Long time no blog....

I took a trip to Carle Ave last night to see the first NBSR westbound since their break for the holidays. I was also thinking the train might be rather long considering there hasn't been any mainline action. So Saintjohnrailfan met me there around 5:30pm with the thought the train may leave early. Boy we were wrong on both! The train was being assembled when we arrived. Just over 4 hours later they finally left. 2317 entered the mainline at 10:07pm. We decided we would catch it at the Acamac Backland Rd. The one thing I tried different this time was I shot in Sepia tone. I was hoping it would help out with the darkness. It did abit. The train was led by 2317,2610,2318,9801 and they were hauling along train of 58 cars. Definitely not a big difference from any other regular train. Enjoy the video!

It has been six months since my last post. I didn't have the best access to the internet for awhile but I was still chasing. Feel free to take a look at my YouTube account to see some vids I've made during the past months.

3 More Videos..

I'm being a little slack keeping this blog updated. I'm going to be moving next weekend and things are busy! But I still have to get some time in for some train action. On June 12th I was out railfanning with Saintjohnrailfan and we caught the westbound at the Ketepec Rd.

NBSR was having more passenger trains on June 14th&15th. I made it out on Sunday the 15th. I arrived at Dever Rd. at 9:30am but there was no train. The 10am trip was cancelled due to low numbers booked for it. So there was just a 2pm and it was full! I chased it to Welsford but had to leave for a family BBQ.

And now the best part!! On June 19th I made it out to railfan with Saintjohnrailfan and KRG2645. We went to Carle Ave to see the NBSR westbound. We were standing around chatting about trains when the mainline crew brought their units down to the westend of the yard. As the brakeman came down off the units to throw a switch he yelled at us asking if we wanted to go up in the cab. We totally went for that!! GP38 #2317 was the engine we were in. There were 3 more #'s 2612,2318,9801. We rode along as the crew, we won't mention names, turned the units on the wye and finished their train for the trip to McAdam. We caught the train at the Gault Rd. It was shortly after 10pm and we used a street light to help with our shots.

CN's Denison Sub & Another NBSR Westbound

On Sunday May 8th I took a trip to check out the Denison Sub. I recently heard that it wasn't being used. It definitely wasn't. The rails were quite rusty. I saw a high rail truck markings on some of the rails so no doubt they were just checking things out to make sure no one is trespassing. I could only find a few crossings along the line. It crosses the Salt Springs Rd, Rte 860 and Rte 865 right at the potash mine. The main reason I decided to check this line out is my father has started a new motorcar group. Maritime Scenic Rail Tours. This group is going to be an affiliate of NARCOA. My father is looking into doing some mainline runs in New Brunswick. And I thought this could be a good start with CN. I tried to do some research on the line but I can't find to much. The line is named after the Denison Mining Co that used to own the mine. The only date I could find was that Denison Mining opened the mine in 1985. I'm sure it wasn't long after that the Sub was put in. Here are a few pics I took while I was exploring the line.

Now on to NB Southern.. My friend Matt aka Saintjohnrailfan and myself went out on June 4th to catch the westbound leaving Saint John. We both went to the Ketepec Rd. I wanted to try and get a shot with a rock cut near the crossing but the vegetation was too bad along the edge of the rock cut to climb it. So I picked a spot between the cut and the crossing that I could stand clear. The train consisted of 2612,2318,9801 and 40 cars. In the video you notice the train slow almost to a crawl. I heard on the scanner that they were having problems with 2612. It was blowing oil. When they chatted with the RTC they said they might have to set 2612 off at Welsford, but I never heard whether they did or not. Here is a link to Matt's shot of the same train. Enjoy!

Some westbound videos..

Well I've been out doing some railfanning with a new railfan friend Matt aka Saintjohnrailfan. I have made two videos of westbounds. First one was on May 29th. We decided to head for Grand Bay for some different scenery. We chose around the ferry landing road. Matt shot towards the river bank and towards the crossing. I was up around the corner from the crossing. The train consisted of GP38s #2612,2318,9801,2610 and 51 cars.

Then on June 2nd we both taped westbounds again. It was getting late and the shots are dark. I shot from a small rock cut at Janes Way Lane. And Matt shot at the Ketepec Rd. The consist for that train was GP38s #9801,2318,2612 and 53 cars.

NBSR Passenger Excursions of May 25

The weather couldn't have been better for a day of train chasing. NB Southern had two trips from Saint John to Welsford and back. The trains started from the old station on the Dever Rd. They used a freshly washed 2317. I chased both trips. I'm not going to go on about the whole chase because I got alot of clips for my video. I filmed at some old and new places. The complete video is over 9mins long. I mashed all the clips together in order of the mileage on the McAdam Sub. It was a good day! Also as a reminder there will be 4 more trips in June on the 14th and 15th. I'll no doubt be out chasing some of them too. Enjoy the video!!

NBSR Action on May 22

Well yesterday proved to be a busy day for railfanning for me. I left Saint John shortly after 1pm. I took my usual drive through the old roads following the tracks on my way to Vespra. I noticed in Grand Bay there was a work crew clearing trees and brush from the sides of the tracks. I arrived at Vespra at 2:30. I sat for abit but couldn't stand the heat in the car. And opening the windows wasn't an option because of the thousands of black flies that swarmed my car. So I took off through the dirt road. I made it to the far end and sat by the hot box detector. My scanner can pick up a strong signal sitting there. But I heard nothing. Finally after sitting for abit over an hour I turned my head to see headlights rounding the curve. So the chase began! I beat it to Rooth. This is along the dirt road. There is a nice curve and a dead end siding there. I have wanted to get some footage from this location and I finally got it. I then made my way to Fredericton Jct.

I decided on shooting the train passing the station. After not making the crossing at Blissville before the train, I just headed for Welsford. I shot at the gov't garage just so I wouldn't get stuck behind traffic. I wanted to get one good shot in Westfield and didn't want to get behind the train. I chose a nice curve around mile 17.

Then I was off for Acamac. As I was passing the Ketepec Rd I noticed Saintjohnrailfan sitting near the crossing so I called him and told him to get his camera ready. I shot on the straight stretch entering the yard limits in Acamac. Next I thought I would try catching the train on the east end of the yard from the overpass.

The train pulled into P2 track. The eastbound consisted of GP38s 2317,9801,2318 and 54 cars. But that wasn't the end for the day..

Shortly after 7pm I headed to the west end of the Dever Rd Yard. As I got to Carle Ave Saintjohnrailfan was there. We sat and chatted as the yard crew finished assembling the train, and the westbound road crew came and coupled to the train. Shortly after 8pm the train was ready to go. The westbound consisted of 2318,9801,2610 and 50 cars.

I headed to the Ketepec Rd to try a different angle of the curve. About 6 hours worth of train chasing. It was a very busy day. I hope you enjoy the vids!

Not much going on..

I went out for a drive looking at some homes for sale. Nothing around any rails of course.. lol So on the way home I checked out some NBSR spots. There were no crews working the Dever Rd Yard. I took at trip down to Bay Shore. There was a track mobile shunting some tank cars in the old yard by the transfer station.

There will be some passenger trains put on by NBSR coming up in May and June. Proceeds of these trains are in support of the Rally Of Hope. There will be 2 trips made from Saint John to Welsford and return on each date. The dates are May 24th & 25th and June 14th & 15th. The departure times from Harbour Station in Saint John are 10am & 2pm. If you are interested in purchasing some tickets you can get some buy calling 632-5823. I will be trying my best too chase the trains on the 25th & 15th. Here is also a video I made showing one passenger train in October of last year. I blogged about the chase.

A day trip to Miramichi..

Yesterday I went on a day trip with my father and his friend Bob to Miramichi. We decided to check out some of the train sights. First we went to the old train station in Chatham. An NB East Coast locomotive was parked idling next to the station. But no employees were around. We then headed for the VIA station in Newcastle. There was just some empty cars in the yard. No trains working at all. The effects of the shut down mills. As we checked out the crew shack in the yard a steady rain started. There were a few employees around. Bob knew one fellow. He worked with him at CN. We all chatted for about 10 mins. The NBEC employee told us that quite abit of crew had been layed off. Also he said they were to find out within a week or two if CN will be aquiring the exCN line back. Bob asked about the idling locomotive. It was SD40 6904. It brought cars into the Ultramar Distribution Center. 6904 is then put near the station and locked up. The train crew is then driven back to the crew shack. They will return when the fuel cars are unloaded. As we were leaving we noticed a train crew getting into a truck. So we figured it was the crew 6904. So we followed and were right. So I shot some video of the locomotive heading to the fuel cars, coupling and at a crossing. Enjoy the video!

First Eastbound For May..

I caught another eastbound making it's way to Saint John. I only made it to the Airport Rd in Blissville when I saw the eastbound roll by. After making a U turn I beat it for Clarendon. The train consisted of 9801,2610,2612 and 15 cars. I wanted to get a shot panning as the train passes through a valley. I left for Westfield after Clarendon. As I drove through Westfield I wanted a new shot. I went to a small park at Sagwa. I shot the train rolling by. I drove to Westfield Beach. 9801 had to get some orders to proceed into Saint John. So I grabbed a shot as they slowly went through.

I then headed for Saint John. I wanted to catch the train in Acamac. I didn't have much time to get out of the car and shot the train on the back lit side. It looked ok from a distance but once the train got close it turned out a little worse. I then left for Gifford Rd at the east end of the Dever Rd Yard. I wanted to get a photo of the train hauling into the yard.

They brought the train up the main line through the yard because a work crew was working to clean up the derail at the west end. I grabbed a long distance shot of the work crew.

Enjoy the vid!!

Derailment Pics

I took a trip to Carle Ave this morning and found this nice sight of some derailed chip cars. This is located at the west end of the Dever Rd Yard.

Another westbound video..

Here is a video showing the Apr 28th westbound out of Saint John. The train consisted of 2318,2612,2610 and 41 cars, and is shot at the Acamac Backland Rd.

Also I have to report that NBSR has had another derailment in the yard. I heard it mentioned on the scanner this evening. It recently happened so I'm guessing it may have been from the eastbound's arrival. It was on the same track named P4 that they had a derailment on about a week ago. I'm not sure how many cars are involved.

An NBSR Westbound..

I managed to catch the April 25th westbound out of Saint John. The sun had set so I only shot from one location, the Ketepec Road crossing. I used a small hill just west of the crossing to get a different angle. I think this might be one of my first videos with 2612 leading the train. I love the sound of the horn!

NBSR Eastbound with a different ending..

Joey's first train chase! Christina and myself packed up our family for a drive today. The only twist was I had my camera and scanner.. The rain finally stopped leaving a cloudy day. So I decided that I would shoot video figuring the low light wouldn't be the best for photos. I never heard a thing on the scanner as I made my way towards Fredericton Jct. As I reached the church in Blissville I could see the crossing lights on. I pulled over and turned around to head for my first shot.

I decided on trying to shoot the train as it passes a small lake just west of the Welsford hot box detector. My next shot was one of my favorite locations in Westfield.

It's a nice S curve with a small bridge. The train then slowed through Grand Bay and I actually got ahead of it. So I headed for the overpass in Martinon. The engineer throttled up for the shot as they pass under the bridge.

Figuring I wasn't going to shoot anymore I headed for the east end of the Dever Rd Yard. I sat and waited for the train to pull into "P4". 9801 was about half way through the yard when it stopped. The engineer called for someone to check if the rear of the train. He said to the yard planner that the train slowly came to a stop, and that he figured one of the cars is on the ground. Come to find out they derailed the 7 wood chip cars at the rear of the train.

I climbed the bank near the Manchester overpass to catch this shot of the tail end of the train. It's not the best angle to see it derailed but I didn't want to get any closer where there were a few NBSR employees around. It was decent chase with a different ending, in our new Impala.. and Joey Slept through it all.. Enjoy the video!

Not much new..

Well it has been almost a month since my last post and unfortunately I have nothing to report for chases. Things have been pretty busy between work and my family. I'm hoping to get out soon. In the past week I have purchased a new car and I am eager to do my first chase with it. A 2008 Chev Impala. I needed some more room and the Cavalier just wasn't cutting it. So anyone that happens to see me chasing trains feel free to say "Hi". Now if you are ever traveling throughout NB you may notice some cameras along the highways. These are web cams that belong to the Department of Transportation.

The main reason I bring this up is there is a web cam pointed directly at the Rte 7 crossing in Welsford. I have been checking the cam quite frequently to see if it should happen to catch a train in the shot. The day after I found the website I caught a shot of the crossing lights on. But finally after 2 months of checking the website the cam caught a train crossing Rte 7.

You can check out this webcam and many others in NB by using this link:

http://www.gnb.ca/0113/cameras/welsford-cam-e.asp

Finally got to see a pipe train..

On Monday Mar 24th I was enjoying my long weekend like alot of people. I had the family out for a drive while it was nice out. When I got home, I checked out some railway sites online and came across Steve Boyko's Blog mentioning the NBSR eastbound was going to be a pipe train. So I headed out on a chase. This is the first pipe train I have seen in motion. I left Saint John shortly after 1pm and my first intentions were to just go to Welsford. But when I got there I heard nothing on the scanner. I had a gutt instinct to keep going until I found the train. I went as far as Vespra. This is where I like to start some chases from.

When I arrived at the crossing in Vespra I saw a mini van parked close to the crossing. It was Steve Boyko. As I was getting parked the RTC called the 2318 Extra to see where they were. I could actually hear the train and they were at Magaguadavic. It's between McAdam and Harvey Station. So we had a bit of a wait for the train. After about a half hour of talking trains Steve called a friend to see how the train was making out. It was getting close but was behind due to a problem with one engine. And finally shortly after 3pm the train arrived. I decided I would try some stills while it was a nice sunny day. And the chase was on! Being under powered it was easy to get to the spots I picked out on my way to the chase. I first took some shots of the train in Vespra. But the pipe cars were farther back on the train so it was hard to get the pipe in the shots.

I then headed for Fredericton Junction. I wanted to get a shot of the train going across the bridge just east of the station. It was badly back lit but it was the first time I've ever gotten a pic there so I took some anyway. I actually got one close up shot of 2318 just before the bridge.

I then headed for Blissville. I wanted to try some long shots to try and get some of the pipe in the shots. Shortly after parking on the side of Rte 101 Steve arrived at the same location. A nice shot through a field. The afternoon sun makes for some nice shots here.

I then tried for some more locations on the way to Welsford. After I left Welsford I decided I would try a shot of the switch signal at Westfield Beach. This would make a great shot if you had a telephoto lens.

I then headed for a large curve in Grand Bay that makes for some great shots. That was where I ended my chase for the day. The train consisted of GP38s 2318,2317,2610,2612 and 57 cars. From what I could tell from roll-bys it was 2612 that was giving them problems. It seemed they had the loco shut down. The crew of the train called the RTC to make sure they had an engine on stand by just in case they couldn't make it through Grand Bay due to the grades.

NBSR 9802 East

I finally got to chase a train!! With my two weeks holidays almost over I was determined to get out for a chase. My first intentions were to go to McAdam but as time got on in the morning I wasn't ready to go in time to get there. So I just waited abit and left for Vespra. This is usually where I begin my chases. But today I decided to go through the dirt road through to Rooth and wait at the other end by the hot box detector. I really had no idea when the train would be leaving McAdam so I figured I had abit of a wait. Not 10 mins after getting parked, the scanner started dialing the RTC. I couldn't hear the eastbound train talking but the RTC in Saint John came through loud and clear. There is a radio tower for the railroad near the hot box detector. The RTC repeated that the train had left McAdam. I only had about a half hour wait from the time the call was made to Saint John to when the train reached Rooth. Then I was off! I started to take photos but I wasn't happy with the light being on the opposite side of the train so I switched to video. The train consisted of GP38s #9802,2317,2610,2318,2612 and 44 cars. Quite abit of power for such a small train. But engineer Gary Graham wasn't pushing it hard to get home to Saint John. For my first shot I decided on a bridge at mile 55. The road was at a lower grade than the tracks. Second location I decided along a straight stretch in Tracy. I tried to make it into Fredericton Jct to catch it crossing the bridge east of the station but traffic held me up and I didn't make it. So on to Blissville. I wanted to see the train kick snow on the straight stretch approaching Rte 101. I then left for Welsford. I got there with some time to spare. I looked over some of my video I recorded and got ready for my next shot. I sat up from the Rte 101 crossing in Welsford. I waited for the hot box detector to go off and the lights to come on. I drove up to the lights to be the first car. Then it was off for Westfield. While I waiting in Welsford I was thinking about how I could record chasing the train along through Westfield where the tracks are close to the road. I was by myself and no one to help. So I thought about standing my tripod up in the front seat on the passenger side. I kept the legs short and raised the plate where the camera attaches. I angled the camera to the left side and turned the screen on my Canon S3 towards myself so I could see what I was recording. And believe it or not it worked. I'm sure Image Stabilization helped out too. So I recorded about 8 mins of driving along side the eastbound. I kept my window open to get the sounds of the train. I'm really impressed with how it turned out. And I got to safely drive along with the train. Then I wanted to get my last shot of the whole train. I decided on the Acamac Backland Road in Saint John. And that ended my chase for the day. As I made my way home a new pipe train was on the main line in the Dever Rd Yard to be unloaded. I'm guessing it came in yesterday, but I could be wrong. Enjoy the video!

Looking back on 10 months of NBSR..

With the recent birth of my son Joey I have been using my Canon S3 quite abit. I was trying to think of how long I have owned this camera. So I looked at my "train photos" folder and determined I have owned it since April/07 and so far I have taken about 1200 NBSR pics. I put together a 7 minute slide show of some of my favorite NB Southern pics that I've taken over this span of 10 months. To help make it less boring I added "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" by Gordon Lightfoot to it. Oh and don't worry it's not all 1200.

Newest Railfan

I'd like to introduce my newest railfanning buddy. Joseph Allen (aka Joey) was born at 5:09pm on Feb 11th. A few hours after being born my father was trying to teach him to say "highball" for his first word.. lol

Pipe Train #2 Feb 9th

Well I don't have any videos of pipe train action to show, but the second pipe train arrived in Saint John a couple of days ago. I haven't been out and about much. My first child was due to be born on the 7th and he hasn't made it here yet so I've been quite busy. Today I took the day off to be with Christina as she was having contractions since Friday night. I took her for a drive to get out for abit and I decided to head to the Dever Road Yard to see what was up with the pipe train. The pipe was being unloaded at the Dever Rd Yard instead of the Island Yard on the east side. As you can see in the picture to the left there are only 3 more cars to unload. The trucks used to haul the loads have been travelling near my home to access Rte 1 to head west. They are hauling the pipe to the Spruce Lake Industrial Park. I never ventured to see where exactly it was being put. After taking the shot of the crane unloading the pipe I headed towards Grand Bay. As I reached the overpass at the west end of the Dever Rd Yard there were empty cars from the pipe train stored on the main line. No doubt waiting for the trip back to Florida. I drove as far as the the Britain Rd in Westfield hoping to see the eastbound but I had no luck. I am also starting two weeks holidays from work so, I hope to get out and catch some more trains.

Pipe Train Update...

Well I don't have any video or pics to post about. Yesterday I was by The Dever Rd Yard and some of the cars were gone from the head end of the pipe train. Also as I was returning to the garage after work last night, I saw 9803 & 2610 hauling a CN transfer which included about 10 -15 pipe cars plus some of the general mixed cars that go to CN. So I would say they might be just taking them east when they need more to unload maybe.

The Pipe Train - Jan 23

Well the Pipe Train arrived in Saint John yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't get out to chase the train. So this morning after having some blood work done I went on the look out. After leaving St Joseph's Hospital I made a trip down to Rothesay Ave to see if the pipe cars were down there. And they were not but there was an Irving equipment crane set up probably for unloading the pipe. So I headed for the Dever Rd Yard. When I got to Chesley street, heading west, GP38s 9803 & 2610 were stuck on the overpass trying to haul the CN transfer up the hill. This is quite a common sight on the NBSR so I didn't stop to take any pics. I drove up Bentley Street to Douglas Ave and when I got to the crossing SW9 3702 was on the rescue for the stuck train. Turned out they had a problem with one of the units. When I arrived at the Dever Rd yard I went to the west end to see if any shunting was going on. All was silent there but the end of the pipe train was beside Carle Ave. So I went to east end. When I was down on Gifford Rd a television cameraman was up on the bridge taking a shot of the train. The train stretched from one end of the yard to the other. It has created a lot of interest. So I ventured up to the bridge to get some shots. While I was walking up Bob Boudreau drove by and I would assume for the same reason I was there. I then noticed a track crew working east of the bridge. By this time 3702,9803,2610 had made it up the grade from Island Yard and were patiently waiting for the work to be finished so they could enter the east end of Dever Rd Yard. I'm hoping to catch the transfer of the pipe train to the Island Yard. I will probably take some video if I catch it.

NB Southern - Plow Extra Jan 2

After doing some of my own snow removal this morning I thought I would put the scanner on to see what might be going on in the railroad world. Lucky for me I did. Shortly after I started to listen to NBSR frequencies I heard a mention of the Jordan Spreader 402896. What a perfect day to see some snow plow action. So I hopped in the car with my wife Christina. My first stop was Carle Ave. This street is on the west end of the Dever Rd. Yard. More chatter on the scanner indicated they were going to turn 2 locos and the spreader on the wye. The spreader was facing east and they were going to turn it for the trip to McAdam. The 2 locos were GP38s 2317 and 9802. So my first shot of the video is from Carle Ave as the train reversed down to the wye. Saint John received about 25 cm of snow the previous night and it was still going strong as I filmed. Parking was limited so I tried to keep to low traffic spots when possible.

My second shot was at the Acamac Backland Road just outside the yard limits. Third shot was at Grand Bay crossing another road. Fourth shot I decided on using the overpass at

Westfield Beach. It was a little tight on the bridge with not much room with traffic going by. But the angle was well worth it. While I was filming this location Christina hopped in behind the wheel for my next shots. After Westfield Beach heading west the road is close to the tracks. But to pace along with a train you need to be in the passenger side. So having a driver comes in handy.

As we go through Westfield I get some pretty good shots of the spreader doing it's stuff. And finally for my last shot I caught the train crossing Rte 101 in Welsford.

Another person stops to get a picture as I film. Also note the height of the snow banks on the road. I called it quits on chasing after that. The roads were still quite messy and I was quite impressed on the shots I got. I will definitely be sending this one to Rail-Videos.Net.