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

 

After my Day One west of Kingston, Day Two of my wife's kraftravaganza got me going to Kingston's VIA station. I wanted to try my luck again at getting east and west views from the John Counter Boulevard overpass. The morning was warm but overcast - that's 15 degrees C and no shadows! I parked at the VIA station and took to the new walking path including the still-in-service old Counter Street crossing. VIA No 60 Eng 6405/No 50 Eng 916 lead five cars each looking west from the overpass (above) and five minutes later, VIA No 61 Eng 6413 from the embankment looking east:

The east end of the overpass and some sun shines on CN No 149 Engs 3243-3017. Spoiler alert: freights were few-and-far-between this second day.

Did the contractors nail the artist's impression for this project? Decide for yourself!

Two CN welders, two Timmies, 30 minutes and it's coffee time on Counter, under the overpass. That's me on my lofty perch, and some kind tagger has blue-painted NO JUMPING. Well, except for joy at what was passing by - 17 trains this day!

VIA No 643 with wrapped Eng 6445 from the embankment while the signal maintainer was leaving to get his own coffee. He'd be working here all day.

Getting the view I wanted, just wishing it was it was a westbound. Well, wishing ain't gonna make it so, so here's CN No 372 Eng 2273 with a very long train heading to Montreal. There were dual crossovers and dual service tracks here at Queens, until Queens track 1 was pulled out and a derailment took out the other crossover, signal gantry and only the latter, not the former, got replaced.

Long train, with about 40 autoracks from Oshawa on the tail-end. Likely two miles of train:

DPU 8024 on No 372:

All auto racks all the time. Empties on CN No 271 Engs 2226-2329. Three Purdy Mill apartments sprout abutting Cataraqui Cemetery in the distance:

VIA No 62 Eng 6432 splits the signals at Queens West:

Following obediently behind was Eng 6414 on VIA No 52. Five cars ahead, four behind:

Couldn't make it up top on time, so here's No 63 Eng 6407 with six cars. After this train, as I made my way back to the station, I had a wellness check. If one spends too much time on an overpass trying to take pictures of trains, things happen. In East Germany, taking pictures of trains got you arrested, and the same after 9/11 in the US. Here, people get worried about you, so I always do three things: 1. Keep moving. 2. Look purposeful 3. Don't stand RIGHT ABOVE  the tracks. Well, doing all three things didn't help. At first, I thought it was the cops. A black SUV pulls over into the bike lane I was in (the city didn't want to spring for an east side sidewalk), and two earnest young ladies ask, "Are you OK?" I assured them numerous times that I was, and that I was just waiting to take a picture of a train. So then they made me PROMISE I was OK. So I promised them. 

Making my way down to the VIA station parking lot, I see one of Kingston's Finest pull in, facing the overpass. I thought I might as well tell him it was me who someone called about. So I walked over, told him it was me, why I was up there, and what I was doing. Satisfied with my explanation, I mentioned the real reason I wanted to talk to him. Overnight, some miscreant had smashed three of the four windows of a Mercedes parked in the lot. Yes, he'd heard about it, and the Registered Owner was out of town. I said, "Isn't that great, ya travel out of town and someone destroys your car!" Shattered auto glass all around the three big chunks of ballast, too. Photo taken during my own Timmies coffee break!

At 1236, I'd already been freightless for 90 minutes when VIA No 45 Eng 6438 arrived (below). I made a point of spending some time on the rebuilt and rededicated railfan bench along the platform here. You'll notice the sagebrush/tumbleweeds growing across the barrier at the edge of the parking lot, as well as the 'bug-brow' on 6438 and many other 6400\s in this series of posts - it's been a good summer for bugs!:

Cab coffees arrive in Eng No 907 as VIA No 40 gets ready to head to Ottawa:

These two are for Matt Soknacki. A five-car HEP consist with ex-CP 8120 on the tail-end:

Wanting some south-side sun, here's VIA No 65 Eng 6421 passing under that overpass:

The future is on board but the past is yet to come: 4109 is the bonus seventh car. All cars and the platforms looked full of paying passengers for each train.

Two English language wraps lead VIA No 53 Eng 905 westbound and VIA No 64 Eng 914 eastbound at 1410:

I still can't get enough of the Love the Way wrap but sometimes it's a grey area when you're down in the weeds. Literally!

Not shown: No 47 Eng 917 at 1445. VIA No 42 Eng 919 races the handicapped-accessible taxi that had to follow the same circuitous walkway/road route off Portsmouth Avenue, along the eastern overpass embankment, turning just before reaching the still-in-service crossing. Now, if any of those walkway/road gates ever get locked...

Another one for Matt S. This is the all-wrapped consist that's been running around since mid-August. Until now. Last night, coach yard crews in Montreal replaced 'future' 3350 with 'Ren' 3324. Boo. The streak has been broken. The parking lot is still huge. That Mercedes is still open-air:

I was about to head home, as my 18th train of the day pulled in and even though I was a little bored, I snapped a quick photo of the incoming VIA No 67 Eng 916:

Then, I couldn't believe what I thought I'd seen. Something I can only describe as 'POOF!!" as stuff flew through the air at the rear of the train. I remembered seeing a mother and child, plus a couple of seniors walking down around the former Counter Street level crossing. The train pulled in to stop at the station and nothing was moving down there. Of course I had to investigate!

Driving down to the end of the parking lot, I got out and walked over and as I got closer, "in the ditch" at the edge of the track ballast, I could see a person. Not moving. Of course I thought the worst. I walked over, "Are you OK?" (And the person of colour didn't have to promise me anything, because I could see they weren't.) But they answered and moved a little. I was relieved. A knapsack, coat, and other stuff is what went poof. Were you on the train? Yes. Were you on the back of the train? Yes, Car 6. Do you need an ambulance called? No. I just need some water. Well, that was easy for me to do. I stuck around a bit longer, warning the person to not stay on the tracks because another VIA train was coming soon. Was this Kingston? Yes. Is there a payphone? Check in the station. What happened to you? I'm a risk-taker I guess. Well, you definitely took one. 

There's nothing harder to find than someone who doesn't want to be found. What to report, and to whom? The person began collecting their stuff, albeit with a limp and I was satisfied they were oriented and going away from the tracks. When I got home, I thought what are the chances my picture showed something? Sure enough, the person was visible BETWEEN the fifth and sixth cars (cropped version below). This is not where most people ride a train, there's no way to get out there from inside the car, and there's a reason they didn't get off once the train stopped like most normal passengers. Stowaways are only on ships, so I would call this person a non-revenue passenger. Goodness knows how long they'd been riding between cars! About to bail:

Day two ended eventfully and I went home slightly shaken. Let's see what Day Three brings...