A Seasonal Summary of Some Summery Train News

It's been an eventful month of June in the world of trains! Not one to take dubiously-deserved time off for summer vacation, the blogging continues at Trackside Treasure! Who cares if the weather is amazing and that I should be working on my Instagrammy summer go-to activities: stand-up paddle boarding, water-skiing (hey, I could combine them into one and call it water-boarding - on second thought, no) and attending indie folk music festivals swilling craft beers into the evening. But instead, I'm living in my own personal reality show, standing just out of the tick-infested grass taking train pictures, weed-whacking and hosing down my driveway. (Our city recently imposed summer watering restrictions on its citizens. That means retired guys can only hose down their driveways for one hour a day, down from the usual eight hours!)

To make my life seem more amazing and eminently more bloggable, this week I'm presenting this punchy, poppin' newsmagazine-style post with each item subtitled with an exclamation mark to make it seem more exciting! I said more exciting!!

CHAIN-LINK FENCE!

I ordered some 3D-printed chain-link fence from Paul Gerald. The fence was very realistic, reasonably-priced and arrived by mail in great shape! Paul has posted listings of about half of his designs at Canadian Railway Modellers Buy/Sell Facebook group or all can be viewed on MakerWorld - from which the designs can be downloaded and printed at no cost. I was very impressed with the price and quality of Paul's work. I just have to paint and weather and find the perfect place on my layout to feature the fine fence! Paul shared some photos (top photo and below) of his 3D-printed track bumper, ballast spreader, Tim Hortons sign and sidewalk. Paul can be reached at greenwood196ATicloudDOTcom.

 

CP RUN-THROUGH POWER!

Thanks to Logan Cadue for a heads-up regarding CP power on CN X276 on June 24. I got to Collins Bay just in time for a grab shot at 0830. CP 8737 wearing the new CPKC scheme along with CP 8907 through Kingston track speed at 0840 at Mi. 180 CN Kingston Sub - Collins Bay. Very long train that had been delayed into daylight by trackside fires west of Toronto:

Here's Logan's far superior photo taken from the John Counter Boulevard overpass:

NAPANEE TRAIN SHOW AND SALE!

After a social miscreant burned down the Napanee curling club, the train show and sale take place at the town arena, strangely called "Best & Bash". As always, I vowed to buy NOTHING in order to better support the environment, but ended up helping out several vendors' environments by taking stuff off their hands! Just call me Global Citizen. Actually, just call me Bottom-Feeder because that's where I find the best deals. Just ask my crepitant knees or my glucosamine supplier!

Six bucks to get in. Hello Tom Greenlaw and Ian and fellow ARKers Andy, Michael and Dustin!

It's hard to find sheet styrene but structures, but this is an alternate source!

Junk bags full of goodies and station names!

Strip joint photo with landscape mat!

Two bucks a pop!

1 to 10 bucks a pop!

Bought with our grandsons in mind!

Structures also two bucks a pop!

DPM parts also two bucks a pop. Sensing a theme?

SCENERY FOUND ON MY SCENIC MORNING WALK!

Call it a moss mat, call it a fairy mat, but this synthetic green weirdly-textured stuff is great for landforms. I call it the poor man's static grass! No static, just grass, no expensive applicator. Just use your fingers to separate the brown strands underneath from the good green stuff on top. Cut to shape and glue down! This caught my eye, unlike armloads of floral supplies being discarded along with it at curb side. It had been rained on, but I should be able to salvage some of it for layout scenic projects!

BIN THERE, HAVEN'T DONE THAT...YET!

After July 1, our neighbourhood is one of the first to transition to new green and grey bins made by IPL in Quebec, along with new one-man electric garbage trucks. No more repetitive-strain injuries from those waste operators hanging off the truck, scooping up a heavy Glad bag full of diapers and alley-ooping behind-the-back into the gaping maw of the garbage truck. Operators now stay in the cab and use a joystick to stash the trash in back. The green bins lock to deter rodents but open upon demand. More here on the patented 'Franzen gravity large thumb turn with 90-degree'!

VHA - WHAT THE F?

VIA posed the three-car unwrapped blue & yellow VIA Historical Association 6539-led set at its TMC alongside Siemens Venture Set 2. Notice the F40 switcher in the drone shot from metrolinkfan300 posted to social media (above) and the well-lit header photo shared by Jordan McCallum (below). The two trains were later joined by VIA 6424 and an HEP consist trailed by a Manor car for a side-by-side-by-side three-train photo and a speech from VIA CEO Mario Peloquin to celebrate the TMC's 40th anniversary. 

J'ESPERE QUE JASPER - C'EST LA VIA!

VIA has renamed the Prestige Class formerly known as Kootenay Park (VIA 88708) as Jasper Park. The plaque inside the car reads: 

"This car is named for Jasper National Park which is located in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Established in 1907, the park spans 11,228 square kilometres and is part of Parks Canada's system of national parks. The park is also part of a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the world's largest dark sky preserves. Visitors from all over the world come year-round to experience the park's natural and cultural heritage, along with its abundant wildlife and extensive trail network." Plumbing the depths of railfan and VIA passenger opinions, the change has a solid 50% approval rating.

On July 2, VIA posted the above photo, taken with VIA No 1 and the newly-renamed car at Jasper, to social media: 

"This morning, we proudly unveiled a new Park car plaque in honour of Jasper National Park, a tribute to one of Canada’s most iconic natural treasures. This special moment also marked the 100th anniversary of the Jasper Train Station, a cornerstone of Canadian rail history and a gateway to the Rockies for travelers from around the world. We were honoured to be joined by Ron Hallman, President & CEO of Parks Canada, and Mayor Richard Ireland of Jasper, along with many valued collaborators and guests. This event was a beautiful reminder of how passenger rail continues to unite people and places across our vast country. This celebration also aligns with the launch of the Canada Strong Pass, an initiative that makes it easier than ever for Canadians to explore the country by train and discover national parks and cultural wonders."

This is the first time I can recall a VIA car having its name/number changed without rebuilding to a different car type. VIA's Mark Sampson posted a photo of the renamed car prior to departure from Toronto.

BOXCARS IN THE BAY OF FUNDY! (sing that to the tune of Angels from the Realms of Glory!)

So said the CBC news report, and hey, if it's on the CBC it must be right, right? Turns out these are NOKL and other black hoppers, not boxcars, with the ends of the hoppers filled in with timbers, then loaded with concrete to weigh them down to become anchors for a cancelled tidal energy project (tied before tide) in Walton, NS. Transport Canada took action (!) and ordered marker buoys placed. New use for old hopper cars - a unique modelling project. Pre-sunken appearance which belies their current rusted, brown appearance that made car-type identification difficult on TV.

STOP THE PRESSES. (WAIT - DO WE HAVE PRESSES?)

THIS JUST IN! RAPIDO TRAINS WILL BE PRODUCING THE S-13/RS-23!

The above aghastness-inducing image appeared for only an instant in this video, perhaps the length of time it takes to say, "Spadina" (without giggling). Long-rumoured and oft-denied, this is a must-have for anyone who is modelling Spadina in 1980 or Kingston in 1966, respectively. Sure, it hasn't been announced or publicized or designed or manufactured or shipped in a sea can from China, but the 'faux-kenzie' brothers in the video (I dare you to watch it and not laugh) said it and made me have a seizure due to flashing images of barely second-generation diesels all while I'm watching them tap-dance around whether they're a Canadian or American company. They either have a warehouse in Buffalo or they're also producing the Buffalo boxcar!

WHAT I BLOGGED ON MY SUMMER VACATION!

Tantalizingly out of view to the right of the above VIA 6539 photo angles is the under-construction Venture two-track shop at the TMC. Work also continues apace on several long-lived Trackside Treasure posts based on the Siemens Venture trainsets operated by VIA - three in vivo while two are still in vitro:

• CN-imposed speed reductions with weekly On-Time Performance monitoring.
• Implementation of the Venture fleet, now into Part Three.
• Delivery of the final two Venture trainsets, with Set 30 arriving just under a month ago - June 7.
• Transport Canada Ministerial Order...it's been six months! Pending...
• Quebec Court Case...it's been three months! Pending...

Here ends the newsmagazine format. Hope you enjoyed the read!

Running extra...

Speaking of summer, check out Tim Hayman's newsy post on his trip aboard VIA's Canadian beginning on Canada Day, last year. Tim includes all the stuff we need: interior photos, scenic photos, photos of meals and of course a consist or two! Hot off the press, er, blog!

On Canada Day, we had the pleasure of enjoying a concert at Confederation Basin by the National Band of the Naval Reserve. A high level of musicianship, no hijinks (even when playing John Williams' Superman), and several sweeping orchestral pieces ended with Heart of Oak and O Canada. The Band comprises musicians from 11 naval reserve divisions and six unit-level bands: HMCS TECUMSEH in Calgary, HMCS CHIPPAWA in Winnipeg, HMCS STAR in Hamilton, HMCS YORK in Toronto, HMCS DONNACONA in Montreal and HMCS MONTCALM in Quebec City.

First past the post...

My enthusiasm, exuberance and empathy for the Rapido soon-to-be announcement of the S-13/RS-23 was greeted with this response by one D. Bradshaw on the socials: "Holy s*** what a bunch of gibberish. One would think a person would try and make their post clear and concise. But you went with full raging ADHD, MPD, with a touch of a stroke instead." 

I've never met this fellow modeller, but he really gets me!