I went back through the photos I took in 2024 and rated them, then sifted through the higher rated ones and chose one per month. I already shared January to June, and now I present July to December 2024.
July
July’s favourite photo has to be of CP 2816. The “Empress” came to Winnipeg, and I – and many others – were out to photograph its run from the US border to Winnipeg.
It was a once in a lifetime event… although I hope 2816 gets to stretch her legs on the main line again soon.
A runner-up was this photo of “Vera”, aka the Mynarski Lancaster bomber, at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada here in Winnipeg. It was a great event.
August
Jason Paul Sailer was in Winnipeg in August, and we spent an enjoyable evening and night chasing trains between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie. This shot of the Viterra grain elevator outside PlaP at sunset is my favourite photo from August.
This image of the VIA Rail Canadian was a runner-up from August. I featured it in my Railfan Soliloquies post.
There’s no trains in this photo, but it’s in my August favourites because of the extraordinary aurora borealis on the night of August 11-12. It was so strong that we could see the aurora from our driveway. My wife and I drove to a point just south of Winnipeg and took it in. Many people across North America were able to see them for the first time.
The Northern Lights are truly magical, and we are fortunate to be able to see them on a reasonably frequent basis.
September
This might be my favourite photo of the entire year. The early morning sun, lighting up the hazy sky with golden goodness. I was fortunate to be there, as the traffic jam on the Rivers subdivision eased.
Also in September, I went up to chase the Prairie Dog Central’s train from Inkster Junction to Grosse Isle. Once the train was stopped, and people started to get off, I decided to try something a little different.
I’m sure I looked a little odd, laying on the ground with my wide angle lens. I don’t care!
October
Chris Mears and I had a great time chasing CN 509, with our mutual friend Caleb Wentzell as one of the crew. It was difficult to pick my favourite photo but I had to go with this one, as it was the one shot I had visualized before the chase began.
Another photo I really loved from October was this one of the aurora, seen northwest of Winnipeg. The sky was truly glorious and I’m really glad I made the effort to get out and see it. I had never seen red in the aurora with my own eyes before.
November
November was a quiet month, train-watching-wise, but I went out on another “good aurora night” to capture the sky action. Here the aurora is above the Baie St-Paul bridge, built in 1954.
December
December was another quiet train-chasing month. This photo is from a brief chase up the Sprague subdivision, where I encountered this eastbound train and a couple of westbounds. The morning light looked pretty nice on the train.
That’s it – 12+ photos from 2024. What’s your favourite?
These are some great pics. Nice work.
Vera or the September dawn shot might be my favorite.
Thank you!
Very neat and interesting with a lot of action – something we have little of here in the Moncton area compared to a few years ago – Happy New Year Steve !
Hi Richard, the rail traffic around Moncton is a little less than it has been, alas.
Happy new year to you as well!
Happy New Year from Montreal Steve.
The aurora borealis is a truly spectacular sight, never seen one myself. I love the shot of Vera even though it is not a train shot. But my favorite has to be August. Here in Quebec we could never get a shot like that and your timing for the exposure was spot on.
Thanks for sharing your photo year with us.
Hi Steve, thank you for your kind comment. I’m glad you liked that August photo. Happy new year!