Happy Holidays

Just wishing all my followers a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. Hope everybody had a great few days.

I was on my way home from PEI today (Boxing Day). As I was driving through Sussex, NB, I found out that CN 406 eastbound was passing through Rothesay, on it's journey east to Moncton. I decided to take the exit off the highway I take to get home. As I was on the off ramp, I heard the train pass through the hotbox in Hampton, so I knew they were only a few minutes away. I pulled over and grabbed a shot, as I didn't want to chance it and completely miss the train altogether.

Here's the result:



Happy Boxing Day everybody!

-Matt

New Domain Name

I've registered a domain name for myself. The address is:

http://www.saintjohnrailfan.ca

So far, it only redirects to my Youtube page, but eventually I'll probably put a small website up.

-Matt

Westbound Catch

After work yesterday, I found out that CN 406 westbound would be coming in to Saint John shortly. I decided to head to the outskirts of the city, about 5 miles out, actually. I arrived with about 10 minutes to spare.

At around 14:40 AST, CN 406 west comes by, hauling 84 cars.



-Matt

Antennas

For the time being, I'm going to scrap the idea of a brand new scanner altogether. Rather, I'm going to browse around for larger antennas which I can use on my current scanner, to help with the pick up range. It'll probably be worth more to me to do this rather than spend a lot more money a whole new unit.

-Matt

New Scanner Suggestions

I have a Uniden BC72XLT scanner. I'm looking to upgrade it, so to speak, with purchasing a new car antenna for it. I'm curious as to if there's any models out there which have a greater range than just a regular Nascar Scanner?

I've posted a suggestion area on my Youtube page for people to give me their ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/saintjohnrailfan

Thanks,

-Matt

A Rainy Saturday In Moncton, NB

Here's the happenings of my trip to Moncton on Saturday, December 4th.

I arrived in Moncton at around 5am. I knew that 120 was going to be after midnight departing Edmundston, and I knew that sometime after midnight, a CN 473 had departed Moncton with 5340 & 2644 for power. CN 121 was nowhere to be seen in the yard, so I'm guessing they were small enough to squeeze in a siding somewhere to meet 120. I was guessing on an arrival time for 120 to be between 5 and 6am. The later it got, the better chance for a day shot. Finally, at around 8:45 AST, 120 came flying by Berry Mills with CN 8866, BCOL 4647 and CN 8851 in DPU mode.

A waiting for another 90 minutes or so, CN 305 came through Berry Mills at around 10:20 AST (I think) with CN 8830, CN 5660, CN 5531 & DPU CN 2298, hauling around 9200 feet of train. Tim Dryden and Phil Ross stopped for a visit to watch the train roll by.

I decided to head out to Painsec to catch 120 roll by. At around 11:20 AST, 120 came through with around 5500 feet. Next up, CN 406 westbound. I was going to shoot them at the main crossing at Salisbury, but I ended up stopping at a friends place for a quick chat. He let me set up for a shot in his yard (Thanks Wendell). Shortly after 13:00AST, CN 406 came rolling by with CN 2446 & CN 5794, hauling a decent size train (still never got around to doing a car count). For the final shot of the day, I decided to catch them through Hampton, NB. They ended up passing through at around 15:15AST.

That was it for the day. I ended up missing CN 121, CN 569, CN 539, and VIA 14. Overall, it was a decent day, even with the rain.

Here's the results of the trip. It's all 5 shot in to 1 video:



-Matt

Little Quick Train Chase

A few Sundays ago, myself and NBSRFAN ventured up to Sussex to wait for CN 406 west. We shot the train west of Sussex, then shot it a few other locations between Sussex & Saint John, NB.



-Matt

Snowy Saturday 406

I decided that on Saturday before the staff Christmas Party, I'd venture out to catch 406 west. It was snowing somewhat heavily, and it would have made for a decent winter shot. Shortly after 15:00 AST, CN 406 passes mile 62, outside Hampton, NB, hauling 65 cars.

Unfortunately, the snow actually let up a bit before the train arrived. Oh well.



-Matt

CN 594 Running Light Power

I was on my way in to work on Friday morning at around 4:30 AST when I saw headlights of an oncoming CN 594. Usually this train would be well past me when I leave for work, but for some reason, it was running behind. I raced back to the first lit area to grab a shot. I soon realized that they were light power.

Oh well, better than nothing.

New Layout

I figured it was time for a change. I re-designed the page. Hopefully it's not too grotesque.

-Matt

Saturday In Moncton

I was out this past weekend to Moncton with Dave ( youtube.com/nbsrfan ) to catch a few trains. I won't go into great details of the trip, but here is the results of our trip.









-Matt

Sunday CN 406

Myself and Dave (NBSRFAN) were out to catch yesterday's CN 406 westbound. After a few hours of waiting, and a bit of snow, CN 406 finally comes into view with 5720 leading.

Quick Update

I posted a little box on the right hand side of the page where you can click to subscribe to my video channel directly from my blog.

Use it! Oh, and happy Halloween too.


-Matt

Thanksgiving Sunday Railfanning

Well, It's been awhile since I've posted anything. I was out with Dave (NBSRFAN) yesterday to catch a few trains on a beautiful Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday.

In the morning, we caught an NBSR Transfer train heading up the massive grade towards Dever Yard, on Saint John's west side.



Later in the afternoon, we caught CN 406 west heading through Rothesay, just outside of Saint John, with CN 2421 & BCOL 4645 for power, with 84 cars.



I also managed to catch CN 406 east with the BCOL unit in the lead, I'll post it once the video is uploaded.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers.

CN Train In Hampton

Last Thursday, I caught CN 406 east blasting through Hampton, NB with 77 cars. Here's the video.



Enjoy.

-Matt

Labor Day Railfanning

I was in Moncton last Monday (Labor Day Monday) to catch a few trains. It turned out pretty good, as I caught a total 9 trains.

Part 1:


Part 2:


-Matt

Labour Day Moncton Monday

I'm venturing up to Moncton tomorrow morning to do a bit of Railfanning, before the long weekend is over. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a few trains to make the trip worth while.

-Matt

A Quick Update

It's been awhile since I've posted something. I've been relatively busy over the last few weeks, so I haven't had much time to post anything. I'll just post some recent videos which I've managed to shoot over the last little bit.









I'll try to update the blog a little better.

-Matt

Older Power On Today's CN 406

Sorry for the delay between postings. Here's a video I shot today of CN 406 East with some older power, CN 6005 & CN 9672, hauling 49 cars.



-Matt

Detouring Trains

I'm going to be heading up to Moncton on Saturday and/or Sunday to catch the detouring CN 148/149 trains. There is a strike at the Port of Montreal, so ships are being diverted to Halifax, which means that these trains will be loading/unloading out of Halifax instead of Montreal.

I'm A Twit

I finally decided to join the Twitter world.

http://twitter.com/sjrailfan

You can follow me there if you'd like. It's really only going to be train sightings in the area and such..nothing really fancy.

Don't forget to check out my Youtube page as well: http://www.youtube.com/saintjohnrailfan

-Matt

Grand Falls In The Heat - Part 2

After catching 121, we decided to head towards Edmundston, to catch them after the crew change. In most circumstances, the crew change is pretty quick, but for some reason, they were taking awhile. About 90 minutes after arriving in Edmundston, they depart, and pass by mile 5.78 of CN's Pelletier Sub.



We knew that CN 308 was ordered in Edmundston for about 2pm. As they were ready to leave, they were told they would be meeting CN 305 in the siding at Saint Leonard. The siding in Saint Leonard is the longest siding on the Napadogan Sub, at around 9200 feet. Unfortunately, it's only about 25 miles outside Edmundston, meaning that if trains are forced to meet there, then one train can't really leave Edmundston until the other train is close. Anyway, there's a private crossing at the siding. We set up shop, and a short time later, the meet took place.



We decided to venture further down the line to catch 308 one more time before heading home. We settled for a crossing just outside of Plaster Rock, NB, mile 161.75 on the Napadogan Sub. About an hour later, it finally showed up. Because of the extreme heat, it was forced to a speed restriction.



After that, we decided to venture home. It was quite a long day...12 hours in 43 degree celcuis heat was enough.

Northern New Brunswick With Alot Of Heat

On Wednesday, myself and Dave Dineen (nbsrfan) ventured up to the Grand Falls/Edmundston, NB area to railfan. At the peak of the day, it was 43 degrees celcius with the humidex. With plenty of liquids and a car with an AC, we were ready.

We arrived in the area shortly before 6:30am to find red/red signals at the Ennishore siding. We ventured in to grab some fuel..ie, McDonalds. We went back and waited. At around 9am, the signals finally changed to green/red, indicating 121 was on it's way. We both decided to do something different. I went for a more scenic shot with my video, shoot back towards the train, on an uphill slope facing down. It turned out great, I think.



Dave had borrowed my other camera to do work with picture in picture. Here's his video:



He did a really great job with the picture in picture set up!

The day was just beginning, and so was the heat!

Part 2 later.

Happy Canada Day!

To all my Canadian followers out there, have a happy Canada Day! Try not to be too hungover tomorrow morning!

CN Safety Day

On Saturday, I was up in Moncton, NB attending the annual CN Safety day, at Gordon Yard. It was a great time, and I was able to talk to some great people while I was there.

Of course, while in Moncton, I managed to catch a few trains as well.

The first train was CN 120:



Next up, CN 305 leaving Moncton, with a DPU as well:



Finally, shorty after the safety day completed, a westbound CN 407 heads through Moncton's west side on it's way to Gordon Yard, with a rather long train.



It was a great day overall. I missed a few trains, but the quality of the ones that I caught made the trip worth it.

-Matt

Road Trippin' Last Sunday

On Sunday, myself and a friend of mine, Dave Dineen decided to do a road trip to see if we could catch a few trains. We arrived at our first location, Chipman, NB, just in the nick of time. As we were arriving, we heard CN 120 calling the signal for Chipman. We had to back track, and manage only to get this shot.



Afterwords, we decided to venture back into Moncton, NB to get a few daylight shots. We arrived in Moncton just as CN 120 was pulling into the Yard. After a crew change and a bit of work, they were on their way to Halifax, NS. We decided to venture out to Painsec Jct, located on Moncton's East side. We managed to catch them with the same loco consist, with 161 cars.



About 2.5 hours later, CN 305 hooked on to their train, did their work, and departed for Toronto, Ont. We managed to get a shot of them at Berry Mills, NB, located on Moncton's west end. Here they are with 5 locomotives, with around 10,000 feet of train.



Afterwords, we heard about a couple of more trains. One was arriving in Moncton, and the other was soon ready to depart. CN 569 arrived in Moncton, and CN 535 departed Moncton towards the Napadogan Sub with centerbeam & a woodchip car. Both were shot on video, but I have yet to upload them to Youtube. I should over the next day or so.

We decided to chase CN 406 west to Saint John. Today's westbound only had 26 cars, so it was relatively easy. I won't go into great detail about the chase, as the video speaks for itself.



After the chase, it was time to call it a day. We were both home by around 2:30pm, but we had both already been awake for 12 hours. To me though, it was worth it.

Enjoy.

-Matt

406 With Some Advanced Editing

After arriving home from work, I descovered that the eastbound (CN 406) hadn't left Saint John yet. I waited until they called the RTC to depart, and I decided to venture out.

CN 406 heads by with CN 2202 & CN 5718, hauling 92 cars.



I ran the video through some extra editing. It's relatively bright. The original raw file looked pretty dull, so I think this is somewhat of an improvement over the original quality.

-Matt

First Recording

I was browsing through my saved movies that I've shot and put on Youtube. I found one that I forgot that I had actually recorded and not uploaded. I'm pretty sure it's the same train as my "first video", but shot a few hours earlier. It's amazing the difference two and a half years makes.



-Matt

Not Bad...Only 10 Hours Late

A buddy of mine was conductor on CN 406 again on Saturday. He was not having much luck though. I decided to venture out to catch his train, and about 5 minutes before midnight AST, CN 406 West came through. Normally this train is usually here between 2 and 3pm at the latest.



They left Saint John about 2 hours later, but I didn't feel like heading out, as they were only around 3,000 feet.

-Matt

CN 406 East

A buddy of mine was conductor on CN 406 yesterday, Friday. It was relatively warm and sunny outside, and I had just finished up my work week. I decided to venture out to catch him on the return trip from Saint John to Moncton, NB.

Here is my lame attempt to be "artsy" with the shot. Maybe if I had a better tripod. Yeah, yeah, I know, don't blame the tripod.



-Matt

Blog of Note

Well, I'm flattered. Just like Steve's blog, I was chosen for the "Blog Of Note" for Friday, June 4.

Thanks blogger team, It's much appreciated!
http://blogsofnote.blogspot.com/2010/06/saintjohnrailfans-ultimate-adventures.html.

Seems like a motivating enough factor for me to keep updating this on a regular basis.

-Matt

A Bunch Of CN 406's

Here are a few (5) shots of CN 406 that I have shot in 2010 so far. These ones were, for some reason, set on the backburner and forgotten about. I decided to put them all together into one video.



Have a great Sunday.

-Matt

Railfanning in Moncton, NB

I decided to venture up to Moncton on Sunday to catch a few trains in the morning.

When I arrived in Moncton at around 3:00AM, CN 120 was sitting on the mainline at Lutesville west, waiting for CN 121 to hook on to their train and back up. Once completed, CN 120 entered the yard. A short time later, CN 121 departed Moncton, en route to Toronto, with IC 2703 at the head end.



After some work in the yard, and a crew change, CN 120 was on it's way again, towards it's final destination of Halifax, NS. I decided to venture out to a couple of locations to catch it.

First, at around 5:30AM, 120 heads through a private crossing in Dorchester, NB.



I got ahead of it and shot it at Maccan, NS.



Afterwards, I made a quick stop to fuel up. When I arrived back in Moncton, I discovered that CN 305 was hooked on to their train and was about to do a roll by inspection. I dashed out to Berry Mills, and shot 305 shortly after 8AM.



Not knowing what else there would be, or what the times would be, I decided to call it quits and ventured back home.

-Matt

Saturday In Grand Falls - Part 4 (Last Part)

After catching 473, I knew that the next train would be 305, but it was a matter of trying to figure out when it would come by. Figuring I had some time, I ventured down to Longley, NB. This area is located just south of Plaster Rock. It's a nice location, because it's the west end of the siding, as well, it has a nice straight away shot.

Upon arriving, I discovered a green/red signal, indicating that 305 would soon be arriving. About an hour later, 305 came through.



That was it for the trip. I decided to pack it in and head home. Pretty successful trip, I think.

Saturday In Grand Falls - Part 3

After shooting 121 at Baker Brook, I ventured back towards Edmundston. About 2 minutes outside the yard, I heard the RTC mention something in French, and it was to train 473, about mile 215....WHAT? 473? This came as a complete shock to me. I arrived back in Edmundston just in time to catch it coming in to the yard for a crew change.

About 35 minutes later, wasting no time, they were on the road again, heading west.



Next up, CN 305.

-Matt

Saturday In Grand Falls - Part 2

After CN 121 had passed Grand Falls, I decided to chase it back to Edmundston. I took the highway. Unfortunately, even at speeds of 120 km/h, it took over 20 miles to get ahead of it. I pulled off and managed to get one more video of it before it hit Edmundston.

About 45 minutes or so later, CN 121 had completed their crew change and were once again on the road west. I decided to try a different location. I ventured to Baker Brook, around mile 13 on CN's Pelletier Subdivision. I originally made a mistake and mentioned this spot as Lac Baker.



Part 3 to follow later.

-Matt

Saturday In Grand Falls - Part 1

As mentioned, on Saturday, I ventured up to Grand Falls/Edmundston to do some railfanning. As I was informed that there would be a 474 in daylight through there. I took an odd route to get up to Grand Falls.

I headed to Fredericton, then ventured up highway 8 towards McGivney, then cut across highway 107. While looking at Google Maps, I found what I though was a shortcut from Juniper up to Longley (Plaster Rock). When I arrived, I discovered that it was just an access road, blocked off only to be used by trucks. Drats...I had to venture all the way to the end of 107, up 105, then over to 109/390 to Plaster Rock. I ventured up highway 108 from Plaster Rock. When I arrived at Hazeldean (Bluebell siding), I noticed the west facing signal showing green/red. This was around 6:45am, leading me to believe that 121 hadn't been through yet, and 474 was on it's way...somewhere. I ventured in towards Grand Falls, driving by the Salmon River trestle...a quick view over revealed no train. All of the sudden, I heard the EOT device on the scanner....twice! I turned around and ventured back towards the trestle...as I looked up through the trees...I spotted...AUTORACKS! The tail end JUST crossed over the trestle as I was looking over. I was able to beat the train across the 108 crossing, and set up back over at the Hazeldean crossing. I managed to get a few minutes ahead of it. Sure enough, around 7am, CN 474 came through. I wasn't expecting this train til mid morning..so I was a surprise.

Afterwards, I ventured to Edmundston. There was nothing in the yard, leading me to believe that in fact, 121 hadn't been through yet. I ventured back towards Grand Falls. Near Riviere Verte, I noticed the east facing signal turn green..which meant it was aligned up for 121. I had no idea where it was, so I tried my best to get to Grand Falls. JUST as I was getting into Grand Falls, I saw 121 heading under the highway...a quick turnaround, and I was on chase yet again. I knew that if I wanted to get a shot..I had to do it soon, as trains ROCKET through from Grand Falls to Edmundston, so keeping up with it would be very tough. I got lucky and got ahead of it. I ended up getting a shot of the train at Laforge RD, just before it went under the 144 highway.

Here's the video for the first 2 trains:



It was quite a early morning so far..and it was about to get better.

-Matt

Northern NB on National Train Day

I completely forgot that it was National Train Day on Saturday. I went up to Grand Falls & Edmundston to catch a few trains. It turned out to be one of my better trips up there, and I didn't even get any trestle shots.

Videos and details will be posted later.

-Matt

The Friendly Engineer

A buddy of mine & fellow railfan was doing his Engineers training on 406 the last couple of days. Here's a video of his train, CN 406 east, heading through Rothesay, mile 78.46 on the CN Sussex Subdivision.

Grand Falls

Myself and nbsrfan will be heading up to Grand Falls & Edmundston, NB to do some railfanning on Easter Sunday. Results to follow. Hopefully they're good ones!

-Matt

New SD70M-2 sighting

I guess my plans to keep up with posting here have fallen by the wayside.

Ok, here's my new years resolution...starting....now!

Last Wednesday, I found out that two SD70M-2's and a dash 9 will be on the Moncton-Saint John train 406. One of the SD70M-2's was brand new 8884. I decided after work to venture out and capture it at a few locations.

The first was at Rothesay, NB, and about 13 miles up the line at Hampton, NB.



-Matt

New Year, New Post

Oh..

I suppose I should do a post. It's been a few months, plus it's a new year. This will be one of my new years resolutions, to post more in the good old blog.

After receiving some gift cards from Futureshop, I ventured out and bought a brand new camera.

http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/camerascamcorders/camcorder/HDCSD20.asp

Mine is an SD10, but I can't see any difference between the 10 and the 20. Plus, due to the Boxing Day sale, it was pretty much half price. I just had to...I just had to.

Here is the second video that I shot with it. The first one didn't turn out the way I wanted to, so I won't post it.



What do you think? So far, I think it's worth the money, especially 50% off. There's still some browsing around and work which needs to be done, but I like it so far.

Happy New Year to my loyal readers reader.