Saturday, September 20, 2008

So long and thanks for the memories!


After a few phone calls and several emails a couple of some reliable sources have told me it is infact true CN will be taking over NBEC/CFMG lines. CN is negotiating to take over 881 miles of track. There are a lot of worried people right now and I'm one of them. I am not working for the railroad however my fear is simply CN will buy the lines back and then dismantle them after a year or two to eliminate competetition. (OR however it's spelled!) Well that's not good. Also the current personel working for NBEC and CFMG have their union trying to secure their jobs accroding to the francaphone newspaper "Le Press" So far nothing yet on that. Throughout the railfan websites in New Brunswick everyone is suggesting to go out and take pictures while we still can. It won't be long now before CN locomotives are here again and NBEC/CFMG locos are gone for good.

So last night I did just that! I went to the Campbellton yard to catch NBEC 403 arriving, while waiting for 403 to arrive I seen several people walking along the tracks as though it was no bodys business! WOW!!!!!! There is a freight train coming it's clear to see but yet some idiots just don't understand. One of them had an MP3 player on walking in the middle of the tracks while the train was about 500 feet away! That's crazy. I believe one guy had flipped off the condutor as he rang the bell to get him out of the way. The arrogance.

Here's my pictures of NBEC 403 arriving in the Campbellton yard. As you can see not only did they put their lives in extreem danger but they also ruined some great shots too!


This would have been a great shot!

This is a pretty good one!

Nice close up!

403 approching the Campbellton yard limits.


The end of a short era.

5 comments:

Saintjohnrailfan said...

I've heard that CN has to work on repairing the Salmon river trestle, so they were going to use the NBEC lines as a detour. I would imagine that they would still keep VIA running that line too.

clam502 said...

I didn't hear that one. Wouldn't surprise me though. Well I know Canadian law regarding railroads and abandonment states that as long as there are customers on the line they can't abandon. I know there are ways around that law. I know VIA stands to lose lots of money if they(CN) closes the Newcastle and Mont Joli subs.

Graham said...

Hey could you say where you took the photos (Sept 20, 2008) of NBEC 403 arriving Campbellton? My guess is you were near Subway Street on the north side of the tracks. But then, looking at the shadows, the time when you took the photos must have been very late in the day. Do you remember the approx time?

Thank you!
Al

clam502 said...

HI Alan, Yes I took those pictures at the top of Water street on the north side of the tracks. Near the Subway. I would have to say those pictures were taken between five thirty and six in the evening. The first picture at the top of the post was actually taken in 2007, so it wasn't part of the series that I have at the end of the post. Thanks for reading. Hope this helps.

Graham said...

Thanks for the quick response. It makes sense to me. Way back (approx 40 years ago when I was a kid) I used to live on King Street. I remember when there were wig wags at at Cedar and Prince William crossings ... you wouldn't know where I could find old photos showing wig wags at those crossings, by any chance?

I miss your posts from Campbellton and hope things are going well for you in Halifax.