Canadian Railroads > Sightseer Sunday - Rocky Mountaineer Meets CP Coal, Black Canyon

Last week I posted a shot of the Rocky Mountaineer at https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,5197505, resuming a Sightseer Sunday series I'd last run with this train in February 2020. Getting my scanner returned to functional, coupled with retirement, means I have the time to be more regular with this.
This week's series is from August 13, 2006, at Black Canyon. We had permission to enter the Ashcroft Ranch, giving spectacular overlooks of Black Canyon and the Thompson River. My main goal was to shoot the entire Rocky Mountaineer in a wide shot, not a tighter wedge, and this was the place to get the side light. We had heard its progress, calling Toketic on CP, and then a WB CP coal train came from Ashcroft toward the CP tunnel. Of course the RMR would drop down onto CN before this point, but it was a case of seeing what the timing would be for the meet.
1. Perfect! At 1558, #610 pulled into view behind RMRR 8017 and 8016, and started filling the viewfinder. At the same time, the lead unit on the CP coal train, 8633, crawled past in the background. Their paces matched perfectly, and the full Mountaineer fit within the viewfinder before 8633 exited stage right. Note the spit/breakwater designed to protect the cutbank of the Thompson at this point; this is the smaller of the two, barely downstream.
2. As much as I generally liked the widenose version of the GP40-2, I thought the conventional cab of the GP40-2 looked better in this livery, minimizing the blank white space at the front. The coal train continued to emerge from the CP tunnel. This is the other, larger spit, upstream of the one in the first photo. The Thompson really rips at this point. In case you're wondering, we have been onto those spits to see how they set up for photos, but the elevation of the right of way, plus occasional sage, really hacks off the bottom of a train. That was a disappointing discovery when we checked it out.
3. A going-away shot I don't mind, as the Rocky Mountaineer is about to tiptoe onto the through-truss bridge and into the tunnel on CN, headed for Kamloops.
Fred

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Excellent images of a not often photographed area.  Hopefully I can arrange to legally access someday. 

Outstanding timing Fred. This is one location that is definitely on the "to do" list.  Cheers, Dave