3482 results for 2008; refer to date index:
2008-01-03January 3rd, 2008
Returning home from our trip we stopped at Coteau for CN 308, watched helplessly from the restaurant window as a CNish looking GP38-2W worked an industry in Cornwall and then shot it parked and backlit next to a fast food joint after we finished lunch, finishing off with shooting CN 376 coming into Belleville.
2008-01-19January 19th, 2008
We went to the Ice Wine Festival's Jordan booth, stopping to take a look at the ill-fated "La Grande Hermine" on the way in, and catching a Toronto-bound Via on the way to our next errand.
2008-02-03February 3rd, 2008
I got X432 with several G26MC-2 export units for PJKA (Indonesia - Perusahaan Jawatan Kereta Api) and a handful of JT42CWR Class 66s for EuroCargo Rail at Brampton diamond on my way home from a meeting.
2008-02-18February 18th, 2008
DETOURS! A wreck at Aldershot East sent three CN freights and countless VIAs over the GEXR Guelph sub. Naturally I spent the day at Guelph station. Last detours were five years previous, almost to the day. The day started with VIA #82 coming through Guelph station ahead of VIA #84-#70, followed by VIA #85, a chase of GEXR #580 down the Fergus sub, VIA #73 and #72 meeting at Guelph, CN #396, CN #394, VIA #75, VIA #87-#83, and CN #392 with 2 UPs to finish it up. In the cold weather, I had finished off all my camera batteries by #392 and my still camera gave out after shooting the lead unit on the train which had CN-UP-UP-CN-CN for power. Re-using an almost-dead battery got me through the end of the evening.
2008-02-23February 23rd, 2008
In the morning, we got GEXR X432, 6 units light power on the way to Toronto from the farmers' market. In the afternoon we caught it coming back as a potash unit train on our way to the airfield for me to do a checkout flight in C-GQRA. While my instructor and I flew around, Laura sat in the back and took photos, mostly of the controversial Lafarge lands in the core of Guelph.
2008-03-15March 15th, 2008
After having not seen a train in nearly a month -- see my blog for what's been keeping me entertained in the interim -- I finally got a day out at the tracks. We went to Guelph Junction for CP #245 and CP #247, headed down to Aldershot for CN #421, a GO train, and VIA #72, up to Burlington West for a train whose identity I never did solve, #435, a bunch of GO trains - two of them with the new MP40s leading, VIA #92, CN #556 working at Burlington West, CN #421 impersonating NS #328, and CP #426 just north of the 71.2 detector on the Hamilton sub on the way home.
2008-03-16March 16th, 2008
Laura and I went on a short flight Guelph-Guelph Junction-Galt-Guelph Junction-Guelph to stay current. Laura shot while I flew as we chased a light power #722 on the Galt and got VIA #85 leaving Guelph station almost an hour late.
2008-03-22March 22nd, 2008
CN #338 was reported to have a BCOL C44-9W and 3 on-delivery GEVOs. I went down to Bayview to wait for it, but it died at Port Robinson. Instead, I shot new GO MP40s 603 and 605, and around 5 CNs over the course of the morning.
2008-03-29March 29th, 2008
We went to mile 30 for about 4 hours, catching CN #392, #399, #393, a CWR train, and #338.
2008-04-27April 27th, 2008
We headed down to Cambridge, tieing CP #159 to the crossing at 50.05 Galt sub. CP #244 came over Galt bridge with a CEFX bluebird leading. From there we went to Ingersoll for OSR's Salford shops to see the CP MP15s that have come in, finding two there next to the TH&B unit, and the other two tucked away in a spur in Mount Elgin. From there we headed back to Ingersoll for lunch and CN #385, then up to Stratford where we just barely caught GEXR #433 leaving town light power before returning home. Hopefully it's not another entire month before I get out again!
2008-05-04May 4th, 2008
We went to mile 30 to see what we could see. CN #338 came up with an LMS, and CN #399 went down with a UP ES44AC, but mostly mile 30 was full of railfans, with 8 cars worth by the time I left. As we were leaving, CN #394 called the signal at Tansley and we got it at Derry Rd by the detector. Derry Rd was still surrounded by fields the last time I was there, but there is a rather substantial development going in there now.
2008-05-11May 11th, 2008
GEXR has received 3 6-axle units which means some of its 4-axle power is going to be distributed to other RailAmerica lines. I went to Stratford to find what I could of them, chasing GEXR #431 to London. There it lifted 10 EuroCargo Rail Class 66s and returned as GEXR #432, which I dutifully chased home.
2008-05-24May 24th, 2008
D&H 7312 trailing on CP #254. Need I say more?
2008-06-14June 14th, 2008
We took a sold out 06:25 VIA #652 from Aldershot to Dorval for a family function on the West Island.
2008-06-15June 15th, 2008
We took the express VIA #67 from Dorval back to Aldershot. We saw our first CP olympic unit between Colborne and Grafton on the Belleville sub.
2008-06-21June 21st, 2008
Annual Bayview meet! I've missed the Bayview meet for the last several years as I've usually been away the day it's held, but I got there this year, as did more than a record 40 other local railfans, including most of the 'railfan chat' regulars. The trains were not that prolific, but a good time was had all around. CN 385, 396, 422, 148, 399, 435, and 393 (no photos) plus the usual Vias went through while I was there. CP Galt sub was much busier thanks to some detours and I narrowly missed a 117 car empty coal train coming out of Puslinch on my way home.
2008-06-22June 22nd, 2008
I went to Guelph Junction for a few hours in the afternoon, catching 6 eastbounds in mediocre weather.
2008-06-28June 28th, 2008
We went on an Alco hunting expedition for the Canada Day long weekend, starting with the BSOR, NYLE, and WNYP with a stop at Angola for CSX and NS along the way.
2008-06-29June 29th, 2008
We started our day out in Medina, scoping the Falls Road toward Lockport to chase a winery excursion train back to Medina. From there we caught CSX Q364 at the small town of Corfu and went off to the other side of Rochester to check out the OMID at Sodus. Finding nothing there, we headed up to Lyons until we got rained out and headed to Henrietta for the night. At our hotel, we looked up the address of the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum which Laura had found in the Rochester Visitors' Guide earlier in the day. We went off in the evening to see if we could find them, hours after their scheduled closure. We found the museum and started photographing the equipment parked out front. Moments later, LV 211, the museum's RS-3M, came down a hill and the crew were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. Checking that museum out definitely paid off.
2008-06-30June 30th, 2008
Using information from the fine folks at the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, we returned to Sodus first thing in the morning and asked at Ontario Midland's office what the itinerary was for the day. We found the northbound OMID outside Newark as it departed the interchange at about 10:30 and then took off to Avon to find the Livonia, Avon, and Lakeville where we expected to find them switching. They had already taken off and so we headed back to Henrietta to find them and some lunch at MacGregor's, whose parking lot backs on to the LAL-CSX connecting track. After CSX Q377 and Q393 passed, the LAL came back southbound, and we headed back to Avon to get them returning to town, the tracks being too fast to chase. From there we headed home, catching CP #426 and #155 near Guelph Junction and GEXR #432 at Wellington Rd 29 back in Guelph. A perfect end to a perfect trip.
2008-07-05July 5th, 2008
We went to Guelph Junction and mile 30 for a few hours. We saw CP #241 get scannered (hotwheel, axle 47) at 42.6 and it was shortly followed by #159. At mile 30 we got CN #148, #435, and #338 with WSX 302. Back at CP we wrapped up the day with #2245 meeting an eastbound at Puslinch.
2008-07-22July 22nd, 2008
We took Via 84 and 44 to Ottawa for OLS.
2008-07-27July 27th, 2008
We took Via 45 and 87 home after a week in Ottawa for OLS.
2008-08-04August 4th, 2008
In Guelph, the August long weekend is now known as John Galt Day. These are shots taken by me and my wife of the move of the handcars GHRA ran, borrowed from the historical railway group in Palmerston, and then only by my wife of the festivities -- and of course of VIA #85 crossing the viaduct.
2008-08-21August 21st, 2008
Guelph's new tourist train's first test run was sponsored by Sleeman and ran south from the River Run Centre with a number of VIPs. I took a few minutes to shoot it, the first passenger train this century on the Guelph Junction Railway, passing under the Goderich-Exeter viaduct over the river, then waited a few minutes for OSR 182 with one plastics car and VIA 85 to pass. Had 85 been running on schedule, I would have shot it in the same frame as OSR 182 -- the holy grail of Guelph railfanning.
2008-09-07September 7th, 2008
With our by-election in Guelph cancelled by a Prime Minister who can't keep his word on anything one day before voting day in favour of a general election, I took off to London to chase an EMD extra with 17 JT42CWR locomotives bound for France and Germany.
2008-10-18October 18th, 2008
For my first trainspotting excursion since the federal election was called, we took a few hours at mile 30. We caught CN #435 there, a 39x eastbound, X392 at Mansewood, and #547 working the Glass spur.
2008-10-19October 19th, 2008
I went to Alma to shoot GEXR #580 heading up the Guelph North Spur with 3 cars for Traxxside (formerly Bio-pro), went off on an errand, and caught them leaving town light power.
2008-10-22October 22nd, 2008
Needing a poutine fix, I headed to Pierre's Poutine on Macdonnell, easily the best poutine west of the Quebec border, and then went over to Guelph station for GEXR #432. While we were waiting for it to come through Guelph, OSR indicated on the radio that the Guelph Junction Express was coming to a stop at the River Run. A few minutes later, 432 went through the station and the GJE arrived, and I missed a chance to shoot them together on/under the viaduct. I then chased the GJE back to Victoria Rd on its way home.
2008-11-29November 29th, 2008
With only a month left in a crazy year, I headed down to mile 30 for a bit to get out. CN 382, 393, 422, and 338 came in short order and, with nothing else coming, I went back home. 382 was a bit of a sign of the times, operating with three engines and one single freight car.
2008-12-01December 1st, 2008
Laura took a few photos out of the window of Amtrak 463 at Utica station on her way back from visiting family.
2008-12-02December 2nd, 2008
Trevor picked me up and we headed down to Killean ahead of the CP Holiday Train, which crossed the 42.6 detector as we crossed the 401. It came in relatively short order with my camera declaring "ERR 99" as the train entered the frame. From there we headed down to Galt where the show was taking place and parked down by the bridge. We set up for the annual bridge shot, and at the end of the show, the train took off without stopping on the bridge. Can't, apparently, have everything.