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Images: These pictures are not censored for quality. What one person considers a bad or useless picture may be exactly what someone else is looking for. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Videos: These videos are very big, which is why railfanning videos are so rare on line. As long as Windows Media Player says "Connecting" it is working, even it if appears to be taking a very long time. It says "Connecting" until it has finished downloading the video. Please be patient. If you are unable to play these videos with Windows Media player, a problem which exists with some versions of Media Player and (sometimes) with Internet Explorer versions lower than 6, I strongly recommend the use of Quicktime if it is available. If you are using Linux, mplayer needs to be told that the videos have a bit depth of 16 (-bpp 16) to work.
Filenames refer to location, date (dd.mm.yy), and camera-assigned four digit id number.
Top photos from December, 2004
| December 3rd, 2004 | CWR train in Guelph heading to Kitchener, meeting 580 at Mosborough. Yesterday, 518 - the CWR train, and previous to that a GM extra that we all missed - met 432 at Rockcut siding. Like Mosborough, it is very much unused. To make matters more interesting, the CWR train, led by the 2 2210s, set off an original-paint and reporting marks D&RGW hopper at CN Guelph Junction. The CWR train is fully loaded, and CWR only stretches from Silver (Georgetown) to Guelph. | |
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| Guelph, Ontario | (map) The city of Guelph is my home town and is just East of Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph sub, and the Ontario Southland Railway/Guelph Junction Railway track, the other end of which is at Guelph Junction. | |
| 78 images | No videos | Marks: DRGW LBFX LLPX RLK |
| December 5th, 2004 | In the evening, CP's 2004 US-bound holiday train (there is a second holiday train which heads North and ends up in British Columbia) stopped in at the Galt station. Though I heard its clearance from Guelph Junction to Orr's Lake on the scanner, we didn't leave till later on and only caught it moments before it left. | |
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| Breslau, Ontario | (map) This is a small town between Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph Sub. | |
| 94 images | 2 videos | Marks: CEFX CN CNA CSXT IC ICG LBFX LLPX RLK VIA |
| Cambridge, Ontario | (map) Cambridge is the home of Babcock and Wilcox, Toyota, the CP Waterloo sub, the CP Galt sub, the CN ex-Fergus sub and a lot of trains. | |
| 43 images | 1 videos | Marks: CP |
| Guelph, Ontario | (map) The city of Guelph is my home town and is just East of Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph sub, and the Ontario Southland Railway/Guelph Junction Railway track, the other end of which is at Guelph Junction. | |
| 56 images | No videos | Marks: LBFX LLPX RLK |
| Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario | (map) Kitchener-Waterloo is on the the GEXR Guelph sub between Guelph and Stratford. The GEXR Elmira spur heads North to service Elmira and the CP Waterloo sub out of Cambridge joins the GEXR Huron Park spur for interchange traffic here. | |
| 16 images | No videos | Marks: GEXR LLPX VSRR |
| December 19th, 2004 | Travelling from Ste-Agathe, QC (the site of the Ste-Agathe sub, abandonned in the late 1980s) where I grew up to the US, we stopped at Ste-Thérèse yard, near a recently abandonned and torn down GM car factory and the site of a CP-QGRY interchange, then on to Beaconsfield and across the border to the origin of Amtrak's Vermonter at St. Albans. | |
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| Beaconsfield, Quebec | (map) My uncle used to live in Beaconsfield near the tracks. When I visited him when I was a kid I could watch the CN and CP trains go by quite often, and I learned about a pedestrian overpass there at the time. It is a great spot with a lot of traffic and CN and CP are closer in a way that is visible than anywhere else I know. | |
| 22 images | No videos | Marks: AMT UTLX VIA |
| St. Albans, Vermont | (map) CN and NECR (New England Central Railway) meet at St. Albans. Amtrak's Vermonter originates here at 06:35 and returns at 20:45. There is a large yard in the town and the station is sufficiently well lit for readable night shots without a tripod or flash in the winter. | |
| 25 images | No videos | Marks: ACFX ACPX CGTX CNIS CNLX DME GATX NECR RRRX SHPX |
| Ste-Thérèse, Quebec | (map) This was the site of a GM car factory that manufactured the Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird until the end of 2003. It has since been torn down, though there is still a large CP yard there that interchanges between them and the QGRY. It also houses several Montreal transit commuter trains. | |
| 21 images | No videos | Marks: BCIT CP CPAA MILW NAHX NCIX |
| December 20th, 2004 | We woke up at 6am in St. Albans hoping to catch the 6:35am Vermonter outbound. We missed it by a hair, and after learning from NECR's friendly AGM that there would be no more trains scheduled until about 13:00, we headed South to Burlington, eventually working our way down the VRS line to Rutland. We then headed to White River Junction to spend the night, finding NECR 324 switching in town shortly after we arrived. They continued switching until well after we went to sleep. | |
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| Ferrisburg, Vermont | (map) The VRS's line between Rutland and Burlington, Vermont passes through a number of small communities including the town of Ferrisburg, a little bit North of Vergennes. | |
| 57 images | No videos | Marks: CLSX GATX VTR |
| Rutland, Vermont | (map) Called Vermont's rail hub by the Vermont Rail System, this city on the New York border is not a fantastic railfanning spot, though not for a lack of good trains. The main drag through town offers few good locations and the yard, found at the East end of a stretch of track common to 4 VRS lines is not very accessible. Outside of the city there are many nice locations but with only a couple of trains per day, understanding the cryptic clearances is critical. Rutland is not really near anything in Vermont, but is along the Western boarder of the state about an hour North of Massachusetts. | |
| 109 images | No videos | Marks: ACFX CSXT GMRC HLCX SHPX UTLX VTR |
| St. Albans, Vermont | (map) CN and NECR (New England Central Railway) meet at St. Albans. Amtrak's Vermonter originates here at 06:35 and returns at 20:45. There is a large yard in the town and the station is sufficiently well lit for readable night shots without a tripod or flash in the winter. | |
| 63 images | No videos | Marks: ACFX BAR CEFX CGTX CSOR CV DBUX FURX GSCX NECR PIVX SHPX |
| White River Junction, Vermont | (map) One of a few junctions between the NECR and the Vermont Rail Systems roads, White River Junction is an hour North of Brattleboro (by car, anyway). Guilford trains sometimes come as far as White River Junction from Deerfield, Mass. | |
| 46 images | No videos | Marks: CN CNIS CNLX GSCX NECR VTR |
| December 21st, 2004 | We got up in White River Junction and headed for the tracks just in time to see the Southbound Vermonter. After that we toured the museum next to the station and proceeded along the tracks to Bellows Falls before concluding our travelling in Brattleboro. | |
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| Bellows Falls, Vermont | (map) Vermont Rail System member Green Mountain Railway meets the NECR at Bellows Falls. There is purported to be a GMRS Alco RS-1 here, as well. It is directly across the river from North Walpole, New Hampshire. | |
| 17 images | No videos | Marks: CGTX GMRC HATX HLCX NOKL VTR |
| Brattleboro, Vermont | (map) This town is on the New England Central Railway track near the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont borders. | |
| 18 images | No videos | Marks: CNLX CR CRLE GMRC NAHX NOKL NS NW |
| Claremont, New Hampshire | (map) Claremont is the junction and interchange of the NECR and the Concord and Claremont Railroad (CCRR), between North Walpole, New Hampshire, and White River Junction, Vermont. | |
| 4 images | No videos | Marks: NIWX |
| North Walpole, New Hampshire | (map) The Vermont Rail Systems Green Mountain Railway terminates here. The NECR and the GMRC both cross the Connecticut River at North Walpole from Bellows Falls, Vermont. | |
| 37 images | No videos | Marks: BCOL CGTX CN CV FPAX GMRC GSCX LLPX MSDR NYC PIVX TILX TTZX VTR WC |
| White River Junction, Vermont | (map) One of a few junctions between the NECR and the Vermont Rail Systems roads, White River Junction is an hour North of Brattleboro (by car, anyway). Guilford trains sometimes come as far as White River Junction from Deerfield, Mass. | |
| 63 images | No videos | Marks: AMTK BM CR CSXT HLMX HS NAHX NOKL |
| December 22nd, 2004 | We went looking at Deerfield yards, and while we did find them, I blew all my pictures of them. :( So it goes. In the afternoon I found a Guilford train heading to the NECR from the yard in Deerfield and chased it at its whopping 5 miles an hour from Bernardston to Northfield before running out of light. | |
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| Bernardston, Massachusetts | (map) The Guilford Maine Central (MEC) line heads through Bernardston on what would normally be a short treck from Deerfield to Brattleboro. Except the line is 5 to 10 mph so chasing a train is kind of like chasing a turkey, or would be if there were more grade crossings. | |
| 44 images | No videos | Marks: BCOL BR CRLE GATX GMRC IATR MEC MSRC NRLX SHPX TRNX UTLX |
| Brattleboro, Vermont | (map) This town is on the New England Central Railway track near the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont borders. | |
| 15 images | No videos | Marks: CR CV GMRC IC NS NW SCL SSD |
| Deerfield, Massachusetts | (map) Home of the Guilford lines, Deerfield has a large yard and junction. Guilford has a reputation for arresting (not fining) trespassers on its property, according to locals, and the yard is not very accessible without trespassing. It is limited to a bridge on a dead-end road that leads to the yard. | |
| 27 images | No videos | Marks: BM CNW MEC TTZX |
| Miller's Falls, Massachusetts | (map) Between Northfield and Turner's Falls, Miller's Falls has another junction of the NECR and Guilford rail systems. | |
| 24 images | No videos | Marks: AMTK |
| Northfield, Massachusetts | (map) Home of Northfield Mount Hermon School, where I attended high school and met my wife, Northfield has the junction of the NECR and MEC lines in a rural area near the Vermont border. | |
| 8 images | No videos | Marks: MEC |
| December 24th, 2004 | Having a few minutes to get away a couple of points during the day, I checked the Brattleboro yard, finding it again having shifted its cars around. Brattleboro seems to host a lot of what appear to be coal cars, though I can't figure their purpose there. The yard seems to be switched only at night, which makes finding trains there tough. I also tried to get better shots of the Deerfield Guilford yard. While my shots were better, I really should try again another day (not this trip, unfortunately) to see if I can do it right. | |
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| Brattleboro, Vermont | (map) This town is on the New England Central Railway track near the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont borders. | |
| 54 images | No videos | Marks: CR GMRC NS NW |
| Deerfield, Massachusetts | (map) Home of the Guilford lines, Deerfield has a large yard and junction. Guilford has a reputation for arresting (not fining) trespassers on its property, according to locals, and the yard is not very accessible without trespassing. It is limited to a bridge on a dead-end road that leads to the yard. | |
| 13 images | No videos | Marks: CCBX GPLX |
| December 29th, 2004 | On the final leg of our trip from home to Quebec to Vermont and back, we saw a CN train with 3 CN units and 2 CSX units heading East on the Kingston sub just West of Montreal. Frustrated, we went to the tracks at Coteau Junction. There we caught wheel service work, and a CN freight with a BC Rail dash 9 in second place, pretty well making up for missing the CSX engines. | |
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| Côteau, Quebec | (map) Coteau is the junction of the CN Valleyfield sub which connects the CN Kingston sub to the CSX Montreal sub, the CN Kingston sub, and the CN Alexandria sub to Ottawa. It is just a few minutes East of the Ontario/Quebec border, just off exit 12 of highway 20. | |
| 76 images | No videos | Marks: ACFX ADMX BCOL CN CNA DWC LW PLCX PROX TBOX VIA |
| December 30th, 2004 | We heard of an 8-engine train coming in from the West, but missed it at the Junction and hours later left having seen only foremen and OSR working. As we left the Junction, the grade crossing lights at Campbellville road were on, so we went back to the tracks. Apparently it was nothing more than a signal test. | |
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| Guelph Junction, Ontario | (map) Technically Campbellville, Guelph Junction is the junction of the Guelph Junction Railway -- currently serviced by OSR -- the CP Hamilton sub, and the CP Galt sub. It is between Milton and Galt on the CP Galt sub. | |
| 15 images | 1 videos | Marks: OSRX |
| December 31st, 2004 | GEXR discussed the presence of a D-6 dimensional on #580 leaving Kitchener and that was all the motivation I needed to head out into the haze and see. | |
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| Guelph, Ontario | (map) The city of Guelph is my home town and is just East of Kitchener-Waterloo on the GEXR Guelph sub, and the Ontario Southland Railway/Guelph Junction Railway track, the other end of which is at Guelph Junction. | |
| 143 images | 1 videos | Marks: ABWX CGLX CN CNA DCLX EQUX IC LLPX NAHX NCIX RLK |