Three More Days at Portage, 1984

In Part 1, I published photos of my first four train watching days in Portage from May 28-June 1, 1984. On June 2 we drove to Brandon, then on June 3 it was Gimli and Stonewall. This post profiles my prolific Portage train watching on June 4, 5 and 6.

June 4, 1984 - The sky was overcast and I spent the afternoon at the tracks, after spending the morning watching the RCO west of Portage. We lunched at Robinson's, and in the evening travelled to Gladstone.

1147 W CN 9150-9153-grain empties-79673 (see photo on June 5).

1154 W CN 5141-5010-97 grain empties-79609:

1350 W CN 5059-5032-5128-manifest-79360 (unphotographed).

1407 E CN 9423-9602-manifest just visible behind...

1417 W VIA No 3/5 6511 5 cars - the second westbound Panorama:

1505 W VIA No 1 6553-6615-6613 with Skyline 507 deadhead, 14 cars total at 18th St. NW:

1528 W CP 5938-5626-5992-434104 also at 18th St:

1610 E CN 9173-9100-9103-112 grain loads-79456 at West Tower (top photo and below) the last two locomotives were from CN's small fleet of "blind mice".

1619 E CN 9557-5061-lumber empties-79379 meeting VIA No 2 6557-6617. No 2 waited on the connecting track for the CN train to clear. 

1925 E CP 5754-5958-99 grain and potash loads-434655-434627 on the CP Minnedosa Sub at Westbourne. Straight and flat:

June 5, 1984 - Spent at East Tower, west of Portage and in the yards plus a cab visit!

CN 4239-4332 79834 at station (unphotographed).

1218 W CN 9556-9426-9543-5181-4317-79720 (unphotographed).

Driving through the yards presented some rolling stock photography opportunities:

Crane outfit cars CN 54162 idler  (blt 1-40), ATCO unit on CN 43281 (blt 1-40), CN 67166 6-man wooden Bunk car, CN 58269 High speed idler and supplies:

Fuel tank car CN 51769 (blt 12-16), Insulated water tank car CN 80204 (blt 4-29):

CN gon 142635, fuel tank car CN 990915, insulated water tank car 80222 (blt 9-29), 8,220 gallon-capacity:

CN 51531 tank car and generator boxcar 43699:

1442 W VIA No 3/5 6506-4 cars, the third westbound Panorama:

1512 W VIA No 1 6557-6617 on CP Carberry Sub, near the Trans-Canada Highway crossing:

CN 9153-9150-79827 waiting to go west of Portage approaching Eighth Street crossing:

1640 E VIA No 2 (CP) 5809-VIA 6606-6652-15 cars:

I headed to East Tower to catch this unusual rescue. The engineer was not a happy one on the other days I'd seen him on his regular assignment - he was visibly less so in this situation!

While at East TowerI was invited up to the cab of CN engine 9566 leading an eastbound freight while the train waited for two other trains to clear the CN Rivers Sub east of Portage. The first was VIA 6514 leading the eastbound Panorama with cars, toting two extra cars on the head-end from the last No 109:

1700 W CN 4332-4239 was the second train, pushing the P-811 tie replacement unit into the yard at East Tower. The tail-end crew threw oranges at their mates in the cab of 9566 while passing!

CN 9566-9541-79316 preparing to resume its trip east into Winnipeg, heading east at 1710:

2208 E CN 5064-5178-90 grain loads-79774 (both unphotographed).

2243 W CN 1052-1053-72 grain boxcar empties-79515.

June 6, 1984 - I visited the provincial government office in Portage mid-morning to buy some area topographic maps before heading back to the tracks in the afternoon.

0950 E CN 5213-5029-115 cars-79638, pulpwood on the head-end:

0955 W CN 5560-9169-9192-101 lumber empties-79731 passing under the Skyline Bridge:

Pull-type and self-propelled John Deere combines on the head-end:

1038 W CP 5783-5780-5907-103 empty bathtub gondolas-434330 crossing the diamonds with CN at West Tower, or as it was on this day, Wet Tower. Connecting track in the foreground:

1425 E CP 5685-6046-103 grain empties-434528 in the fog and rain at the east end of Portage yard:

1344 W CN 5149-5157-boarding outfit cars-79278 (unphotographed).

1358 W VIA No 3/5 6510-6 cars, the fourth westbound Panorama: 9477-5585-510-Excelsior-extra sleeper Evandale-CN track inspection car 15000:

1442 E CP 5965-5782 grain and loaded ballast cars-434685-434130:

1450 E CN 5062-5102-5173-5227-79 cars (all unphotographed due to the rain?)

1455 W CN 5359-5250-5162-4408 -79 cars-79666.

1507 W VIA No 1 6566-6652.

1521 W CN 5191-4247-grain empties-79398.

1543 W CN 9500-5562-94 cars-79284.

1602 W CN 9541-9566-93 cars manifest-79695, to CN Rivers Sub.

1653 W CP 5981-5756 grain empties-434459.

1657 W CP 6053-5809-3017-67 cars-434348 at right, CP 8626-8806 with 31 ballast cars at left:

VIA No 2 6507-6603 on the connecting track. My brother and sister-in-law were arriving on this train from Vancouver via a still-snowy Lake Louise, Calgary and Field. I picked them up at the station and we headed to supper at my aunt and uncle's house. 

2030 E CN 4207-9191-4298-79673 (all four unphotographed)

2058 E CN 9458-9589-5534-79679

2205 E CP 6036-5525-5540-434342

CN 9179-9171-79826 at station

On my final day in Portage, June 7 all five of us headed to Winnipeg, drove around Symington Yard, the CP yards and dined at the Countess of Dufferin restaurant buffet, then ensconced in Roomette 3 of Chateau Varennes on No 2 that evening at 2016 heading east. In this previously-published post I return from Winnipeg to Kingston via John Street and Toronto.

Running extra...

The absolute worst kind of AI. And the weirdest to boot. At the beginning of this trip account video this image must certainly violate some sort of community guidelines for goofy AI-manipulated images. The Venture cab car visually morphs into some sort of three-car consist with weird lettering and a first-aid symbol around the VIA nose logo.

Then, in adding insult to conjury, this image is next:

Give me a brake, Transport Canada! The regulator weight in, but not on the months-long morass of CN-imposed crossing speed reductions on VIA's Ventures. Noooo, this is a review of rescue manoeuvre procedures involving passenger trains with inoperative brakes. No specific incident is referred to, though I wonder if CN damaged a Venture or other consist?

First past the post...Facebook, you're welcome. I'm glad the selfie you requested was enough.

But then it wasn't. Two days later, another unwarranted suspension. Selfie and mobile number requested.

Four Days at Portage, 1984

 

My 1984 trip from Kingston to Winnipeg aboard VIA Rail has been previously published here. But until now, I haven't shared the Portage train-watching photos from that memorable trip. It's been 41 years since these photos were taken, so isn't it about time? Past time, actually! In the panoplic pantheon of Trackside Treasure posts, I've already shared many other aspects of, and published many of the photos taken on, this trip: Portage and prairie modelling and operations, layout planning, and the grain elevators located on the area's CN and CP lines. I'll selectively link to some of those posts, but here are links to three previously-published posts that pertain positively to this prairie palaver:

• VIA's Winnipeg-Edmonton Panorama, 1984
• Trackside Modelling Portage la Prairie, 1984 
• VIA's Canadian, 1984

But let's get back to the heart of the trip and my time trackside during those Four Days in Portage. Most days during my visit, I would borrow my aunt and uncle's car to drive farther afield along the CP Carberry and CN Rivers Subdivisions photographing grain elevators and the occasional train. I was no longer limited to pedestrian pursuits along the dusty dirt roads throughout the Portage yards. Some days we went on drives or visited other local sites of hysterical interest together. But I always returned to the CN and CP tracks that bisected Portage. This follow-up post covers my final three days of train-watching.

Trains are shown by date, time, direction, railway, locomotive and caboose numbers and remarks.

I left Kingston on VIA No 1 on the evening of May 26, 1984, nearly the last year that the Canadian operated Montreal-Toronto-Vancouver. So, I was able to board sleeper Thompson Manor from the platform in Kingston, settle in to my roomette and occupy it all the way to Winnipeg, where I arrived on May 28. After arriving there at 1000, my aunt and uncle met me and it was off to lunch at the Bay downtown then a visit to CN's Symington Yard. Arriving back in Portage in the evening, CN welcomed me with a couple of freights:

2012 W CN 5267-5240-grain empties (top photo).

2043 E CN 9179-9194-lumber loads-79562, from Gladstone Sub at 18th St. N.W. (above and below).

The next day, May 29 I was down to the station and environs in the morning before heading west to MacGregor where I caught VIA Nos 1 and 2 at speed!

1028 W CP 5781-5782-grain empties-434501, to CP Minnedosa Sub, just northwest of Portage:

Seven minutes later, this eastbound hotshot came into Portage on the CN Rivers Sub,

1035 E CN 9444-9569-9548-100 cars-79309:

There was a fair bit of M-O-W activity in CN's yard, with various cranes and cars supporting track gangs,  east and west of Portage replacing ties and rails using the P-811 and Rail Changeout Unit respectively. One of CN's remanufactured flammables storage cars made an opportune stop on a crossing in the yard while being switched. Click!

Also on May 29, photographs not in this post:

CN 4332-4239-79834 from the P-811 tie replacement work train, at station.

1200 W VIA 6510 2 cars - one of the last runs of VIA No 109.

1351 W CP 5742-101 grain empties-434478 at MacGregor.

1541 W VIA No 1 6504-6603 at MacGregor.

1623 E VIA No 2 6505-6602 at MacGregor.

On May 30, we visited Portage's Fort La Reine Museum in the morning, then it was down to the tracks! CP 6569 was switching grain cars at UGG's Eighth Street elevator, the only time I'd see it switching Portage's CP-served elevators:

1447 W VIA No 1 6653-6615 arriving in Portage at East Tower:

1526 W CN 9564-9473 79254 mid-train photo at 18th St NW, showing CWR cars likely filled at CN's Transcona yards in Winnipeg:

1533 W CP 5791-5795-103 empty bathtub gondolas i.e. CPHX 799982-434378. Mere minutes after the above CN train, I just had time to drive over to the CP Carberry Sub main and hop out for this photo at the crossing. The CP-CN connecting track used by the Canadian is visible at right:

1613 E CN 5586-5591-100 cars of grain-79443:

1703 E CN 9499-9581-4253-113 grain loads-79395, back at the CN station:

1709 E VIA No 2 6566-6610-6614:

On May 31, I visited several elevators in the Portage area: Longburn, Rignold, MacDonald and Westbourne. We had lunch at Robinson's and a tasty Pizza House supper. The afternoon's trains were profiled in this previously-published post. 

On June 1, we drove to Winnipeg to see Transportation Week displays by CN and CP at the Polo Park shopping centre in the morning, stopping by Oakville, Elie, Benard, Marquette and Meadows elevators before lunch at the Co-Op restaurant and an overcast afternoon at the station!

1238 E CN 5226-4351-7237-4256-404-457 switching out Rail Change Out unit-79707 (unphotographed).

1452 W CN 5022-5201-97 grain empties-79309:

I've made a couple of attempts to brighten up the muddily overcast conditions:

1453 E CP 6032-5017-5012-434312 (unphotographed).

1509 W VIA No 1 6550-6605-12 cars, at Shepp after stopping at Portage at 1456:

1525 W CN 5292-5263-5094-5149-95 empty bathtub gondolas-79513:

CN 197636 built 10-78:

1540 W CP 5673-6018-manifest-434432 stopped at the signal at Eighth Street while waiting for CN to clear ahead of them. 

1615 E CN 5358-5066-manifest-79705 (unphotographed).

1627 E CP 6021-5995-70 cars of grain-434550, from CP Minnesota Sub:

1635 E VIA No 2 6507-6653 (unphotographed), and the RCO being wyed at East Tower:

Running extra...

Thanks, Zuck! Actually, you did me a big, big favour. Along with (reportedly) 10 million others (recently) I am now a survivor of LTLWTSOF (that's Learning To Live Without The Scourge Of Facebook). I can safely say I violated neither cybersecurity nor community standards knowingly in the Online Parallel Universe. Why would I? But I won't go where I'm not wanted. Take your time dispensing your supercilious solution, your highfalutin hegemony, your preening pontificating pronouncement. Zuck you!

Long before this latest online larceny, I published a 'Facebook versus blogging' post six years ago. At the time, I reached out two three fellow enthusiasts and this one response pretty much covered it:

With hours freed up from doom-scrolling and pithy comment-posting, guess where I'm reallocating all that time, plowing it back into the fallow field of future posts? Right here. As a blogger, I'm a writer and photographer. I can do both these things on various social media. Blogging forces me to formalize, focus, format and forge posts that can be all about the past, in the now, and updated in the future. I maintain some control, and it seems unlikely the platform is going to pull the plug because of something I post here. Or that someone else posts without my knowledge. Having said all this, if the Blogger platform ever goes down, I'm going back to my quill pen and papyrus. They'll surely stand the test of time!

First past the post...

Counter-cultural this time. Mark Zuckerberg and his Facebook brain-trust have live-streamed mass shootings, enabled and even promoted the actions of malign foreign actors, destabilized democracies and contributed to the suicides of vulnerable teens. But let's stay positive! They've also united 38% of the world's total population and got rich doing it, bring countries together to form a global community...and hosted millions of cat videos. But that doesn't mean they're purr-fect.