Canadian Railroads > Chasing NB Southern in the Fog

I was in New Brunswick on October 4th for an excursion from McAdam to St. Stephen and return on NB Southern's St. Stephen Sub.  Fall Excursion on the NB Southern  Since the train wasn't going t leave until 11:30 that morning, we were also able to work in a chase of NBSR train 120 from Fredericton Jct. to just outside of its terminus of Saint John.   We knew the sun wouldn't be up until almost 08:00 and with the train leaving McAdam somewhere around 07:00, Fredericton Jct. seemed like a convenient place to start the chase.  Very heavy fog that morning complicated things somewhat, but with a bit of a push on the ISO of the camera, we were able to salvage something presentable.  First contact at mile 47 (just before the mileboard for Fredericton Jct.) happened at 08:22 that morning, although I could hear the train's SBU for about 10 minutes as we were approached from Fredericton.

120 was typical of NBSR's main line trains, with three SD70M-2s (6407, 6405 and 6418), autoracks near the front of the train and double-stacks at the end.  This is essentially a continuation of CPKC's train 120 which is handed off to NBSR subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway at Brownville Jct., Maine.

Almost an hour later, the fog had thinned a bit as the train passed the east end of the former Welsford siding, at roughly mile 22.5.  These SD70M-2s were originally owned by Norfolk Southern and were reconditioned by Progress Rail.  Although they moved the headlights to the nose from over the cab, the flashing ditch lights, typically an American feature, were retained.  NB Southern has been busy upgrading the track for the past few years to handle all the new business.  There are new ties and ballast everywhere, and this particular section has new welded rail as well.  Still, management is playing a very conservative game, with the speed limit at only 25-30 mph in most places, and the engineers are instructed not to use the dynamic brakes on the locomotives out of concern for the track structure.  

GTD

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Great pair. 
JB

The second shot is magic, Geoff. The one tree or cluster with the pop of red is perfect, better than a batch of colour throughout.
Fred

Good stuff Geoff!

Very nice..!!

Excellent images, Geoff!

texchief1

I second Fred's comment. The colours and tones in that image are fantastic.

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