A day to remember

Today I was going to Mississauga with Daniel to go see the CP Spirit train. I was planning this day for 5 months. Once we got to the Cooksville GO station we met Ryan (Localrailfan) and Carson. We couldn't believe what they had done. They parked the engine so far away and we couldn't get pictures because a fence was in the way. Then "The Protesters" came. They drove everyone crazy. The Spirit train was 15 minutes late starting because of them. After we got in Carson stood on a light pole so he could get pictures for me and Ryan. Then as me and Daniel were going to leave so we could go to Bayview,we soon found out that we wouldn't be getting there at the time we wanted because guess why "The Protesters" AGAIN. 1 of the police officers tried to get us around but the fence was locked. After they kept going on the police lined up like a herd of cows and started pushing them out of the way. I got this on video as not only did they start yelling but they started pushing back. It was insane but finally we got out of there.

Once we got to Hamilton West we realized that there were too many weeds and a huge tree in the way so we had to go back. Once we got to Bayview we saw a clear signal on the 3rd track heading up the Dundas Sub. We didn't have to wait long to find out the light was for CN 435. Eventually, 435 came around the bend with CN 2551 and IC 6103. Unfortunately we had to wait another 2 hours and 10 minutes for our next train and it was Via 76. Via 76 had 2 engines which is quite rare. Via 6421 and 6412. Then Via 75 came with Via 915 and to end our day was Via 95 with Via 6424. Bayview wasn't very good but Mississauga was.

Via 92's surprise!

Today I found out that Via 92 was going to have the Via 6414 also known as "The Turd". At 2:45PM I went over to the Grimsby train station to see it. When I got there, I saw that another railfanner who lives in Grimsby was there. I had met him before. His name is Arnold. 10 minutes after I got there, Via 92 pulled in. I was happy to see that it had the Quebec Lotto Engine! The train came in at approx. 10-15MPH then slowed a bit more which made me think it would stop but it didn't. Via 92 was a couple minutes early in to Grimsby. Welcome back from vacation Arnold!

Railfanning: October 10 2008

Today I had a PD day from school so I used it to go railfanning. I have been planning this day for 3 weeks now. My plan was to go up to Copetown to get pictures of trains with the Fall scenery in the background. Well, I was very dissapointed when I got there. I found that the spot on Inksetter Road was covered in weeds so I couldn't go there then I found a CN driveway and I just went there. I was dissapointed because I wanted to go to a certain spot but I ended up going to a spot where I couldn't get the leaves.

Train Time. My first train came 10 minutes after we got there. It was Via 82. Via 82 came around the corner with Via 911. 20 minutes later both signals turned limited then the south track signal turned green. The south track signal was for Via 71. 71 had Via 916. The north track signal eventually turned green and it was for CN 385. CN 385 had some amazing power! The regular was CN 5717, the rare was WC 6004 and the not everyday thing was GTW 5939. I was exicted to see WC 6004 because it is the first I have ever caught on camera.

After that we waited an hour and had 0 trains so we decided to go to Bayview. We stopped for an early lunch along the way then when we got there we could see something doing switching in Hamilton yard. It turned out to be CN 550. The train did go by Bayview on it's way back to Aldershot. The conductor waved to all the people on the Bayview bridge. CN 550 had CN 7069 and CN 7015. After that me and Daniel walked down to the edge of the bridge. CN 394 popped around the corner. CN 394 had CN 5358,CN 5293 and CN 2608. A fun day and I will be going with Daniel to the CP Spirit train on Monday and maybe I can get up to Dundas next weekend to get pictures of the leaves.

Halton Sub Railfanning: September 20 2008

On Saturday me and Daniel went up to Mile 30 and Georgetown for the day. Daniel picked me up around 7:20AM and we were off to Scotch Block. We were scared that the Burlington Skyway bridge would be closed but we were lucky and only the Niagara bound lanes were closed.

We got up to Scotch Block around 8:20. Just as we got there, another person came in. He didn't stay for long. We had to wait for about 1 hour and 30 minutes for our first train. The train was CN 338 climbing up the hill. CN 338 had CN 2533 and CN 5299. CN 338 later met CN 385 in emergency near Georgetown.

CN 385 finally got on the move and after an hour with no trains we finally had 1. 1? More like 2 because CN 385 met CN 382 at Mansewood. When CN 385 passed it had CN 5678 in the lead, CN 2505 and G.T.W 5940. After CN 385 it took about 20 minutes for CN 382. CN 382 had nothing special. CN 5684 and CN 5360.

After CN 382 we were off to Tansley, or were we? Just as we were about 5 minutes away from Scotch Block we saw a train. We were off to Scotch Block but we didn't see it in time. We ended up seeing the end of it in Speyside. It was CN 392. We then decided to spend the rest of the day at the Georgetown station. As we got in to the parking lot of the station we missed CN 422 with another G.T.W. We heard that CN 339 was leaving MacMillan yard about 5 minutes after we got there. As CN 339 was 1 mile from the station, we heard that it was meeting CN 398 and CN 148 near Speyside. When CN 339 passed it had engines CN 2694 and CN 8009. I saw the very end of CN 339 meet with CN 398. CN 398 had engines CN 2251,IC 6130 and UP 5718.

After those 2 passed I saw the light far down the tracks near Credit turn green for CN 148. After 6 months of seeing no Intermodal trains I finally saw CN 148 with 2,000 feet of Intermodal. CN 148 had engines CN 5766 and CN 2516. 10 minutes after all 3 trains passed, we heard that CN 393 was departing Macmillan yard.

After 1 hour and 30 minutes the light finally turned green and soon after CN 393 came. CN 393 had CN 5630 and CN 5530. 10 minutes after CN 393 passed we heard one of 2 trains we were waiting for depart Mac yard. The train was CN 399. We were happy it left because CN 399 usually has Union Pacific. CN 399 took the same amount of time as CN 339 and CN 393. After 2 hours it finally came by and it had CN 2663 in the lead and UP 4404. My second UP of the day.

Not long after CN 399 passed I hear CN 435 departing Macmillan yard. We were going to leave but we ended up staying for it. It's a good thing we stayed because it had a CN Slug on it. CN 435 had engines CN 2553 (which I also saw on CN 338),CN 5299 (which I also saw on CN 338), CN 4118,CN 7265 and CN 242. As we were about to leave we heard that CN 435 was meeting CN 394 and Mansewood. We ended up going to Stewarttown for CN 394. CN 394 had CN 5700 and IC 2704. After that we were on our way home after a long day of railfanning!

My new camera!

For 4 months now I have been saving up to buy a Canon Powershot S5 IS. Over that time I have been learning the good and bad about it. I've read reviews,descriptions etc. When I was on vacation in New Brunswick (July 26-August 3) every store I went in to I would look at it and compare prices from New Brunswick and back home in Ontario.

I'm not going to yap about this but anyways on Saturday September 13 2008 I purchased my Canon Powershot S5 IS and the St.Catharines Fairview Mall Blacks Camera store. But there's a story to it.

3 days before I bought this I had to go to Fairview mall to buy a new school bag because my bag got ripped. I went in to the store and looked at the price and it said $309. I looked closer and saw the sale ended 2 days before. On Saturday when I went to buy it and the price still wasn't changed. I ended up getting it for $309 instead of $350. I saved money on that and I also bought 2 memory cards and I got those on sale. I was very lucky that the store made such a stupid error!

Cody
www.Railfancody.piczo.com

Bayview Railfanning and a BNSF on CN 394!

On Saturday I went railfanning at the Bayview Junction bridge. I ended up seeing 4 trains but I missed CN 393 (because of my stupidity). I got to Bayview at 3:00PM. I was trying to get CN 385 but I ended up missing it. 5 minutes later I heard "CN 385 clear expection left side". 2 minutes later CN 434 came around the corner with CN 5695 and IC 1020. The train had 138 cars.

25 minutes later I heard the hotbox detector go off right near the Hamilton yard. I knew it was Via 92 because I was expecting it. 10 minutes after it hit the hotbox detector it came by the Bayview bridge with Via 915 and 4 or 5 cars.

I decided to go to the lower part of the bridge just so I could get good pictures if a train came around the corner. Not even 10 minutes after I went to the lower part of the bridge, a train came off the Dundas Sub. As it came around I noticed there was a BNSF on it but I couldn't tell if it was a Pumpkin or a Warbonnet. As it got even closer I noticed not only did it have a BNSF it also had a Blue,Red and White Grand Trunk and that's not all! It also had my favourite type of CN engine it the lead. The engine numbers were CN 8015,GT 5937 and BNSF 930. I wanted to try and get it at King Road in Aldershot so I left and as I was leaving I saw the light turn from Red to Limited. My stupidity ended up not getting CN 394 at King Road and my stupidity also made me miss CN 393 (which could of had something good on it). It was a fun hour of railfanning!

CN 394: http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u335/Railfancody_/September62008Bayview018.jpg

GT 5937: http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u335/Railfancody_/September62008Bayview020.jpg

BNSF 930: http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u335/Railfancody_/September62008Bayview021.jpg

To view more pictures please visit www.Railfancody.piczo.com.

NS 369 and more in Fort Erie

Today I went to Fort Erie. Not even 5 minutes after I got there I heard a train honking for the bridge. I got ready for it when I heard on my scanner it was CN 338. CN 338 came by with engines CN 2418 and CN 5551. I was kind of mad when CN 338 was stopped in the yard for almost 40 minutes. 10 minutes after CN 338 came, a pair of CN High Rail trucks came over from Buffalo.

Another 30 minutes passed when I heard NS 369 telling a CN worker it was coming. Then after that I heard NS 369 honking for the International Bridge. I saw a blue engine in the lead and I knew it was a Conrail. I was very excited to see a Conrail engine come out of the bridge. NS 369 had engines NS 8439 and NS 8807. I really liked the train because it had a Conrail in the lead and a NS Dash 8 as it's second unit.

Another 5 minutes and I heard that NS 369 had to clear the bridge because CN 332 was coming. It took another 10 minutes for CN 332 to pass Fort Erie but when it came it had 1 engine and it was a CN Dash 8. When I was leaving Fort Erie I wanted to stop near the end of the yard to try and get NS 369 and CN 331. I got CN 331 because it was very easy to see but I couldn't get pictures of NS 369 because it was being blocked by bushes. I had a fun day of railfanning.

To see pictures please visit www.railfancody.piczo.com.

Dundas Sub railfanning and CN 399 with 2 Union Pacific!

On Sunday me and Daniel went railfanning in Ingersoll. We started off our day by going up on the CP Hamilton Sub to see CP 254 with CEFX 1050 as it's lead engine.We only stayed 30 minutes and it never came. We took off for Ingersoll and we ended up getting there about 2 hours later.

When we were coming up to the Ingersoll crossing the gates started going down. The train ended up having 2 CN engines. We then watched the north track signal turn from Limited to Green. Walter the railfanner from Ingersoll pulled up just as the CP frame train was passing on the CP line. He went out to catch it as we had our lunch.

After 2 hours at the station and no trains we got ready for Via 73 to come. 73 came around the Ingersoll curve with a P42DC leading and a F40PH-2 trailing. 5 minutes after the "J Train" passed we heard CN 385 honking for other crossings. CN 385 ended up having 3 CN engines.

After 2 more hours and no trains we waited for Via 76 to come. 76 came by Ingersoll with engine 911. And again the fairytale went on and 5 minutes after 76 came by, CN 393 pulled around the corner. Another 3 engines and it was starting to be a joke.

We had enough and we were off to Paris. When we got to Paris we heard CN 434 talking to DS. I found out CN 434 was doing some work in the Paris yard. 5 minutes after we got there Via 675 rolled by with a P42DC in the lead. Another 15 minutes passed and CN 434 departed Paris. We had a green light on the south track and we were waiting for a train to pull up heading towards London. We ended up having a train come that was heading towards Dundas. I have no idea what train it was. We decided to leave Paris and call it a day. That's until I heard CN 399 at Burlington West.

Again we were off on a train hunt. We were going to go to Copetown to see it but we didn't want to risk not finding a spot to get it or missing it. We grabbed some dinner and went to the Brantford station. When we got to the station, CN 382 was doing work in the Brantford yard. CN 382 had CN 5700, IC 6120, IC 61?? and CN 5431 (which I have seen before in Brockville). 5 minutes after 382 left, Via 79 rolled in with engine 920 in the lead. We heard that CN 399 was meeting 382 a couple miles from the Brantford station. Another 10 minutes and the grand finale was CN 399 with 2 Union Pacific engines! I was so excited to see the 2 UP on 1 train! I had a very fun day of railfanning.

CN Test train through Grimsby

Today around 11:30AM I heard that there was going to be a Test train going through Grimsby. I also heard that CN 422 would be meeting it at Nelles Road. When I heard it clear the signals near Oakes Road (in Grimsby) I went over to Nelles.

10 minutes after I got there, CN 422 came by. It had engines CN 5373 and CN 5366. Another 5 minutes passed when the gates started going down for x905. X905 came by with engines CN 7017 and CN 7022 plus 1 old blue boxcar and a old CN passenger car.

To see pictures please visit www.railfancody.piczo.com

CP 426 with 7 engines!

Today at about 11:30AM my friend Ryan called me to tell me that CP 426 was coming my way with some really good engines. My friend also saw the train yesterday http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=DwBu25KtNGk.
I decided I wanted to go up on the Escarpment to see it. I had my scanner set to the CP Hamilton Sub for about 4 hours and I finally heard the train get a clearance out of Kinnear. About 30 minutes later I decided to go up to see it because CP 246 was in front of it.

When I got the the intersection to where I normally turn I saw that the road was closed. I had to take a 10 minute detour. As I was on my way I heard the hotbox detector go off at MP44.9. I had to rush if I was going to see 246. I decided to turn down a road that had a crossing with no gates and only a crossbuck. I found that because of so much extra traffic there was no where to get pictures. So I was on the move to not miss 426.

After another 10 minutes of driving I was finally at MP40. Not even 5 minutes after I got there I heard CP 426's horn. Another 5 minutes passed when the train came by. The train came by with engines CP 8750, 9580,GCFX 3095,3102, 3064,3098, RPRX 2405. When the last car on the train passed I turned my tripod trying to get a good video and I realized that I had my camcorder in the wrong mode and I never got a video! But I did get some nice pictures.

To see the pictures of each engine today please visit www.railfancody.piczo.com and go to the August 2008 page.

CN 422 with a pair of IC engines

Yesterday I was in Grimsby when I came up to Kerman Road in Grimsby and I saw that there was a train coming. I didn't have my camera with me but I did see the train. It ended up being CN 421 and it had 2 Illinois Central engines. So I decided that I would try and get CN 422 today and hopefully it would still have the Illinois Central engines.

This morning around 8:30AM I heard that CN 422 was at MP 11 of the CN Grimsby Sub. I told my friend Daniel that it was coming so he could go see it. I went over to Nelles Road around 8:55 and at 9:02 I began to hear 422's horn. I got set up and it came by with CN 5265 (which I saw on CN 332 on Firday) IC 3117 and IC 6056.

To see pictures please visit www.Railfancody.piczo.com

Trains in and around Toronto

Today I went to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. I took GO 911 from Burlington to Exhibition. Going through Mimico yard I saw a lot of Via Rail engines. I saw some P42DC's and F40PH-2's.

On my way back I saw 6 new GO engines in Mimico yard and I also saw about 5 F40PH-2's. I had a fun day and on the way back when I got off at Burlington I waited for the train to leave to see what engines it had but it only had F40PH-2's and no MP40's.


To see pictures please visit my website www.Railfancody.piczo.com

Railfanning: August 15 2008

Today around 10:30 I found out on my scanner that there were going to be some trains coming through Grimsby. At 12:00PM I found out that 4 were coming and I phoned my friend Daniel in St.Catharines to tell him.

Right when I got off the phone I heard CN 339 in Grimsby at the train station. I quickly got over to the train station to find 339 stopped and the crossing was down. I had to take a little detour 2 minute detour to get to the other side so I could get pictures of the train. As 339 was parked another railfanner from Grimsby pulled up to get pictures of it. When it started up, one of the workers was waving and yelling "hi".

As 339 passed I heard on my scanner that I had almost an hour or more for another train to come. I went and grabbed a ice cream cone and came back to the station. I heard more on my scanner and I decided to go back home for a hour.

When I got home I saw that my friend had called. Right when I called him 338 and 94 pulled in to St.Catharines. Via 94 had the Telus engine. I waited 10 minutes and went over to Nelles to get 338 and 94.

As I getting out of my house I heard "CN 338 cleared on Approach to Nelles". I got over to Nelles in time to get some pictures and some videos. CN 338 passed with engines CN 2249 and CN 2550. 10 minutes after 338, Via 94 came by with the Telus engine and 3 cars.

When I left Nelles I wanted to go over to Baker Road to see if the light was green. I looked down the tracks and it was flashing orange. I waited a minute and it turned Green. I knew 332 was coming. I heard clear the signals and I got some pictures of it. I got bad pictures of it because I couldn't go behind the road because of construction. 332 had a old and rusty 5265.

I had a fun 2 hours railfanning and I only got to see the Telus engine and CN 338 thanks to my friend Daniel.

For pictures from today please visit my website: www.Railfancody.piczo.com.

Railfanning: August 11 2008

This morning me and my friend Daniel went railfanning in Grimsby. We got Via 97,CN 421,Via 93 and CN 339. We waited about 45 minutes for Via 97 to come. Via 97 had Amtrak engine 23.


Right after that CN 421's light was shining down the tracks. And 5 minutes after 97, 421 came by. CN 421 had engine 8803 and about 100 cars.

We had to wait another 30 minutes when we heard that CN 422 and CN 339 were meeting at Mansewood. We predicted it would take about 1 hour and 30 minutes for 339 to get to Grimsby. 45 minutes later Via 93 came by with engine 6438.

We waited another 30 minutes for 339 and right when we were going to go we heard "CN 339 cleared on Approach to Nelles Road". It took 5 minutes for it to get to Baker Road and it had engines 2571 and 5692.

To see pictures I got today please visit www.Railfancody.piczo.com or http://s517.photobucket.com/albums/u335/Railfancody_/

Railfanning: Saturday August 9 2008

Left: CN 421 smoking up, Right: CN 339, Top:CN 331 in Beamsville.



Today I heard on my scanner that CN 339,421 and 331 were coming by Grimsby all in the same time period. So I decided to go over to the train station. I waited about 15 minutes when I saw a light coming from down the tracks. I got ready. It was CN 339 with engines CN 8808, 2571 (I didn't get a picture of) and CN 8834.

When the train passed I looked down the tracks again and CN 421 was pulling up on the North Track. The train was going very slow to give 339 time to get farther down. It took about 5 minutes for 421 to pass. CN 421 had engines CN 8817 and CN 2670.

After that I knew I had another 10-25 minutes to wait for 331 so I decided to go to Beamsville to get it. I got it on the Beamsville hill. When 331 came it had CN 2500 leading and CN 2646 trailing.

Later in the evening I got Via 98 with Amtrak engine 753 leading.

More Hail in Grimsby!

On Thursday August 7 2008 around 5:20PM it began raining. I looked out my front window and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw not only rain falling but lots of hail! I quickly got out my camera to get some pictures and videos. This is the second time in 2 days!

Hail in Grimsby!

Today at 6:00PM it began raining very heavily. Around 6:15 I heard smashing sounds coming from my backyard. I went to the window and I saw on my deck lots of pieces of hail! I couldn't believe my eyes because I have never seen hail like this before. I quickly got out my camera to get some pictures and videos. I entered my videos to CTV News and CP24. Here are some of the pictures and videos. I also received minor flood damage.

Via 94 in Grimsby

Today I wanted to get CN 331 and Via 94 in Grimsby. In the early afternoon around 1:30 I had my scanner on and I was listening for the train horn or for my scanner to go off. Around 1:45 I heard CN 331's horn I knew that would be the last freight until it was dark.

Around 2:50 I went over to Nelles Road in Grimsby to get Via 94. I was hoping it would not have the 6425 engine on it because it has been on it so much lately. I was getting my tripod set up when I heard the horn go off. I was rushing to get set up but then the gates started going down. I couldn't get a video of the train but I got some really good pictures and instead of the 6425, I got the 6413 which made me even more happier.

NS 369 and more in Fort Erie

This was actually on July 10 2008.

Today I went to Fort Erie to try and catch NS 369 and I did. When I got to Fort Erie I got off the highway at Bowen Road. I came by the Fort Erie train yard and there was very little parked in the yard. When I got to the end of the yard beside International Bridge I saw NS 369 parked beside CN 339.

I walked down and got some pictures of it. As I was getting pictures of it I heard 339's bell go off. I ran back to where my tripod and I got a video of it leaving. 339 had engines CN 2623, CN/IC 6135 and CN 5535.

I walked back to the NS train where I got some more pictures of it. I saw some other railfanners there. There was about 3 different railfanners taking pictures of 369. NS 369 had engines NS 9850, NS 2700 and NS 9090. I walked back to the bridge and I heard that he was going to go on the bridge and then back up to Track 99. NS 369 pulled up then it stopped on the bridge for about 10 minutes.

As 369 was parked on the bridge CP 254 pulled and stopped at the light at Duff. CP 254 had engines CP 8635, GCFX 3098 and GCFX 3073. The 2 GCFX engines were the 2nd and third I have ever seen. As I was getting pictures of CP 254, NS 369 backed up in to Track 99. It was about 10 minutes before he left.

As I had my camcorder taping 369 starting up a CN worker in his truck got in the way. I had to stop my camera and move my tripod so he could get by. NS 369 left and when he cleared the bridge CP 254 started up and left.

At about 10AM before I went to Fort Erie I heard CP 426 with engine 8892 leave Kinnear yard and I was hoping I would see it because 8892 is a new engine. After CP 254 left I was putting my stuff in my car when I looked down the tracks and CP 426 was coming. I quickly got my stuff set up and I was just in time. CP 426 had engines CP 8892 and CP 8831. This was the best day I have ever had railfanning!