From the Snowbank

The tracks run pretty straight around here. The flat prairie lent itself to straight lines and easy grades for railway planners in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so there aren’t a lot of curves on the main lines in the prairies.

The CN main line west of Winnipeg is no exception. After the CN Rivers subdivision leaves the city, it runs in long tangents to Portage la Prairie and on toward Saskatchewan. There is a bend at mile 16, one near Fortier, one at Newton, and a little jog before it crosses the Assiniboine River.

On February 19 (2023) I went to the mile 16 bend to photograph VIA 693, the Winnipeg-Churchill train. I’ve photographed at this bend many times, but I thought the large snowbanks would give me an opportunity to shoot from track level.

I clambered up the snowbank and set my tripod up, then retreated to my car to wait for the train. Fortunately VIA has provided a web page to track their trains, so I didn’t have to stand outside in the bitter cold to wait for 693.

I watched the train’s progress out of downtown Winnipeg, and eventually it was time to get out and shoot.

Up on the snowbank, I dialed in the shutter speed and aperture I wanted, and watched VIA roll swiftly toward me.

I took several photos as the head end passed me. I was using my telephoto lens so I wasn’t particularly close to the tracks. I didn’t need a face full of snow!

Speaking of snow, the “going away” shot was pretty obscured…

This is what the same angle looks like “from the ground” without the benefit of snowbanks. The snowbanks do help! (photo from November last year)

Here’s the video of VIA 693.

CN gave me a bonus train on my way home.

A Bonus

On my way east toward the city, I found another train. This CN train was following in the “footsteps” (tracks?) of VIA as it headed west. I captured it around mile 13.

The train had two locomotives on the head end and a distributed braking boxcar (CN 0023) in the middle. Note the container cars after the general freight.

With Precision Scheduled Railroading (“PSR”, I believe you’re supposed to spit after saying those universally hated initials) you never know what you are going to see on a train. Here we have container cars tacked on the end of a general freight train. It’s all just freight to fill out a train.

February 19 was the first time I’d railfanned in that month. I’m still not really feeling it but I think my railfan urge is slowly returning. I was trackside once more in February, which is more than I did in January!