Occasional Canadian photos, mostly from Vancouver area

[pH]

A shot in Canadian Pacific's Port Coquitlam yards this afternoon. GP38-2s #4401(ex-SOO, no dynamics) and #3029 switching. Mount Baker, our neighbourhood volcano, in the background.

 

 

Taken with a cellphone camera on high zoom, which presumably has something to do with the unusual patterns on the rails in the foreground.

 

And a portrait shot of #4401:

 

[55020]

2 hours ago, pH said:

A shot in Canadian Pacific's Port Coquitlam yards this afternoon. GP38-2s #4401(ex-SOO, no dynamics) and #3029 switching. Mount Baker, our neighbourhood volcano, in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

Must have been exceptional visibility to pick out Mt Baker that clearly.  Great photo!

 

 

Steve

[pH]

1 hour ago, 55020 said:

Must have been exceptional visibility to pick out Mt Baker that clearly. 

There’s a highway runs parallel to the tracks on the left of that photo, and it’s actually usual to be able to see Baker quite clearly from that road. But yes, the sun on the snow made for a really nice view yesterday. My wife and I had agreed earlier that we should try to get a picture of it - the fact that there was a train in the picture as taken was a coincidence. (Honestly - I had stopped in a shopping plaza to buy something in a drugstore and saw that picture as I got out of the car!)

Edited August 4, 2022 by pH

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, pH said:

There’s a highway runs parallel to the tracks on the left of that photo, and it’s actually usual to be able to see Baker quite clearly from that road. But yes, the sun on the snow made for a really nice view yesterday. My wife and I had agreed earlier that we should try to get a picture of it - the fact that there was a train in the picture as taken was a coincidence. (Honestly - I had stopped in a shopping plaza to buy something in a drugstore and saw that picture as I got out of the car!)

We'll believe you though thousands wouldn't.

 

Jamie

 

Lovely photo though

[The Lurker]

We went for a walk around Jasper on the first and we’re passed by these two at the head of a fairly extensive freight.

[The Lurker]

A second picture of the lead loco

[brynna79]

On 10/08/2022 at 19:00, The Lurker said:

A second picture of the lead loco

 

Thanks for sharing.  I must admit to being rather jealous of you being able to just go out for a walk and experience the area like that - the views are breathtaking and the trains are a added bonus. Cheers 

[brynna79]

On 15/04/2022 at 22:13, pH said:

Canadian Pacific ES44AC #8900 working as switcher in Port Coquitlam yards April 14:

 

 

 

That's an excellent picture.  Great justification for using such a big engine on a small layout for shifting box and grain cars.  Cheers

[The Lurker]

18 hours ago, brynna79 said:

Thanks for sharing.  I must admit to being rather jealous of you being able to just go out for a walk and experience the area like that - the views are breathtaking and the trains are a added bonus. Cheers 

to be fair, it was a holiday. Normally I get to walk out and experience the views of Sidcup...not breathtaking in the same kind of way!

[pH]

Canadian Pacific ES44ACs #8936 and 8850 on potash empties approaching Port Coquitlam yards this afternoon

 (unusually 'elephant-style'):

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by pH

[pH]

... and yet more SD30C-ECoS! #5013 and #5014 switching tank cars in Port Coquitlam yards this morning.:

 

 

 

 

The capacity of the major pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast is currently being increased. I wonder what effect it will have on the oil tank traffic on the railways once the work is completed. 

[pH]

Four-car Skytrain (rapid transit) crossing the Fraser River at New Westminster:

 

 

From front to back, the bridges are rail, road and Skytrain.

[pH]

Eastbound Rocky Mountaineer in New Westminster this morning.

 

 

It was a massive train, with 4 units on the front, all working. The first and fourth units are ex-CN GP40-2LWs (#8014 and #8015). The second and third are GP40-2Rs (#8018 and #8019). These have a long history - they started as Penn Central GP40s, passed through Conrail, Missouri-Kansas-Texas and Union Pacific ownership before being bought by National Railway Equipment, rebuilt into GP40-2s and sold to Great Canadian Railtours who operate the Rocky Mountaineer.

 

  

 

Many of the cars are full-length domes:

 

(The white 'marks' on the lower sides of the cars on the left are reflections from the highly-polished surfaces.)

Edited October 4, 2022 by pH
Managed to read unit numbers from photos and added them.

[newbryford]

Slightly better weather than when I was there in 2017.

 

 

 

[pH]

1 hour ago, newbryford said:

Slightly better weather than when I was there in 2017.

 

 

 

Well spotted!  👏

Edited October 3, 2022 by pH

[Johann Marsbar]

A 1991 version - seen from the other side!

 

 

There appears to be a freight crossing the rail bridge as well.

[britishcolumbian]

On 03/10/2022 at 22:36, Johann Marsbar said:

A 1991 version - seen from the other side!

 

 

There appears to be a freight crossing the rail bridge as well.

Not too long until this scene is gone forever, once they've torn the graceful Pattullo down and replaced it with another cable-stayed monstrosity. Lucky thing the Clifton bridge wasn't built here, they'd have torn it down years ago.

[pH]

7 minutes ago, britishcolumbian said:

Not too long until this scene is gone forever, once they've torn the graceful Pattullo down and replaced it with another cable-stayed monstrosity.

The first pier of the replacement road bridge is under construction. You can see it on the left of this picture, taken last week:

 

[britishcolumbian]

I can already tell it's going to be ugly.

[pH]

8 hours ago, britishcolumbian said:

I can already tell it's going to be ugly.

It’s actually an interesting design:

 

 https://images.dailyhive.com/20200530092919/new-pattullo-bridge-design-2020-f.jpg
 

Just a single suspension pier.

[britishcolumbian]

2 hours ago, pH said:

It’s actually an interesting design:

 

 https://images.dailyhive.com/20200530092919/new-pattullo-bridge-design-2020-f.jpg
 

Just a single suspension pier.

I suppose it's interesting for what it is, but there's nothing that makes it distinctive. It looks like the new Port Mann or the Alex Fraser or the Pitt River. No character. 

[pH]

25 minutes ago, britishcolumbian said:

I suppose it's interesting for what it is, but there's nothing that makes it distinctive. It looks like the new Port Mann or the Alex Fraser or the Pitt River. No character. 

 

Well, at least there won't be any 'ice bombs' off the support cables - they don't cross the roadway.

[britishcolumbian]

24 minutes ago, pH said:

 

Well, at least there won't be any 'ice bombs' off the support cables - they don't cross the roadway.

That's one positive anyways. 

[pH]

Pictures taken a couple of weeks ago of a historic piece of railway.

 

 

 

It's west of Nelson, BC, between there and Castlegar. This line was built as the Columbia and Kootenay Railway by the Canadian Pacific Railway and it opened in 1891. Originally it ran to Robson, across the Columbia river from the present Castlegar. It was built as a 'portage' railway, to connect two bodies of water (Kootenay Lake and the Columbia River), bypassing an impassable stretch of water between them (the lower Kootenay River). Several early Canadian railways were portage railways, including the first railway in Canada, the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad.

 

The Columbia and Kootenay Railway was the first line built by the CPR in southern British Columbia, south of its transcontinental mainline. It was part of a rail and riverboat route to transport ore from the first major silver mine in BC, near the town of Nelson, north to the CPR mainline. Previously, ore from that mine had gone south to the USA for smelting.

 

In 1898, the Columbia and Kootenay Railway became the first part of CPR's line across the province from Nelson to Vancouver, as the CPR started to build west from Castlegar. This line became known as the Kettle Valley Railway (though the KVR itself only started at Midway, some distance west).

 

The KVR is now completely closed from just west of Castlegar, but the stretch of line in these photos is still in service. The main traffic is to and from the huge smelter in Trail, reached by a branch line from Castlegar, but there is also other traffic such as wood products. There is usually only a single train each way per day with occasional extras.

[VIA185]

The three Canfor SW1200RS switchers from the closed Englewood Logging railway on Vancouver Island went to a Vancouver yard for storage/disposal. Does anyone know if they are still there or did they find a buyer? (CJL)