Canadian Railroads > Another Busy Day on the Bedford Sub.

This little photo essay goes back about a week, to April 21, and except for the first image shown here, all were taken within about 3 miles of each other in the Grand Lake area of Nova Scotia.

The day started early, with an extra Q120 arriving at Birch Cove (Bedford Sub mile 7) at 07:21.  This was a typical "extra" train, all export boxes and originating in Chicago.  They just had two units up front, 8846 and 2622, and no DPU.

There was a bit of a lull after that, but by 10:00, the empty gypsum train, 511, had passed Windsor Jct. and was going under the bridge to Laurie Park, at mile 24 of the Bedford Sub.  511 would have a straight run to the mine at East Milford as Z120 was still on the other side of Truro.

I stayed in the area, and at 11:40, Z120, the regular intermodal train from Toronto BIT to Halifax went past me at mile 25 in Grand Lake.  The red signal is for a foreman's work limits about a mile back where the new bridge is being built at Oakfield Park.

GTD

 

---

---

---

Z120 had ES44ACs 3835 and 3925 up front, and Tier 4 DPU 3202 passed mile 25 about 2 minutes later.  This stretch is known as the "slow track" due to many curves, so Z120 was limited to about 40 mph rather than its usual 60 mph speed limit.

Meanwhile, 511 had spotted their train of empties at the mine and picked up more hoppers that had been loaded overnight.  They followed Z120 once the intermodal had passed East Milford, and were taking the siding into Sandy Cove at 12:10.  The main line signals would not normally be lit when a train entered the siding, but the RTC had already lined the route for L507 which had just met Z120 at Windsor Jct.
 
507 showed up at 12:24, passing the tail end of 511, stopped in the 3800 ft. siding.

GTD

---

---

---

The light at the west end of Sandy Cove was now clear for L507, and they cruised on through without any delays.  L507 is the daily Dartmouth to Moncton manifest train, and handles a lot of autoracks from Autoport at the the end of the Dartmouth Sub.  They will often also pick up local and CBNS traffic in Truro before continuing on to Moncton.  Most of L507's cars would then go west on 305 to Toronto.

With a 15 mph switch at the east end of Sandy Cove, I figured I had just enough time to get to the work site at mile 26 before they did.  511 passed between the new bridge abutments at 12:32.  Trains approaching from either direction must call the CN foreman for permission to go through the site, and then cancel once they are out of those limits.  Work at the site is halted while the trains go through, and the foreman usually asks for some horn or bell noise as they pass by.

GTD

---

---

Very nice set, good weather and more trains is a combo that can't be beat...

JG

That was a nice photo essay. Thanks for sharing...:):):)

Good stuff from the land where searchlights aren't "persona non grata." 

I especially like that pot on a post siding signal at the 275 switch.

Andy

Nice pics!!  I like the last one!!

A day well spent; thanks for sharing.
Fred