Confessions of a Train Geek

Here is Saturday's NBSR eastbound train on video. It had 68 cars, not too shabby!

Labels: harvey, nbsr, video

Since it was such a beautiful day today, I decided to chase the NB Southern Railway freight. I intended to see the train at McAdam and then have lunch in McAdam. But you know what happens to the best-laid plans...

I had intelligence that the train was due to arrive in McAdam at or shortly after noon. I left my house at 11:27 (late) and as I entered McAdam I heard an EOT squawk on the scanner. I crested the hill in McAdam and saw a train rolling east through the highway 4 crossing at 12:27. Drat!!!!

I turned around and headed back to Harvey. I arrived there after about 20 minutes and decided to set up east of the highway crossing. My kids jumped around in the back of the van while I listened to the sound of the train's horns echo in the distance. At 12:58 NBSR 9802 East rolled through the crossing with 9802, 2319, 2317 and 2610 pulling a fairly long train.


Within a few minutes, they were gone, and then we finally had our lunch.

Labels: 9802, harvey, nbsr

Brian Barchard shot the eastbound train in Harvey that I saw in Welsford on Wednesday. NBSR 9802 East blew through at 13:50 in the falling snow.

It took 1 hour and 25 minutes to go from Harvey to Welsford - a little slower than normal.

Labels: 9802, brian barchard, harvey, nbsr

Joel Scott posted a few videos of his NB Southern chase on Saturday December 6.

First, NBSR 9801 East through Harvey Station with GP38 units 9801, 2319, 2317, and 2610 and 31 cars.


He caught it again near Vespra, west of Tracy.

Labels: 9801, harvey, joel scott, nbsr

I'm told that there will be a mock collision in Harvey today, run by the New Brunswick Operation Lifesaver committee. It will start at 13:00 (1 PM) and will involve NB Southern, students from the Harvey High School, the RCMP, Saint John Ambulance, and local emergency services. Press release

Labels: harvey, nbsr

Dave Dineen aka nbsrfan and Matt aka saintjohnrailfan chased the eastbound NBSR freight from McAdam to Saint John last Monday, July 28. The train had NBSR 2318, 2610, and 2317 pulling 69 cars.

Here's Dave's video first. It has a bit of footage of CN 7038 in McAdam as well.


Matt broke it up into several videos. First, it came into McAdam and did some switching.


Next, the chase.


Nice job, guys!

Labels: dave dineen, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, saintjohnrailfan, video

David Morris chased the westbound CP TEC track evaluation train on July 29. Here are a few of his photos. CP 3025 provided the power.

First, the train at Harvey Lake. Note the overcast skies!


Here it is, changing crews in McAdam just after noon. Note CN 7038 in the background.


It left McAdam and went down to St. Stephen. Here it is, I believe, just before highway 1 going into St. Stephen.


Later, David shot it going back to McAdam in this bucolic scene typical of the St. Stephen sub.


Thanks for the photos!

Labels: cp, david morris, harvey, mcadam, st. stephen, tec

I decided to go to McAdam today with my two youngest kids. I knew the weather would not be great, but it has been a while since I've been out railfanning and it was time. We arrived at 12:30 and found two units in the yard, NBSR 2612 and CN 7038. I knew the CN GP9 had been there for a while, on the Saint Stephen (South) Job, but it was a surprise to see 2612 there. I understand she had a traction motor fire and was set off Friday night by the westbound freight.


7038 had an alarm bell ringing and her radio was on, so I assume it has some kind of SmartStart device in it to save fuel.

We grabbed some hot dogs at the place next to the Family Restaurant and then came back to witness NBSR 2318 East arrive at 13:00 precisely with 2318, 2317, and 9801.

The three units took the front cars and pushed them back into the west yard. They then waited out on the east side of the yard.




Afterward, 7038 pushed five cars up to the pulp transload facility, then joined up behind the eastbound's power. My kids were providing a running commentary throughout the video!


The train left at 13:43 (without 2612) and I headed to my favourite spot at Harvey Lake to tape them. I decided I would forgo any still shots and do a long pan of the train as it went around the lake. I'm pretty pleased with the results.


After the train left, we threw stones in the water, watched the resident Canada geese, then went back to Fredericton.

I want to give a shout out to Chris Gallant, conductor, who took the time to say hi to me. I'm sure we'll meet again!

Labels: 2318, 7038, 9801, cn, harvey, mcadam, nbsr

Photo by Peter Gough

Danny McCracken reports that McAdam will hold their annual "Railway Days Celebrations" on June 30 and July 1. NB Southern Railway will have its usual passenger excursion from McAdam to Harvey and back, on June 30.

Tickets go on sale June 23 at the McAdam Village office on a first come, first serve basis at noon (12:00). The cost is $20 for adults or $10 for children under age 12.

2007 Excursion
2006 Excursion

Labels: excursion, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, passenger

Despite the rain, I decided to head to McAdam to see the NB Southern Railway eastbound freight. My oldest son and I rolled through McAdam at about 11:30 and decided to cross the border to Vanceboro to catch the freight there. I had never been to Vanceboro so it was a new experience for both of us. After a quick stop at Customs, we were in the yard in Vanceboro. I'll post more about the yard later. Suffice it to say there was not much there.

We heard the rumble of the engines long before the freight showed up. Shortly after noon Atlantic / 11 Eastern NBSR 2317 East rolled to a stop by the shack.

The freight had NBSR 2317, 2612, 2318 and 9801 for power, with 26 cars.

After about five minutes, they got underway and so did we. I got to the west end of McAdam yard well before they did, so I got this shot.


They pulled up to the station, then cut off the first 11 cars and pushed them back into the yard.


After a quick crew change, they were off. I decided to catch them at Harvey Lake, and I made it there about five minutes before they did.


The day was miserable enough that I decided not to chase any more, and headed home.

In case you're wondering, I was using my son's HP Photosmart 120 rather than my usual Canon S3 IS, because my wife has the good cameras this weekend.

Labels: 2317, harvey, maine, mcadam, nbsr, vanceboro

I had the railfan itch, so I went to McAdam on Saturday (the 13th) with my two youngest kids to see the NB Southern eastbound freight. It was a cloudy day, but fortunately it did not rain.

I had been told the eastbound left Mattawamkeag at 11:45 our time, so with the 2 hour transit time it would be in McAdam at 13:45. True to form, when I arrived at that time the freight had just arrived. NBSR 2319, 2612, 9802, and 2317 were the power. They made a drop of 2 boxcars and 3 empty centerbeam flats (all MM&A) and no pickup.


Gary Lee was there taking video.


Jody and his kids showed up to see the freight roll out at 14:00 on the dot. I taped it leaving, then loaded the kids in the van and headed out.


My initial plan was to go to Harvey Lake to catch the fall colours, but as I approached I realized I probably would not have time to get there. I knew the engineer on this train didn't waste time going to Saint John, plus I had a late start from McAdam. Instead, I elected to go to the Harvey siding and get him there after the crossing. In retrospect, my decision to go to Harvey was correct but I should have shot at the other side of the crossing where the colours were much brighter.

He rolled through at 14:34 with the four units and 31 cars, at least half of which were woodchip cars.


We spent some time in Harvey looking at the NBSR crane and flatcars in the siding, then headed home to Fredericton and ice cream.

Labels: 2319, crane, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, video

Despite the warnings of rainy weather, I decided to head to McAdam to see 4563. How often does an MLW visit the southern lines? With my two youngest kids in the van, we set off. My game plan was to meet the eastbound excursion train at Prince William Station, get a few quick shots of the runaround at Harvey, then get the westbound at Harvey Lake before proceeding to McAdam.

We arrived at Prince William Station at 10:00. I fully expected to see the excursion train by 10:20, but that time came and went without any train. It was a bit of a challenge to entertain two kids by the side of a track, but we found some anthills and flowers and did some jumping to pass the time. Finally I had to break the snacks out.

Around 10:50 I heard some rumbling in the distance, and at 10:56 we saw a distant headlight. Prince William Station is a very long piece of straight track, and it wasn't until 10:59 that the train passed us. It had NBSR 2610 and 2317 pulling the three passenger cars (5537, 5448 and 5471, all ex-VIA, ex-CN) and caboose NBSR 422990.


We packed up and went to Harvey. The two engines uncoupled and ran down the main line out of sight, then came back up the siding.


They were ready to roll by 11:37.


We left and went to Harvey Lake. As I was walking toward the point with a tripod in one hand and my toddler in the other, I heard the rumble of the engines. Darn it! I gently set my loads down and brought my camera out to take this one picture.

I'm glad it turned out OK.

We arrived at McAdam and saw quite a few cars parked by the McAdam station. The CP 29 model was parked in front of the station and NB Southern had parked a number of their MOW machines by the shop building. CP 4563 was still in the main yard, so I drove down there with my sleeping kids. I took a few shots and ended up in the cab talking with the gentleman who came down from the Canadian Railway Museum to look after the engine. Quite a nice fellow.




The excursion train arrived at McAdam at 12:25 and unloaded. I talked with a few people I knew (hi Art, Wendell, Danny, Gary) and met a few people I had only known online or by reputation (hi Mike, Ron).

I took the kids for lunch at the Family Restaurant, and when we returned for a quick look, 4563 had been moved over beside the station.


The excursion train was turned on the wye, and at 14:16 they left McAdam. The conductor on the tail end, Gary, told me they had 175 passengers for the Harvey trip.

At 14:20 the NBSR eastbound freight arrived at McAdam, with NBSR 2318, 2612 and 9802. I'm not sure, but I don't believe they made any setoffs or pickups.

Here's a shot of CP 29 by the station. The gentleman in the photo is the fellow from Delson.


We went and had some ice cream, and when we were done, the eastbound freight was ready to go. They had pulled up to near the highway crossing and were waiting to find out where the passenger train was before they could leave. They pulled out at 15:00 with 9 boxcars, 9 autoracks, 3 tank cars, 5 loaded wood chip cars, and 3 empty NBSR log cars (29 cars).

They made good time to Harvey, and passed through there at 15:34.

We headed home at the end of a long but good day. Kudos to NB Southern for being such a good host railway, and to the McAdam crew for hosting the event at their beautiful station.

Labels: 2317, 2318, 2610, 4563, cp, harvey, mcadam, nbsr

For September 1 I decided to take my usual path up to McAdam to see the eastbound freight. The weather was OK but pretty cloudy. We arrived in McAdam at 13:00 to find the eastbound already there, and ready to head to Saint John. I guess it was running pretty early!



I left fairly quickly, to ensure I got a video of them leaving McAdam. First, one more shot from the other side.


They crossed the highway at 13:10 with NBSR 2317, 2612, 9801, and 2319 with 18 cars.


Here's the video of the freight leaving McAdam.



They made excellent time to Harvey Lake. I arrived there and was busy setting up my tripod when I heard the rumble in the distance. I barely had time to put the video camera on the tripod and turn it on before they arrived at 13:52.


It was a short trip!

Labels: 2317, gp38, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, video

I decided to try to catch the NBSR eastbound freight in Maine today. I heard it was leaving Brownville Junction at 10:00 and heading straight to McAdam, so I figured if I crossed the border at 13:30 or so I would be fine to catch it near Vanceboro. I did some painting downstairs and then headed out.

I arrived in McAdam shortly before 13:00 and found NBSR 9801 idling by the station. I should say it was idling then the SmartStart kicked in and shut the engine down. I took a few shots of it, and the engineer's radio blared out something about NBSR 2318 East. Uh oh, the eastbound was imminent.


I jumped in the van and headed for the border, but they were already across. I taped them at the yard entrance and then went back to the station.

The incoming train had NBSR 2318, 9802 and 2612 with 4 MMA boxcars, 5 autoracks, and three woodchip cars. Very short!

They dropped 4 MMA boxcars, picked up two cars, and tacked NBSR 9801 on the front of the consist. That's the first time I've seen them put the south job engine on the front. Presto, NBSR 2318 East became NBSR 9801 East.


They left McAdam at 13:45 with a short train consisting of NBSR 9801, 2318, 9802, 2612, a cylindrical hopper, a tank car, 5 autoracks, and three woodchip cars.

I went to Harvey and waited for them near the crossing. After about ten minutes I heard them blow for the crossing near Little's campground, then a few short toots.. then nothing. I kept expecting them to roll around the corner but they didn't. After about fifteen minutes of that I went up the road to peek around the corner a bit. The scanner chirped with the FRED's chatter but no sign of the train.

While I waited I noticed some ducks in the lake near my feet, so I took a few photos.


Finally they rolled around the corner at 14:40, only to stop by the ball field to encourage the teams playing there with a few toots. Nice community spirit! They rolled through the crossing at 14:44 and the chase was on.



I made haste to Cork to try to get them there, and I beat them there by about 20 seconds. I managed to tape them through the open passenger window before they rolled by at 14:55.

I gave chase, and they slowly pulled ahead as I was only able to make 50-60 km/h on the bumpy dirt road. I almost pulled even with them when they got to the crossing at mile 52 at 15:05.

It was easy to beat them to the next crossing at mile 49 at 15:12.


They slowed down approaching the crossing at Tracy, so I was able to shoot them at 15:15 and again down the road at 15:17.


When they crossed the bridge at Fredericton Junction at 15:21 I took a quick shot out the passenger window but it was horribly backlit.

My next shot was just after the highway crossing at Hoyt, across a farmer's field. I had been hoping to get this shot for some time. They rolled through at 15:28, the sun came out, but it was a little hazy.


I caught up to them after they passed Hoyt and the hotbox detector there, and decided to try the Clarendon shot next, despite the haze. They came through at 15:47.

You can really see how the paint on the 980x units is faded, compared to the freshly painted units.

I tried to get them at Welsford Lake at 15:51 but I didn't get my gear out in time. They rolled through the hotbox detector and it sounded five alarms, all on the second-to-last car. They stopped in the siding and the conductor went back to cut the brakes out while I set up at the south end of the siding.


They were on their way by 16:03 and I waved goodbye as I turned for home.


3 hours of train chasing, 260 km on the road, 15 minutes of videotape, 70 still photos, $30 of gas... priceless.

Labels: gp38, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, welsford

Here's a video of Saturday's NBSR freight train at Harvey Lake. Blog entry

Labels: harvey, nbsr, video

It looked like a nice day for railfanning, so I packed the three kids in the van and headed for McAdam. I heard the eastbound was arriving at about 14:00, and when I crossed town limits at 14:10 I heard chatter on the scanner. NBSR 2319 East was in town and doing a little shunting. They had 2612 and 2317 as well.


They had already dropped their 4 cars, and were in the midst of picking up NBSR 2318. Once they got that, they picked up 13? empty gypsum cars before backing onto the 10 boxcars they brought from Maine. This short train left McAdam at 14:35. I shot them at the highway crossing with my Canon still camera, through the bug-encrusted windshield. Not my best video.


We beat it to Harvey Lake to get them there. There was a large family at the picnic table out on the spit, and I'm sure they gave me a few odd looks as I rushed out there with kids and camera equipment. They confirmed that no train had been by yet. Whew. I set up the tripod and within a few minutes NBSR 2319 East rolled by. I shot stills blind while panning the video camera. I needed to do some serious horizon levelling!


Notice I clipped the photos from RailPictures' (rejected) list.

I also got to meet a friend I've corresponded with for quite some time but never met before. Good to see you!

Labels: 2319, harvey, mcadam, nbsr

Brian Barchard nabbed a shot of the train at mile 66 near Harvey.

Thanks, Brian!

Labels: cp, harvey, tec

Gary Lee shot some video of the NB Southern excursion train yesterday, both from the ground and from the train itself.

I think this is the train oing around the wye at McAdam:


Another shot from the ground:


This is arriving at Harvey:


Here's 2319 running around the train at Harvey:


I think this is leaving Harvey on the way back to McAdam:


Thanks, Gary!

Labels: excursion, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, passenger, video, youtube

Danny McCracken alerted the RailsNB group that NB Southern is running an excursion on July 1 from McAdam to Harvey and back. Tickets are $15, or $10 for those under 12. Tickets go on sale at noon Friday June 22 at the McAdam Village Office and they are NOT doing phone sales.

I didn't see them last year but Peter Gough did.

Labels: excursion, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, passenger

I understand there will be a dimensional move on NBSR on Sunday. There are four large tanks on pulp cars that will be moved to Harvey, where I assume they will be taken by truck to Nackawic. I expect it will be a slow trip.

I can't remember the last time a dimensional load like this was moved on NBSR. It was probably the transformer for Coleson Cove in... 2003, I think.

Labels: harvey, nbsr

This list is by no means exhaustive, just my opinion. I'd love to hear about your favourite spots! See them on a map

1. New Denmark, Salmon River bridge (CN)
The impressive railway bridge, the second longest in Canada, makes this the number 1 spot to railfan in New Brunswick.


2. Aulac/Fort Beausejour (CN, VIA)
Whether on the dykes at Aulac, or beside historic Fort Beausejour, you have a great field of view for train watching. This is just outside Sackville.


3. Harvey Lake (NBSR)
Lighting is great here for afternoon trains and the combination of the lake in the foreground and the hill in the background make for some great shots.


4. Gort (CN, VIA)
Park yourself on the overpass on Delong Drive and watch the trains go in and out of Gordon Yard. Shots are better to the west but you get a great view either way.


5. Nepisiguit Junction (NBEC, VIA)
Some great overhead shots of mainline VIA and NBEC trains are possible here, and you can catch the trains going on or off the Nepisiguit Subdivision too.

6. Bull Barn, Memramcook (CN, VIA)
David Morris' favourite spot, there are great shots in both directions. Also great for videos.

7. McAdam (NBSR)
There's nowhere else in New Brunswick you can get close to the trains, see the switching, and you get the historic station in the shot too.


8. Westfield Beach (NBSR)
You can shoot from the overpass, or on the ground at the siding, and get some really nice shots.


9. Clarendon (NBSR)
From the highway you can get some great long-distance side shots of the trains.


10. Jacquet River (NBEC, VIA)
If the time of day is right, you can get broadside shots of the train going over the bridge, or you can choose an overhead shot from the Intercolonial-era iron bridge.


Map of all 10 locations

What are your favourite spots?

Labels: cn, harvey, mcadam, moncton, nbec, nbsr, railfanning, sackville, via

OK, one more post then I swear I'll stop for the night.



I've put a new video online featuring the train I saw last Saturday at Harvey Lake. Enjoy!

Labels: harvey, nbsr, video

I took my two youngest kids to McAdam on Saturday to see the NB Southern eastbound freight. We left Fredericton at 13:00 and entered McAdam town limits at 14:00 precisely. I had heard that the eastbound had left Brownville Junction at around 10:00 but it was nowhere to be seen when I arrived. I got some ice cream and headed down to the Maine border to wait. After enjoying our ice cream and waiting in the cold, we decided to head back to McAdam.

It wasn't until just after 15:00 that I heard someone calling the RTC on the scanner. We headed back toward the border, and saw the eastbound about halfway between McAdam and the border. A quick three-point turn on the road led us back to the yard entrance, where I taped them at 15:12.


NBSR 9801 East had 9801, 2610, 2319 and 2318 with 58 cars: 1 bulkhead flat, 5 boxcars, 1 empty centerbeam flat, 4 boxcars, 1 mty c/b flat, 1 boxcar, 4 Procor tank cars, 4 boxcars, 3 mty c/b flats, 8 autoracks, 10 tank cars, and 16 loaded woodchip cars.

We watched them do their drop in the yard and make a small pickup.


As they were preparing to leave, I decided to try a different photo angle. I went up to the church near the highway and shot this from the back parking lot. I like the angle but there's a lot of clutter in the photo.


They left at 15:47 but I was already on my way. I wanted to catch them at Harvey Lake so I needed to be away before them. As it turns out, I had lots of time. It wasn't until 16:25 that they showed up.



They had picked up 3 covered hoppers, and dropped the first 10 cars from the head end, leaving 51 cars on the train.


Once the last woodchip car rounded the bend, that was it.

Video to come soon.

Labels: harvey, mcadam, nbsr

I went to McAdam today with my two youngest kids to see the eastbound NB Southern freight. I had heard it would be in around 15:00 so I arranged to be there at 14:30. As I arrived, my cell phone rang and my contact told me that they might be up to two hours late. Great.

We went to the Family Restaurant in McAdam and had some ice cream and shared a coffee with a good friend. After that, I decided to head down to the border to see if I could catch the freight just after it crossed the border.

As I approached the border, I heard someone talking very clearly on the scanner, which told me the freight was close by. I decided to try to get him at the Highway 630 crossing. As I pulled up to the crossing, the lights were already flashing, so it was a quick grab shot into the sun.


The train was NBSR 9801, 2319, 2317, and 2318 with 21 cars.

I beat it back toward McAdam, taping him once from the side of the road, and I still got to the station ahead of him. Another shot into the sun as he arrived at 16:03.


They dropped the first four cars in the yard, then did a little dance with the MM&A boxcars at the pulp transload track. The four units ended up pushing two empty MM&A boxcars up to the transload boxcar before returning to their train. There was no pickup in McAdam, nor in Mattawamkeag for that matter.

My man Gary Lee kept a close eye on the switching.


One of the yellow units was smoking quite a bit.


I grabbed one more shot of them just before I (and they) left McAdam at 16:30.


We then drove to Harvey, easily beating them there while respecting the speed limit. I'm sure I spent 10 minutes there setting up the tripod and waiting for them to show up. They rolled through at 17:07 in the long, long shadows.


Not a bad day... too bad they were so late. The sun was too low to get really good pictures at the angles presented to me.

Labels: gp38, harvey, mcadam, nbsr

I've put a new video featuring yesterday's NB Southern freight online at the usual place. This clip features the train going by Harvey Lake.

Labels: gp38, harvey, nbsr, video

I decided to take advantage of one of the last nice days of this year, and take some shots at McAdam. Peter Gough accompanied me and my two youngest kids. We left Fredericton at about 11:45 and I was hoping to catch the NB Southern eastbound before it arrived at McAdam. I called my contact and he told me they had a small pickup at Mattawamkeag, so they wouldn't be into McAdam until about 13:45. Perfect.

We did a quick check at the McAdam yard, and found a big surprise - MEC 320. This unit was returning to Woodland, ME via the St. Stephen sub. Apparently about once a month Guilford exchanges the unit there for another one.


We also saw these odd loads.


These are going to Vanceboro and are likely part of the International Power Line being built between New Brunswick and Maine by NB Power and Bangor Hydro.

These loads are separated by spacer flatcars, as the poles are longer than the flatcars. I don't know about the Maine side, but on the New Brunswick side many of the transmission towers are going to be erected laying on their side, then flown by heavy-lift helicopter to the site. This will avoid the need to build roads and therefore reduce environmental damage.


We decided to set up at St. Croix and wait for the eastbound. When we arrived there, we could hear the rumble of engines but it was not getting closer. We set up and waited, and finally the NB Southern eastbound came into view at about 13:25.

NB Southern 2319, 9801, 2318, 9802 and 2317 led 37 cars, mostly boxcars and autoracks.

I just liked the graffiti on this boxcar.


We passed the train on the way back to McAdam and I shot him coming into the station, but the light was poor. They did a quick drop and started rolling by 13:55. We drove through the back of the yard to try to get ahead of them for Harvey, when I noticed the train had stopped.

It turns out they hit an ATV. The ATV had become stuck on the track adjacent to the mainline, and when the driver freed the vehicle, she drove across the main line without looking. The NBSR crew put the train into emergency and grazed the ATV, spinning it around. Fortunately, the driver was not injured and the ATV was on its way in minutes. ATVs are a major problem in McAdam.

Back on the road, we decided to shoot the train at Harvey Lake. I had never tried this shot, and in fact didn't even know how to get there. Peter drove and we set up. The train rolled through at 14:40 with 27 cars. I shot video primarly, and blindly shot my still camera - shooting only water. Here's the train going around the bend, once I finally looked at what I was shooting at.




Another great trip.

Labels: harvey, mcadam, mec, nbsr, railfanning, st. croix

My daughter and I went to McAdam to see what we could see. We arrived at just before 11:00 to find NBSR 9801 on the engine track in the yard with a couple of covered hoppers coupled to it.


An NB Southern engineer appeared and started it up. He told me the eastbound from Maine would arrive in about half an hour. He was right.

By 11:25 the eastbound had arrived, with 2319, 2318 and 9802 in the lead. They cut off the power and one boxcar, and pushed that and caboose 434919 back to the yard. They didn't pick up any cars from McAdam. They then did a little dance with 9801 to put it third in the consist - the final order was 2319/2318/9801/9802.



I apologize for the quality of the rest of these photos - they're snaps from the videos.

At 11:50 the train left with 31 cars (8 boxcars, 1 empty centerbeam flat, 2 cryo boxcars, 3 86' boxcars, and 17 tank cars). This shot was from just before the highway crossing leaving McAdam.


I set up at Harvey Lake to try to get them across the water. I'd never tried that before, and I think it was a good location but my video camera had some trouble with focus. Oh well - next time. They came through at 12:23.



We then beat it to Cork to try to catch the train there. I didn't quite get there in time, as I heard the hotbox detector on the scanner about a minute before I got to Cork. I saw the tail end of the train off in the distance as I started onto the dirt portion of highway 645. It was in adequate shape but I wasn't able to pace the train. By the time I reached the other end the train was long gone. I managed to catch up with the tail end between Tracy and Fredericton Junction and I drew abreast of the engines as they entered town limits.

I had heard the engineer talking to someone on the radio about a balky engine (one of the 980x engines) and he said he would try something "after they cleared the Junction". I set up to video them after they crossed the bridge out of the Junction, and waited.. and waited. I figured they would only be a minute, and after five minutes I knew something was up. I drove back to the station, just to see them slowly pulling out. I shot them going across the bridge at 13:11:


And again at the lumber place outside the Junction at 13:17:


I heard them go through the Hoyt hotbox detector at 13:22, and I decided to get the far-away shot at Clarendon. I got there about six or seven minutes before they arrived at 13:44:


I decided to get the across-the-lake shot outside Welsford. I jumped out and crossed the street, and a dog came sniffing around. Since he didn't bite me or jump on me immediately, I ignored him and got the shot at 13:49.

The dog was quite friendly, actually.

With that, my daughter and I had an awful lunch at Georgette's in Welsford, and headed home. It was a great chase.

EDIT: Added video.

Labels: 2319, 9801, fredericton junction, harvey, mcadam, nbsr, welsford