Pop-up Post: Four Days in September, Day Three

 

Day Three of the kraftravaganza took me farther west than Day One and Day Two. My first stop was Townline Road north of Bath and about three miles west of CN's Bath Spur. Arriving here, at Mile 193, around 0930, I'd missed VIA No 60/50, but the first train of the day was VIA nonetheless - No 61 (top photo).  Forget "What's in your wallet?" This is "What's in your insulated railfanning bag?" Some essentials: mini-muffins, cookies, sandwich, boxes of granola bars, water, scanner, sunscreen, schedule, tape recorder, reading material:

I'd heard four freights at home between 0600 and 0700, but a westbound freight happened along ten minutes after the first train. CN No 121, with engines 3251-3271 including mid-train Designated Power Unit 3897 and a video taken 100 miles to the west:

Tough lighting this early in the day, shooting into the sun. Looking west gives a nicer view, as the double-stacks go up and over the humps and bumps of the CN Kingston Sub here:

Of all the refrigerated units, these ZIMonitor and Hapag-Lloyd ones, the latter sitting atop a CN power unit, are eye-catching:

A fellow railfan appeared complete with long-lensed camera and two-stair stepstool. VIA No 62/52 was led by engine 6432, but I prefer this view of 52's power, 917 sandwiched between HEP stainless steel cars and an LRC coach still wearing the VIA 40 logo. (That's so 2018!)

VIA No 643 Eng 6438 at 1057 shows the stepstool in use:

CN No 372, often my favourite freight of the day, was led by 3262-3141 and without a DPU, and no auto racks. Hmmm.

Sixteen minutes later, it was CN No 271 and its empty auto racks hauled by 2243-8842. Coming out of that same difficult light, I focused instead on the speeding speed-lettering on this SP auto rack as it sped by. The speed-lettering was first applied by SP in 1991.

Hands down, the biggest current supplier of new auto racks is Union Pacific. They're Building America and Buying Auto Racks! 

When I'd first seen 271 approaching, I'd also noticed a second headlight to the west, on the north track. I was hoping the westbound would clear first. And it did! Just:

This was an extra CN No 372, led by a hostler's choice locomotive consist: 8889-5606-4792-ex Grand Trunk Western 5823!

Long-hood doors hanging open is never a good sign. In fact, in an earlier era, such a clapped-out, flapping in the breeze oil-soaked mess would not have been tolerated on the property of either Canadian railway. Now in service at Dartmouth, NS.

A young father with daughter waited in a white pickup truck (and that's a good thing!) patiently for the second train to appear then pass. Before driving off, he asked in a friendly way what I was doing. He'd seen birdwatchers out this way, but until today not a trainwatcher! This trainwatcher would find a good spot for an eastbound or westbound train, then mark the spot with a rock or a pile of dead grass for when that train finally appeared. A burst of 28 photos was winnowed down to this one of VIA No 63 Eng 912 with four LRC cars and HEP2 coach 4107 at 1158.

Deciding I'd exhausted all the photographic possibilities at Townline Road (look this way OR look that way) I moved west to the next crossing on Big Creek Road. I planned two different shots from one spot - the farthest I'd been away from the tracks all morning! I get a little nervous being this far away, I mean, what if I miss an engine number from this vanishingly distant vantage point?? VIA 916 with five HEP cars from a gravel road leading to the creek...

...then pivoting to show the road leading to the Big Creek bridge:

Finding no safer nor better parking spots at the next two crossings, I was back to Townline for CN No 108 Eng 8859 with blue SM Line containers on the head-end:

Intermodal trains 108, 105 and 106 are among the few that carry these characteristic blue boxes:

Another indication of this western-originating train was the red-light tail-end DPU 3112.

VIA 6433 led train No 63's four LRC cars:

I decided to head towards Napanee to visit a couple of vantage points I'd long thought of trying out. The Little Creek bridge, looking south, with a vintage concrete road bridge just to its north:

I could hear a whistle to the east, so finished photographing some fall foliage and hoofed it to the water access on the south side of the bridge. The train was potash empties No 731 with CN 3011 in the lead:

The train's cars were two colours: grey OR rusted grey:

Rating only two locomotives, unlike the much heavier eastbound loaded CN No 730, it was 3201 acting as tail-end DPU, shown here atop the 'Mouse Hole':

Heading west, then north on County Road 8 toward Napanee, I stopped at the S-curve where the road briefly parallels the CN Kingston Sub. I waited for VIA No 64 Eng 6421:

It was half an hour before the westbound VIAs I was expecting showed up. This is a single-lane dead-end former level crossing. Surprisingly, VIA No 53 was a double header with engines 6439-6446 and four LRC cars:

Coming out of the curve into a straightaway toward distant intermediate signals, No 53 scuttles along after some congestion at Ernestown resulted in some delays:

Using the same south track twenty minutes later was VIA No 42 Eng 6414:

Now one hour late, VIA No 65 Eng 914 had seven LRC cars in tow:

It was time to head for home. Retracing my steps, I noticed the crossing gates activated as I approached Big Creek Road's level crossing. I was on the paved road just up from the gravel-road-to-the-creek I'd stood on earlier. VIA No 47 Eng 919 led four HEP cars across the bridge...

...and across the crossing:

This third day netted six freights and 12 passenger trains! At 1648 VIA No 907 had five HEP cars in its consist near Vista Drive, almost home:

I ended the day warm, windblown and slightly bored of VIA's. Let's see what Day Four brings...