I hope all Canadians enjoyed their Canada Day in this unprecedented year. Between the coronavirus, the Black Lives Matter protests, the Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests and allied rail blockades… it’s been turbulent. I don’t think the latter half of the year will be all sunshine and rainbows, either. But we’ll get through it. We are Canadians, … Read more
I’ve written a new book! Three Days in February is a compilation of three days of railfanning in February 2020. It features photos and details from railfanning CN and CP and CEMR over the long weekend. Buy it on Amazon Canada | Amazon US You might think of this book as one really long blog … Read more
I’m thinking about getting a new video camera. Why? I’ve been recording a lot of video over the past few years and posting it on my YouTube channel. For aerial video I’ve been using my DJI Mavic Air drone, and recently I acquired an inexpensive Akaso EK7000 for close-to-the-ground / novelty shots. However, my main … Read more
Back in 1988, Canadian Pacific Railway received the first of 25 SD40-2F locomotives. These Canadian-built locomotives were the only new locomotives delivered in the “Action Red” scheme, and were unique to CP. They were essentially SD40-2 locomotives with a cowl body instead of the usual “hood” that SD40s had. They were quickly dubbed “red barns” … Read more
Canadian Pacific Railway used to have a fleet of EMD GP7 and GP9 road switcher locomotives. These engines were built in the 1950s and operated all over CP’s system for many years. Despite being remanufactured, they reached the end of their useful life and most were scrapped. Some provided parts for today’s GP20C-ECO locomotives.
I like to write long “story” posts, taking the reader through a railfan trip or a “productive” time trackside. Sometimes, though, all I have is short stories – I saw a train, then on another day, I saw a different train. They aren’t enough for a post on their own, so I am combining them … Read more
Sometimes I know that it’s never enoughSurvival is fine but satisfaction is rough– “Ain’t It Heavy”, Melissa Etheridge As I sit, looking at the pile of employee timetables that I recently acquired, I wondered when I will stop collecting timetables. When will I have “enough” timetables? Railfans are notorious collectors. We collect so many things, … Read more
Readers of this blog will know that I like rail cars that still feature traces of “fallen flag” railways. These railways that have gone bankrupt or merged into other railways still live on, in the memories of those who worked on them and the memories of railfans, as well as ghostly logos on old freight … Read more
A hot tip led to my first photograph of a Canadian Pacific “military” locomotive! Local photographer Jack Hykaway alerted a few of us that CP 7022 was in the Canadian Pacific yard in Winnipeg, along with a few other SD70ACU locomotives. I convinced my wife that it was a good evening for a drive, so … Read more
This past weekend, I decided to make a point of recording the Winnipeg-Churchill train, both coming into Winnipeg and leaving from Winnipeg the next day. VIA 692 is the incoming (to Winnipeg) train and VIA 693 is the outgoing (to Churchill) train. Odd numbered trains go west, even go east. VIA 692 A few of … Read more
