Canadian Railroads > Recent Action Around East Edmonton

I got out shooting for the first time in over three months, on Wednesday March 3. I had a window of about four hours, and decided to focus on East Edmonton and up 17th Street. I wanted to get some CP Geep action, and begin to build a picture of CN Camrose Sub patterns in preparation for the summer. There are 10 shots total.
1. Arrival at the Kinder-Morgan transload facility off Railway Street gave me the first shootable train I've seen there. The fence is low enough, the tracks high enough, and morning light caught the flanks at 1018, with CP 8758 on one end of a black snake that was being loaded.
2. With nothing in sight, I went up to Bretville Junction and almost immediately heard horns on CP, so I worked back to Petroleum Way and the south end of CP's Clover Bar Yard. There's a neat "sidewalk" defined by posts, so a safe spot to shoot; a pair of Geeps had just entered the yard. Eventually the crew started pulling with Beltpack-controlled 3132 and 4419, at 1055, with a long cut of tanks. To the left of this shot is a burgeoning thicket of trees that is going to seriously mess this view. I'd love to do some brush control, but it's a rather public setting. The background structures belong to Rio Tinto Alcan Ltd., and are involved in processing green petroleum coke for eventual use in aluminum smelting. Some information can be found at https://sia.ab.ca/our-members/member-stories/rio-tinto-alcan-transforms-waste/.
3. As that move pulled west, an EB move came up to the yard, CP #119 (Montreal to Edmonton, hence WB) behind 8765, 7034, 9753, UP 6370, and CP 9681. An open nose door, crew member on the platform, and tough light, limited the appeal of the closer shot of this move, which terminated in Clover Bar Yard.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/21 15:20 by feclark.

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4. Between the last shots and this one, I did shoot an EB light move of the pair of CP Geeps at East Edmonton, they having completed their drop-off of the tank cut at the lead to Esso's Strathcona Refinery complex. The crew told me there was an inbound oil move pending, time frame uncertain. In the meantime, CN, who'd been talking with outbound 442 for well over an hour, finally gave them their clearance to New Sarepta. Okay, up on the overpass of Baseline Road to shoot the CN move. The stacks were visible in the distance, crossing the trestle between Bailey and Bretville Junction, but no green signal. I thought they might get it in their face. Not so. This was protecting CP's oil move, which arrived behind me. Nuts!!! The light by this time wouldn't have been great, but I had hoped to set up some different angles. Next option would be wait as it cleared Railway Street, and shoot the pusher, well-lit. Not going to work, either; I could see as it approached the diamond that the pusher was cab-first. Double nuts, it was KCS! So this is what I got, as it came to a stop just clear of the crossing, before the switch got thrown to enter Kinder-Morgan's terminal; time is 1311. At least the GE wings and foreign paint (KCS Mexico) on 4729 made the shot interesting.
5. The push-back begins; this is at 1312. Somewhere along the way, the scanner picked up a warning that the plant gates had been open for 4 minutes. I'm not sure what the time limit is, or what happens when that limit is reached, but this isn't a move you rush.
6. Finally, at 1320, the lead unit, 8016, got into the viewfinder. Of course, the CP oil train having cleared the diamond, CN 442 was on its merry way to Camrose and beyond; you can see its stacks above the tank cars. Lovely timing! This is what gives you ulcers as a railfan.

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7. Under cover of the CP and CN moves, Cando's switcher, CCGX 4018, ex-CN GP9RM, had coupled onto the cut left by CP, and managed to push north about 30 seconds before I could get to the overpass. However, the move continued north, then got onto the west track of the Camrose Sub here, and started coming south, at 1336. Headlights, ditchlights, perfect.
8. Joy of joys, CN M315 showed up, headed south on the Camrose Sub, and I had a race on. Of course, Cando killed the ditchlights as soon as the hogger saw the "foamer on the overpass" (seriously?!?), and although he was clearly headed nowhere fast, CN having the signal and the switch, decided to keep booking it, so that CN never quite caught up while Cando was in sight. Nice Geep smoke, though.
9. Once tucked under the overpass, Cando came to a halt, and CN 2829 and unidentified GE sister rolled by at 1339. For those of you who want it, this can be Switcher Saturday, with CCGX SW1200RSu 1007 in the background.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/21 15:28 by feclark.

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10. After a long wait, 40 minutes, finally the RTC gave Cando the signal they needed to go down the Camrose Sub, presumably to the small yard they have just south of where Anthony Henday Drive meets Highway 14. I would comment on this delay being karma biting the hogger for messing up my shots, but he had the last laugh. My planned shot was with a bit of telephoto, very snappy, but he obstinately kept all lights doused until just before the crossing, as the gates came down. When stuff like this happens, you understand why you really value the photos where it all comes together. There are so many variables you don't control.
Fred

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At least the 40 minute wait allowed the sun to illuminate a bit more of the side of the train than it did from the overpass.

Some railroaders seem to believe that killing the headlight and/or ditchights is doing a favour to photographers.  Maybe this comes from the belief that it will mess with the autofocus (it can) or cause "ghost" images (it still does sometimes) in the picture.

March in Edmonton this year looks a lot like it did during my last visit in 2008.  No snow on the ground, and what seemed like unseasonably warm temperatures to this Maritimer, who expected Arctic-like cold.

GTD

Geoff,

Both of your first two points are valid, and given I was going nowhere anyway, what's my hurry, right? As for the weather, we don't often get lots of snow, but this year has been abnormally low, I have rarely shovelled, and I expect it's going to be rough for the farmers, no moisture in the ground when it all thaws. We don't get anything like the consistent long cold temperatures I remember from the 90s and early "oughts"; last year was the first one like that in a long time.

cn6218 Wrote:
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> At least the 40 minute wait allowed the sun to
> illuminate a bit more of the side of the train
> than it did from the overpass.
>
> Some railroaders seem to believe that killing the
> headlight and/or ditchights is doing a favour to
> photographers.  Maybe this comes from the belief
> that it will mess with the autofocus (it can) or
> cause "ghost" images (it still does sometimes) in
> the picture.
>
> March in Edmonton this year looks a lot like it
> did during my last visit in 2008.  No snow on the
> ground, and what seemed like unseasonably warm
> temperatures to this Maritimer, who expected
> Arctic-like cold.
>
> GTD