Summertime at the Station, July 2017

Still basking in the afterglow of CANADA 150 that was July 1 - the lineups and rain on Parliament Hill, the following festive fireworks, the patient protests, the patriotic pride, the ribald revelry - it was time to head to Kingston station on July 3, 2017. VIA No 50/60 was in the station, with CANADA 150 wrapped 6436 leading. The eight-car J-train consist comprised eight cars and three wrapped locomotives: 6436-3463-3316C-913-3458-3329C-3335-3303R-3305R-912. (C = CANADA 150; R=Renaissance scheme). Watch the video here! 

As it departed eastbound at 0915, past that most unsightly arrowed sign (above), it met westbound VIA No 43: 6449-3470-3363-3304R at the John Counter Blvd crossing (video capture below):

A few minutes later, Belleville-Kingston turn CN No 518 approached, heading for the south service track at Queens and some switching. At a veritable crawl, engines 4785-4713 led twelve cars into town, meeting wrapped VIA 905-3471-3334-3309R-3362R as No 61.

Moving east of the station to Queens...entering the Queens south service track, the two locomotives uncoupled five TrailerTrain flatcars with steel I-beams for KIMCO (Kingston Iron and Metal Co.) which is located between Counter Street and Lappan's Lane. This was formerly CN's Aluminum Spur, serving the large Alcan works and Kingston's team track. The road sign says it all:

Tiptoeing around the wye, the units paused near some coincidentally celebratory Canada Day non-coniferous maple tree coverage:

The empty CSXT bulkhead flat car in track KL05, surrounded by previous inanimate I-beam arrivals, awaited its extraction:

The two 89-foot PTTX bulkhead flat cars were bracketed by three shorter OTTX TrailerTrain idler flat cars, and due to tank car loads for Invista on the Cataraqui Spur on the train, two loaded covered hoppers on either end in case of possible longitudinal load shifting:

The last buffer car and empty bulkhead flat are pushed into the former lead to Alcan, track KL02. The friendly conductor kept a close eye on the train and passing vehicular traffic to the Kingston Area Recycling Centre. I did my best to remain vigilant and out of the way. Then the loads were spotted; photo (below) taken from the road crossing. Flange squeal caused at least one passing motorist to wonder aloud if that noise was essentially healthy. I replied as long as it stayed on the tracks...

Leader CN 4785 sits just over the crossing as the cars are coupled and air cut in for the move back to the train. The next switching would take place on the Cataraqui Spur.

Moving west three days later at Milltown, about 40 miles to the west near Shannonville, CN No 149 crossed the Salmon River bridge behind CN 5432-2573-2630 (video captures):

 Feeling reflective:

 Feeling olde Grand Trunkish:

Moving east then south to the Cataraqui Spur...Logan Cadue caught CN No 518 with the same power as above in two photos (below). One major difference! On the way to Kingston this July 12, they slipped in to the Millhaven Spur and lifted OBRY 1000. This Geep has languished at Millhaven for some years, and I last photographed it there in May, 2015, prior to that in action in spring, 2012. The train is nearing the Sir John A MacDonald Boulevard overpass with train in tow:

Switching the Front Road Invista plant, later heading to Belleville:

 Running extra...

It's always great to be a part of Edd Fuller's The Trackside Photographer. And to relive the late glory days of Manitoba grain elevators. Only one train - a VIA Rail one (actually Number 1) in this July 13 post.

My latest book Trackside with VIA - Research and Recollections (116 copies sold and counting!) is featured among Charles Cooper's Railway Pages What's New in Publications. Charles' site is a wealth of really useful information! Thanks, Charles!

Graphics guru and loyal Trackside Treasure reader Randy O'Brien kindly shared his rendition of the Paradiso, Pepperoni & Pacific's 44-tonner paint scheme. Check out the pizza wheels, and hey, the number 11 is actually made from...

Thanks, Randy!