Canadian Railroads > CN Quartet at Bretville Junction

Monday, May 20, I finally got a chance to get out to shoot in sunshine, trying out my new lens. I had been frustrated by the two lenses I got with the Nikon, an 18-55 and a 55-200. Especially in urban settings, it seemed like whichever lens I used cut off a bit of the capability I wanted. I got a recommendation from an old TO acquaintance, to get the 18-140 Nikkor. I was very pleased to get the range I wanted in these situations, able to zoom out in tight settings, and pull in some distance. In a shade under 2 1/2 hours, I got four movements through Bretville Junction on the east side of Edmonton, mile 260 on the Wainwright Sub.
1. First through was #808, 9,357' of grain empties, behind 3204 and 2963, at 0937. Lens set at 140 mm, this got me under the wires at this messy location.
2. Next up was Q117 at 1023, stacks behind 2925 and 3836. In the distance you can see a derailed auto rack, sitting this way when I had arrived. I had planned to set up where the old spur into the Owens-Corning Fibreglass plant ran, but the CN presence prevented that. Lens set at 95 mm. The ditch lights had just come back on after passing through the protected site.
3. Given the very slow passage of trains, getting permission to clear the derailment, it was 1057 before the next EB could come through. This was #142, stacks, behind 2229 and 8929. I'd never framed this shot before; what I'd set up for was the next one, but saw this opportunity present itself as the gates began to come down. I'm not sure if, at normal track speed here, it would frame this way. So maybe this was a unique chance, I don't know; lens set at 95 mm.

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4. Zooming out to 40 mm (couldn't do this with the old pair of lenses), this is the shot I set up here for. You'll notice it's early in the season, and the weeds have yet to do their worst.
5. The benefit of the derailment was that trains were having to get clearance for the site, so I knew the lead unit numbers. I know this is "another GE", but it's long-in-the-tooth 2503, four windows and faded paint, on the point of stack train Q180, tiptoeing up to the work site with 2294 at 1151. This is indeed a crowded location for towers and poles and wires, but the lens set at 116 got me a shot I liked, and the new lens allowed me to get the next shot, which I really wanted to show the old beast on the point. Lurking in the background, to the left of the middle upright, is 5662, which turned out to be light engine working south on the Camrose Sub as #518. That broke my heart when it showed up at East Edmonton at 1220.
6. Weeds? What weeds? This is about as clean as you get in town; I wonder how many years before this unit and its sisters gets rebuilt? Lens set at 30 mm; the range I get with the new lens is really worth it. I love it when a purchase meets expectations.
Fred

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/19 22:54 by feclark.

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