VIA 15 Chatter

This evening around 2100hrs VIA 15 called RTC to report they were attacked by two moose. "I just wanted to tell you we were attacked by two moose less than a minute ago at mile 136.(?) I don't think they made it." RTC Called back and confirmed the hit and I'll assume DNRE will be there in the morning to pick up the remains. They were talking about it again later on with VIA 17 when they met up in Matapedia. A buddy of mine said those moose had to have been really lost to be that close to civilisation, mileage 136.(?) is just outside of Jaquet River and I have a pretty good idea where that is.

INR PT 4 Update

As promised before I said I'd scan the photo copies of the map I had found at the Library and here they are. They are very detailed and contain a wealth of information.

NBEC 591

NBEC 591 is delayed in Campbellton, apprently there is something wrong with a locomotive in Charlo and was ordered by RTC to switch to the sideing there to wait for further instructions. 591 will be 45 minutes late to Dalhousie.

///UPDATE\\\

NBEC 402 had problems with a locomotive this morning and they were told by RTC to leave the engine on the siding at Charlo so that 591 would pick it up around dinner time tomorrow 26 Feb 08. I'll be sure to catch this train, the 591 will be ordered not to exceed track speeds of 10 mph. I'm not sure yet on what type of problems, I only assume problems with the locomotive.

My equiptment.

No one has asked me yet but I'm going to share with you what I use to take video and stills of trains. I use only two pieces of electronics's. My Kodak Easyshare C875 with a 5X optical zoom at 8.0 mega pixels. My scanner is a Uniden BC72XLT and has NASCAR written on it. In my opinion it's not the best scanner around however it serves it's purpose for me very well though there are times I pick up an annoying sound every now and then other than that it's pretty good as in it serves me well. However when summer comes I'll be looking into getting a new camera and scanner that will out do what I have now at any length. Why do I have small stuff now? Well baby's have to learn how to crawl before they walk right?

INR Pt 4

So I followed some advice and went back to the Campbellton Library and the librarian there today was extreemly helpfull with me she showed me maps I haven't seen before and even an old map of Campbellton. They were city plans from 1906 - 1950(?) I have photo copies of one page in particular that really caught my attention but I couldn't research more because I was under a tight schedule so I had to make as many quick copies as I could. I checked the Campbellton Graphic but in my haste I didn't find anything perhaps next time I'll have more time and I'll be able to screuitnise even more than today. As soon as I make scans of the copies I have I'll post em. They are very detailed and are from 1941 so it shows everything I've been looking for per se.

Youtube videos

Though the message behind these two videos is very serious and not funny at all, I still like to to look at the lighter side of things. This is a video by mtrails



This next one is by rocky1266. Again the message is a very serious and unfunny topic however these two videos are unique.

NBEC 403 - 21 Feb 08

Thanks to Steve Boyko who was able to give me a heads up on 403's departure from Miramichi I was able to catch it at Dalhousie Jct at 1900, exactly the time I figured it out to be.
I was waiting at Dalhousie Jct for no more than ten minutes when I heard the crackling on my scaner 403 had passed the defect detector, all I picked up was "Detector at mile post 153.(?) .......Total axel 83......Detector out!" My scaner isn't the strongest so I can only pick up so much however it has no problem picking up static or other nonsense.

From there I caught it again at McLeods and again in Campbellton, I tried to get it at the Andrew street crossing in Campbellton however we were delighted to Campbellton's annual "Sno fest" and the parade of lights instead. My Daughters were not only treated to the 403 but to a parade as well, which they very much enjoyed. At a crossing in McLeods the trainmen decided to give me a good dose of the horn as you will hear in the second video which by the way there are three and all three are posted on Youtube. I do apologise for the second and third video's I didn't have my tripod out, I was in a bit of a hurry to all three locations and as usual my Daughters are heard in the background. In the second video I came to realise how good the mic is on my camera it sure can pick up everything really good and even the slightest words uttered. HAHA! Word to the wise...Bring spare batteries when your out chaseing trains.

Again I didn't catch all the engine numbers however the lead power on tonight's 403 was NBEC 6902 two SD40's and two Alco's I think I got those right correct me if I'm wrong. I'm still learning engine types.

Again Thank you Steve for the heads up and hope you all enjoyed the videos I'm not a big fan of shooting video at night but it's better than nothing.

Oh and one more thing I also got 591 arriving in the Campbellton yard (As usual) That's posted as well.
Chris.

What might have been!

Last evening I was on my way to town on my usual evening coffee run, I was still on the bridge when I noticed NBEC 403 still hadn't arrived in Campbellton that was when I realised I didn't have my camera or my scaner with me, however just then I looked to the other side of the bridge and seen the crossing lights at the Andrew Street crossing flashing Darn! I missed it however all wasn't lost, I still caught it as it entered the Campbellton yard but I have no pictures or video as already mentioned I didn't bring it with me. The girls on the other hand got the train fix for the day though so all was a total loss.

Another thing worth bringing up is there has been a lot of rummors and talk of CN buying back the NBEC line from Mont Joile down to Moncton...Well I have mixed feelings about that another rummor I've heard was because they are interested in the NBEC is among other things there is a possibility of mines opening up on the North Shore and in Northern New Brunswick which would mean a tonn of money for CN and they want in obviously. As part of that rumor CN is paying way too much money for the Napadogan Sub the bridges there are too big and long and cost CN too much money whereas on the NBEC there are fewer bridges and are small, the largest ones would be in Miramichi and Matapedia and those three don't compaire to the Salmon River Thristle so you can just imagin how much it would cost to up keep that one and the others on the sub compaired to the ones on the Newcastle sub. Another rummor I heard was they are going to abandon the Napadogan sub all together and use the Newcastle sub as their main line in New Brunswick Now that I'm not too sure on I wouldn't keep my fingers crossed on that one, however it would make sense if it costs them too much to keep it going. The route is slightly longer but costs less to upkeep aside from inital maintence start up costs the Newcastle sub is the best choice and on top of that if they shut down the Napadogan sub we're looking at more freight passing through here and that would obviously mean more jobs to the sense that they need people to move the freight around in Campbellton and maybe the Campbellton yard will become the busy place it once was back in the 50's, 60's 70's and to the late 80's. MAYBE!

However those are just rumors all I know for fact is in the next few weeks CN will be having talks with NBEC about what I'm not sure from what I understand it's about trackage rights at Pacific Jct (?) and stocks and bonds. But that's all I know the rest is just rummors. Well that's been the last week or so with me in regards to the rails.

UP "Big boy"

These monsters on rails were first built in 1941 at the onset of the United States entering WWII. There were only twenty five built they were desingnated the 4000 class starting of course at 4000 to 4025. They were built in two phases. Phase one was from 4000 - 4019 and phase two 4020 - 4025.

These magnificant machines were built primarly to haul long freight trains through the western United States on UP lines, ranging from California through Utah to Machigan (So I've heard.) These locomotives had an unbelievable amount of HP and weighed 540,000 lb or 245 tonns and with the tender this monster weighed 1,208,750 lb or 604.3t. Now try stopping one of these beauties on a dime with a two mile freight behind her going down a streight strech at top speed.

As mentioned ubove the big boy was built to handle long freight trains through the Utah mountains and up long grades one in particular known as "Shermans hill" of course it was WWII so freight trains mainly consisted of Military goods so it would be a safe bet these trains were long ones and the Union Pacific's Big Boy was the right tool for the right job at the right time. Never again will we see such a beautiful machine ever again. I have found a few videos of the Big boy on Youtube this one is by pentrexvideos he's got some really good videos and he also sells some from his personal website http://www.pentrex.com/.




And this next one is by ChronoStorm. It's a good video and there is even the THX sound test at the begening...haha oh well it's a great video and to some extent picked the right song to go with this particular type of Steam engine.

I want one of these for my car!

Last night I was bored and found a video on youtube, it was these guys who installed train horns on their trucks and drive around scareing the crap out of people. Well after I was done laughing hystrically I went to their site http://www.hornblasters.com/ and found a load of info, apprently you can buy a train horn and kit for about $500.00 So of course I started dreaming...Picture your self driving around blasting that horn you'd scare the crap out of people for sure and if a rail fan were around you'd sure confuse him. I had a good laugh at the thought.



Also for those golfers out there they have something for us too! I can't embed the video you'll have to follow this link http://www.hornblasters.com/video.php?pic=37 and watch it from there.

You might be a railfan if...

So I was looking up some info on a railfan site and came across a humor page and of course I couldn't resist, I checked out and it's a parody of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." So rather redneck it's railfan. I only fit one of those trademarks see how many you fit and get a good chuckle while your at it too. I sure did.

My source for this is from http://www.nrhs.com/railfan/you_know_you_are_a_railfan_if.htm

Enjoy.

1. On your railfan outings, the four food groups become: McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Mr. Donut.
2. Your car has a bumper sticker that says "This vehicle stops at all railroad crossings."
3. Your car's license plate is customized with a locomotive designation, railroad initials, or both.
4. You've been known to stand on the roof of your car to get that shot over the fence.
5. Your scanner is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (This would be me as well)
6. Your cat's name is "Chessie".
7. Your dog's name is "Conrail".
8. You can tell the difference between a U23B and a B23-7.
9. If the dispatcher loses track of a locomotive consist, he usually calls you at home for help.
10. You hang out at the same hobby shop so much that people mistake you for working there.
11. You've ever bargained for a cab ride with a warm pizza and a six-pack of Coke.
12. You believe that your status as a railfan is proportional to the number of cameras around your neck.
13. You have a web site set up on railfanning. (That would be me.)
14. When you talk about "Big Macs" you are not referring to a McDonald's burger.
15. You and your railfan buddies get into EMD vs. GE arguments the way rednecks get into Ford vs. Chevy brawls.Original source apparrently via Trainweb.org.

Railfanning safety.

After viewing one of my videos and reading a comment on that video I had decided to make this post. In one of my videos on youtube I was standing pretty close to the train as it rolled by well I want to stress this point. It was a stupid mistake on my behalf and I DO NOT recomend that at all. My own action not only sets a bad example to other railfans and the general public whom had viewed that video but I had also set a very bad example to my children whom have seen that video. It with that video in mind that I have decided to write about safety around railroads and trains in hopes that others will heed this as a valuable tip and warning.

So case in point I want to share some videos and a web site on railfanning safety. This site I have found talks about the verious dangers of railways and possible dangers that lurk nearby. This site is more about railfanning in India HOWEVER the points stressed within are for all railways world wide. http://www.irfca.org/docs/railfan-safety.html As I am very much sure everyone knows what kind of damage a train can do when it's hauling a long fully loaded train and we all know it can take a couple of miles to come to a complete stop. So my advice is keep safe while pursueing a train, it's a fun hobby also a dangerious one but can be a safe one as well.

A quick point about the video I had made last August where I was standing too close to the tracks. Though the train was going slow anything could have happened, this video here is proof of that, it's not violant or full of gore it's just a train derailment and it shows how quick and sudden they can happen with little or no warning at all.



And in this video I'm sure we've all seen by now it shows that common sense is the best safety device to use while photographing trains or taking videos. When doing so stay far enough away from the tracks as this video proves.



This last video shows that when your at a crossing with two sets of tracks to look both ways and wait for the warning lights to stop before crossing. Again nothing horriffic here to see.



I hope with these videos and with the site I provided we can make this a safe and enjoyable hobby. Also one more point to make when filming or taking pictures of trains always make sure you do so on public properity many people don't like it when you walk through their yards, I don't know from a personal expirence but I wouldn't like it if someone was in my yard without my knowledge or permission as I am sure you feel the same. Thanks for reading and keep it fun and safe.

SNOW!!!

So after this storm had passed I learned we're getting another one. Not as bad though this time we're getting between 15 - 20 cm of snow so that's not too bad by the way this winter has been going. So keeping in the spirit of the season I am posting this video by hogger01 it's a good video with some history behind it and the song is pretty catchy too.


And here's another by Hogger01

Railfanning 11 Feb 08

On Monday I went out to catch a train or two just get some new pictures and videos, I heard NBEC 1845 in the Campbellton yard doing some shunting, putting a train together for the 403. I only got two pictures and a six minute video. The video isn't the best, in the background you can hear my Daughters talking and mocking the people on the scaner, the video it self I'll admit isn't all that great it's kinda shaky and that dumpster was in the way so I tried to avoid getting it into the shot but as you can see I got it anyhow.

Later I decided to try my luck again with the 403, so we went for a drive to Dalhousie and when we stopped at my usual spot in Dalhousie Jct rather the 403 I caught a MOW plow and a truck on the tracks. They were talking about me on the radio, "There's a guy at the crossing taking pictures of us." Said the plow. The truck "Smile!" Got a good laugh. Or at lease that's how I translated it. My French isn't all that great but good enough to get by. Another thing I noticed was the lights weren't activated at the crossing at all, which I thought was rather odd, either they're not working or were deactivated by the work crew I'm not sure. If anyone has an explaination feel free to clear that up for me. I also took a video of that as well just thought I'd bring that up too it is a better video than that at the Campbellton yard. Well that was an interesting start to the week. I'll post those two videos on youtube as soon as I can.

Speaking of youtube there's a video on youtube that made me laugh not at him but with him and I can't say how offten this has happened to me as well, he was startled by the horn which the engineer had obviously done on purpose it's pretty funny though and I am sure that was the intent.



As I said in the comments this happens to the best of us, I can't tell you how many times I was caught off guard by those horns especailly when your expecting it to happen but they always seem to catch you off guard anyhow. NBECMich is the owner of this video and I may also add they're pretty good too, I like his videos. Anyhow enjoy and keep posting those videos!

Moncton Trip

Well today was a bit of a dissapointment. First I woke up late, I slept through my alarm clock I had set it for 0500. I woke up at 0750 and realised I missed the train so I I had decided to call the whole trip off figureing it wasn't worth it since there were no NBEC trains today and well it's a weekend so the yards in Bathurst and Miramichi were quiet I thought we diffently won't make it.

So I called the whole trip off by 0800, so I was up stairs makeing my morning tea and decided to turn on the scaner and mope around the house like a child upset about something when I heard the Ocean saying they were one mile from somewheres. My ears perked up, so I called the train station, the Ocean was late arriving and had left Campbellton at 0806 this morning so I rushed to get my self dressed and hastely got the girls dressed as well and we were out the door gunning it all the way to Bathurst to catch it arriving there. But I missed it by five minutes. So I hurried back to the highway and stayed in between 100 and 120 kph all the way to the chi. When we finally arrived I went to the station and again to my dismay I was fifteen minutes late. I shouldn't have stopped for the coffee! So we spent most of the day in Miramichi and had a quick lunch and decided to head back home. So the whole day was a complete failure however it was better than my typical Saturday. I figured I was about ten to fifteen minutes behind the 14 the whole time, it was quite dissapointing but I got to spend the day with my Daughters.

NBEC #403

This evening around 1750 I was on my way to Dalhousie to get some gas when I had noticed 403 hadn't arrived yet in Campbellton so just to take a look, I had decided to go to my unlucky spot in Dalhousie Jct and see if there was anything coming. As I approched the crossing I heard a crackling on the scaner. It could have been anything I thought, but just to be sure I decided to go have a look anyhow. I was about five hundred feet from the crossing when the hot box detector started talking. "OH CRAP!" I thought I knew it was 403 so very quickly pulled a "u-ey" and parked the car to the side and rushed out and reached into the back seat and took out my tri pod. I very hastely set my self up track side and less than a minute later I seen the lights of the lead power making the turn. I made a quick assessment of my surroundings and thought maybe I was too close to the tracks and as you might have seen in the video I was a little too close. So I moved over and noticed I was still close. All the while the train is getting closer. So finally I got a good safe distance away from the tracks and well the train went by.



As the train went by it kicked up a lot of the snow that fell all evening and I got a face full of it. You don't see me in the video but I ran back to the car because there was a lot of snow coming at me. It was quite funny as you could imagin, Melissa was there with me and you could hear her in the video telling me the train was one mile from Dalhousie Jct as she said that I had seen the head lights. She had a good laugh at my exspense when she seen all the snow hit me. Any how I took some pictures too they're not the best quality but they're good enough to post here. Also tomorrow I'll be heading to Moncton to chase the Ocean as far as maybe Miramichi and catch it as it arrives in Moncton. From there I hope to catch CN at Gort. Well I'll post my adventure tomorrow night when I return. One more thing the lead power tonight was NBEC 6900 and I didn't catch the other three. There were four in all.

Railfanning trip this weekend

This weekend I'll be heading to Moncton to do some railfanning there, I'm actually pretty excited about it, I was supposed to go tomorrow morning but due to an unforeseen incident I won't be able to chase the Ocean to Moncton like I had orgionally planned but not everything is lost though, I could still do that on Saturday morning. I may spend the night there not sure yet, I was considering chaseing Ocean 15 back to Campbellton but I think it's best if we returned with daylight rather than traval at night. I've never been to Moncton for this particular reason before so I'm not too sure on where to go, I've downloaded some maps to get to the Grodon yard and I know my way around Moncton pretty good so I think I'll do fine there. I'd like to goto Pacific Jct to take videos and stills from there that'll be a really great chance for me to get a lot of pictures I'm sure.

Yesterday I went to town get my coffee and 595 was one mile to Campbellton I knew it was the Dalhousie shunter so I parked my car on the side of the street and waited for the train to arrive and sure enough like clock work it arrived under ten minutes. I got the train it was all tank cars from the Chemical plant in Dalhousie. The power for this train was NBEC 1813 and five Procor tanker cars. I believe one of them was Sulphric Acid and the others were...well I'm not sure. After the crossing I went to the NBEC yard and 1840 was doing some yard work other than that it was a pretty quiet day. But here some pictures I took when I arrived in the yard.

Youtube videos

Among some of my favorite videos on youtube Trainmasterpat has some of my favorites, this one in particular is a cab ride on the 402-3 He's done an excelent job on editing and the video it self is just awesome. Also another notable videographer is Steve Boyko or Traingeek, his videos are really really good, always in a different location with different views and angles let's just say if I were to be up against these two in compatition of best videos I'd lose hands down in a flat second. (If that even makes sense.) Here's two of my favorites from both videographers.

NBEC #1816

Just a quick note on the NBEC plough train that went by this evening on the Cascapedia sub. RTC ordered the train to manually activate the lights at crossing 17.56(?) I'll assume they had either A. Physically activated the crossing lights or someone got out of the train and walked it across the crossing. They were also given caution at another crossing because the lights were not working at another crossing. I didn't catch the milage number I'm assuming it is the crossing in Pt la garde. There are several crossings in that area with no warning lights so that maybe it as well I'm not too sure.

NBEC Plough train

Today I was sitting in my kitchen enjoying my tea when my scaner started crackling, NBEC #1816 was switching from the Mont Joli sub to the Cascapedia sub in Matapedia. So I got my Daughters dressed up and we headed out to the crossing just down the road and waited track side and less than five minutes later the train had arrived. I chased it for a few Km's but not too far I was running low on fuel and also the train as you can see wasn't all that big only the lead power and a plough so there wasn't a whole lot to see. Anhow got some really nice pictures at one of my favorite spots.

Former INR line Campbellton to St Quentin NB. PT 3

For the past couple of weeks I've been out taking pictures of the former INR line through Campbellton and following up on a few tips. I receved an email about a week and a half ago about the remains of a bridge in Glencoe that was part of the former INR line. This bridge is aproximatly three hundred feet away from the line where the orgional 7.6 mile meets with the newer 2.4 mile long section. I was looking around further from my car and I noticed the bridge is now on private properity however you could see from the highway there has been considerable development over the past 90 years since the line was dismantaled back in 1919.




I've taken several pictures, of the former line this one here is of the bridge it self and directly across the highway is the newer bridge built in 1919 both bridges crossed Christopher Brook.

This is the newer bridge built in 1920 shortly after CNR bought the INR directly across the highway from one another.

This is the same bridge as ubove from where the tracks would have crossed the highway

In these pictures you could see the raised earth where the line used to be, this is about a hundred feet away from the old INR bridge.

This was taken just before the old bridge.This one was where the orgional 7.6 mile of track links up with the newer 2.4 miles that was built in 1919/20In this picture I'd like to point out the same in all of them you can still clearly see the raised earth of the track bed, it's quite interesting to see, knowing that your looking at New Brunswick Railroad history.

So there you have it, some of my latest pictures, and I'd like to thank Jim from NB Rails Yahoo group for pointing out that bridge for me, as I'm sure I've said many times before, I've seen a lot of these strutures and former road beds and never really gave them much thought and I guess to say ignored them all these years and not know what they really were but now that I know what they once were it gives me a certin appreciation for Railroad history. When the spring thaw comes I'll be sure to take more pictures before all the leaves come back for another summer so this way I could get a better view and better pictures of the old radbed as well as other pictures of the rest of the line to St Quentin.