In this post, I'm featuring the work of two guest bloggers - our two grandsons, eight and six. These are their photos. Unexpected. These are their videos. Unedited. This is their story.
When I retired, a pathologist I worked with asked me what we'd be doing. My reply was, "Providing high-quality childcare for my grandchild" to which he responded, "What if he doesn't want you to provide daycare for him?", and then he chortled. (He was a chortler. That was 2019, and in 2026 now we are grandparents of three, aged eight, six and three. There's still high-quality daycare being provided for our granddaughter.)
Recently, we were doing just that. Our two grandsons were with us for a couple of days in June, and we decided to take them to the Kingston VIA station on June 23. Expanded during the pandemic, the parking lot is not only expansive, it's expensive. But we weren't paying because we weren't staying. Only for a couple of hours before a stop at the McDonald's PlayPlace. Its expansiveness and neverfulledness makes it a great place to ride electric scooters. These are gravel-driveway kids, so having this opportunity to ride was like one of those Progressive Insurance motorcycle commercials. Let's ride!
We observed four trains during our morning visit:
0902 EB VIA No 60/50: (Venture sets 16 & 7)
1002 WB VIA No 61: 911-4002-4009-4113-4111-4115-6413 F
1009 EB CN No 372: 3094-3119, DPU blue BCOL 4646
1035 WB VIA No 643: Venture Set 15
6413 was deadheading on the tail-end of No 61 - this westbound morning train out of Montreal - the only one using HEP equipment - is often used to deadhead cars for the Canadian between the MMC and the TMC, along with its still HEP-equipped eastbound counterpart VIA No 68.
Our grandsons were interested in the trains, but perhaps more interested in finding the squadron of snails they corralled while crisscrossing the parking lot. [Insert snail joke here. I suggest the Training Day version.] They even created a small snail community, or is that a community of small snails, or a small community of sails? Anyway, some of the snails were large and started quickly crawling away. We could see the approaching headlights of a CN hi-rail truck heading towards us from west of the station before disappearing behind the long-stopped No 61. I suggested the camera operator be ready for it. He has a real preference for CN over CP, in scale and on the prototype! He managed to catch the truck coming and going, as well as me and his brother:
It was an enjoyable sunny morning trackside. I answered a lot of questions, sometimes even correctly! Our older grandson made two videos with my iPhone. iPiphany! It wasn't until I was creating this post that I noticed something - the photos were made concurrently 'in/during' the video. I learned something from him - that a still photo can be taken while taking video - both the still and video will be saved. Until now, I thought it was one or the other. See? We can truly learn something new every day, even from a youngster to an oldster! And, I later mentioned this to the surprise of his father. We both learned something new!
Lots o' links:
As an unexpected bonus, and due to our elder grandson's rocksteady videography, I'm able to present the entire 161-car consist of CN No 372 (above - video screen capture). It comprises a cornucopic cocktail, a plethoric potential potpourri of chemicals concocted at CN's MacMillan Yard in Toronto, before being slid down the bar, er CN's Kingston Sub, heading for Montreal and the large number of chemical plants in the east end. Acids, bases and propane, oh my!
Abbreviations:
HO = covered hopper (grey ACF-style covered hopper unless otherwise noted)
TA = tank car (black unless otherwise noted, UN placard number/contents shown)
60'DDHiCBO = HiCube box car (length, #doors)
GO = gondola
AU = autorack
CN 3094 GE ET44AC
CN 3119
AOKX 495102 HO
TILX 294503 TA
TILX 338150 HO
CBTX 725586 TA UN2055 styrene monomer
PROX 22295 white TA UN2055
CBTX 725601 TA
PROX 22202 white TA
NATX 230164 TA
UNVX 72019 white TA UN1824 NaOH sodium hydroxide
TILX 100370 TA UN1800 octadecyltrichlorosilane
GATX 8207 TA UN1800 octadecyltrichlorosilane
FURX 893814 grey pressure-unloading covered hopper
CRCX 710073 TA
PROX 43533 TA
SHPX 432471 HO
TILX 334718 HO
TILX 337528 HO
AXLX 5342 TA UN1824
PROX 17786 TA UN1830 H2SO4 sulphuric acid
GATX 61321 white TA UN1789 HCl hydrochloric acid
PROX 75773 TA
PROX 71406 TA
IC 28005 brown centre beam flatcar with Nechako Lumber, Vanderhoof BC
NOKL 323766 blue GO
NOKL 370722 black GO
SMW 320647 blue GO 'Gondola Connection' logo
GATX 237579 TA UN1075 liquefied petroleum gas
TILX 309777 TA UN1075
CGTX 55777 WHITE TA UN2187 carbon dioxide CO2
TILX 2709 WHITE TA UN2187
NKCR 8636 AU
EVOX 19023 white TA UN2015 H2O2 hydrogen peroxide
UTLX 200538 white TA UN2015 H2O2
IARX 90362 HO
NCIX 2615 HO
NCIX 7736 HO
NCIX 347 HO
UTLX 600739 TA
CTCX 302727 TA
CTCX 302787 TA
TCBX 196049 TA UN3475 ethanol/gasoline
BNSF 471700 brown HO swoosh logo
BNSF 496630 brown HO swoosh logo
BNSF 472653 brown HO target logo
CGAX 10127 HO
CBTX 737412 TA UN3475
UTLX 212945 TA UN3475
TILX 193512 TA UN3475
IARX 800114 TA UN3475
IARX 703371 TA UN3475
UTLX 212911 TA UN3475
CTCX 301285 TA UN3475
UTLX 208498 TA UN3475
NATX 304033 TA UN1170 EtOH ethyl alcohol
PROX 47324 TA UN1170
CP 218326 60'DDHiCBO
ETPX 200047 TA UN3475
GATX 226913 TA UN3475
GATX 229056 TA UN3475
TILX 198107 TA UN3475
PPRX 171205 TA
IARX 540606 HO
TILX 361510 TA UN3475
GBRX 714461 TA UN3475
CBTX 744940 TA UN3475
GATX 234260 TA UN3475
GBRX 701296 TA UN1170
TILX 194721 TA UN1170
UTLX 674760 TA
TGOX 155039 TA
TGOX 155173 TA
WC 38169 brown centre beam flatcar West Fraser lumber
CCBX 58803 HO
NCIX 8308 HO
PROX 105391 TA UN1005 NH3 anhydrous ammonia
RCRX 1398 TA UN1789
HKRX 500315 HO 'Cargill' logo
CN 51118 black OCS GO
NCIX 1723 HO
MTZX 300347 TA UN3475
GBRX 705733 TA UN3475
TCBX 306822 TA UN3475
SHQX 70871 TA UN3475
CBTX 737909 TA UN3475
GATX 220908 TA UN3475
UTLX 250359 TA UN3475
CBTX 737892 TA UN3475
CBTX 736935 TA UN3475
ETPX 200380 TA UN3475
CHVX 299011 white TA
TBOX 662876 60'DDHiCBO
TBOX 632030 60'DDHiCBO
CRLE 19378 60'DDHiCBO
BCOL 4648 blue C44-9W DPU (video screen capture):
CEFX 310648 HO
ATW 173728 50'SDHiCBO
ITFX 631578 HO
ITFX 631686 HO
GACX 1503 HO
CTTX 692006 BNSF AU
NOKL 570527 brown 50'SDHiCBO
YKR 20299 brown 50'SDHiCBO
ATW 173741 brown 50'SDHiCBO
ATW 727248 brown 50'SDHiCBO
TILX 309867 TA UN1075
CBFX 308241 HO
FURX 848819 HO
UTLX 660088 TA UN3082 miscellaneous hazardous material NOS
SHQX 10439 TA UN3475
TILX 197707 TA UN3475
GATX 226086 TA UN3475
FURX 160171 TA UN3475
GATX 223115 TA UN3475
UTCX 732202 TA UN3475
TILX 363224 TA UN3475
GBRX 703524 TA UN3475
TCBX 306342 TA UN3475
GATX 225900 TA UN3475
SHQX 50127 TA UN1075
SRIX 33852 TA UN1075
PLMX 135692 TA UN1075
TILX 306949 TA UN1075
TILX 309910 TA UN1075
PROX 94548 TA UN1075
TILX 309925 TA UN1075
UTLX 958517 TA UN1075
SPMX 8346 HO
SPMX 10021 HO
UTLX 95188 TA UN1830
DWC 794960 60'DDHiCBO
DWC 794607 60'DDHiCBO
SHPX 207606 TA UN1830
DAKX 395027 HO
UP 700579 yellow 60'DDHiCBO
DWC 794961 60'DDHiCBO
DWC 794584 60'DDHiCBO
GATX 220998 TA UN3475
ETHX 100063 TA UN3475
GATX 223128 TA UN3475
NAHX 100013 P-S HO Kyle logo
NAHX 100879 P-S HO
UTLX 160912 TA UN1824
TBOX 672343 60'DDHiCBO
TBOX 641736 60'DDHiCBO
TBOX 676277 60'DDHiCBO
CN 45332 89-foot rail FL
NAHX 100603 P-S HO
GATX 229683 TA UN2426 hot NH4NO3 ammonium nitrate
GATX 222208 TA UN2426
GATX 222215 TA UN2426
GATX 229720 TA UN2426
GATX 235117 TA UN2426
GATX 235214 TA UN2426
DOWX 38114 HO
OLNX 718214 white TA UN1791 NaClO sodium hypochlorite
CGTX 31272 TA
TILX 600605 white TA UN1017 chlorine
TILX194634 TA
TILX 600820 white TA UN1017
NRLX 401223 60'DDHiCBO
OLNX 715041 white TA UN1789
TILX 111521 TA UN1789
Running extra...
Mind Your Own Business Train. CN executives has been running the rails since June, from Vancouver down into the US then back into Toronto. Safety or shmoozing? The closest it got to Kingston was a July 20 romp to Oshawa (has anyone ever romped in Oshawa before?) symbolled CN CN P007 allowed some bigwigs to board and ride to Niagara Falls for wine tasting. Backing in to MacMillan Yard, July 17 (Lion Liu drone photo):
No biggie, I'd seen this train before - in 2023 with six cars, in 2024 six cars - but one of three trains operating that year, in 2025 ten cars long. CN keeps renaming the cars, maintaining the mix of reporting marks! This year's consist:
CN 3309
CN 3412 (replacing the dirty CN 2996 that arrived second from the US)
CN 1710 Peace River (HEP car, formerly Fraser Spirit)
PPCX 800045 ex-PV Caritas (still in orange/maroon)
IC 800210 Fleuve St-Laurent (sleeper, formerly Baton Rouge)
CN 101 Sandford Fleming (ex-CP?, not the theatre/inspection car)
CN 120 Sherbrooke
CN 99 Shawnee Forest (dome car, formerly American Spirit)
IC 101314 Stephen A. Douglas (a Senator from Illinois, dining car, formerly Champlain)
CN 1059 Mississippi River (formerly Tawaw)
IC 101315 K-Shian/Skeena River (sub lettered 'Pullman', formerly Illinois Central)
IC 800413 Whiteshell (bedroom/observation, formerly Great Lakes)
Speaking of safety, good news for the crew of that fire-ravaged CN freight in Northern Ontario, whose video was so widely circulated in the media. The good news from HR - you survived the cataclysmic conflagration. Bad news - you're being let go for violating the company's cellphone policy. No, in this case HR does not stand for Human Remains, more like Humane Resolution:
First past the post...
Finally, a good-a news story! American Idol winner Hannah Harper's tour bus gets wrapped in plastic! And now the backstory's been unwrapped by Sargento Foods. It's part of a year-long sponsorship deal making the company her exclusive cheese sponsor. Her breakout hit original song 'String Cheese', about one of her sons asking for help getting the plastic wrap off his cheese snack had a strong pull on audiences. It was an instantly ap-pealing online favourite. Staying true to her rural bluegrass family-band roots, Hannah won Idol and is now touring in this cool Idol-inspired logo-wrapped home-away-from-home. Betting there will be a special Christmas cheese tray onboard come December, because nothing says 'Christmas' like little baby cheeses.
No comments:
Post a Comment