Canadian Railroads > CN Sulphur on the Ashcroft Sub

Canadian National SD70M-2-8021 & C44-9W-2509 are leading a W/B loaded Sulphur train (#705) on CN's Ashcroft Sub. The Fraser River is below. 11:57AM on 9-16-06 east of Boston Bar, British Columbia.

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Good one.
JB

A scenic beauty.
Bob

A couple years before your picture was taken; September of 2003, I think, I was standing in almost exactly the
same spot when a big ol' black bear sauntered out of the trees about 100 feet north of me.  We eyed each other
up for few moments and then, since I was pretty sure there would be no up side to having a closer encounter,
I scrambled back to my car.  It wasn't really that far away but it sure seemed like it at that moment.  Turned out
that I needn't have hustled; when the bear started to move it turned down the hill and plodded across the tracks
toward the river....

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC

Beautiful shot and location. The parched grasses really make the train pop, and contrast so well with the trees.
Fred

Superb photo in a perfect scene.

Rich

Very nice..!!

Wow!

Congratulations on Image of the Day!  Well deserved.

Wonder why the CP didn't take their track on a routing similar to the later CN track to avoid building a large bridge?

Jim

Jimbo Wrote:
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> Wonder why the CP didn't take their track on a
> routing similar to the later CN track to avoid
> building a large bridge?
>

South of Cisco CN runs through some nasty slide zones, where the west side is somewhat more stable. Ease of construction when you consider the CP was built largely with manual labor was a huge factor in the location.

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Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan

Nice job, good angle, good timing. Kinda scary but I remember them building the second track.

Just for clarity, the CP route is on the far side of the river, both of these are CN tracks from before the directional running agreement ( but I've never figured out which way they go, certainly overdue for a visit ).
t4p.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/23 17:40 by TCnR.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Nice job, good angle, good timing. Kinda scary but
> I remember them building the second track.
>
> Just for clarity, the CP route is on the far side
> of the river, both of these are CN tracks from
> before the directional running agreement ( but
> I've never figured out which way they go,
> certainly overdue for a visit ).

What you are seeing here is a main track and what was originally a 6,150-ft. siding named Martinson, that began at Mile 122.8 Ashcroft Subdivision, east (compass north) of the bridge, which is at Mile 123.6. The bridge is Stoyoma Creek Viaduct, 763 ft. long and 127 ft. high.  Boston Bar is at Mile 125.5.

Today, this section has been incorporated into double-track mainline from a point east of Martinson (now located at 121.5) to Spence at 124.0, just west of the bridge's western end.

Thanks for the additional explanation. I checked Google maps and was surprised at the changes.
Very impressive geology... and they run trains.
t4p.

Yes, thanks for the additional explanation.  Since it's now directional running, is this CN double track primarily used for allowing one train to pass another going the same direction?

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/23 11:19 by Jimbo.

Useful for passing but also as a place to hold multiple westbound trains arriving at Boston Bar.  Trains can
be stuck there sometimes if crews aren't available to take them out of town and the extra track provides a
place to hold them.  I've seen as many as three trains sitting there waiting on crews...

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC

Thanks, Keith!

Jim

CP, the first railway through the canyon, got the most stable grade and best routing.  It  crosses the Thompson and Fraser between Kamloops and Vancouver only once, at Cisco.  The Canadian Northern (later CN)  crosses the same drainage ten times. ( eleven, if you count the North Thompson leaving Kamloops)

Chris Rye