trisonic Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 This may be a daft question (or two) pH: Is there anywhere where CN interface with the BNSF? Are Car Floats still in use in the Vancouver area? I know so little about Canadian stuff...... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) This may be a daft question (or two) pH: Is there anywhere where CN interface with the BNSF? Chicago for sure... Edit. From the system map it looks like Duluth, Winnipeg, western Minnesota, Omaha, Paducah, Memphis, New Orleans and Vancouver as well. Map: http://www.bnsf.com/customers/where-can-i-ship/ Adrian Edited January 30, 2014 by Adrian Wintle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 How can you tell that from that map, Adrian? All the roads are the same colour.... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Hi Pete, Just checked Manitoba Great Northern on Wikipedia, it looks like CN & BNSF interchange in Winnipeg and possibly Noyes Minnesota. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 How can you tell that from that map, Adrian? All the roads are the same colour.... Best, Pete. BNSF shows as wide orange lines, while CN shows as narrow red ones. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 This may be a daft question (or two) pH: Is there anywhere where CN interface with the BNSF? Are Car Floats still in use in the Vancouver area? I know so little about Canadian stuff...... Best, Pete. I spent a half-hour typing an earlier version of this, then lost it just as I was about to post! CN and BNSF have a considerable history together in the Vancouver area. A part of the original Canadian Northern (CNoR) line into Vancouver had been the original Great Northern (GN) mainline, but was a subsidiary route when CNoR arrived and bought it. And the last several miles of CNoRs final approach to Vancouver was by running rights over GNs tracks. CNoR became part of CN, and GN became part of BN and then BNSF. (Interesting bit of trivia - the steepest gradient on the whole of CNs transcontinental mainline was on the first couple of miles out of Vancouver on GN!) Things stayed much the same until about 7-8 years ago. At that time, BNSF withdrew from downtown Vancouver, and ran no further than their two yards in New Westminster. CN leased the BNSF tracks from New Westminster to Vancouver - BNSF still own them, but CN maintain and dispatch them. I`ve read in several places that Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY, a shortline) handle BNSF traffic over these tracks from New Westminster into Vancouver, but I`ve never seen a train with SRY locomotives on this line. CN also has running rights on some BNSF tracks south of the Fraser River to access industrial customers there. There is still one carfloat operation (that I know of) in the Vancouver area. It`s on the SRY on Annacis Island in the Fraser River. It is used to connect with SRY`s operations on Vancouver Island, and also to service some pulp mills and sawmills which are not connected to the rail network, but have a few hundred yards of trackage to hold cars for receiving raw material (e.g. chemicals in tanker cars) and exporting product. Here is the terminal on Google maps: https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Annacis+Island,+Delta,+BC&hl=en&ll=49.159902,-122.947703&spn=0.002381,0.003819&sll=54.112352,-126.555646&sspn=12.387006,31.289062&oq=annacis+island&hnear=Annacis+Island&t=h&z=18 Warning - if you zoom out, the terminal will disappear! Proof that the Google maps views at different magnifications are taken at different times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Brilliant, thank you so much! Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10000 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 One of the things I like about the New Westminster/Surrey side is the variety. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Re: the car-ferry operation(s) around Vancouver: Most of the traffic by weight/volume is not for SRVI, but for the pulp mills. The last traffic out of the Vancouver terminal was ~Dec 2009 or early (~pre 6 jan) 2010. I know... http://www.flickr.com/photos/47105471@N05/sets/72157623323680194/ James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 James, all I can see in your post is a big black square. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Works fine for me........sorry pH.... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Works fine for me........sorry pH.... Best, Pete. I'm getting a 'Bad, bad panda' message from Flickr now. Maybe I'll wait a while and try again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Seems to be an O/S problem feature. I was using an Android device when I was having the problems. Tried a Windows 7 machine and could see the pictures without any problem. The Android tablet still won't display them.I remember that carfloat dock in Vancouver - I used to pass it on the Westcoast Express every day. The barrier cars, used because the locomotives didn't go on to the float, were a lovely collection from the railroads that were combined into BN more than 25 years before, still with old reporting marks. I remember, at least, cars from SP&S, NP and CB&Q. Edited February 8, 2014 by pH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CPRAIL3000 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Here is a picture from 1996 in Kerrisdale. Line now abandoned as far as I know. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirailfan/12391165734/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Here is a picture from 1996 in Kerrisdale. Line now abandoned as far as I know. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirailfan/12391165734/ Yes, it's abandoned, though AFAIK most (If not all) of the rail is still in place. I'm probably going that way on Tuesday - I'll try to remember to check. It was originally proposed as the route for the rapid transit line to the airport from downtown, since it was already there as a rail route. There were pros and cons with both it and the route eventually selected. But there was a massive NIMBY campaign from the residents of the affluent areas along the route which certainly had an effect, though it may not have been decisive. (Quote from one of the meetings, paraphrased since it was quite a long time ago - "We, the cream of Vancouver society, should be able to stop this plan" - 'cream' was definitely in it.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Here is a picture from 1996 in Kerrisdale. Line now abandoned as far as I know. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirailfan/12391165734/ I got to see part of this line today. It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1902. The BC Electric Railway leased the line in 1905 and developed it as an interurban railway. This service ended in 1952, but CP continued to run freight trains over it until 2001. After service was withdrawn, CPR tried to develop the right-of-way. The City of Vancouver did not allow this, passing the Arbutus Corridor Official Development Plan, which preserved the right-of-way as a 'public thoroughfare'. CPR appealed this, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada before being decided in favour of the city. As far as I know, nothing has been done to the line since the Supreme Court's decision. As I thought, most of the track is still in place, though some of it is now being paved over: But it's been 13 years since a train ran on it, as is obvious in places: Parts of it show its history as an electric interurban: There are some interesting pieces of street architecture at one point along the line: 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CPRAIL3000 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks for the information and the photos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 A couple of pictures of a newly-completed span on the rapid transit line being built in our area. A span is made up of several precast segments, each of which can be cast specifically for their position in the span. In the first picture, you can see that the gradient changes within the span, easing as it goes from left to right: The segments can also be cast to create a curve within the span. The supports on the launcher can hold segments to one side of the launcher: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Here are the best two photographs from a couple of very frustrating afternoons trying to photograph trains. First, West Coast Express MP36PH-3C #906 leaving Port Moody this afternoon. I saw this train double-headed earlier in the week - the first time I've ever seen a WCE train double-headed - but, of course, without a camera. Today, it was single-headed, as usual. And Canadian Pacific GP38AC #3001 on the Ioco spur (that's IOCO) in Port Moody, again this afternoon. I got this picture after a 1km sprint (well, OK, a 1km trundle) - I saw it leaving the mainline and knew it would have to stop to cross a busy main road at rush hour. I really wanted to get the shot from another bridge about 30 yards downstream from this one, but I'm apparently not as swift as I once was! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 I took this grab shot on Canadian Pacific tracks at Port Moody this afternoon. I was really pleased to get the picture, having missed opportunities to photograph this engine twice recently. Question for fans of North American railways - why would I be so keen to record a GP38-2? Here's another picture, showing more of the train. It's picking up ethylene glycol empties from Pacific Coast Terminals. The mess in the foreground of the pictures is part of the construction of the new Skytrain rapid transit line through Port Moody. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor quinn Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Question for fans of North American railways - why would I be so keen to record a GP38-2? Is it any thing to do with 4426 being an EMD built loco, ex Soo perhaps? That second shot shows the differences between an EMD GP38-2 and a GMDD GP38AC very nicely. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Is it any thing to do with 4426 being an EMD built loco, ex Soo perhaps? No, nothing to do with it being EMD built. It is indirectly to do with it being an ex-Soo Line unit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-59 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Question for fans of North American railways - why would I be so keen to record a GP38-2? Perhaps, because it's a non-dynamic brake loco? Personally, I am a little sad to see it wearing CP red and not Soo red and white. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 Perhaps, because it's a non-dynamic brake loco? Yes! In over 30 years here on this side of the mountains, that is the first CP (sorry, k-59) road engine I have seen with no dynamic brakes. I've seen pictures of one other non-dynamic ex-Soo GP38-2 in the Vancouver area, but 4426 is the first one I've seen 'in the metal', 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB-AU Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Great photos in this topic! I'll be in Vancouver in just under a month and would welcome any suggestions for good railfanning/photography locations, preferably accessible by TransLink.CheersDavid Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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