June 12th, 2005
Travelling from my parents' place back home, we stopped at Ste-Thérèse, Coteau, Belleville, and, for the first time, Cobourg. We caught CN #106 and 3 Via trains at Coteau, CN #377 and #148 at Belleville. We found Cobourg station and heard the detector at Kingston sub 262.9 go off at 91 miles per hour. We weren't sure of our milepost, but that was answered when Via #667 flew by while we were still looking at the trackside guide and found ourselves at mile 264. CN #320 went by almost immediately after, and after we left, we heard 3 more trains come through.
Cobourg, Ontario
(map) Cobourg is about the mid-point of the CN Kingston sub and CP Belleville sub's roughly parallel running between Belleville, and Newtonville. At the station, the North side of the parking lot has the Kingston sub and a small yard and wye, and on the South side of the parking lot is the CP Belleville sub, with a yard visible a little ways East.
June 18th, 2005
Laura and I went exploring with no particular goal in mind, but ended up exploring CP Lambton yard and the West Toronto diamond before heading to Cobourg, where we spent the night.
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A Via train heads through Cobourg station toward Toronto without stopping.
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The second daily combined Toronto-Montreal/Toronto-Ottawa train stops at Cobourg.
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CP sends an intermodal through Cobourg station eastbound.
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A CN manifest train heads through the station in failing light.
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A VIA train rushes through the station followed by a westbound intermodal and another VIA train.
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A CN manifest freight train heads East through the station.
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A CP intermodal train heads East through the station as a CN manifest freight heads West. When I moved the camera to catch the latter I didn't secure it very well and the wake turbulence from the CN train caught the camera and shoved it against the ground making for an interesting premature end to the video. Camera still works, in spite of a pretty new dent in it...
June 19th, 2005
Laura and I woke up at dawn in Colbourg and worked our way home, stopping at Newtonville and CP's Toronto (Agincourt) yard on the way.
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An early-morning intermodal passes Cobourg station moments after we get there.
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CN #303 heads West through Cobourg station.
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CN #309 runs through the station.
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CN #121 passes, starting a never-ending trend of intermodal trains.
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A CP intermodal train heads East through the Via station, with a few manifest cars at the end.
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CN #306 passes eastbound with a CSX SD50 in second spot.
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VIA #56 and VIA #42 J-train pulls into the Via station.
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CP #159 heads by behind Cobourg Via station.
June 4th, 2006
Returning from visiting family, we stopped to see what was in the yard at Ste-Thérèse, checked out Dorion and caught an AMT commuter train with the new Bombardier bi-levels, went on to Coteau where we found CN #326 with a CN-rental-CN-CSX-CN-CSX lashup, caught CP #239 meeting CP #138 at Belleville, stayed at Cobourg for dinner and a few trains, and caught CP #152 at Newtonville in failing light after just missing the expressway with 2 GP40s! Total: 14 trains shot, a couple more seen, and a few leapfrogged. Not bad for a quick drive home.
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CN #369 with a CSX unit heads for Toronto.
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VIA #47 pulls into Cobourg station.
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Another Via train enters Cobourg station.
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Another in a mad rush of Vias enters Cobourg station.
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CN #148 heads for Montreal.
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An express Via train passes through at speed.
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An IC unit trails on a CN eastbound in last light.
January 21st, 2007
Saturday we missed an EMD extra through Guelph. Not wanting to miss it again, we went off to Newtonville in the hope that it would be heading east Sunday. It did, eventually, as CN #436, but by the time it came it was somewhat dark. We saw around 20 other trains through the day as well. Tally for the day: CP westbound, VIA #43, CP westbound, VIA #60, VIA #44, CN 371, CN #149, VIA #57, CP #310, CP #153, VIA, CP #122, CN #874, VIA #46, CP #198, CN #305, missed CN #369 with a DPU, CP #121, CN #363, VIA #66, CN #148, CP #116, CN #376, and CN #436 with 8 class 66s in tow. CN #308, #309, #363, and several others passed or parked while we were at Belleville, but we concentrated on CN #436.
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CP #121 passes along the south side of the station parking lot as VIA #66 meets CN #363 on the north side.
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CN #148 heads east.
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CP #116 passes with CP 8801 trailing in decidedly poor lighting conditions.
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CN #376 heads for Montreal.
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CN #436 with 5383 and 8 Freightliner Class 66s fly through Cobourg station.
June 3rd, 2007
On our way home, we stopped at Coteau for CN #327 with all foreign power and VIA #61, before heading to the town of Rivière-Beaudette for CN #149, Lancaster across the border in Ontario for CN #362, and back on the 401 to make at least some progress toward home. We got off at Belleville just missing CN #321, so got back on and went to Cobourg for VIA #66, CN #321, CN #368, a very silent CP eastbound, CN #149 with more cars than it had when we saw it a few hours earlier, CN #305 with a D6R and another Via.
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VIA #66 passes through Cobourg station.
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CN #321 heads for Toronto with two grey CN units.
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CN #368 heads east.
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A CP one unit wonder heads for Montreal.
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CN #149 passes with a cut of ingot flats not on it out of Montreal.
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CN #305 with a D6R slows for a meet with a Via at Coport.
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A Via train heads for Toronto.
