Canadian Railroads > When It All Comes Together

In the long days of summer it's sometimes possible to catch train 121 leaving Halifax in the remaining rays of daylight.  "Scheduled" departure time is something like 20:30 (and sundown on the longest days of the year is 21:00), but sometimes things go better than expected, and the train will get away early enough for a shot at Moirs Mill Pond in Bedford, NS.  Last night was one of those nights, and the crew had the train all together and under way at Moirs Mills by 19:58.  Relatively clean units and a cloudless sunset only helped in the effort.  Weekend trains tend to be a bit shorter than usual, and this one was just under 9800 ft., including the 3 ES44ACs for power.  I didn't get a car count, but if you're curious, the whole train is there in the video.  The selection of containers is fairly typical of what is coming through Halifax these days.  All the "junk" cars are empties.  About the only loads going west are typically imported rail, nickel concentrate and the odd dimensional load.

GTD

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Definitely came together; it's be a shame if a few shrubs disappeared. You timed the shot perfectly, Geoff.
Fred

The trailing unit (3912) on Sunday's 120 is the leader on 121, and the middle unit (2964) is the trailer on 121.
The lead unit on 120 (3806) is the DPU.
120 had 622 axles, but this train is not as long yet merits distributed power.
Interesting.

...jr



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/21 09:48 by newtonville150.

DPUs often become leaders and vice versa for the return trip, if there are no mechanical problems.  I think the roundhouse crew in Fairview avoids using the turntable if at all possible.  Lack of a working bell, horn, or even microwave could disqualify a unit, and then some shuffling will have to be done.

GTD

Hey Geoff; do they still carry "SUNBURY" containers or vans on the CN??? David

Wonderful video Geoff !     

Great catch...:):):)

op11 Wrote:
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> Hey Geoff; do they still carry "SUNBURY"
> containers or vans on the CN??? David

I don't see them in Halifax, but that's an Irving company, so I think they would be more likely to be seen in New Brunswick.  They might also be more common on CP/NBSR across Maine because of the Irving connection, although the two trains I've seen (in New Brunswick and Quebec) were rather shy on containers, and none were Sunbury.  Trailers (vans) are even more unlikely, since the railways really only want to haul containers these days.

GTD