Ray-Mont Transload Facility in Montreal

Just west of Montreal's Central station, passengers on the north side had an interesting operation to take in, that is if they found it as interesting as I did! I'm aboard the Canadian departing Montreal for Ottawa thence the West Coast on September 16, 1985 (above). Offices, grain-handling facilities, trucks, ex-NRUC and Ontario Northland boxcars, distinctive CN VI&E covered hoppers and the facility's characteristic orange warehouse are all visible!(above) Arriving in Montreal on August 22, 1996, I snapped the warehouse and grain-handling equipment with the since-demolished Grand Trunk brick office building just visible at extreme right. VIA Carleton Club is being used as an air-conditioned office alongside two CN boxcars, on this site were former VIA cars were privately scrapped:

Formerly called the 'Wabash'. A CN publicity photo of eight-hatch reefer CN 209500 at Montreal in 1939 looks to be taken at this exact location. The office building is under the arrow, with early Montreal skyscrapers (#1) on the horizon and that curving road (#2) along the embankment:                             

Operated by Ray-Mont Logistics, lumber and grain are unloaded here, and the container stacks, while impressive, seem to be for storage, though there may be some local drayage. It's a great downtown location! The next six photos were taken from aboard VIA Rail, on April 19, 2011. Nearly five years ago, someone shared them with me, though I don't have a record of whom. If they're yours, let me know and I will add appropriate credit! The photos show the Ray-Mont facility in several views:

Between Rue Wellington and the CN main, up to Rue Bridge, is this current container repair and transload facility.

Stacked twenty-foot cans and transport tractors with grain-handling equipment visible in the background (above) and a little farther west, the two tracks that become one are just visible. CN designates the two tracks PG09 and PG10, with a total capacity of 32 cars.

A closer view of the covered unloading shed with the site's Trackmobile visible on the east end, two tracks, and other car-moving equipment just visible at right:

I haven't seen any flat cars or well cars at the site, so there's a good chance the containers arrive by truck. Looking back, the city skyline beckons beyond the containers, and the single tail track is visible at the bottom of the embankment.

Another view of the Trackmobile tied onto three cylindrical grain cars, with the orange warehouse visible in front of the apartments in the background:

Looking back again, a boxcar at left, Canada Coke can coverd hopper and shed appear trackside:

Looks like there's been some pad paving done recently. And, there was controversy when Ray-Mont demolished the former CN office building on the site. A close-up of the ex-CN, exx-GTR building located at the corner of Wellington and Bridge. We made another trip to Montreal aboard VIA! The orange warehouse looms again, but look more closely: CN flatbed trailers, CN covered hoppers, and one-of-a-kind articulated grain car at the end of the cut - CN 398000. Taken from aboard VIA on February 1, 1992:

In August 2011, Marc Caya shared several photos which he took at the site in October, 2009. The idea for this post has been incubating for awhile! Ah, the sometimes gratingly glacial gait of Trackside Treasure blog post production! Telephoto through the site - the orange warehouse is still visible - now at left:

Also looking through the site, a dual-P42 Renaissance consist is led towards Central Station. These shots are a gold mine of information for modellers looking for a compact and plausible downtown industry. And imagine - you can convincingly run VIA trains fast past the site, in the very shadow of soaring skyscrapers!

Another broadside view of the site. Five more dwarf signals and we'd have seven dwarfs!

VIA P42 901 leads a mix of HEP2 and LRC cars west, with Montreal harbour's Five Roses Flour elevator in background, and the Ray-Mont grain unloading shed and a covered hopper also visible:

A wide shot from a similar angle, with tracks leading to CN's Pointe St Charles yard in the foreground:

Looking down Wellington Street towards downtown:

Fellow blogger Michael Hammond posted photos to his fine The Beachburg Sub blog from a recent trip from Ottawa to Montreal aboard VIA Rail. The site also caught Michael's eye, leading him to snap several photos and suggest that it would be at home on a model railway, too! Michael's shot captures a container being placed on a trailer, plus check out the coupler on that bucket loader plus a distant grain car:

Marc Caya created and kindly shared a labelled satellite photo of the site (blue outline) and its juxtaposition to CN's Pointe St Charles yard (red outline), which serves nearby industries along the waterfront, and CN's former Pointe St Charles shop (yellow outline). Merci, Marc!

Running extra...

"Mandy and I were on our way to rehearsal and our car broke down. We figured we could use your place to rehearse" deadpanned Tony Randall. A tenor-ranged, emotion-tinged musical smorgasbord follows: Somewhere over the Rainbow, Brother can you spare a Dime, Rock-a-bye your baby with a Dixie melody, Swanee, Something's Coming, Somewhere (reprise). Impresario Tony Randall distributes the scores to the band, then critically assesses the performance before running out to a side door with the knapsack-totin' Patinkin. Enjoy!

My first train of 2016 was VIA No 55 Eng 6401 at Kingston station, arriving a few minutes late at 1715 this January 1.

Blue skies smiling at me (above) and a standard shot of passengers boarding, also in a blue shade, led to an interesting impressionist still-life when I 'zoomed into' and recolourized the image (bottom photo):

As passengers mill on the platform, one passenger is more than ready to get out of the cold and into the cozy confines of LRC coach 3350. Let's get going! The same is true for Trackside Treasure. All aboard for what promises to be an exciting year of post potential possibility!

CN No 369 and CN No 376, December 2015

CN train No 369 happened by my local Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot on Saturday, December 12 at 1235. Led by CN 3019 which was followed by prim PHLX 108 - still ungraffiti'd. This small but eye-catching PHLX covered hopper fleet is part of my Classic Canadian Freight Car series - post links are in the right sidebar for your viewing pleasure! Check out the recently-added S&C supports for that leanin' pole!

As 2015 (my self-proclaimed Year of Photographing the Mundane) draws to a close, I decided to focus on yet another mundane freight train. You might argue that since these cars caught my eye, they are perhaps less mundane than they ought to be. You might wonder where the closeup is of that basic, black, boring UTLX tank car ahead of the brightly-coloured, eye candy NCLX car? This only proves my inability to be truly focused on the truly mundane. Perhaps in 2016 I can employ even more mundanity, or mundanaciousness, or mundaneity! Gotta have a goal. There is definitely room for improvement.

Ex-DuPont Sclair covered hopper NCLX 46548 (above and below). Watch for an upcoming CCFC series Sclair post! It's followed by HPJX ingot cars which replaced the CN 618xxx-series. Watch for another upcoming CCFC series post! Dang, more work!

Ex-BN, now WC 33068 scrap tie car, solidly sandwiched between B&LE brothers:

Former inky IC hoppers 101987 and 365324 now in scrap tie service:

Not so easy being green...HLMX Ex-C&NW 43117 lone hopper car:

MWCX 200439 covered gon in the company of MWCX 200391 and RGCX 700533:

Diligent DPU 2821 totes GNRR 7312 with round ingots:

For awhile, former auto-parts service NS hi-cube boxcars like 469378 have been running with TBOX in an assigned pool.

And on the tail-end?

I'm so sick and tired of cabooseless trains! Let's jazz things up. Here's a retro bit of train tail-end punctuation, brought to you by CN 79532 in December, 1978 (above). CN No 376 passed the same spot as CN No 369 above, on December 20 at 1215. Power 8938-2310:

Mauled Marine Industries tie car CN 91008:

Agrium covered hopper SHQX 3747:

Richardson International agribusiness! TRGX 854622, one of four on this train:

TRGX 854497:

TRGX 854456 and 854646:

Grainy Government of Canada CNWX no longer! NDYX 814368:

Western warrior double-door boxcar SP 247290:

CN/GTW steely single-cover coil car 187894:

Ex-CP ATW 317113 bulkhead flat car with sheet steel load:

DPU 2306 keeping LAFX cement covered hopper 60081 company:

ACFX 66424 with two sisters including 66467. These are actually the most mundane cars out there. Plain jane, and signature cars for CN Nos 376/377 heading to the Montreal area:

Running extra...

Hoping your Christmas was festive! Ours was gratuitously green on the outside. This is the seventh post for December - a corpulent, cornucopia-like crescendo of retro and present-day (especially present-day) railfanning which has led to a year-end largesse. Don't worry, I'll get back to the once-a-week posting schedule if 2016 saps my enthusiasm. (Spoiler alert - both you and I know it won't!!) A happy, prosperous and trail-filled 2016 to all Trackside Treasure readers!

As much as I like getting mail, I have enjoyed the Christmas e-greetings from Facebook friends, Trackside Treasure readers and assorted rail nuts. If you missed them, I placed the plethora of fantastically festive e-cards here. 

Christmas couch-time has led to simmering surge of draft posts! Classic Canadian freight cars: DuPont Sclair, CN flatside, Alcan Produits Chimiques, and SLR extended-height boxcars. Interesting freight train topics: GO Transit bilevels in freight consists, Nova Scotia gypsum shipments to Ontario. Derailments at Millhaven in 1999 and Kingston in 2005, and dimensional movements with LNAL 340320 and KWUX 10. Miscellaneous topics: ACI labels and VIA hat-checks await the press of the 'Publish' button! And here's a teaser - one that's easy to articulate:

Kingston-Dorval aboard CN, 1976

In my shoebox collection of notepads containing train numbers, the very first notepad is written in young-person scrawl. The notes are from a round-trip from Kingston, ON to Dorval, QC, likely visiting our grandmother who lived in Valois. Undated. (Note to 12 year-old self: improve your note-taking!) I believe this trip would have been on the Christmas break, 1975-76. First thing written: "French test after Christmas". Thereafter it's all trains - trackside details and time noted, mostly on the eastbound trip over CN's Kingston Sub. The westbound return leg was likely in the dark! [I've added some details for clarification in brackets]

There are no photos to accompany this account, and I'm not going to mislead you by adding some from a later date. Just cast your mind's eye back to a snowy morning forty years ago this week, climb aboard the steam-heated, pre-VIA CN train and wait for the "All aboard"...

11:17 Came to Kingston station saw CN loaders, snowplow, one CN panel truck.
11:19 Saw red-shouldered hawk at Kingston station, flew over the train tracks.
11:20 A work truck went past the station, on the tracks with lumber and a tire (both sets of wheels were on the track).
11:23 Westbound pass train stops four engines, two dummies, 15 cars, Empire Club, leaves 1130.
12:39 Our train comes. Two ordinaries, 1 dummy, [A-A-B]13? cars - Richelieu Club 1st engine 6767
12:47 We left.
12:51 Freighter westbound two roadies, mostly CN boxcars, lumber, Procor, and 3 SF boxes. Passed CP place. 2 CP Rail boxcars, red, one old, one writing. [CN-CP interchange at Queens]
12:54 Passed stack of cement ties at underpass.[Montreal Street]
12:55 Westbound freighter. Two roadies, two gondolas, caboose.
12:57 Over girder bridge, lock underneath, also old blockhouse. [Kingston Mills]
12:58 Passed yellow tracked cherry picker, near turn-off for Kingston Mills Road.
1:05 Passed CN Kings station.
[sign]
1:07 Passed North American Corp flat car, two CN men, trucks 1/8 mile later CN track truck, two small stations, CN Siding.
1:09 Passed small CN jeepish truck and trailer.
1:10 Speed sign at Leeds 80/60.
1:12 Passed funny sign other side another at 1:25 yellow with black stripe, circle above square.
1:13 Passed handcar, siding that stopped. Rails, old ties, a barrel all around. Mile 154 derail sign Gan station past Gan station speed sign Turbo 90 round.[Gananoque Junction]
1:20 Speed sign at Leeds station 80/60.
1:22 Passed red CN van speeder at 20-30 foot long shed.
1:23 Westbound freight fast 3-4? engines.
1:26 Passed green flag.
1:27 Passed yellow flag, Turbo 80 sign.
1:29 Passed CN Mallorytown sign (138 miles), didn't stop.
1:36 Passed speed sign 60/70
1:39 Passed Lyn station sign, didn't stop.
1:40 Passed speed sign 80/60.
1:41 Brockville lots of cars, snowplow, CN telephones, two speeders, CN boxcars, two stock cars, CN flat cars, work train houses, one with an antenna.
1:42 Stopped Brockville. Big CN Truck, CN loader. On one spur were a line of cars. Sign: P blue metal beside track. Old caboose, CN jeep, CP Rail 437128 end-cupola caboose, CP Rail 6591 yardie idling, many CP boxcars, one gondola, 4 CP Rail reds, one stock car, service car no 402381 two small windows. CN speeder reflector switch lamp, CN telephone, small shack with two speeder tracks out of it lots of sidings and spurs CN van boxcar turned into a building. Old CP boxcar numbers 59090, 54333, 52976, 35504, 53825, 59115.
1:55 Met CN pass one ordinary, two dummies, one roadie, 14 coaches, CN siding also 6789 engine ordinary - probably off us plus one coach. [train to/from Ottawa]
1:57 Left. Have now seen two tell-tales.
2:06 Passed "Brockville Chemical" company, Procor tank cars with Dangerous placards, also another siding with 3 CN cars.
2:12 Passed RCA plant, stopped Prescott two spurs (great stack of creosote cans, and other junk).  Left at 2:13, saw two handcars.
2:16 Saw two signs either side off crossing mile 113 Red. [STOP signs]
2:17 Saw another tell tale and a branch line.
2:19 Saw speed sign 70/60.
2:35 Westbound freighter passed.
2:37 Saw truck on highway - six pairs of wheels all one piece.
2:52 Stop at Cornwall. A CN boxcar and a service stock car on a spur.
2:56 Left. Saw a half-bus half truck with bags in it (saw one later, too) and a CN tractor-trailer. A truck and some CN boxcars. Work houses on flatcars.
2:57 We Crossed a crossover! At Cornwall.
2:59 Passed a spur of cars. A few covered hoppers, CN. A CN boxcar, a Procor tank car and a green 'Bay Line' boxcar.
3:08 Passed a westbound freighter, mostly CN covered hoppers. Also passed over a big bridge.
3:10 Saw a CN van by the side of the track near Garry.
3:21 Passed a short train waiting on a siding - ordinary [FPA4] 6776, baggage + 3 coaches. [Coteau]
3:31 Passed the entrance to a branchline.
3:36 We passed a westbound freight, mostly auto racks. We went over the Ottawa River.
3:39 We passed a yellow flag.
4:53 We arrived at Dorval. Engines on our train 6767-6529-6621. CN and Erie Lackawanna boxcar at Dorval CP station.

Return trip to Kingston:

6:04 Left Dorval. #? 1 ordinary, 1 dummy, a roadie.[A-B-road switcher]

6:06 CP Rail freight eastbound. 1 Roadie, assorted cars. Waiting at the station 3 Dayliner, 2E 1W trains. (CP) double-decker train W. Two passenger trains (CP) 1406-14 coaches. Two CN 2E freights one was 3 fakies, tank cars Procor, 5070-5075-5071 [Oil train]  2 pass trains CN 2 W turbo W saw long CP WB freighter coming to station, two fakies, 1 pass ordinary, NdeM boxcar.
Also at Dorval station saw some CN guy go out with a lantern and an order stick for Turbo.
Window seat 60 way home coach 5516. [Diagram] 60 me, 59 my sister aisle 57 [empty], 58 my Mom.

The October 26, 1975 - April 24, 1976 CN system passenger timetable sheds a little light on the trains we rode:

• The mid-day departure that we rode from Kingston was likely CN train 50-40, with 50 being the Lakeshore, scheduled to depart at 1155, scheduled to arrive Brockville at 1254, splitting off train No 40 for Ottawa which departed at 1310, then No 50 continuing east, arriving Dorval at 1440. 
• The train waiting at Coteau was likely CN train No 34, due at Coteau at 1517. This is one of the few Montreal-Ottawa trains operating with a baggage car, and I noted a baggage car in my notes! Seems to fit.
• The westbound we observed at Brockville at 1355 was likely No 61, the Rapido.
• However, the other westbound at Kingston at 1123 is mystifying. The only morning westbound was No 51, though not due utnil 1203.
• Returning home, CN No 55 - the Bonaventure - was scheduled to depart Dorval at 1713, arriving Kingston at 1940. Due to heavy holiday traffic and wintry weather, it's possible trains we rode were operating late, each over 40 minutes off the advertised.

Running extra...

A fat future awaits - a loaded, laden larder. Currently there are 36 in-development draft posts in Trackside Treasure's queued-up quiver. These posts range from just photos to information to complete posts ready for launching into cyberspace! A range of rail-related topics spanning my railfanning years from 1976-2015. Hey, that means I can soon change the Trackside Treasure teaser tag line to "40 years trackside with Canada's railways"! Suddenly sounding supremely stentorian!

Photos from Germany to Yukon to Portage la Prairie to Kingston to you!  Two German brothers, biennial guests at my cousin's B&B in Whitehorse, sent two photo prints from their trip, taken while on a Canadian camping vacation from Calgary to Yukon. Along the Thompson River near Cache Creek, CN on the left and CP on the right:

The White Pass trip from Skagway to Fraser Lake enters a tunnel which replaced the famous, former cantilever bridge which still stands.

Hope you had a great Christmas and are spending lots of quality time divided between leisure, treasure and family. Careful what you ask Santa for...cashews and beer add up in a hurry!

Reg shared another train photo with me - Ontario Northland/T&NO 503 at North Bay. Interestingly, Reg's uncle was in on the paint job of this fine-looking locomotive. Thanks, Reg!

CRO: Chestnuts Roasting On

Sung to the tune of...Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire: 

Trackside Treasure and an open fire,

Laptop balanced on my knee,

Nice warm beverage surely helps to inspire,

My wife thinks I'm outta my tree!

Deep down, though, she knows, those CN, CP -

- VIA, GO dancin' 'cross the screen so bright,

Hubby railfan with his eyes all aglow

will stay up late to blog tonight.

Another post is on its way,

It happens once each six or seven days,

And every loyal reader's gonna see,

What I've been working on, beside my Christmas tree.

And so I'm flipping through my VIA sched-

yule trains of yesteryear, from 1 to 92,

Time to put both this 400th post and myself to bed,

"Merry Christmas to you!"

Merry Christmas to all Trackside Treasure's readers. Thanks also to my blog partners; Steve, John, Chris, Dave, Marc, George, Michael, Bernard, Matthieu, Robert, JD, and Oddblock Station Agent. When it comes to keeping Christmas classy, CP knew how to do it - Montreal's Windsor Station in 1986 (above). 

Thanks for your comments, suggestions, assistance and inspiration. 

After over seven years, this is still more fun than a barrel of elves. 

--Eric

Further, musically, may I suggest 'Children, Go Where I Send Thee' in this

  Little Big Town CMA Christmas Special performance. 

Harmonious. Authentic. Powerful.

And, 'Do You Hear What I Hear' by the inimitable

Whitney Houston on the Tonight Show, 1990.

Real. Soulful. Heavenly.

My e-Christmas calling card to you! Auxiliary crew checking out the derailment that they've travelled all the way from Toronto to clear up.

And thanks to readers for the Christmas greetings that are flowing in. Randy O'Brien of Niagara Falls sent a cool grain elevator-themed personalized posting: 

Winnipeg's Mark Perry sends a greeting featuring a diamond:

Mark has been sending out some cool classic Canadian photos:

Retired CN dispatcher Tim Ball gets the drift:

Prolific photographer profiles pastoral placement of CN GP-9 and SCL!

Saskatchewan snow country's Ken McCutcheon:

Oil-Electric blog partner Robert McDonald has trimmed the tree:

Confessions of a Train Geek blog partner Steve Boyko has snow - none here!

"E-card foam fad" from intrepid Cameron Applegath who travelled from the wilds of downtown Toronto to the wild west to snag this shot:

To the wilds of northern Ontario with Dave Shaw! Snowtastic!

And VIA from La Belle Province, merci a Bill Morrison!

Alberta heard from - Braedan Dunne and the CP Holiday Train at Lethbridge!

Ottawa's Ray Farand, Steel Passageways author: