50 Years Trackside...1991-1995 Bring the Kids

Welcome aboard this year-long retrospective series celebrating my Fifty Years Trackside - watching trains and taking numbers. This is the Fourth of a year-long series celebrating those five decades - each month's post is a time capsule; a five-year slice of those fifty years. The previous post covered the years 1986-91 and this month, we continue through the 1990's.

On a trip to Smiths Falls Railway Museum, Andrew was one of the youngest attendees at Dedication Day, September 15, 1991. I'm carrying him aboard with my Dad and Karen about to board, with my brother Dave the congenial trainman (top photo). My Dad hooping up orders to him:

My brother was volunteering there, and I was given the opportunity to hoop up orders to him on newly-dedicated CP van 437183 as it passed the station led by CP S-3 6591. At the very last second, Bytown Railway Society's larger-than-life Duncan DuFresne popped out of the cab of 6591 to snag the orders. Nevertheless, we enjoyed three rides in the van. Returning to the station on the newly-dedicated van:

In the bleak mid-winter months of early 1992, our little family took a trip to Montreal to visit my sister there. On March 18, 1992 we were at the station and our son was yet again getting peanuts and cookies from VIA engineers. All four VIA trains comprised blue & yellow cars, with nary an LRC in sight! This substitution was due to VIA's unexpected Operation Axle and would last until early June. On May 1, the first re-axled LRC trainset operated into Ottawa. Once completed, re-axled trainsets were re-entering service to southwest Ontario, Quebec City and across the Corridor. On May 3, I was trackside at Kingston to observe my last conventional-equipped Operation Axle-era train, VIA No 63. The next time I was trackside on May 12, it was back to LRC cars on Toronto-Ottawa No 46. On June 2, the last of the re-axled LRC cars returned to service.

A vacation trip to Kitchener led us to the station there, notably across from the well-known photo backdrop formed by the H.Krug Co. furniture factory. CN 4136 and International Service caboose 78132 were parked, while a CN switch job pulled in from the east with 1254-79752. The crew tied it down then headed to the station. Kingston's youngest railfan, now Kitchener's:

In November, 1992 after seven-plus years in the Histopathology laboratory, I was transferred to the Hematology laboratory, on the same floor and just prior to its being phagocytosed by the new Core Laboratory in the usual location for hospital labs...the basement!

This change was one of many challenges in life that turned into opportunities. My new Assistant Chief Technologist was a member of the Ontario Society of Medical Technologists' executive and put my name forward as a potential regional representative for the new College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario that professional organizations like the OSMT were instrumental in forming at the time. Two weeks later, I was on my way to Toronto aboard VIA No 63 for the first two-day meeting of the CMLTO Transitional Council on November 24-25.

Over the next two years, until the College was officially proclaimed into being and functioning, I'd make monthly trips to Toronto aboard VIA, usually leaving at the end of a workday. The next day would be a full-day of Council and Committee meetings, returning home the next evening. I almost always travelled home aboard VIA No 68, usually taking Nos 49, 63, 65 or 67 west. Additional trips were made to Ottawa and Timmins to represent the CMLTO and make presentations at professional conventions. Of course, on the way to and from Toronto, I made a point of making whatever train-related observations I could, depending on the available daylight. Yard activity at Belleville, Oshawa and Don, paralleling CP trains from Trenton to Cobourg, plus VIA, and GO Transit action into Toronto.

Once formed, and moved out of potentially toxic surplus provincial government office space, the new CMLTO office was in the new Waterpark Place (no, they didn't feature a water park!), nice and close to Union Station. In inclement weather (do we ever have clement weather, perhaps only on Christmas Eve?) the TTC Harbourfront LRT was a handy option. If time permitted between end of meeting and train time home, I'd watch the nightly parade of GO trains at the end of the Skywalk, or Ontario Northland in November, 1994 (below). At the convention centre/L'Hotel across the Toronto Terminals Railway trackage (now the Union Station Rail Corridor), CN or CP business cars were often parked: CN 92, 94 or Tawaw and CP Strathcona or Mount Royal. 

Dave, Andrew and I made a trip to the Smiths Falls Railway Museum on May 12, 1993. A stop at the CP Smiths Falls yard at 1030 revealed CP 1855 switching, and two westbound freights waiting for crews at the station, led by 6053-5539 and 4231-4248. 

After our museum visit, an eastbound CP intermodal arrived at the station for a crew change behind 5407-4573-4719. A westbound departed five minutes later with 20 NW, CR, CS and CP double-door boxcars stencilled "GM ASSIGNED SERVICE OSHAWA" and 18 loaded auto racks, likely Camaros and Firebirds from GM's Ste-Therese, QC auto plant that closed a few years later in 2002.

A local and very viewable derailment took place at Collins Bay on May 13, 1993. We made another trip to Pennsylvania with Karen's parents in their [air-conditioned!] Oldsmobile from June 21-24, 1993. A Conrail Geep could be seen switching several covered hoppers near Binghamton, NY. On June 23, we caught CR 5561-6041 leading a westbound freight at Myerstown, PA. We enjoyed Strasburg 90 in excursion service before heading back north. CP 5604-5728-675 (ex-KCS) were at Binghamton. Ex-D&H 5017 was switching, with fleetmates 5022, 5023 and 5009 dead in the weeds nearby:

On September 25, 1993 my Dad, Dave, Andrew and I visited the Halton County Radial Railway at Rockwood, ON. We rode on TTC 2786 and M&SC 107. Returning via Bayview Junction, we observed a seven-car VIA westbound led by 6427 and two CN eastbound: CN 5341-9633 from Hamilton with Expo86 blue & white-striped CN 557417 then CN 2108-2023 from the west toting all empty auto racks.

Attending the Interhealth Seminar for CMLTO at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on October 14-15, 1993 before returning on VIA No 68, I headed to the Skywalk. There were 19 GO movements, one VIA and light engine CN 7301 all in 50 minutes! I was able to record all the consists except for three simultaneous GO movements during which one train blocked the other. Family visit with our new 1994 Plymouth Voyager van at Kingston station with an eastbound VIA train:

When my layout filled an entire room, I found the prospect of adding scenery to wide swaths of prairie very daunting. Limited areas of papier-maché were begun, with child labour providing the paint coverage:

During an ice storm on January 28, 1994 the CN local derailed caboose 79683 near the Front Road Invista plant. It was derailed that evening, thwarting your humble blogger's efforts at cleanup chronicling. 

On February 7, 1994 a rare eastward trip for a CMLTO Registration Committee meeting started on VIA No 40. Ensconced in window seat 33 of LRC coach 3331 with VIA 6419 leading our train, we met VIA No 43 at Smiths Falls with 6425. Stored on the VIA Ottawa station tracks were 30-40 VIA cars made surplus by the severe 1990 cuts. Even VIA 618, an ex-Rock Island baggage car with silver-painted trucks, having been acquired for possible HEP conversion. Domes Algonquin Park, Sibley Park and Riding Mountain Park, not part of the HEP program were the only other stainless steel cars among the otherwise blue & yellow orphans. The cab driver [probably lost] drove alongside Walkley Yard, enabling me to do some brief freight-watching (below). I returned home on VIA No 47 in coach 3345. 

Attending the NORONT convention in Timmins from March 1-4, I opted to travel on the ONR's Northlander . 

A trip to Toronto on April 4 aboard VIA No 47 included a one-hour delay at Pickering. A train ahead had struck a pedestrian. A short four-paragraph item in the Toronto Star noted the fatality involving a Montreal-Toronto VIA train just west of the Rouge Hill GO station at 2015. Our train and one other were described by VIA spokesperson Dianne Graham as  "experiencing minor delays". A follow-up item in the April 6 Star identified the victim as 35 year-old Chris Feczko of Scarborough, according to a friend with whom he'd been walking. Mentioning their destination as a beach "known as a local drinking spot", this seemingly innocuous two-paragraph clipping led to a much-longer letter to the editor published on April 17. Written by a colleague Jack Gibson, the letter took issue with the story's implication that the victim was an unsavoury individual. Mr Gibson noted that Chris had been one of their employer's best-liked employees, and that the most important thing he left behind was the fond remembrance and respect of those who knew him. I found this to be an interesting sidelight that put a human face on the incident, while I had seen was passengers dialling their cellphones, asking the crew pointed questions and looking at their watches. 

A spring drive led us to the VIA station at Gananoque Junction, April 12, 1994:

A trip to the Mary Maxim craft store in Paris Junction allowed some trainwatching time at the busy junction on May 21, 1994:

With our daughter Erika's arrival in August, a return trip to Paris Junction coincided with my CMLTO meeting in Toronto. I rode the GO train to Whitby from Toronto to meet my wife, new daughter and in-laws for the drive home. In GO bilevel 2215, we met a westbound GO at Guildwood led by cab car 241, a four-car VIA westbound at Rouge Hill then a westbound CN freight at Ajax: 3503-2339-2320 and an eastbound with CN 9669-HATX 906-9316-9596. The Helm Leasing unit on that eastbound was indicative of CN's power shortage at the time. Another emerging trend at the time was the double-stack intermodal train. During some last-minute shopping, my father-in-law had entertained Erika while waiting, then successfully changed her diaper. His first, after raising six kids of their own!

An afternoon trip to the Amherstview Sports Field, where this whole half-century retrospective started on  July 1, 1994 with my Dad and Andrew... 5341-HATX 902-3529 (below). 

Belleville shop track summer evening in 1994: 2105-CNNA 6005.

Erika's first trip to the station October, 1994, during which we observed three VIA trains: westbounds with 6401 and 6423 then eastbound with 6421 at 1425 (below). 

CMLTO accounting dictated that First Class travel including a meal while travelling was equivalent to claiming driving mileage plus a meal. That translated to VIA1 ticket for my trip to Ottawa on December 2, 1994 for a CMLTO Nominations Committee meeting. I was fine with the idea, travelling in seat 59 of LRC VIA1 car 3472 on VIA No 40. We met VIA No 43 at Smiths Falls, and the three Park cars still languished at Ottawa station. I returned in seat 53 of 3462 on VIA No 47 behind 6420. VIA1 service comprised complimentary coffee and a newspaper before departing Kingston. The car attendant reassured me that the morning departures did not mean it was too early for a drink. White wine and a fruit salad accompanied omelette, sausage and hash brown brunch, with Pepsi and peanuts approaching Ottawa. Heading home, there were bagel chips, then white wine with buttermilk-dill dressed salad, fruit salad and a chocolate tart. At Brockville, pan-fried fish dinner with potatoes and asparagus [a so-called 'loser vegetable'] then coffee, Drambuie and a chocolate. Now this was the way to go! (Business Class 20 years later.) Between May 29 and June 4, 1995 CN replaced all the ties between the north and south platforms at Kingston's VIA station. 

Enduring shift-work in Hematology for a few final months, I would often take the opportunity to do some railfanning on the way to work. For 4-12 shifts, that was at Rigney Street at Mi 174 CN Kingston Sub. For midnight shifts, I'd take advantage of the parking-lot lights at the station for an hour or so before heading in to work. 

On September 1, 1995 Dad, Dave, Andrew and I visited a new trainwatching spot west of Trenton between Tate and Morningstar Roads. CN and CP joined and paralleled each other, doubling our chances. After picking up lunch at Wendy's in Trenton, Andrew removed a burger from the bag and unwittingly unwrapped (and almost bit into) his uncle's burger by mistake. Dave's spring-loaded hand was out like a shot to reclaim his still-hot and unsampled sandwich. We photographed ten CN freights and seven CP (some detouring over CN east of Brighton due to CP track work at Bowmanville). The burger-save was recreated trackside - the photo is somewhere in the dusty archives. Eastbound CN intermodal at 1600: CN 9507-9577-9574 (L.C. Gagnon photo):

Westbound CN intermodal with GTW unit (above - David J. Gagnon photo) and our tween-tracks trainapalooza hacienda (L.C. Gagnon photo):

On October 13, 1995 five cars of a seven-car wayfreight backing to DuPont derailed on the trestle between Armstrong and Bath Roads. Thanks for being aboard this year-long train of thought as we retrace, remember, and yes, wallow in nostalgia these fifty years trackside. 

Watch for an upcoming Fifth Post finishing off the 1990s and approaching the once-dreaded Y2K!

Running extra...

The King's visit to Washington Day Two. Missed the first and second periods (above) "Addresses Us Congress". In his excellent speech, the King quipped, "Two hundred and fifty years ago, or as we say in the United Kingdom, '...just the other day...'" Strangely, after disembarking their aircraft on Day One, the King and Queen stood right in front of their car as both national anthems were played. Looked like an oops in timing.

The US president really doesn't seem to know how to be a host. Don't touch the King's arm and knee. Don't walk on the other side of the Guard of Honour's commanding officer, walk behind your guest. Don't stand in the middle of a tiny White House balcony - there are four of you! Don't salute so much when not in uniform. Nobody else is. The Guard of Honour seemed to adopt the Eyes Right then follow your inspecting party to the Eyes Front as seen in Putin's Russia:

First past the post...

Thank goodness there is a Head of State who can speak in complete paragraphs, express care and concern for his own nation AND others, and convey class and grace and rise above the rhetorical fray.

VIA and CN in Quebec Superior Court, Part 6

Legal beagles! Don't rush! You'll only get your briefs in a knot! All has been quiet on the legal front. VIA has been seeking injunctive relief against CN's Crossing Supplement and euphemistically-named Speed Tables, five versions of which have been issued since October, 2024. Constant checking of the Quebec Superior Court decisions has produced the sound of crickets (are crickets even alive in wintertime)? The previous post on the case was published two months ago.

My optimism surged when I noted a March 12, 2026 judgement among the decisions rendered by the Court. Was this The Big One? No, it was a very tiny one. But first, a spoiler. A VIA source familiar with the status of the Quebec Superior Court matter popped my optimism balloon for an early resolution to delays facing VIA's Venture-equipped Corridor trains:

"No date for the hearing on the merits has been fixed at this time. The parties are still in the process of completing their respective files, and everything should be ready for trial by September. Once this step is completed, the hearing on the merits will be set for a date in 2027 or 2028, subject to the Court’s availability."

This will mean continued pain for VIA and its passengers as Venture-equipped trains continue to arrive at their destinations 15-45 minutes late for what, the next two years?

A RECENT, SECOND SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS

A second submission of documents to the Quebec Court was made available. While many documents are familiar to me, there are recent cross-examinations of some of the VIA and CN managers who have provided sworn affidavits. For instance, cross Examination of VIA's Project Director for the Rolling Stock Acquisition, part of the Corridor Fleet Renewal Program (New Fleet) Jean-Philippe Quintal on his affidavit on February 4, 2025 re: CN's historic scant simulation data that formed the basis of the Venture train length/configuration VIA expected to operate.

MS. ROBBINS [lawyer for CN]:  I’m asking what he understood from what CN told him from the questions he asked, from the information he reviewed whether these test results represented CN’s assessment of the risk that these configurations would experience loss of shunt.

A. And that’s where -- so I understood it was CN assessment and then we immediately voiced our concerns. Like I explained before, we were surprised by those results.  We voiced our concern and asked to understand what is behind those numbers. Yeah, I understood that it was the result of the simulation.

Q. Okay. And if we look at the notes/concerns/restrictions column -- and you've already explained this a little bit.  But you see that 10 of the configurations provided, the simulation testing summary here shows that two were sufficiently below the maximum probability rate.  Do you see that?

A. I see it.

Q. And for those it says, it’s in green, “Sufficiently below minimum probability rate; no restrictions required.”  Do you see that?

A.  I see it.

Q. And that was for two consists of 32 axles. What did you understand, Mr. Quintal, the probability rate column to signify?

A. Well, I did not understand where those numbers come from but Michael explained it, to CN it’s their way of defining acceptable or non-acceptable probability. And that’s where -- so I understood it was CN assessment and then we immediately voiced our concerns.  Like I explained before, we were surprised by those results.  We voiced our concern and asked to understand what is behind those numbers.

Q. And so you asked questions of Mr. Burgett?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And you had further conversations with Mr. Burgett?

A. We never got any answers. This is - - the only information we received from Mr. Burgett which he communicated by email a couple of months later, but we had no further information with regards -- which could explain how the simulation derives those numbers and how those threshold had been established. Nothing.

SUBSEQUENT ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE COURT

As I reviewed the second submission of the documents, I concluded that they comprise motion practice. That involves formal requests (motions) to a court for specific interlocutory or final orders, typically used to address procedural issues, compel discovery, or request summary judgment. Below are some of the various legal positions being placed before the Court before the injunction is actually heard, and in CN's case an attempt to prevent the injunction from being heard at all.

CN notified VIA on August 29, 2025 that Crossing Supplement 4.0 effective that same day no longer had any effect on VIA, therefore VIA's injunction application should be withdrawn. Failing that, CN would file a motion to partially dismiss VIA's permanent injunction application. CN's position was based on the morphing of the Crossing Supplement into Permanent Slow Orders and Speed Tables in employees' timetables.

VIA countered that on September 8, 2025 CN did not respond, failing to meet an agreed-to response date of September 10, 2025.

CN moving toward dismissal request expected in  October, 2025.

VIA brought CN's behaviour to the Court's attention.

September 18, 2025- VIA submitted a Management Notice to the Court.

September 23, 2025 - the Court scheduled interviews with VIA's Peloquin on October 24 and Panetta on October 28.

October 23, 2025 - VIA requested a brief hearing to resolve the above. The issue was the nature of VIA Board of Directors meetings on May 28 and June 15, 2025 on the documents/privilege issue. 

October 30, 2025 - CN and VIA exchanged documents on October 1 and 10, and CN conducted pre-trial examinations of Peloquin and Panetta.

November 12, 2025 - CN denied VIA is entitled to injunction; that the issue is moot since Crossing Supplement is no longer being applied to VIA effective November 1, 2025, speed tables instead. CN contends that in the Crossing Supplement - the train to slow down to visually confirm crossing protection is functioning 20 seconds prior. Speed Tables prescribe the speeds Venture trains must respect to ensure adequate shunting. Relevant dates:

• August 28, 2025 - Version 4 of Speed Tables into force.
• September 13, 2025 - Version 5 of Speed Tables.
• November 1, 2025 - Speed Tables (Version 5) were integrated into CN Great Leakes and Champlain employee timetables. Therefore VIA cannot plausibly continue to allege there is a potential security risk associated with Speed Tables, contending that if they were lifted, it would usurp the Transport Minister's decision-making.

January 9, 2026  - there was discussion of privileged documents for the previous two months. 

JUDGEMENT ISSUED MARCH 12, 2026

The March 12, 2026 judgement was rather narrow and minor, pertaining to document availability between CN and VIA:

Canadian National Railway Company v. Via Rail Canada Inc.

2026 QCCA 327

COURT OF APPEAL

CANADA

PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

MONTREAL COURT

THE HONOURABLE STÉPHANE SANSFAÇON, J.C.A.

MINUTES OF HEARING - DATE: March 12, 2026

DESCRIPTION: Application for leave to appeal a judgment rendered in the course of proceedings on January 13, 2026, by the Honourable Donald Bisson of the Superior Court, District of Montreal (Articles 31 and 357 of the Code of Civil Procedure). 

Continuation of the hearing of March 6, 2026. 

The applicant seeks leave to appeal the judgment rendered on January 13, 2026, by the Superior Court, District of Montreal (the Honourable Donald Bisson), which, as relevant to the application, upholds the objections raised by the respondent to the disclosure of the documents identified as the “Exchanges with Transport Canada” referred to in subsections 50(1) and 121 of the Judgment, as well as documents DOC-00014093 and DOC-00014089 referred to in subsections 121 and 122 of the Judgment.

The application for leave to appeal should be granted;

The proceedings should continue without a factum, by filing statements of case;

Having regard to Articles 13 and 58 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal of Québec in Civil Matters (“R.C.a.Q.m.civ.”), which state the following:

13. Electronic Version. The parties shall send to the Registry of the Court an electronic version of the paper version of their pleadings, briefs, statements, or any other document.

58. Content and Presentation. Subject to the second paragraph, Articles 47, 48, and 51 to 56 of these Rules apply to statements of case.

Parts I to IV of the arguments on the main appeal shall not exceed ten pages, unless the Court or a judge decides otherwise. The same applies to any cross-appeal.

Having regard to the rule set forth in Article 376 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which states the following:

376. An appeal becomes void if the appellant has not filed their factum or statement of case before the expiry of the time limits prescribed for such filing. The clerk issues a statement of voidness, unless a judge is seized of an application for an extension.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE UNDERSIGNED:

GRANTS the application for leave to appeal; GRANTS leave to appeal;

SETS April 24, 2026, as the deadline for service and filing with the registry of the appellant's statement of case. This must include a written statement of argument of no more than 15 pages and three appendices (Art. 13 and 58 of the Quebec Civil Code and Clerk's Notice No. 7);

SETS the deadline for notification and filing of the respondent's statement of argument with the court registry as June 5, 2026. This statement must include a written statement of argument of no more than 15 pages and, if necessary, a supplement to one or more of the appellant's appendices (Art. 13 and 58 of the Quebec Civil Code and Clerk's Notice No. 7);

ORDERS the respondent, Via Rail Canada Inc. to file, at the same time as its statement of case, under seal, four (4) copies of the documents identified as the “Exchanges with Transport Canada” referred to in subsections 50(1) and 121 of the Judgment, as well as documents DOC-00014093 and DOC-00014089 referred to in subsections 121 and 122 of the Judgment;

REFERS the file to the Registrar for a hearing date;

ALL costs to be determined as the appeal proceeds.

HEARING TIME: Appellant: 30 minutes, Respondent: 30 minutes

                 ____________STÉPHANE SANSFAÇON, J.C.A.

WHAT'S THIS? SHUNT ENHANCERS FOR THE LDRR FLEET?

Quite unexpected - as part of the compendium of second submission of documents assembled for VIA's injunction against CN in Quebec Superior Court, the affidavit of Thomas Hilliard, CN's Associate Vice-President of Signals & Communications included an email chain between new-to-me-name Terry O'Brien (position not given) and CN's Manager of Passenger Operations Jacques Luce. Also in the chain were Michael Burgett, CN's Senior Manager Engineering, Signal Design, S&C Standards System and Hoang Tran, CN's Senior Director, Regulatory, System Safety and Passenger Operations. 

Also in a February 3, 2025 cross-examination of VIA Specialist Director, Engineering Ronald Bartels, the topic of onboard shunt enhancers came up again. 

Terry O'Brien had "engaged his services to facilitate communications between Coast Railways and VIA Rail for the procurement of the LDRR Fleet, a consultant to VIA, and "was he writing on behalf of VIA Rail to get some answers to some questions?" The lawyer for CN angled to get Mr Bartels to say that VIA knew the Venture had poor shunt performance, and might require an on-board shunt enhancers. 

The email chain is reproduced below, and dealt with providing Onboard Shunt Enhancers (OSEs) not for Siemens Ventures trains, actually part of the Long Distance Regional Routes (LDRR) fleet procurement, including equipment for transcontinental and regional services.

Affidavit of VIA executive:

Q. And to your knowledge, has VIA exemption for onboard shunt enhancers  [for VIA] trains?

A. To my knowledge we have not applied for an exemption permitting shunt enhancers on our trains.

April 26, 2023 email from Terry O'Brien to CN's Jacques Luce:

At the conclusion of our call Monday you requested that we prepare a list of questions VIA wishes to have answered. Please find below a list of those questions:

1. We understand that in order to operate with less than 24 axles, a shunt enhancing device will be required. Please advise the minimum number of axles that will be allowed with the implementation of a shunt enhancer.

2. Please provide the specifications for the shunt enhancing device.

3. When the Corridor Long Trainset with 24 axles was accepted, our understanding was that CN would have an instrumented section of track in the Corridor to monitor the shunting performance. Would CN have any data resulting from this monitoring that could be shared with VIA?

4. Please confirm if CN has any Class 2 track on routes that VIA operates outside the Corridor and if possible, where these would be.

5. Please confirm that the maximum axle load identified in the CN Passenger Equipment Requirements document remains valid for routes that VIA operates outside the Corridor.

6. Please confirm the maximum gradient on routes that VIA operates outside the Corridor and if possible, where these would be.

Trusting this is as discussed however should you need further clarification or have a question you will not hesitate to contact us.

Terry

May 1, 2023 email from Jacques Luce to Terry O'Brien:

Good morning Terry

Here are the answers to Questions 1-3

1. 16 Axles

2. Currently still in development, should be available Q3 2023.

3. Data from wayside recording equipment is checked periodically approximately every 60- 120 days. Graphs show acceptable shunting with the 24 axle configuration.

May 5, 2023 email from Terry O'Brien to Jacques Luce:

Good morning Jacques, thank you for your response with respect to the first three of the six questions we asked last week. We trust you will forward the remainder of the answers as they may be available.

With respect to our question concerning the specifications for the shunt enhancing device, it is understood it remains in development and the specs may only be available later this year. We are however wondering if for the next call (May 15th) a subject matter expert may be available to discuss beyond the device itself, what equipment or systems may or will be required within the cab of the unit. As we shared with you, we are attempting to prepare our bid packages and this information likely will be critical in preparing our spec sheets and the expected responses from the potential suppliers.

We trust you can appreciate our ask and CN will share whatever information may be available currently or as it becomes available, thank you.

Terry

May 16, 2023 email from Terry O'Brien to Hoang Tran:

Hoang

Thank you for this information.

Want also to thank you and the CN team, yesterday’s call was very informative, will follow-up with Amtrak as soon as Michael provides the contact info. Take care, stay safe.

Terry

May 16, 2023 email from Jacques Luce to Michael Burgett:

Thank you for joining our call yesterday. You have been a great help. Once you send the contacts for Amtrak we should be hearing less from VIA.

May 16, 2023 email from Michael Burgett to Jacques Luce:

No problem, happy to help out. Can you provide me a list of email recipients that I should be sending the link out to, or is that something I can provide to you and you will forward on the behalf of CN? I made a request to IT today for the link and was hoping it would be set up by this afternoon, but nothing yet.

May 25, 2023 email from Jacques Luce to Michael Burgett:

Good afternoon,

Do you have the Amtrak contacts?

May 25, 2023 email from Michael Burgett to Jacques Luce:

"Devon Parsons Devon.Parsons@amtrak.com"

June 29, 2023 email from Jacques Luce to Michael Burgett:

Please send the info for VIA. Thank you.

June 30, 2023 email from Michael Burgett to Jacques Luce:

Attached is the manufactures information along with a couple photos of the device that we have been testing and ultimately will require for passenger trains traveling on the CN. Specific specifications are still under review and should be available sometime in late Q4 of this year.

July 3, 2023 email from Jacques Luce to Terry O'Brien:

As promised, please find the attachments (Product Profile and Outline Specification for MkII TCA and photos

HURRY UP AND WAIT...

As I was preparing this post, media interviews with Amtrak and the FRA revealed the mounting of shunt-enhancing antennas on trucks of state-owned Charger locomotives and California Venture cab cars is expected to be completed by the end of December 2026. Amtrak Cascades Airo trainsets entering service in late summer or fall will be delivered with the antennas.

Time to head for the hammock. I will make periodic checks of the Quebec Superior Court judgments, but it appears VIA will be stuck with the CN-imposed speed reductions for months to come!

Running extra...

Thumbnail Thursday. Two kooky Kingston Sub movements recently posted to social media by Lion Liu. A transformer move to Bath's Lennox Generating Station (above) and three unusual locomotives on CN No 369 (below):

This Budd's for you. VIA derailed one of three Dayliners at Missanabie Dog Lake. One chain, two rerailers, two Cats, one icy crossing, six hours here.

People are walking ten miles with a bucket in hand to get 'fresh' water in other countries, meanwhile in Canada...not only did Drake waste precious water to built a release-date ice castle in Toronto, TFD wasted water to hose it down for hours to melt it in order to prevent the Don River from flooding further from the melting ice runoff:

First past the post...

My recent enjoyable Zoom presentation experience for the Bytown Railway Society's April meeting included these around-the-laptop notes on foamcore (above) propped up around my screen and definitely not screen-shared...until now! I am now the proud owner of a copy of John Riddell's fine book on CC&F freight cars that even includes the larger-capacity original-scheme Beehive Corn Syrup tank cars! Published by the BRS, it's a beauty in black & white. Recommended!

Dat Diminutive Dockside!

What do you do when you have a ship, a dock, and a track, and you have a need for a dwarfish shifter? You go dockside and find a Dockside! The real Docksides – four C-16 switchers built in 1912 by Baldwin for the B&O – derived their nickname from draying and dragging freight cars on the docksides of the port of Baltimore. They were built to navigate tight waterfront curves, doing the job deliberately until the early 1950s. Let's dress the stage with an industrial tank engine in Lynchburg, VA captioned 1948 from an online auction site photo:

Model Docksides, also called “Little Joes,” earned their fame in scale model railroading, following Varney’s original die-cast metal HO model. During a seven decades-long production period, hundreds of thousands of these undecorative diminutive switchers were produced in HO for discrete individual sale, as well as starter train sets and declivitously decanted onto layouts. As such, the Dockside dramatically influenced the draw of the scale in its formative years. Varney's took the dive into an initial 1941 introduction of a 1:87 die-cast metal kit of the Dockside, drawing in later renderings done in brass/metal by Pacific Fast Mail-Sakura and Gem Models, certainly describing an important arc in building the 0-4-0 tank engine’s stature during the early days of HO gauge. In the mid-1950s, other manufacturers dedicated themselves to the Dockside: AHM, IHC Hobby, Life-Like, Pemco, Revell, and Rivarossi, latterly Playart and Lima. 

My two (top photo) Rivarossi and Mantua 0-4-0T Docksides, not to be confused with the saddle-tank 0-4-0T, the teapot/cow-catcher red, white & blue Spirit of '76 version, the 0-6-0, the 0-4-0 Shifter....the list goes on. These basic 0-4-0T's came ready-to-run and featured an injection-molded shell mounted on a die-cast metal chassis. Wire-formed handrail installed along the boiler and the metal side rods themselves were the only separately applied details included. Modellers seem to have a soft spot for all versions!

I really like the Rivarossi one on the left, though it is non-working. It makes a good flatcar load from my Canadian Locomotive Co. plant, located on Kingston's waterfront. A train-show find. I like the heavier appearance of it, the full length wrap-around boiler, the painted cab windows and all-weather cab, and the overall paint and weathering. The lack of adequate blocking and securement should not worry the HO scale car inspector - this was a proof-of-concept only:

I could watch my Mantua version run ALL DAY and I'm not the only one. Sound and a decoder, anyone? Unencumbered by pony trucks, trailing trucks, or many axles at all, their amply energetic motor allowed the HO scale version to operate at many times the speed of the prototype. The latter was likely around 5 mph most of the time! Here's my version...a once-around of my Kingston's Hanley Spur layout - at speed! 

A somewhat-recent March discussion with blog partner Chris Mears about this diminutive Dockside, this petite power-plant got me searching for an early photo of the Dockside in use on my Cataraqui Northern Lines layout in my teen years (Engine, Engine Number 9 per the front round number plate). It was already on the roster by 1974, perhaps not by much! Here it is shifting a Penn Central boxcar, with B&M and [scratchbuilt by my Dad] P&LE gondola cars. A road freight with Del Monte (!) reefer, tank cars and BN boxcars passes the vintage cardboard background that is still in my collection:

The drive system/axles of both can been seen in this underside view. Note the lettering 'R R Italy' Rivarossi and rear-axle drive (top). My Mantua (bottom) has front-axle drive:

You can see the stencilled NYC lettering wearing off from being handled many, many times.

Other than a flatcar load, I don't anticipate Dockside operation on my HO scale Hanley Spur layout anytime soon. But it will always have a place in my personal pantheon of model railway motive power!

Running extra...

Border crossings are down, floor crossings are up! Political wags' tongues are wagging as the drip, drip, drip continues. My understanding is that it's a legitimate and long-standing parliamentary tradition and the right of Members of Parliament. Voting against party lines may lead to consequences such as losing a position (e.g., as minister or a portfolio critic) or being ejected from the party caucus, so whaddya gonna do? If you, fellow Canadians, feel strongly against it, feel free to sign this petition. Just don't ask me why the default address came up as 'Oman'. As in, "Oh man, not another floor crossing!"? Spoiler alert - the petition was launched by a Conservative MP! 

The Indians say Aaya Ram Gaya Ram and Winston Churchill might have said, "We shall fight them on the benches...", because he apparently crossed the Mother of All Parliament's carpet twice. (From an east to a 'West minister'?) Alberta Premier Danielle Smith did it. She may one day become one of the few floor crossers and border crossers. Speaking of misguided Albertans, one said he would be happy if Quebec separated because it would not take as long to reach Newfoundland.

I've mused before about completely changing direction and rearranging the blog furniture here. How about a political blog called The Silent Majority, or one on floor-crossing called Right This Way, Left That Way, or That's Very Genereux of You? A blog about Canada's oldest person - a 110 year-old left us this past week - called I Centenarian You An Email? One on pottery called Feet of Clay - I just watched a CBS News story on a 102 year-old hairy potter. One on Who Was Stephen Colbert's Latest Guest...oh, never mind.

First past the post...

Quote of the week goes to The Toronto Star's National columnist Althia Raj on CBC re: the lack of any real challenger to Pierre Poilievre's leadership: "The Conservative caucus is kind of like butter knives out", only spreading discontent.

50 Years Trackside ...1986-91 Settling Down

Welcome aboard this year-long retrospective series celebrating my Fifty Years Trackside - watching trains and taking numbers. This is the Third in a year-long series celebrating those fifty years - each month's post is a time capsule; a five-year slice of those five decades. In the previous post it was the mid-1980s.  This month, my trainwatching enters the 1990s.

My May, 1986 western trip was challenging personally. As my relationship with my future wife progressed, I was ready to pop The Question. During that trip to SteamExpo at Expo86 in Vancouver, my note-taking took a dive. Being at station stops from here to the Pacific, watching young couples saying 'goodbye' or 'hello' just added to the pressure with pangs of separation. 

We were married in May, 1987 and we made a railfanning stop in Smiths Falls on the way home from our honeymoon at Ottawa's Chateau Laurier. CP 4741-Chessie 3719-4509 prepare to head west:

Being an accommodating newlywed, Karen let me set up a 4x8 Manitoba-themed layout in our apartment's spare bedroom. The driving of the Last Spike of the Manitoba Western Railway brought together two local railway tycoons. Dave of Happy Valley Railway Management/CP Rail and Laurence of the Delaware & Hudson. The grand (!?) occasion was marked by the signing of commemorative certificates, heartfelt speeches and refreshments. All this for a simple 4x8! My Dad and brother celebrate, the latter going 'full Roger Doucet':

In the prototype world, there were two local derailments at the time - one along outer Montreal Street on August 26, 1986 and another at the Counter Street crossing on March 28, 1987. The first site was not very accessible, just east of the switch linking the original and 1974 curve alignments along the Great Cataraqui River. The second was a major inconvenience for the preparations to load 1 Canadian Signal Regiment for the Rendezvous 87 major army exercise at CFB Wainwright, Alberta. 

In the summer of 1987, it was time to get documenting again after a five-year hiatus. Rather than keeping notes in notepads, I went back to transferring the numbers and notes, cars and consists into the first of many scribblers that I still use. 

It was a transitional time for VIA - grinding the last miles out of its cab units leading VIA consists. Although GM and MLW cab units were in charge of most VIA trains in the late eighties, the F40PH-2's, VIA's first new locomotives since the LRC, were about to arrive. The first of the 6400's arrived on December 15/86, with 25 delivered by the following September, and the last of the series in 1989. CN was running first- and second-generation power, and Western Flexicoil-equipped Geeps arrived, awaiting their chop-nosing dates at Pointe St Charles shops in Montreal. Cabooses' years were numbered - they would disappear in a hurry in 1990 once permission was granted to the railways, years after End of Train Units emerged in the U.S. An eastbound freight flies past Kingston's VIA station on September 20, 1987 with covered and open auto racks (below). 

In October, 1987 Karen came along on a trip to the Canadian Railway Museum at Delson/St-Constant, QC. Not so for a trip to the Halton County Radial Railway at Rockwood, ON. Another perennial favourite trip was the Toronto Railway Show in March, 1988. Usually a complete zoo [not the Toronto Metro one!], with a long line-up to get in, then having to ford a several attendee-deep crowd in front of every display or vendor table. From large venues like Exhibition Place and the Mississauga International Centre, the Toronto show would eventually contract to a much smaller one. 

Kingston was launching its own train show at the same time. Attending the meetings of a fledgling railfan club in the mid-1980s, at Royal Military College or St Lawrence College, the informal group later becoming the Kingston branch of the Canadian Railway Historical Association. 

We moved to our new (and current) house in August, 1988. It had a view of the CN Kingston Subdivision to the north, in season, and even read engine numbers with binoculars on a clear day! I even started a separate section in my sightings scribblers for such sights, abbreviated S.F.H. (Seen From House)! The view was obscured once leaves began budding on the trees, and eventually two new seniors' apartment buildings would be built in the gap. But on February 26, 1989 it was possible to see this CN westbound freight:

We visited Karen's parents at their home between Harrowsmith and Sydenham most weekends. On April 9, 1989 we checked out the dismantling of the moribund former CN Smiths Falls Subdivision there. This photo of me hoisting Karen onto my shoulders to dismantle a trackside sign (below) does not belie the fact that she was pregnant! Now it was time to paint that nursery a neutral yellow.

We made the first of several trips to Pennsylvania's pastoral Amish country, also stopping at the World Famous Horseshoe Curve on June 11, 1989 (below). This was in the pre-funicular days, and it was probably no fun for the pregnant lady to climb the nearly 200 steps to track level! We caught 14 movements in four hours: westbound Conrail coal trains and freights headed by two SD-40 helpers, as well as Amtrak passenger trains traversing the New York to Pittsburgh route, all on the remaining three of the original four Pennsylvania Railroad tracks on the Harrisburgh-Pittsburgh main line. 

Driving toward Harrisburg then Reading, we passed the Hollidaysburg car shops. Long lines of Contrail and predecessor road cars paralleled our route. There were gondola and hopper cars, N5 and transfer cabooses, a few Geeps and maintenance-of-way coaches. Sadly, since driving, not a single photograph was taken! Our son was born in October of 1989. 

In the early hours of January 15, 1990 my Dad and I made a point of doing our bit to document the massive cuts to VIA Rail, witnessing the last overnight Montreal/Toronto Cavaliers. Meanwhile, in the basement now expanding from the 4x8-footer, the fledgling Manitoba Western Railway layout eventually expanded to fill its full 23x10-foot basement layout room. A 1990 visit included my Dad unboxing his business car for a tour of the line.

Previous occupants had operated a home hair salon in the now-layout room. The walls were pink. The trim was pink. There was pink and silver wallpaper and rough-ins for sinks, etc. Just starting out, we bought just enough blue paint to cover the walls down to layout level! Door to layout room at left (above) and opposite side of the room (below) with the last gap and Last Spike not yet in place!

Trainwatching always seemed like a family-friendly activity to me. I'm not sure all other family members always felt the same way! Beyond spending time with kids trackside, collateral benefits included educational opportunities and nature studies trackside, and of course enjoying snacks or fast food together while waiting for the next train. Our new son's first trip to the Kingston station occurred when he was seven months old, on June 13, 1990. We caught four VIA trains and two freights in just over an hour! Posing with VIA No 63:

Steam still steamed, and Dad joined us when we travelled to Brockville on September 16, 1990. CPR 1201 was in town on an excursion, and this was one of our first multigenerational times trackside. We took our son on our first train ride together during a week-long trip to Pennsylvania in late-September, 1990. We rode behind Blue Mountain & Reading ex-GM&N 425 from South Hamburg to Temple (Reading) PA in ex-DL&W commuter coaches (below). By comparison, our daughter would not make her first train trip until she was 16!

Kingston's VIA station was always a good location for trainwatching with kids: long platforms ideal for toddling, walking or training-wheels bike-riding, plus on-site washrooms and food, benches, rain protection and ample free parking. Warm-hearted VIA engine crews would spot us cabside and throw us surplus packs of cookies or peanuts and cups of milk and juice. Andrew, in stroller or on foot, would engagingly play peek-a-boo. Here he is on April 27, 1990 with No 63 led by 6437-6411, pulling deadhead diner Princess and nine blue & yellow cars with SGU 15481 on the tail-end and those awful construction-style 'marker lamps':

We made a four-day trip to Pennsylvania in June, 1991 with Karen's parents. Visiting Steamtown, posing on L&NE caboose 580...

...and saying 'tanks' to one of the many former Canadian engines in the late-in-steam-era-assembled Steamtown collection:

We rode behind Strasburg steamers 89 and 90, the former running around our train at Leaman Place:

At Bird-in-Hand, PA along Route 340, a grab shot of an Amtrak westbound from Philadelphia led by 904 with three conventional coaches at speed:

Thanks for being aboard this year-long train of thought as we retrace, remember, and yes, wallow in nostalgia these fifty years trackside. In this Fourth Post we steam ahead into a third decade -  the 1990s with kids, plural!

Running extra...

Snowmobiling the Eastern Ontario Railbed Loop on YouTube. Kevin Gammon, whose parents taught with my Dad, included some images from my posts on Eastern Ontario railway history in this 345 km journey across former railway rights-of-way. Fun to watch, dashing through the snow!

The Canadian Coast Guard dispatched medium icebreaker CCGS Des Groseilliers, named after Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618–1669) a close associate of Pierre-Esprit Radisson in explorations west of the Great Lakes. The ship entered service in 1982 and is more impressive than the usual buoy tender seen here, to break ice at the Bath cement dock, allowing CSL's MV Tamarack to dock and load cement, the first of the season. Reportedly, cement from this local plant is sold two years ahead of its production. Both videos by Aerosnapper!

First past the post...

A great turnout at Tuesday's Bytown Railway Society April meeting Zoom presentation "VIA Consists - The Early Years 1976-1981". Dave Stremes, Program Chair (above) kindly invited me to present and others commented that the spirit of Earl Roberts, 30-year editor of Branchline, neighbour to uberVIAphile Jakob Mueller's mother-in-law, and former Lachine resident, was definitely there. He was a contributor to each and every issue writing the “Consists” and “Motive Power” columns, and as longtime editor of the CTSG, and I'm sure he would have enjoyed the VIAntage consists I was pleased to share. It was also great to 'talk to' Phil Jago, Mark Walton, Ray Farand, David Jeanes and other BRS luminaries! 

CN Transportation Department then VIA Project Manager for Development Roger Spack has some stories to tell. Very sharp, and just as knowledgeable about the 1970s passenger scene as he is VIA's current Venture challenges. I like his optimism, "...in something like 12 years, or maybe 10 if we're good at it, we will have a revitalized VIA Rail system. We will have a high-speed corridor central route. We will have VIA Rail paying for all or almost all of its costs." The only downside is that comment is from Roger's 1996 Parliamentary Transport Committee appearance!