January 14th, 2005
Laura and I got up at some ungodly hour to head to Paris for what promised to be a BNSF-filled day on the Dundas sub. We got to Paris and found the South Service Track plugged up making shooting there impossible, so we spent the day at Brantford station instead. There we caught CN #392, #587, #399, VIA #70, NS #327, #328, VIA #71, CN #278, CN #271, CN #331, CN #148, CN #385, VIA #72, CN #330, VIA #73, and CN #394, which we chased to Hamilton West as it had a BNSF GP30 leading, and then shot CP #424 at Killean on the way home. CN #399 had CN 8018 leading, which I believe is the first time a CN SD70M-2 has led on the Dundas sub, and most of the rest of the trains today were well worth the trip.
Brantford, Ontario
(map) This is the home of the Southern Ontario Railway, part of the large-and-growing family of Rail America, and also houses the CN Dundas sub. It is between Paris and Hamilton.
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CN #392 starts off the day with a pair of CN units.
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CN #587 pushes shuffles cars around in Brantford yard.
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CN #587 emerges as CN #399 approaches in the distance.
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CN #399 enters Brantford with CN 8018 (SD70M-2), BNSF 7641 (ES44DC), BNSF 328 (GP60B) for power, causing me some degree of shock as I had no idea this power was coming.
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CN #399 pulls ahead with a cut of cars to set out in Brantford yard.
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VIA #70 passes #399 as it comes to a stop at Brantford station.
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NS #327 passes with two NS GEs.
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NS #328 passes through Brantford station with a blue CEFX unit in third.
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CN #278 heads through Brantford station with a single BNSF unit for power.
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CN #271 passes Westbound without any foreign power, making it one of those rare trains on CN restricted to CN units.
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CN #331 passes through with 3 units.
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CN #148 runs by with a BNSF dash 9 in second for good measure.
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CN #385 passes with 4 units and a couple of Pan Am boxcars.
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VIA #72 pulls into Brantford station with VIA 912 leading.
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CN #330 passes without raising a fuss.
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VIA #73 enters Brantford station with 6424, the Budweiser unit.
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CN #394 with a rather unusual sight of a GP30 leading passes through the station, leading me on a short chase to Hamilton West. This was probably the single most shot train in Canada today.
Bayview Junction, Ontario
(map) This is where the CN Oakville, CN Grimsby, and CN Dundas subdivisions meet at a great big wye, beside which is the CP Hamilton sub. This location encompasses CN Bayview Junction, Hamilton West, and Hamilton Junction.
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CN #394 heads through Hamilton West with a GP30 leading.
Killean, Ontario
(map) This is CP's name for the passing track at Cambridge on the CP Galt sub.
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CP #424 heads toward Guelph Junction with an AC4400CW, a GEVO, and a GP9u.
