA Rail has a new capital investments page on their website - full of useful information on recent capital project involving "trains, tracks and stations".

Perhaps the ideal railfan vehicle would be a Roadtrek van conversion. All the comforts of home, looks good trackside, and would certainly meet the criteria mentioned in the opening of this post. Somewhat sporty, definitely functional.

Trackside Modelling: Engro Fertilizer Dealer

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:26:00 +0000

Bulk fertilizer is an essential component of modern agriculture. In an earlier post on trackside details in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, one of the trackside industries I featured was the Esso/Engro fertilizer bulk distribution facility, very visibly situated between the CN and CP main lines. The facility was not staffed, but often saw the arrival and departure of all sizes of trucks and farm vehicles when fertilizer was being loaded.

Delivery of bulk fertilizer was by rail - a spur off CP's switching lead, parallel to their Carberry Sub, served the fertilizer shed at its rear, north side. The bulk fertilizer was received in covered hopper cars, with CP, CPLX and private owner reporting marks. In 1984-1986, I observed mostly cylindrical covered hoppers, delivered singly by CP's Portage switcher. The cars were unloaded by opening the hopper bottom and allowing the fertilizer to drop by gravity into the pan of a stationary auger, with the inevitable spillage. Carried upwards to the top of the shed, the fertilizer then dropped into divided storage bins inside the shed.

I photographed similar Esso/Engro oil/fertilizer distribution facilities in Macgregor:
and Don Strong's in Carberry, both served by CP's Carberry Sub, west of Portage.

I photographed this covered hopper in Kingston, Ontario, but it's similar to those used in fertilizer service:

The car-unloading auger at the Portage facility is visible above the shed (below). The agent would drive over from the nearby Esso dealership to oversee transfer of fertilizer to trucks by conveyor/auger or Bobcat loader kept inside the shed, or the loading and pickup of spreaders.

If the fertilizer requires blending before use, the ingredients can be loaded into a receiving hopper, then moved to a mixer (like that used on concrete mixer trucks) before being loaded via conveyor. Here's such a facility operated by Cargill in Sidney, Manitoba, also on CP's Carberry Sub:

These facilities are easily modelled, and guarantee a slow but steady trickle of loaded cars for delivery and unloading on your layout. Spilled whitish powder to represent fertilizer, safety equipment, a variety of vehicles and a few hard-working figures complete the modelled scene. Fertilizer dealers would be at home at any agricultural centre on the Prairies, often co-located with oil dealerships on the town business track. Ammonia tanks are a related industry, such as this one east of Bassano, Alberta, taken from aboard VIA train 1:

Outstanding in its field: a road-hogging Versatile 895 tractor hauls a one-pass cultivator and ammonia nurse tank, parallel to CN's Wainwright Sub:

I scratch-built an HO version of the shed, delivery trucks, and anhydrous ammonia tank. Logos were taken from agricultural magazines:

Running extra...

Tonight, I watched Michael Buble (that's pronounced BOOB-lay, not BUB-ul, and he is my daughter's favourite solo artist) live at the Concert Hall on Bravo. Classics like 'All of Me' and 'Til Somebody Loves You', plus Michael introduces each member of his horn section AND his hometown, all in an inimitable Burnaby-Bronx accent.

Also on TV tonight, American Pickers on History Channel. Frank and Mike are freestylin' in upstate New York - and one pick includes a funny Blair Witch Project segment to boot. Just when it looked like there was no railroad content - two BNSF units haul a freight over a crossing in front of the Antique Archaeology van. BNSF in New York? That is scary.

VIA Trip to Ottawa

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:44:00 +0000

VIA's 50% off sale encouraged us to book a couple of Corridor trips this summer. On Labour Day weekend, my wife, daughter and I were off to Ottawa to take in the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival, thanks to our son's radio contest winning ways. Prior to boarding VIA train 44 at Kingston, three VIA trains arrived and left. Excellent railfanning opportunity. Trains were running "wrong main" this Friday afternoon. The first westbound was VIA train 61: 906-3474-3367-3354-3345-3320, arriving on time at 1420 (above).

VIA train 55 was next, having waited for the signal at Queens West behind train 45 to run time, running just a few minutes late. Train 50 was running about 15 minutes late, and slid into the station on the north track, obscuring train 55(above), although I caught 904-8618-3463 ahead of five more LRC coaches. Train 60's consist was 6434-8612-4001-4000-4109-8104-4108-8101-4112. It's always nice to see the original Canadian cars with their solid blue stripe, original car number slides (i.e. 005), holes where the beaver shields used to be, and nice wide windows.

VIA train 44 arrived about 20 minutes late. Passenger loads seemed heavy, since the long weekend was starting - lots of kids, and their parents sending them off to college. Train 44 was being operated by engineer Jordan McCallum, who'd picked up his copy of my new book on VIA Rail at Kingston in June. Former Wisconsin Central, ex-Algoma Central NSC-built class HMA ballast car SSAM 208006 was on a spur in Brockville yard (above). Also in the yard were Corn Products tank cars and covered hoppers for CASCO in Cardinal, plus ingot flat cars and boxcars and CNLX covered hoppers.

Now that the new VIA station is open in Smiths Falls, we highballed the former ex-CP station, although a slow transit of CP's Smiths Falls trackage allowed some roster photography of some cars in the yard: CSXT 260975 (above), BNSF 485071 and CP switch panel flat car 421887 (below):

The new VIA station at former station board CN Smiths Falls East is viadorable - a very, very small version of Kingston's station, with a parking lot looking a little inadequate - already packed with cars. Some impressive signalification and passing tracks have been built on CP's and VIA's trackage between Brockville and Ottawa - sidings at Fallowfield, Richmond, Dwyer Hill, Montague, Jasper and Bellamy.

On arrival in Ottawa, 6440-3458-3304-3332 was on track 4, and engine 909 arrived on train 59. After a nice weekend in Ottawa and the Outouais, we headed to Ottawa Union Station to board VIA train 59. The departures and arrivals boards looked fairly full, with some trains cancelled for the Labour day statutory holiday:

My wife recognized none other than Jordan McCallum as he arrived with his mate, engineers on train 59. Also riding train 59 would be "viahogger" Terry Brennan, who though dead-heading even offered to don a vest for this photo. Not necessary, Terry. These two fellows are active on Yahoogroups, as well as being VIA engineers and enthusiastic VIAphiles to boot. We talked VIA equipment, rosters, history, and recently-published books while we waited for the substituted Renaissance consist to arrive.

We boarded VIA's Ren consist only a few minutes late, as it waited glinting in the late afternoon sun - lots of baggage and passengers aboard. Jordan mentioned that his baggage-handling skills were put to use on 170 bags handled earlier in the weekend. Train 59's consist: 6431-7002-7218-7307-7103-7205-7206-712x.

Also in the station was VIA train 44's consist: 901-8621-3460-3473-3306-3357-3322:

Accelerating through the sweeping curve just west of Ottawa Union Station, Renaissance unit 6431 got our train underway, through the suburbs, then into the unforgiving swamps and cedar bush of eastern Ontario:

No stops at Smiths Falls tonight, but I was able to get a few photos of CP's yard throat, and power at the former roundhouse site, 8209 and golden beaver 3031. No CP freights in the Falls either way, and only one visible on CN's Kingston Sub on the way home.

Our train arrived in Kingston about 15 minutes late, though VIA's arrival and departure status webpage shows the train 49 minutes late out of Oshawa, with Toronto arrival shown as 0508, a little off the advertised 2134, due to an unfortunate trespasser fatality at Danforth on the preceding VIA train 65.

Running extra...

We sat in a group of four seats both ways, which means we get the emergency exit spiel. This wasn't lost on me, especially when we passed the Kott Lumber spur near Fallowfield where a VIA train, 6901 and four LRC cars, ran through an open switch into the spur on Moodie Drive on June 21, 1984, resulting in 27 injuries.

The first of The Valiants, a grouping of 14 busts of Canadian war heroes near Parliament Hill, that I came to was Fleet Air Arm Lieut. Robert Hampton Gray, VC. A Vought Corsair and other warbirds were at Kingston airport recently to commemmorate Gray who trained here, and to mark the 70th anniversary of the BCATP. Blog partner Steve Boyko mentioned that his school in Shearwater, NS was named for Gray.

It's back-to-school time, and the kids are using the word "epic" a lot, as in "my weekend was epic." I doubt that. I also hear the words "grainy cellphone video" a lot. One phrase I hardly ever hear is "killed in a horrific lawn-bowling accident". I'm just sayin' (kids say that a lot too).

Then and Now: Bayview Junction 1981-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Retired RTC Tim Ball (TJB) travelled to Bayview Junction near Hamilton, Ontario in July and was kind enough to share some of his photos. In this post, Tim's photos are the NOW shots, with my photos taken in June 1981 being the THEN shots. A busy junction of CN's Dundas and Oakville Subdivisions, Bayview also sees GO and VIA movements, and has also seen CP and NS trains. We both started out our days at Bayview shortly after 0600, and later in the day I moved to the railfan 'triangle' which was still accessible at that time. Major differences between the Then and Now photos are the closing of the railfan 'triangle' within the wye, and the 2006 realignment: realigning of the tracks to Hamilton, removal of a crossover, and the lining of the former Oakville Sub north track directly into the Dundas Sub north track, permitting 40 mph movements. Most of the following photos are taken from the Royal Botanical Gardens footbridge.

Top two photos: Eastbound CN freights. Notice the new third track at this location. THEN: CN 9601-9572-9437 heading for Toronto with a sizeable reefer block on the head end. NOW: CN train 907, the management training train of empties led by 2438. After arriving in Hamilton, then reversing down the 'cowpath' to the Dundas Sub, it's now returning to MacMillan Yard.

Above two photos: Eastbound VIA trains. THEN: Scruffy leased CN 4017 accelerates its four cars from London eastbound around 0800. NOW: Ren 6444 and a seven-car VIA train 70. These stainless steel cars weren't even on VIA's roster in 1981.

Westbound VIA trains (above) THEN: Tempo 3152 around 0810 westbound with four VIA-painted Tempo cars. NOW: VIA train 71 behind 903. Tim notes 903's nose-job, resulting from a collision with a dumptruck near Belleville. Back in 1981, the LRC cars were just making their debut.

Westbound CN freights (below) THEN: 2032-2022-9617 lead an overpowered 15-car TOFC consist into Hamilton. The units were wyed later in the day around Bayview Junction and returned to Hamilton yard. NOW: 5528 leads CN train 393 as it heads for the Dundas Sub.

Eastbound GO Transit trains, showing the enduring and unique Bombardier bilevel cars in their familiar green & white scheme. THEN: GO APCU 902 leads eight bilevel cars into Toronto, with 706 and 709 on the tail end. NOW: GO 633 pulls GO train 494. How many generations of GO units have passed through Bayview in the intervening 30 years? Well, 500-series GP40TC, GP40-2W, and F59PH, 700-series GP40-2W and GP40M-2, and now 600-series MP40PH-3C have all worn variations of the GO paint scheme still in use today.

Westbound Amtrak trains. THEN: Amtrak engine 344 hauls Amfleet. Blue 'Harvdogmobile' visible in background shows just how close to the action visiting railfans could park. Passing crews would throw their outdated paperwork from the cab to see the railfans pounce on it. NOW: Amtrak Genesis P42DC 6 pulls New York City-bound Amtrak train 97, still Amfleet.

Westbound freights, below the Plains Road overpass. THEN: CP 4728-4511 and acid tank cars. One of the unpredictable elements of Bayview was CP's utilization of their trackage rights over CN's Oakville Sub between Toronto and Hamilton. NOW: CN train 421 with 2555-2xxx-2562-4700 passes under the bridge.

Westbound GO trains, both will Valley Inn Road visible in the background. THEN: GO engine 515 trails cab car 103 and 8 single-level cars of weary commuters back to Hamilton at 1900. NOW: GO engine 611 and more than a dozen bilevels on GO train 496.

It's easy to see that while traffic volumes have stayed high, photographic technology has advanced significantly. Tim's tele brings the trains to you, while my trusty Kodak Hawkeye required a "Wait for it" attitude until the train got closer. Regardless, Tim was gracious enough to allow me to use his recent photos, and I hope they've given you an idea of how trackage and trains may change, but the thrill of railfanning at a great location never does.

Running Extra...In Kingston and Sudbury test markets, Tim Horton's is changing the sizing of their hot beverage cups. Alert the news media! Same overpowering coffee! Same high prices! McDonald's pressure tactics and superior value have clearly sent Tim's management into a tizzy. Somewhere, Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar and maybe even Grimace are smiling.

For Trackside Treasure's easy guide to drive-thru etiquette at Tim Horton's, McDonald's or your local favourite, check this post.

Sadly, two accomplished Kingston-area railfans have recently left us. Colin Murray, operator of a Canadian-themed layout featured in Canadian Railway Modeller, and Tim Reid, accomplished photographer and rail traveller. I was able to meet both gentlemen during a visit to Colin's layout a year ago.

New Belleville VIA Station

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:34:00 +0000

VIA's operations in the Montreal-Toronto are getting a huge boost due to several projects underway along CN's Kingston Sub. One of the most visible of these is the Belleville, Ontario station project. While in Belleville last Monday, I stopped in to check on progress. One word: HUGE. A new waiting room and overhead access make this a big project. It's 'the monster that ate Belleville' when you see it in person! While photographing the station, CN Montreal-Chicago train 148 behind engines 5748-5504 was changing crews at Belleville's west end.
The Grand Trunk station looks tiny next to the steelwork of three-flight staircase over Track 1. The number of CN buildings in Belleville yard is way down - the rail welding plant is gone, except for the welding building itself, now used by a private business. The other station buildings and roundhouse are also gone, and the former express building/dispatching office is now a recycling facility.
A passing autorack on CN train 369 give an idea of scale (above) - the walkway is well above Plate F-plus cars and double-stacked containers. A parking lot view, looking northeast toward the tracks from Station Street shows the bulk of the station. Passengers not using the elevator...feel free to climb three flights of stairs. Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis is pro-rail, and he was riding in my VIA1 car on a recent trip back from Toronto.
Another parking lot view, looking east from alongside the original Grand Trunk station. The new construction is on the site of a former baggage building that was demolished. Belleville, unlike some other recently-announced VIA station projects like Brockville and Cobourg, had abundant trackside real estate available for station design and construction.
Platform view with Track 1 in the foreground and train 149 waiting for a signal to head west on Track 2. Q: What has four wheels and is often found at Tim Horton's? A: Rule 42 foreman. Actually, a succession of Rule 42's were in effect here and to the east: Foreman McKnight Mi 199-207, Foreman Persad Mi 209-216, and Foreman Philips Mi 218-221.
Look up...look waaay up. A boom forklift is elevating some construction material up to the walkway over Track 1 and the Rule 42 foreman has an eye on things. Looks like the walkway might be a sweet, all-weather trainwatching spot when completed.
Also overhead, Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules, Airbus and Globemasters were lining up for Runway 06/24 at CFB Trenton to the west. Train 149 starts to pull westward at 1245:
A little earlier in the morning, I was at the crossing of Shannonville Road at Mi 213 of the Kingston Sub. The third-tracking project runs east of here as far as the eye can see, extending to Napanee West near Mi 200, and west of here under the CP crossing at Mi 219 and on towards Belleville. At Mi 213, the third track subroadbed is complete and is being used as an access road for crews working farther east. But railfans should not even think of driving on it. I was standing atop the rock cut, well back from the track, when I had a friendly visit from a CN foreman in a pickup: "What's goin' on?". Traffic on Shannonville Road is stopped at 1125 for CN train 308 behind 8803:

In DPU mode is 8860, pulling the rear part of the train eastward, along the hogs' backs east of here, where approaching trains' headlights are visible, then invisible, then visible again. (Reminds me of a joke: Q: What goes VROOM-SCREECH-VROOM-SCREECH? A: A dumb guy at a flashing red light.) The crews have done a nice job on right-of-way fencing, grass seeding on top of the cut, and ditching the subroadbed for drainage:
CN train 305 heads west at 1140 behind CN engines 2243-5541-5634-2259. The Shannonville Road crossing on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory sits at the top of the grade, and the headend is rolling west toward the new third track undercut of the CP Belleville Sub. West of that point, CP is south of CN until Cobourg, when it again heads to the north on another bridge.
DPU unit de jour: 8953, with its notched nose nestled next to a load of Irving lumber:
This is a recent first: CN cars with other-than-CN-or-subsidiary reporting marks. CN 853182 and a sister wear NOKL (Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad) lettering:
VIA P42DC 907 whistles by through the intermediate signals with a Ren consist at 1148:
To the east, near Marysville, CN has had to build third-track extensions to two of their bridges: the first over Old Highway 2 at Milltown, and the second over the Salmon River:In a pastoral scene, horses graze (above) as the forms for the additional bridge deck's piers are being readied on the north side of the bridge. The country road under the CN has also had an extension added (below). Notice that the surface has been detailed to match the limestone block construction of the existing underpass.

Running Extra:

The east end of CN's yard in Belleville contains lots of signal gantries for installation when the third track is ready. A former SOO gon lettered for WC and a few other cars have brought in ties for eventual tracklaying. The work immediately east of Belleville is visible from parallel Airport Parkway West.

Editorial leanings aside, I'll let readers be the judge of whether the new station deserves the moniker 'monster' or 'monstrosity' or not. It might be just as big as the moribund Docter's Hotel across Station Street. I'm not saying we should live in the Grand Trunk era; of course progress and new facilities for VIA are desirable. Other online communities have balked at VIA's proposed designs and have been successful sending the architects back for revised designs.

While in Belleville, try out the new Veterans' Memorial Bridge on Bell Boulevard, crossing the now nearly-dry Moira River. A handsome structure unveiled last year to honour veterans from the overwhelmingly-RCAF communities of Belleville and Trenton, and a convenient conveyance as you travel from CN's yard to the Quinte Mall and local beaneries.

Postscript: Trackside Treasure Third Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:54:00 +0000

We have a winner! And how it happened is a really interesting story. Congratulations to Bryan Fulsom who guessed all five station photos in the contest. Here's Bryan's story of how he did it:

It was a really good contest. Actually, it took me more than an hour to figure it all out. I grew up in Ottawa, so I recognized #1 right away. I've been to Montreal a dozen times, so #5 wasn't too hard either.

For the others, I used the Parks Canada website. Maybe you're familiar with it. It seems pretty much every railway station in Canada has been designated as a historic building. As a result, their database has something like 395+ thumbnails to dig through! The "Y" in North Bay helped narrow it down, but it took a while to figure out until I matched the particular brick pattern around the second storey windows.

Next was Smithers, a place, to be honest, I'd never even heard of. I didn't notice the "S", or if I did, it didn't help. That was a really tough one, but I found it by scanning through all of the pictures that looked like multiple-storey stations. Still, the picture I found online has a completely different orientation. What I barely noticed was the CN wet noodle sign on the roof (I thought maybe it was a clock?), which matched the old CNR maple leaf logo in the online picture.

For Thunder Bay, I used the grain elevator, bridge, and the clue that only 2 out of the 5 still had rail service. Present-day photos Marina Park maybe sort of looked like a match, but I really didn't know for sure. By that time my wife was yelling at me to come to bed, so I took a guess. I think what was most interesting was comparing your photos with historic and present day photos to see how much the geography/use of the station had changed over time...from busy yards / epic stations to near non-existence in some cases. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the follow-up post where you explain the circumstances of each of your photos.

Well done, Bryan. The Ottawa photo was taken while heading west through Ottawa. Although the dome appears empty in the photo, I'd just been part of a very spontaneous sing-along up there with a tour group from Nova Scotia. "Edna! Edna! Who's he put your mind to? The MacAulay boy?" North Bay's photo was taken on the same trip. Both North Bay and Smithers had the last letter of each nameboard in the photo, but you had to look hard for it. Smithers' photo was taken into the early morning sun, during a station stop on the way to Prince Rupert. Port Arthur's Canadian Northern station is well-known, but not all that visible in the vestibule photo, although other Thunder Bay themes were visible. An honourable mention goes to Manny Jacob for specifically mentioning Windsor Station in Montreal, which I photographed after arriving on the overnight Cavalier before heading west. The MUCTC bus and Montreal city logo on the lamppost were hints.

The photos were cropped to hide some obvious details. Many readers showed dogged determination in guessing the stations, which is admirable. Maybe the contest next year should be more difficult, perhaps featuring closeups of window styles from various stations, or chimneys, or parking lots...well, I'm getting carried away. Instead, here's the Parks Canada website Bryan found so helpful - definitely worth a look. Interestingly, it was a Canadian railfan searching a Canadian website all the way from France! Magnifique!

Trackside Treasure readers rise to the challenge! Thanks for helping this blogger celebrate another milestone (milepost?) and for all your support of Trackside Treasure.

Trackside Treasure Third Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Eric) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:43:00 +0000

Three years ago I looked ahead, as through a scratched Skyline window, and decided to begin this blog as a way of sharing information and photos I'd accumulated while railfanning across Canada for the last three decades plus. Was anyone else interested? If so, would a blog be a good way to share? With the answers being maybe and maybe, Trackside Treasure went live on August 19, 2008. Three years later, my blog is still very much alive - no mean feat where blogs and bloggers often flame out before their time.
This blog opened doors to a new way to enjoy Canada's railways with others, to share information and experiences, and to communicate back and forth with Trackside Treasure's readers. As always, I acknowledge the excellent blogs and websites created by my sidebar blog partners: Adam, Chris L., Chris M., Chris V., Dave, Jason, John, Matt, Robert, Scott and Steve. These guys help keep my blog fresh and ever-changing, and I trust you enjoy reading their informative posts like I do. Trackside Treasure has also served as portal to a parallel blog all about my new VIA book.
This blog became a pathway to a new platform, albeit one with which I had no experience at the time, but one that seemed easy-to-use. Planning and writing posts, scanning and editing photos, and attempting to improve the design of my blog get easier as time goes on. Polls, seasonal memorabilia sales, special guest contributors, rotating slide shows and of course anniversaries pop up periodically. On average, 80 visits are made to Trackside Treasure each day, mainly from Canada and US but also by readers worldwide. So far, I've posted or prepared 142 blog posts, and 522 comments have been posted.
Looking ahead, I can only see continued enjoyment from Trackside Treasure, and hope that loyal readers like you feel the same way. I've got lots to post, as the number of potential posts always exceeds my relatively relaxed posting schedule. While some posts occasionally contain railway modelling and miscellany, rest assured that the meat-and-potatoes of this blog will always be classic Canadian diesel-era railfanning and prototype information. It's a very small, ethereal corner of cyberspace, but I try to keep my corner neat, orderly and most importantly, interesting.
And now, since you've read this far, it's time to roll out the annual Trackside Treasure contest. Throughout this post are five photos of Canadian railway stations I've taken while travelling on VIA. Only two of the stations still see arrivals and departures of VIA trains, but they all remain beacons to a transportation system that still serves our country reliably.

The first reader to successfully identify all five stations, either in a comment at the end of this post (hey, give it a shot) or as an email to mile179kingstonATyahooDOTca (if you aren't too sure) will receive the Trackside Treasure Third Anniversary Contest Prize Pack. If it's too difficult to ID all five (doubtful, what with my well-informed readership) the entry with the highest number of correct guesses within one week of the contest launch wins. Good luck to all, I'm glad you stopped by, and thanks for celebrating this third anniversary!

Running extra...

Walker Express blog partner Adam Walker was in the right place at the right time to catch a nice over-under, set up at Plug Hat Road on August 12, with trains on both the CN York Sub (engines CN 2527-IC 1002 and QGRY 2005) and CP Belleville Sub (CP 5763-5773). Nicely done, Adam!