Here I am at my desk, 10:00 am in the morning and the one day that I don't bring my camera, the local train comes by, and chuggs up the hill right beside my office. With CP 1648 in the lead and 8232 in second with a consist of center beam flat BCOL 873038, 3 bay grain hopper DME 96211, caboose CP 4347##, 5 SRY box cars 5313, 9080, 5176, 9231 and 5434 (in blue paint).
The center beam flat was loaded with wood going to a local lumber yard i think. The grain hopper is going to a local feed producer. The box cars to various other bussinesses on the spur.
If anyone knows the name of this local spur here in Calgary that crosses Barlow Trail just north of Memorial Drive, please do let me know. This spur joins up to the north south main line between Calgary and Edmonton where it goes through a is a tunnel at the begining. I'll have to get some photos of that someday.
If anyone is reading this Blog, heres a short explanation to the lack of posts lately. Busy at work. Although I do manage to go out occasionally to do a little railfaning. So with that said I am accumulating a back log of photos to post. So check back once in a while and something may popup on the site.
Cheers,
3 comments:
The spur your asking about is called the Mayland Height's Spur, which run's off the Red Deer sub, crosses under the Deerfoot and then heads up the hill with another small spur branching off to a printing company located behind the Buck Crump SAIT campus. The Mayland Height's Spur continue's up the hill then across the hill, and then back down the other side roughly to where the old IKEA was. I used to work for CP Rail as a conductor in Calgary, and worked that assignment a few times, which last time I worked it, the spur was getting service every Tuesday and Thursday, but the track was something like 5 mph due to lack of maintance.
You had some other pictures of CN engine's in Dartmouth taken from the Halifax side of the harbour. The power you saw there was the gypsum train power 701/703 which run's lite engine's 3 or 4 miles west to Wright's Cove where we pick up the empty cars, and then head west to Milford, roughly 40 odd miles to the mine, where we drop the empty's and lift the loads and then take them back to Wright's Cove so they can be unloaded, and then run lite engine's back to Dartmouth yard like you saw. I know this, because now I'm a conductor with CN back home, after a three year tour with CP, with two years in Calgary and a year in a small terminal called Wilkie, Sask. Hope this answer's your questions,
Jordan Herman
The spur your asking about is called the Mayland Height's Spur, which run's off the Red Deer sub, crosses under the Deerfoot and then heads up the hill with another small spur branching off to a printing company located behind the Buck Crump SAIT campus. The Mayland Height's Spur continue's up the hill then across the hill, and then back down the other side roughly to where the old IKEA was. I used to work for CP Rail as a conductor in Calgary, and worked that assignment a few times, which last time I worked it, the spur was getting service every Tuesday and Thursday, but the track was something like 5 mph due to lack of maintance.
You had some other pictures of CN engine's in Dartmouth taken from the Halifax side of the harbour. The power you saw there was the gypsum train power 701/703 which run's lite engine's 3 or 4 miles west to Wright's Cove where we pick up the empty cars, and then head west to Milford, roughly 40 odd miles to the mine, where we drop the empty's and lift the loads and then take them back to Wright's Cove so they can be unloaded, and then run lite engine's back to Dartmouth yard like you saw. I know this, because now I'm a conductor with CN back home, after a three year tour with CP, with two years in Calgary and a year in a small terminal called Wilkie, Sask. Hope this answer's your questions,
Jordan Herman
Jordan,
Thanks for the name and infornation about the Mayland Heights Spur and also about the 701/703 train that I saw in Halifax. This info more than answers my questions.
I did notice that the track could use some maintenace. To point out one location, just before it crosses Barlow Trail on the way up, the cars rock from side to side a fair bit. Looking down the tracks, one sees why! Would you happen to recall the train number that runs on this spur? If not, no worries.
Do you know if the 701/703 does this run daily or as required?
The reason why I'm asking is for my holidays next year I was planning on spending a week in Halifax, a week in Saint John and quisspamsis and a week maybe 2 in Bathurst with family. I was hoping that while I'm in Halifax I would have the opportunity to chase some trains and 701/703 looks like a good candidate.
Cheers,
Post a Comment