March 1st, 2016
Kicked out of my office by my staff and told to take a vacation, I headed south through Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont to mostly visit friends and take the occasional hour trackside along the way. On the 1st, we drove to Portland, Maine passing, but not stopping at, Mount Washington, a place I intend to eventually return to.
Mount Washington, New Hampshire
Mount Washington is in the White Mountain National Forest and hosts the world's oldest cog railway and the Conway Scenic.
Bartlett, New Hampshire
Bartlett is just east of the White Mountain National Forest near Mount Washington.
March 2nd, 2016
Travelling from Andover, where we slept, into Boston, we stopped at Lowell Junction for a few minutes to see what we could find. In the afternoon, travelling from Boston to the area of Milford, New Hampshire, we took the scenic route via Worcester station and found it very hospitable and welcoming to railfans.
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a town just north of Boston hosting the MBTA, CSX, and Pan Am.
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An MBTA commuter train heads toward Boston.
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A Pan Am local arrives at Lowell still in Guilford colours.
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An MBTA train pulls into Lowell, Massachussets.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city in the mid south of Massachusetts and hosts a major connection of the Providence and Worcester with the CSX.
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A CSX freight switches at the station in Worcester.
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MBTA at Worcester, Massachusetts.
March 4th, 2016
Travelling north out of Massachusetts, we heard NECR 321 out of Brattleboro and found it at Bellows Falls station before staying the night in that town.
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.
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NECR 327 passes through Bellows Falls after sunset.
March 5th, 2016
The final leg of our trip saw us wake up to the persistent sound of a symmetric braking unit on the scanner in Bellows Falls, which led us to parked-running Guilford engines on the Walpole side of the river, before we turned north to see the Claremont and Concord, west to Rutland, and north to Burlington, stumbling completely by chance on a local working the Omya plant in Florence that we did not hear on the radio. We wrapped up our impromptu vacation stopping in Montreal to visit family.
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.
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.
Florence, Vermont
Florence is the small town hosting an Omya plant north of Rutland.
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A Vermont Rail System local works the Omya facility in Florence, Vermont.
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A Vermont Rail Systems local switches the Omya plant in Florence, Vermont.
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.
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal is the junction point of the CP, AMT, CN.
May 24th, 2016
I took Via from Ottawa to Toronto to connect with Via #1 to Winnipeg.
Toronto, Ontario
(map) The capital of Ontario, this city has a number of very busy lines and yards on both the CP and CN networks.
May 25th, 2016
I took Via #1 from Toronto to Winnipeg.
Foleyet, Ontario
Foleyet is east of Hornepayne on the CN.
Hornepayne, Ontario
Hornepayne is on the CN north-east of Lake Superior.
Longlac, Ontario
Longlac is north of Thunder Bay about half way between Sudbury and Winnipeg on the CN.
Geraldton, Ontario
Geraldton is not far west of Longlac on the CN.
August 8, 2016
While on vacation in the maritimes, we stopped briefly to watch a CN local work in Dartmouth from the Halifax side of the harbour, and later stumbled across the Louisbourg rail museum on the hunt for the best possible local lobster.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia.
Auld's Cove, Nova Scotia
Auld's Cove is the mainland side of the Cape Breton causeway.
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Louisbourg is half an hour south-east of Sydney, has a large historic military fortress and boasted the best meal of our trip at a local seafood shop, as well as a small railway museum.
August 10th, 2016
On our way from Summerside, PEI to Hopewell rocks in New Brunswick, we stopped at the Hillsboro New Brunswick Railway museum for a quick tour.
Hillsboro, New Brunswick
Hillsboro is the home of the New Brunswick Railway Museum, not far from Hopewell Rocks.
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As part of admission to the New Brunswick Railway museum in Hillsboro, you can get a ride on a wagon towed by a speeder.
August 11th, 2016
We started our day in Saint John, NB by seeing what was up at the New Brunswick Southern yard. It did not disappoint.
Saint John, New Brunswick
On the north side of the Bay of Fundy, Saint John is the junction of the Canadian National and the New Brunswick Southern.
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New Brunswick Southern leaves Saint John for Maine (second camera angle).
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New Brunswick Southern leaves Saint John yard for the state of Maine.
November 27th, 2016
We went to Merrickville for the 18th annual Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.
Merrickville, Ontario
Merrickville is a lively small town between Highway 416 and Smith's Falls on the CP Winchester subdivision.
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The 2016 Canadian Pacific Holiday Train stops at Merrickville, Ontario for a show.
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The 2016 CP Holiday Train pulls out of Merrickville.
