Saturday, September 12, 2009

NBSR Westbound Sept 11

It had been along time since I saw a westbound leave the city.. So I had to tape it.. even in the dark. When I arrived at Carle Ave the crew was doing some final shunts before they hooked on to their train. After about 45 minutes they had the brake test done and were receiving their clearance. That's when I left for the Acamac Backland Rd.
I decided on black and white just to try and help with the dark. Got set up and my car headlights on and waited. The GP38s sounded great working hard to get the train up to speed as they approached the crossing. Then at 9:07pm  2318, slug 008 and 9801 rolled through with 46 cars.
Also watch for the rule breaker in the video...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

An odd NBSR passenger excursion..

On September 2nd I took the family to meet Matt and catch CN 406. We caught the train at Tennis Court Rd.
On the way home I was passing Harbour Station when I noticed a green caboose backing toward the old VIA station. It was the NBSR with an odd consist for a passenger excursion. It consisted of 2318 and slug 008, one coach and the newly painted caboose. So I had to investigate. I got to talk with the crew. It was just a short jont from the station to the Dever Rd Yard. NBSR had some business men from India intown and the NBSR was showing off their facilities.
The crew was really nice. I met an engineer that I've heard on the scanner many times. He invited us up into the cab of 2318. This was a first for my wife Christina and son Joey. We got some pics of Joey in the seats. Christina got to honk the horn. And I got some railroad gossip.
After we thanked them for the tour I took some exterior shots. My first pics of the slug and a shot of the caboose. The consist looked real nice all painted, even if the slug looked out of place.
I shot the train from the park where Centracare used to be. It was a nice sunny day so the light was perfect. I walked down closer to the road to eliminate trees from the shot.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

So much new I don't know where to start...

As you can tell I haven't been exactly prompt on updating this blog.. Having a 1 and 1/2 year old can have it's toll on train chasing. I have been getting out on occasion with fellow railfan Matt (Saintjohnrailfan) and on my own. We've done a few trips to Moncton and McGivney. We even ventured up to Grand Falls to check out the Salmon River Trestle. That was one of my railfan highlights of this year so far. We plan to go there again soon.
On New Brunswick Day, NBSR ran a train from Harvey to McAdam and return. I took my family with me for this day. The train was sporting a freshly painted 2318, 2317 and newly painted passenger cars. Also they had two private cars on loan from Pan Am Railway on the rear of the train for dignitaries. I took some photos in Harvey but the train was on the railroad crossing so it was hard to get any great shots. I drove to the next crossing for a video shot. That's where I met Danny McCracken, a fellow RailsNB'r.
I wasn't sure how the shot was gonna turn out. Just as the train was approaching the crossing 3 deer stepped onto the tracks in front of the train. And I was rolling. But luckily they made it off before anything happened. I then headed for McAdam. What a sight when we arrived there.. A detour around the town. When we got close to the station we realized why. There had to be a couple thousand people at the festivities the town was having. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the day. A brakeman for NBSR that I happen to know was working the passenger train. So we got a nice tour of the redone cars. It's nice to sit in them in air conditioned comfort. After the tour he told me about a couple trips the train was going to make west from the station. So of course I was out taping in a couple locations.
Now for the return trip of the train to Harvey. I decided I would try a shot near the lake. I drove down the road past the ball field near the station in Harvey. Where I parked on the side of the road, you could see a path that took you right to the lake side. So I set up my tripod and waited. Finally the train came around the curve into Harvey. What a great place for a shot. You can even hear the water in the video. Once the train arrived and everyone disembarked, 2317 and the Pan Am cars were removed from the train and headed back to McAdam. 2318 and the NBSR passenger cars made the trip to Saint John. I chased that as I made my way home too.. It was a great day!