Saturday 30 April 2011

A busy day on The Sprague subdivision

On Friday April 29 we went to The Sprague subdivision to shoot some trains. On our way there we past The Red River Floodway, here is a picture of it with The CN train bridge.


























As we got further out I noticed something on the tracks.I couldn't figure out what it was. When we got close enough I figured out it was a stopped train. We got up to the head end and shot it at Highway 206.

























It also had two DPUs in the middle.






























That was nice. I then noticed that the westbound signal was green. So we headed to Station road. I waited for about ten minutes and then the train showed up.It was a CN train with SOO locomotives on it.


























It didn't have the ditch lights on.




After that we headed to Murdock road.We waited and after awhile we saw the lights of an eastbound intermodal.We headed to Deacons corner to shoot it. It was going slow but it picked up some speed as it went by. I think the shots I got were pretty nice.


























It also had some interesting bonuses
Like this container with a tarp over it.
 and this tank thing.

























So this was quite the nice day on the Sprague.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

VIA 2 and CN

On Tuesday April 16 we decided to go bike down to Taylor to catch "The Canadian".It came early at 19:44,so we missed it crossing The Diamond. But I noticed it was stopped short of Waverly street...why? The answer came when I saw CN MOW crews and a CN freight that was switching over from the north track to the south track.The engineers had turned off all the lights as you can see in these shots.




























After that we packed up and headed to Waverly to get "The Canadian". While I was passing by it I noticed it had a refurbished unit and The wrapped Loto Quebec loco 6414. By the time I got to The crossing on Waverly the train was humming up and started to move so I had to set up quickly. The loco was a nice five eyed.
I think this shot of the head end turned out pretty good.
 It was nice to see the wrapped Loto Quebec loco since its one of the only wrapped units left.


Also there was alot of ties along the the tracks, The Herzog multi purpose machine has been busy distributing them. Heres a picture of them,


Sunday 24 April 2011

A CN train on The Sprague subdivision with eight locomotives!

On April 23 we went  to The Sprague sub to see what was happening. When we got to Deacons corner I saw headlights to The east....train. pulled into highway 207 and waited for the train to reach us. When it got close enough I noted that it had a dozen locomotives on it.

























I think that a few of them might of been not on.


It was really nice to see some nice action on the Sprague again.

A quick shot of "The Hudson Bay"

On Saturday April 23 we went to Wilkes to get "The Hudson Bay".When we crossed Waverly street I saw headlights to the West. When we got to The Saint James junction it was already there practically .I got my camera out just in time but there was no time to for the tripod. Heres the video



Well it was nice to at least get it on camera.

Wednesday 20 April 2011

CN 2643 on The Sprague subdivision at Deacons Corner

We went out at 13:00 to do some train shooting. At about 13:40 we arrived at Deacons corner. I saw headlights to the east.So we pulled into the crossing at highway 207.I think this train might be 346 but I'm not so sure. Heres the shot.

























The consist of freight was pretty interesting.



I was expecting the train to be going slow because it was going into Symington. But it was going at quite a fast  speed probably about 30-60. And it also had a bonus ex BC rail loco in the second position.This was another nice catch on The Sprague subdivision east of Winnipeg.

Monday 18 April 2011

VIA 2 with a four way meet

On Sunday April 17 we went to the CN Rivers sub to catch "The Canadian" going East. I never see this train because it comes in at 20:30 and its often to dark out then. There was an Eastbound intermodal train stopped on   the North track. So we went to Waverly street. On the South track was a stopped Westbound intermodal. After a little while a Westbound CN came into sight with lots of auto racks. The train was switching from the North track to the South track.


























It also had a nice old BC rail unit in the second position.



























I stopped the video early because the train was really long and slow.

After they cleared the track, CN 8896 pulled a long intermodal train past me.


























Then finally at 20:48 "The Canadian" was clear to go.It had a refurbished unit in front.




















































After that the last train left and headed West.





























Well it was nice seeing The eastbound "Canadian" and a four way meet in Winnipeg

Northbound "Hudson Bay" on Sunday.

On Sunday April 17 we went to the Saint James Junction to shoot "The Hudson Bay" leaving Winnipeg. I waited for about 20 minutes for it to arrive,then at about 12:15 I spotted the headlights to the east at The Portage Junction. The train had 5 cars as always.


























There were no refurbished or wrapped units,just the original VIA paint scheme. There was also not much people on board.

























Then it was gone,headed North on it's long 1710 km journey to Churchill MB.

Saturday 16 April 2011

VIA's "The Canadian" on Saturday, CN grain train and CP switchers

On Saturday April 16th we went railfanning to catch "The Canadian" at noon.We left at about 10:30.First we went downtown to Union station to see if the train was there and sure enough it was parked in the siding at the station.After that we went to Saint Boniface to see what was up. I saw  two CP locos working at the Saint Boniface yard North of Plinguet street.Heres the grab shot.

























Then we went to The Letellier sub nothing there. So we went to The Saint James junction to see stuff there.Right when I got up to the tracks I saw a CN grain train. I raced to the other side, the train was going quite fast so I was in a hurry to get everything ready. But everything was perfect timing.                                        



























As you can hear and see in the video the engineer gave me a horn blast.I appreciated it but it really surprised me,since this is a no honking zone for CN,

After that i noted headlights on the CP tracks about five kilometers to the North. It turned out that the light was just two CP locos (1507 &8251)running light.

























Then finally at about 12:12 I spotted the headlights of "The Canadian" at the bend at The Portage Junction.At exactly 12:16 the train rolled past me with 6451 in the lead and nine cars.                                                    



















































This is the second time I've seen "The Canadian" without a refurbished unit or a wrapped unit.

About ten minutes after that CP brought one grain car north .


























Saturday wasn't the best day but hopefully tomorrow (April 17) I'll get more trains and good shots.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Containers on The Reddit subdivision

On Saturday we went to Taylor to shoot "The Hudson Bay" coming into Winnipeg,but missed it because it came about 30 minutes early. So we went to Dugald. I noticed that the eastbound signals were green but the turned yellow. So I waited for about an hour.Then the signals turned green again and this time a train did show up.



























CN 2577 pulled a fast and short intermodal train East.



Shooting this train made the long wait worth it.

Thursday 7 April 2011

Not so good night shots of "The Canadian"

We went to The forks to look at the flood waters.Here is a pic of The flooding river.


 




















I then heard a train from the south,I got ready to shoot it.I was expecting a CN but it was A Via rail most likely "The Canadian".Here it is crossing The swollen Assiniboine river.



   The train is either really early or late because the only Via train that runs on Thursday in Winnipeg leaves at 12:00 PM.  
                  

Right after that a CN yard job came through with a short train.Here it is also crossing The Assiniboine river.


























After that I waited to go shoot the head end of The Via. Because it was dark I couldn't get any really good shots,so here are the best 2.




























Then we went to Saint Boniface. When we got to Archibald street a CP grain train was running South on The Emerson sub. I thought this was a must catch because I never see much traffic on The Emerson sub. The last time I saw a train on The Emerson sub was in February. We chased down Archibald but couldn't get to the head end. finally we saw the loco's .But because it was dark out This is all I could get,


























Like the shot I did get though.
































                                        

Sunday 3 April 2011

"The Canadian" on Saturday with Rocky Mountaineer cars

On Saturday we went to Wilkes to shoot "The Canadian" but first I shot 2 CN's first,



























CN 2704 pulled a solid container train West. With a DPU in the middle.


























As you can see my video camera is on the tripod but I never put the video on YouTube.

Then we went to Elmhurst street and shot another CN intermodal


























Then we went back to The Saint James Junction to shoot "The Canadian". When I was there I heard horn blasts from th South meaning CP was was on The La Riviere subdivision and sure enough I saw lights to the South. Then I saw The Via come from around the bend at The Portage Junction.

"The Canadian" had ten cars as usual but it also had two Rocky Mountaineer cars.











Then they were off West. It's nice to see bonus Rocky Mountaineer cars on "The Canadian".

Like I was mentioning above,I kept hearing horn blasts from the South. So at about 12:20 CP ran this train North


CP 3028 is an old friend of mine that I often see on The La Riviere sub.

After The CP went by another CN westbound went by with intermodals ,boxcars, and other neat freight.    

 CN 2623 pulled this semi long train West.

 So it was a good Saturday on The Rivers subdivision in Winnipeg.