Canadian Railroads > Wainwright Sub Near Uncas Part 2

Continuing from yesterday's post, here are some more images from MP 245.63, near Uncas on the Wainwright Sub. I pointed out the double-track at this location; it has negative consequences for photography. Very often, CN brings EB down the south track, gained at west switch Ardrossan, while WB takes the north main. You might think they'd bring the EB up to the east switch Uncas and have it wait, but instead they have the EB hang back at Ardrossan (once it clears Rge Rd 222 at the west end of town, it won't foul grade crossings), then begin the slow roll once the WB shows up at this location. They seem to time it so the EB hits the crossing almost exactly as the tail of the WB clears, so you do NOT want to take chances; heads up! The downside, as you can see, is that the WB stabs the EB in its ideal morning light, and I've been shafted a number of times. So I've resorted to posting a few scans of K64 from luckier days, single track only at that time.
1. The problem illustrated: CN WB, number unknown (it was there almost as soon as I arrived, and my scanner hadn't caught it yet), occupies the near or north track at 0713 on May 23, 2015, while CN 2013 and 2443 bring #116 (sorry, I should be using Q, but given that there is no 116 that isn't a Q, isn't that a bit redundant?) up on the south track. Rats! Lens set at 55 mm. I got #116 further east, once the crossing was clear, but it was only my second day with the DSLR, and first time I'd worked with zoom lenses as well, so I'm not happy with any of those results. The locations will surface in other photos.
2. The good old days of single track: CN 5275 and 5376 lead #118 at 0709 on August 3, 2005. Yes, we are now nostalgic for wide-nose, narrow-hood GMs! The background on the left shows you the approach of Highway 630 to this location. Scan of K64, fixed-focus old-school 55 mm lens on my Pentax Spotmatic thread mount camera. I wish I had a hundred dollars for every time a train is zipping by as I come down the highway, less than a mile to go, or the train arrives within a minute of my getting there. You've gotta be ready!
3. Same location, but this time reaching down the tracks a bit with a 135 mm lens (again, fixed-focus, old focal-length terminology; scan of K64), to catch 5554, 5321, and 5320 on #104 at 0757 on July 14, 2005. The shot is still there, of course, but now we have two tracks, and the LED Darth Vader signals.
Next time, some shots that are gone.
Fred

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