CN & CP - Parallel Routes Between Kamloops & Vancouver

[Scott]

I know Commissioner isn't a rush hour route, but for people that work on the waterfront, at that time of day there are obviously a lot of people going to work.

I don't think I said Knight and McGill intersect, but you are correct, that is the route you would take to travel between the two - at that time of day it would probably take 20 minutes.

The Victoria Drive entrance to the port is now only accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. This is the entrance I use every day.

And the Victoria Drive entrance is where I saw the most blatant example of "not caring". As soon as one long train had slowly crossed the crossing, another one sitting 20 meters or so down the track started up and slowly pulled it's long load across the entrance even though they could see the dozen people waiting outside the fence. That was at least 25 minutes total. They could have easily paused for 1 minute to let everyone cross.

[Scott]

The current pedestrian crossings (there's an pedestrian overpass at Nanaimo that I'm pretty sure is open) have no attendant. At Victoria Drive, you swipe your pass and get through. There's a button to press for an operator if you need help. Even at the Heatly entrance, I've seen times when there are no attendants.

Yeah, that's where I work. We get our own train cars once or twice a day, mostly with oil from back east.

[WettCoast]

Derailment site on CN's mainline in Thompson Canyon across from Skihist Provincial Park - 11 December 2012.

Derailed grain hoppers near the Cape Horn tunnels just above Lytton on CN's main track in BC's Thompson River Canyon. This derailment looks as if was caused by a slide, as the slide detection 'fence' above the track appears to be damaged. Clean-up in progress. Note vac truck on flat deck with vac hose running all the way down to river to suck up spilled grain. Note also the inflatable boat just downstream; no doubt there to ensure the safety of the clean-up crew.


photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[Mike]

Two from today:


CP 8875 (ES44AC) leading a coal train bound for Roberts Bank by West Coast Photography, on Flickr


CN 5354 (SD40-2W) leads two other SD40-2s and a doublestack train past Fort Langley Airport by West Coast Photography, on Flickr

[Mike]

CN 2664 (GE C44-9W) leads a doublestack train near Fort Langley by West Coast Photography, on Flickr

[Mike]

A CN freight passing the old (built in 1915) Fort Langley station.


CN 2324 (GE ES44DC) passing the old Fort Langley station by West Coast Photography, on Flickr

[Low Light Mike]

While researching train-spotting locations in the Thompson River area, I have found a few videos of action at Black Canyon.

This might be one of the most spectacular rail scenes in all of Canada.

Problem is, it is not easily accessible. Morant's Curve is a simple stop on a secondary highway. This however, is on private land is the view location is tough to access, from what I've read in video comments and from my map-reading research.


Here is one of those videos that I found.

[Low Light Mike]

I was at a roadside viewpoint outside Ashcroft BC this evening. It was high above the east-bank of the Thompson River, on the highway to Logan Lake & Merritt (really, just outside Ashcroft).

(this rail & river location is a few miles north of Black Canyon, but my location was accessible...)


CP tracks are on east bank, and CN tracks are on west bank. Both tracks are very snakey.

I saw a train on each, both headed for the coast, within 30 minutes of each other.
- Jim will know that this location is just north of where the traffic moves to designated north & south lines. At my viewpoint, traffic was still on it's own company line, regardless of direction.



The CN line is at Cornwall Creek tunnel (page 75 of Roger Burrows' book).




And on the CP track is a coal train, headed for Roberts Bank.

[Low Light Mike]

My view of 2 CN freight trains seen in the time that I spent at a highway pull-out.
- off Hwy-1 between Cache Creek and Walachin, BC. The viewpoint overlooks the Thompson River and Juniper Beach Provincial Park at the river's edge.

CN track is on the near side of the river, and CP is on the far side.

Afternoon of September 11, 2013.



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2 Stills from this time:

Setting the scene:





I was hoping to see a train on the CP tracks, but that didn't happen for me. I waited there 90 minutes until I packed it in.

[Low Light Mike]

Skihist Provincial Park affords spectacular views of the CN track, with the Cape Horn rock sheds and the Wrexham tunnel.

I saw this first-hand at 7:00am on September 12, 2013, with a CP coal train headed for the west-coast.

Here is my video of this:


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Here are a series of 3 zooms of the scene:





- Portal of the Cape Horn tunnel is shown at top-left of photo. Portal of Wrexham tunnel is shown at bottom-right of photo.

[Low Light Mike]

A south (west) bound CN freight, on the CN track along the Thompson River.
- just a few KM south of Martel.

[Low Light Mike]

My train video from the Hwy-97c hillside above Ashcroft, looking down at the Thompson River.
- this video includes a CP coal train and a CN freight. Both are south (west) bound on their respective lines, because this is just north of the line junction where the joint-use agreement area starts.




Evening of September 11, 2013.

[Low Light Mike]

My video of Martel. I spent 2 hours near Martel at dawn/sunrise, on September 13, 2013. It was really enjoyable to be there with that lovely view and the trains.

First here's a still, so you see what it looks like.




My video shows a quick stationary tour of the area (where I attempt to give directions to where this is), and 5 trains passing (2 on CP track and 3 on CN track).
- I tried to give a mix of real-speed and sped-up for the passing of these long trains.

[Low Light Mike]

Cisco bridges is referred to by some as the "Holy Grail of Rail."
- I visited that place for 3 fun-filled hours in the morning of September 12, 2013.

It is just a few minutes driving-time south of Lytton, BC. My photo vantage point was on the roadside berm, which worked well. It was a steep drop-off to the CN rail line below, so I had to always remember that I was sitting at the top of a narrow berm.

And the first train activity that I saw at Cisco bridges was this double-shot:
- a CP train on the CP bridge, and a CN train on the CN bridge.



======================


And here is my video featuring the above-photo in motion, plus a few other freights on the CP bridge. The video ends with the Rocky Mountaineer crossing the CN bridge (I've already posted that item separately, but I also tacked it on to the end of this overall Cisco video)

[Low Light Mike]

my video of the Skoonka rail tunnels & rocksheds on the CN line, and the CP line across the river near Drynoch.
- September 12/13, 2013.

My viewing of the Skoonka tunnels was a driving-by stop when I saw a train going through them. Next time I'm in the area, I might scout out a spot with a better view.
- CN has a suspension bridge near these tunnels, to get their maintenance workers to the far side of the river.

This is just north of Gold Pan Provincial Park, which is between Lytton and Spences Bridge, BC.

[WettCoast]

Canadian Pacific locomotive 9823 leads east bound intermodal on CP's Cascade Subdivision just east of Agassiz, BC, on a wet, dreary late afternoon - 30 September 2013.  That is BC Highway 7 on the right.

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[Mike]

This is the rear of the train made up of 30 or so empty doublestack cars, being pushed at a walking pace by the 8854. A foreman was inspecting the track here, and the extra train was likely being used to test the switch, since it would be relatively easy to rerail an empty well car. Later, I heard the train on my scanner, get permission to drop the cars in a siding on the BCR Port Sub, and proceed as a light engine movement (train with no cars) to Roberts Bank.


CN Extra 8854 West creeping through the switch onto the BC Rail Port Sub. by West Coast Photography, on Flickr

[Low Light Mike]

First off, WCK's fine photo of the Skeena train near Smithers was mentioned today by Mark Forsythe on CBC Radio's "BC Almanac." That's awesome.

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Here are 3 of my photos mentioned on Ashcroft Hill Almanac:

CN train westbound on CN track, opposite Ashcroft. Above the track is Cornwall Rd.
- the first few freight cars are carrying lumber.



That same train, a little downstream, about to enter the Cornwall Creek tunnel.


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On the near bank a westbound CP coal train gives the illusion that it is eastbound (if the tail end locomotive were actually the head end).
- trains have no wake to tell the direction....

[SolDuc]

Oct 7, 2013 19:21:08 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

On the near bank a westbound CP coal train gives the illusion that it is eastbound (if the tail end locomotive were actually the head end).
- trains have no wake to tell the direction....

But their locomotives have lights to tell you the direction.... (yes, I just put four points there just to imitate Mr. Horn)

[Low Light Mike]

The long awaited thread for photos & discussion on the CN & CP parallel routes between Kamloops and Vancouver.

This is the joint-track agreement area where Westbound trains use the CN track and Eastbound trains use the CP track.

Technically this is from Basque Junction to Mission, but for this thread we are simplifying it to say Kamloops to Greater Vancouver.

[Low Light Mike]

Mar 28, 2008 21:44:16 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

Here are some rail or rail related photos from my recent trip south.


On the return trip home I stopped again in the Thompson Canyon to catch these photos of an east bound CN box train operating on CP's Thompson subdivision.





All photos © JST

[WettCoast]

Chasing* a west bound CP coal train along CN's Ashcroft Subdivision along the Thompson Canyon in BC's southern interior...  Three photos of the same train in chronological order...

* The term 'train chasing' is what rail fans do when they follow a particular train along a route so as to get photos at two or more points along that route.  This can be done without bending highway safety rules or going onto railway property.  In the Thompson & Fraser canyons it can be achieved easily as the trains travel at an average speed of ~30 mph (50 km/h) while highway traffic is averaging more like 50 MPH (80 km/h).  


CP loaded coal train west bound on CN's Ashcroft Sub west of Spences Bridge, BC - 21 September 2013


CP #8719 leads west bound CP unit coal train on CN's Ashcroft Sub between Spences Bridge & Lytton, BC - 21 September 2013.  This train had two other 'DPU' locomotives in the train consist, one at mid-train and the other at the tail-end.


CP #8719 leads west bound CP coal train over CN's Thompson River bridge on Ashcroft Sub @ Lytton, BC - 21 September 2013.  Lytton is at the confluence of the Fraser River with its largest tributary, the Thompson. In this photo the Fraser is seen in the left background, the Thompson on the right.

All photos © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[Low Light Mike]

Oct 13, 2013 8:46:02 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

CP #8719 leads west bound CP coal train over CN's Thompson River bridge on Ashcroft Sub @ Lytton, BC - 21 September 2013.  Lytton is at the confluence of the Fraser River with its largest tributary, the Thompson. In this photo the Fraser is seen in the left background, the Thompson on the right.

All photos © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

The Lytton reaction-ferry is visible, in the middle-left area of this photo.

Lytton is great spot to get both a train-photo and a ferry-photo. (and a sun burn)

It's also great to see other peoples' photos of a place that I've visited, and to know exactly where this photo was taken from (and also to know where WCK most likely parked his car). Great that people who share the same interests also have been in the same spots. A bit of camaraderie feeling that we leave in these spots, until the next person arrives in that spot knowing that train & ferry fans have been in those same spots before.

The nerd energy is strong in these spots.....

[WettCoast]

Oct 13, 2013 11:02:21 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

It's also great to see other peoples' photos of a place that I've visited, and to know exactly where this photo was taken from (and also to know where WCK most likely parked his car). Great that people who share the same interests also have been in the same spots. A bit of camaraderie feeling that we leave in these spots, until the next person arrives in that spot knowing that train & ferry fans have been in those same spots before.

The nerd energy is strong in these spots.....

We are not the only people to have hung out in such spots to get a good train pic. Check out this photo from a UK 'foamer' named Jonathan Lewis:
www.milepost39.co.uk/mp39.asp?do=image&picid=1792&size=1024&count=no

See more of his work here.

[compdude787]

Dec 11, 2012 17:10:42 GMT -8 Scott said:

As I mentioned elsewhere a little while ago, my enthusiasm for trains has been tempered recently, as I've started working with a company located within the Port of Vancouver lands.

It's a good thing that there are laws about how long train operators are allowed to block crossings on public roads, because if they had their own way (as they seem to do within the Port) there would be traffic chaos. My most recent example would be this morning heading to work. I would have arrived about 20 minutes early as I usually do "just in case I get stuck at a train crossing". Instead, I was 20 minutes late. A train bringing containers into the container terminal blocked Commissioner street for over 40 minutes, during the height of rush hour. For drivers, it's possible to do a u-turn and exit the port at Knight or McGill and drive to the other one (at that time of day, that would take about 20-25 minutes), but for people on foot, as I was, that's obviously not an option. When you consider all the people who are late for work and all the truck traffic that is held up for that long, it adds up to quite an "economic impact". Thankfully the Port is planning on making improvements to the road so this happens less often.

Are train operators so busy that they have to block traffic for that long? I see engines sitting around all the time doing nothing - they don't seem that busy. It would only take them an extra 5-10 minutes to completely pull out of the terminal during their several switches to let traffic pass by. To me it seems the train companies and operators have free reign on the waterfront and don't care at all who they inconvenience.

This is probably why people risk their own life and that of others when trying to cross a train track as an oncoming train is fast approaching. Since trains are pretty long, people don't want to be stuck at a RR crossing waiting for the train to cross. Yes, it is annoying when trains just stop when they're blocking a crossing. At Edmonds, where there's an at-grade RR crossing at the ferry terminal, when trains go over the crossing while the ferry is loading/unloading, it can sure be a pain. One time the train went across and just stopped while the ferry was trying to load. They announced that they would be contacting BNSF to get them to move the train. They probably have their number on speed dial.

Train crossings aren't such a big deal at Edmonds since they don't have a very tight schedule, but it's a good thing there's a bridges over the tracks at Mukilteo; otherwise it would mess up the schedule.