Canadian Railroads > Need suggestions for Eastern Canada

Will be on a trip to the Canadian Maritime Provinces in early February.  It’s  been several years since our last trip, and I’m sure lots of changes have taken place.  Would like to chase some trains between Montreal and Halifax.
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

seaboardc30-7 Wrote:
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> Will be on a trip to the Canadian Maritime
> Provinces in early February.  It’s  been
> several years since our last trip, and I’m sure
> lots of changes have taken place.  Would like to
> chase some trains between Montreal and Halifax.
>  
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>  

Will you be flying to Montreal and then driving or driving to Montreal?

Michael

Halifax is pretty far north, so the daylight will be shorter. Probably about 10 hours in February.  That's the downside to those incredibly long sunny days in Summer.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Halifax is pretty far north, so the daylight will
> be shorter. Probably about 10 hours in February. 
> That's the downside to those incredibly long sunny
> days in Summer.

Yes about 10 hrs of daylight in February.....but for a Canadian City it's not 'pretty far north' At 44.5 deg latitude...it's south of Montreal and about the same latitude as Eugene OR or Green Bay WI.

Are you interested in freight trains, passenger trains or both?  As Michael asked, are you going from Montreal to Halifax by road, rail or air?

KG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/17 15:50 by kgmontreal.

ghCBNS Wrote:
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(snip)
>
> Yes about 10 hrs of daylight in February.....but
> for a Canadian City it's not 'pretty far north' At
> 44.5 deg latitude...it's south of Montreal and
> about the same latitude as Eugene OR or Green Bay
> WI.

Absolutely true.  I figured somebody with a "seaboard" handle might be accustomed to longer days and sometimes warmer weather

Driving up from the southeast.  We plan to ride the Ocean (?) from Montreal to Halifax and back, and then spend a week east of Montreal photographing passenger and freight trains.

Any suggestions as to where to park the car in Montreal while we ride the train?

I know the FPA-4s and six axle MLWs are long gone!  I know some the lines we rode over in RDCs in 1989 are also long gone!  What I need to know is about any freight operations between Montreal and Halifax. I believe the only passenger train operating east of Quebec is the Ocean.

Many thanks.

seaboardc30-7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Driving up from the southeast.  We plan to ride
> the Ocean (?) from Montreal to Halifax and back,
> and then spend a week east of Montreal
> photographing passenger and freight trains.
>
> Any suggestions as to where to park the car in
> Montreal while we ride the train?
>
> I know the FPA-4s and six axle MLWs are long
> gone!  I know some the lines we rode over in RDCs
> in 1989 are also long gone!  What I need to
> know is about any freight operations between
> Montreal and Halifax. I believe the only passenger
> train operating east of Quebec is the Ocean.
>
> Many thanks.

There is long-term parking at the VIA Dorval Station. Depending on when you drop your car off you could possibly take an AMT commuter train downtown to Lucien L'Allier station, near Windsor Station. From there it's about a ten minute walk to Central Station where the Ocean leaves from.  And yes, the Ocean is the only passenger train est of Quebec City.

At present the only freight train that goes all the way from Montreal to Halifax and vice-versa are intermodal trains CN 120/121. CN 305/306 go as far as Moncton. West of Quebec City there is a bit more freight traffic, on top of these two previously mentioned pairs.

One spot I would recommend is Otterburn Park, on the east side of the Richelieu River, perhaps a 40 minute drive east of Montreal. If you get here early enough on a weekday morning you will see AMT commuter trains, VIA Rail trains (possibly the WB Ocean depending on what day it is) and probably a freight or two. The attached shot shows CN 120 heading east mid-morning in December 2014.

Michael

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Thanks, these tips are very helpful.  About what times do intermodal trains CN 120/121. CN 305/306 pass through Moncton?
 
Thanks.
 

You might consider taking a corridor train to Quebec City and arrive at Gare du Palaise downtown. Very historical city with it's walls and fortifications. The Winter Carnival will be on during February.

https://carnaval.qc.ca/visit/go-to-the-carnaval

In the evening, take the shuttle from Gare du Palais out to the suburban Ste.Foy station to catch the Ocean to Halifax at 10:30pm.

You could also do this in reverse coming back from Halifax but the arrival in Ste. Foy is 6:15am.

VIA's Gare du Palais in Quebec City and the former CPR Chateau Frontenac Hotel:

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CN's freight yard in the Quebec City area is Joffre yard near Charny.  Joffre is one of the few places that sees most of its freight activity in daylight.  Moncton, by contrast, sees much less activity in daylight.  Driving east of Quebec City in February can be daunting.  Autoroute 20 can be closed by blowing snow and the wind coming off the river can be brutal.

My advice would be to concentrate your activity to Montreal, Quebec City and the area in between.  In the Montreal area you can see VIA, AMT, CN, CP, Quebec Gatineau and Central Maine & Quebec as well as daily trains from CSX and NS.  I'd be happy to offer further advice.

KG 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/17 16:38 by kgmontreal.