June 28th, 2004
Laura and I married on June 27th. Our honeymoon consisted of travelling from the wedding site in Ste-Agathe, Quebec to our home in Guelph, Ontario, following train tracks and interesting towns. On the 28th, we started at the Chateau Veaudreuil, travelled to the CSX Montreal sub on the South shore, headed back up to Coteau, and then went to Cornwall. From there, we travelled to Smiths Falls and spent the night.
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.
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An eastbound Via train rushes through Coteau Via station without stopping.
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.
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.
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An Eastbound Via train flies through Coteau station at track speed.
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CN #106 passes through the station at Coteau.
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An F-40 led Via train comes off the Alexandria sub and heads to Montreal.
December 17th, 2005
On our way to visit my family, we stopped at Coteau for a few hours, venturing twice up to De Beaujeu's diamond for CP trains. We saw an eastbound with CN 2205, CN #327 with 2 CSX units, #149 with a BNSF, a westbound with ONT 2105, CP #107 with a DPU, and CN #538 switching with the slug leading. After that, we went for lunch and subsequently saw the CN TankTrain heading West and a Loram rail grinder heading East through Montreal, but got no pictures of either.
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A Via train heads West through Coteau station.
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A CN train heads east through Coteau Via station.
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CN #103 and #105 run through Coteau as a combined train.
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CN #320 pulls to a stop at Coteau to switch there.
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A westbound heads through the station with ONT 2105 in third place.
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CN #369 heads west through the station.
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CN #149 heads through Coteau station with a green BNSF unit in second.
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Another westbound heads through the station.
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A Via heads East at rather high speed.
May 7th, 2006
We stopped at Coteau Jct. for a few hours of shooting with a Discovery Channel crew for the show "What's That About", finally catching the OCRR.
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CN #309 passes through Coteau station.
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VIA #32 comes off the Alexandria sub.
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VIA #57 heads for Toronto.
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VIA #33 heads for Ottawa.
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CN #321 goes by, slowing to a stop for a set off at Coteau.
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CN #532 kicks a couple of cylindrical hoppers up the Valleyfield sub yard.
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CN #532 kicks a pair of boxcars into the Valleyfield sub yard.
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CN #532 kicks a cylindrical hopper followed by two more boxcars.
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A CN eastbound heads toward Montreal with a GCFX unit trailing.
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CN #532 backs up to park for lunch.
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OCRR #521 comes off the Alexandria sub.
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OCRR #521 backs into the Coteau Junction yard.
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VIA #59 heads through with two train sets.
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OCRR #521 comes back out of the yard one last time before collecting its van and heading back to Ottawa.
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OCRR #521 is in the right order to head home as CN #532 switches on the other side of the parking lot.
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CN #104 flies through the station.
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VIA #35 passes VIA #58 in a high speed meet at Coteau 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 #326 comes off the CN Valleyfield sub with CN-rental-CN-CSX-CN-CSX for power.
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A CN intermodal arrives from Toronto.
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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CN #327 starts on the short trip up the Valleyfield sub toward the CSX Montreal sub without any CN power.
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VIA #61 leaves Montreal with a second set of equipment in tow.
January 3rd, 2008
Returning home from our trip we stopped at Coteau for CN 308, watched helplessly from the restaurant window as a CNish looking GP38-2W worked an industry in Cornwall and then shot it parked and backlit next to a fast food joint after we finished lunch, finishing off with shooting CN 376 coming into Belleville.
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CN #308 pulls through Coteau station with a pair of 8800s.
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A westbound Via passes through Coteau.
June 14th, 2008
We took a sold out 06:25 VIA #652 from Aldershot to Dorval for a family function on the West Island.
June 15th, 2008
We took the express VIA #67 from Dorval back to Aldershot. We saw our first CP olympic unit between Colborne and Grafton on the Belleville sub.
January 18th, 2014
We stopped at Beaujeu Diamond for a CP #143 and headed back to Coteau for CN #326, catching another CN freight and several Vias while waiting.
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A Via eastbound passes Coteau station.
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A CN freight heads west through Coteau Junction.
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Another Via train at Coteau.
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CSX-powered CN M326 comes off the Valleyfield sub, switches the yard, and heads for Montreal as an Ottawa-bound Via passes through.
November 18th, 2017
VIA #26 Ottawa to Montreal.
