Is This Canada?

Tom

Looks like a good day of train watching hey.

Excellent videos, Tom!!  Neat seeing the Canadian Pacific engines!

I like how he adds the pictures of the head end engines to the videos!

I live in the Metro Detroit area and there is a steel CN railroad bridge over the road about five miles from my train room.  I see a lot of CN and CP.  They enter the States via the Detroit - Windsor Train Tunnel and a tunnel between Port Huron, Michigan & Sarnia Ontario.

After 911, the security is extremely high. U.S. Portal Patrol. RR Police, and local police.

Gary

If you head north into Michigan, you'd see even more 

trainroomgary posted:

I live in the Metro Detroit area and there is a steel CN railroad bridge over the road about five miles from my train room.  I see a lot of CN and CP.  They enter the States via the Detroit - Windsor Train Tunnel and a tunnel between Port Huron, Michigan & Sarnia Ontario.

After 911, the security is extremely high. U.S. Portal Patrol. RR Police, and local police.

Gary

When ever we get a chance to hang out Gary. I'll tell you about what happened to this couple that wanted to take a Sunday drive in Canada from your side of the state and they gave the border cop the wrong answer. It didn't end well for them.

Cool videos Tom. Lots of C.P. and C.N. power in Jersey too on CSX's River Line and NS's Lehigh Line. Thanks for posting.  

This reminds me of when I was in Jacksonville, FL.  All I saw were Union Pacific units at the head of Florida East Coast trains.  I might as well have been at home in CA where I see UP units every day.

When I was in Canada, however, all I saw was CN and CP diesels.  I really like the red CP color scheme.

NH Joe

I live in Sioux City, IA where we have CN. Often near their station we see NS, CSX, BNSF. We also have BNSF and UP.

Dick

Always enjoy your videos, Tom. Growing up in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, I've always felt a link to Canadian railroads. Since the Soo Line, Wisconsin Central and Milwaukee Road folded into the Canadian roads over the years, this has continued. Today the CN runs near my hometown, and I've visited the big CP Pigs Eye yard in St. Paul many times when I've been back in the area.

For better or worse, CN & CP are now  North American railroads... (probably thanks to Hunter Harrison). I never noticed before but my CN calendar (pensioners get one every year) has pictures  of CP & CN  trains  from some of the US states.... Do we have any CN or CP US rail workers  here on the forum? Did you get a calendar?

The title of the thread   IS this Canada??  Of course not, There's no snow...BTW We've had enough winter .

Well, CN bought the Bessemer and Lake Erie RR in Ohio and Pennsylvania a few years back.  The report at the time said they didn't plan to rename engines, etc., but I do see CN maintenance vehicles running around the Butler area.  Haven't seen one marked for B&LE for a long time.

Could it just be power lease payback? I know CP uses a lot of UP power in the west during grain season and I've seen close by to my house multiple occasions of BNSF power on CN freights. Usually the borrowing railway will "pay" power back to the lending railway. Possibly  CP owes CSX some power payback.

No less Canada than Franklin Park, Ontar...  Errrr, Illinois is:

Rusty

CN watching on this side of the Detroit River & Lunch with Train Room Gary

Shot Today: March, 9th, 2018

1. CN steel bridge, Orchard Lake Road; Pontiac, Michigan. About five miles from my train room. I teach Drivers Education in the Great State of Michigan and it is fun to ask the students what CN means on this blue guide sign.

2. CN freight train approaching Pontiac Station.

3. CN 5930 on the by pass line at Pontiac.

4. CN loco passing a parked Amtrak.

5. A track derailer in the open position.

6. CN property, their tracks.

7. Guess what I had for lunch, just two miles from Pontiac station.

8. Back at the work bench with these CN photos.

9. These photos over the work bench were shot with a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 format camera & developed and printed in my home darkroom.

Out rail-fanning / Thanks for taking a look: Gary

On the flip side, CSX has some tracks in Canada. These "local" GP38-2's were at the transfer point at the CN yard in Sarnia, ON.

Rusty Traque posted:

No less Canada than Franklin Park, Ontar...  Errrr, Illinois is:

Rusty

Great seeing the Alberta and Saskatchewan cars in action, as well as the CP Rail and others. I have assembled all these Lionel hoppers in a CN grain train, so it's nice to see them running. Note the Soo Line reporting marks on the grey Canadian Pacific hopper.  

I'm glad to see Dudley DoRight has things well in hand, Rusty!

Nacho Fries?, Gary!  

Mark Boyce posted:

I'm glad to see Dudley DoRight has things well in hand, Rusty!

Nacho Fries?, Gary!  

Hi Mark - After a long morning of rail-fanning. Take a closer look. Had the Railroad Lunch box for $5. In this RR box you get 2 Tacos, • 1 Nacho Chez Dip • Seasoned Fries • Med. Drink. 

Out Rail-fanning - Gary

Oh, now I understand, Gary!  I have not seen this restaurant before, but it is a good choice for a railranning day.  Is this the place you took your two grandsons to in a video a few months ago.  That was a restaurant I wasn't familiar with.  I've lived a sheltered life!  

  A new neighbor or a visitor parked this Hi-rail on my block tonight.

Funny, they could just use their backyard to access the old GT line. 

Sorry it isn't a good shot, we were moving and had cars "inches"  behind us

trainroomgary posted:

CN watching on this side of the Detroit River & Lunch with Train Room Gary

Shot Today: March, 9th, 2018

1. CN steel bridge, Orchard Lake Road; Pontiac, Michigan. About five miles from my train room. I teach Drivers Education in the Great State of Michigan and it is fun to ask the students what CN means on this blue guide sign.

Brilliant

 

 

7. Guess what I had for lunch, just two miles from Pontiac station.

Close Gary. Even looks nearly correct.  But you've got Northern & Southern boarder fries inverted.....

Meet "poutine"; " The Mess"; "mixed"; etc. Canada's "unofficial national dish"

   Cheese curd, brown gravy and fries in about equal portions. Done right, it is in the top ten Canadian inventions ever, even beating out the electron microscope,  And no, you likely won't get it exactly right at home, eh? 

Weird, the explanatory posts didn't appear for me.

I can't see the RR lunch box part either; just "Nacho Fries" 

Adriatic posted:

trainroomgary posted:

CN watching on this side of the Detroit River & Lunch with Train Room Gary

Shot Today: March, 9th, 2018

1. CN steel bridge, Orchard Lake Road; Pontiac, Michigan. About five miles from my train room. I teach Drivers Education in the Great State of Michigan and it is fun to ask the students what CN means on this blue guide sign.

Brilliant

 

 

7. Guess what I had for lunch, just two miles from Pontiac station.

Close Gary. Even looks nearly correct.  But you've got Northern & Southern boarder fries inverted.....

Meet "poutine"; " The Mess"; "mixed"; etc. Canada's "unofficial national dish"

   Cheese curd, brown gravy and fries in about equal portions. Done right, it is in the top ten Canadian inventions ever, even beating out the electron microscope,  And no, you likely won't get it exactly right at home, eh? 

There's a rail overpass with a big CN logo just when you  exit Chicago O'Hare airport

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9818754,-87.8763896,3a,67.2y,69.07h,86.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTYZygAyR-hnd7nuq5rPEXA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Gregg posted:

For better or worse, CN & CP are now  North American railroads... (probably thanks to Hunter Harrison). I never noticed before but my CN calendar (pensioners get one every year) has pictures  of CP & CN  trains  from some of the US states.... Do we have any CN or CP US rail workers  here on the forum? Did you get a calendar?

The title of the thread   IS this Canada??  Of course not, There's no snow...BTW We've had enough winter .

Gregg:  I’m a CN customer and have my CN calendar hanging in the basement near my layout.  Didn’t get a CP calendar this year though.  Pulled a chunk of business off them last year and shifted it to CN.

Oh; and an endorsement for poutine!  This stuff became a bad habit when I used to frequent our plants in Quebec. 👍

Curt

juniata guy posted:

Gregg posted:

For better or worse, CN & CP are now  North American railroads... (probably thanks to Hunter Harrison). I never noticed before but my CN calendar (pensioners get one every year) has pictures  of CP & CN  trains  from some of the US states.... Do we have any CN or CP US rail workers  here on the forum? Did you get a calendar?

The title of the thread   IS this Canada??  Of course not, There's no snow...BTW We've had enough winter .

Gregg:  I’m a CN customer and have my CN calendar hanging in the basement near my layout.  Didn’t get a CP calendar this year though.  Pulled a chunk of business off them last year and shifted it to CN.

Oh; and an endorsement for poutine!  This stuff became a bad habit when I used to frequent our plants in Quebec. 👍

Curt

Yeah That's stuff terrible for you. But...

Maybe  Curt you would know  why CN is short of power and grain cars to deliver grain  from the Canadian  prairies to the west  coast??? Ship waiting for loading and the  farmers  are the ones that have to pay demurrage. not the railway.   Now the railways are saying the winter was just tooo brutal. Come on !!! Where the heck are all  the CN engines?

I'm not buying that excuse.

Gregg:  CN experienced a 20% growth rate in traffic volumes in western Canada in 2017.  You don’t bring that kind of business on line and not feel some pain.

CN is also similar to other railroads in that after a decade or two of downsizing; they no longer have the ability or, apparently the willingness to react to growth quickly and add capacity in terms of physical plant, locomotives and people.  Most railroads now have to enter meltdown status before they are willing to confront reality.  

I attribute this mentality to pressure from Wall Street.  The guys on “ the street” hate growth unless it’s growth in earnings or margins.  But; the one thing Wall Street hasn’t been able to overcome is grain.

One conclusion I have reached in over 38 years of dealing with railroads is that they can almost always get away with poor service to industrial shippers but,  ”grain talks and BS walks”.  Politicians and regulators love grain.  Grain shippers in the Dakota’s are what drove BNSF to expand physical plant and add people and power across the northern tier in 2014.  And its grain shippers in western Canada who are driving CN’s capex plans this year.

Curt

Hi Tom:

If you ever get up to Michigan. You may want to hang out at Durand Station, with your YT camera. About 50 trains a day. Amtrak & freight.

http://www.durandstation.org/

Gary