Railfanning CN Between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie

I was recently asked for some advice on railfanning near the Trans-Canada Highway between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. I’m sharing a portion of this route here. Feel free to chime in with your own suggestions in the comments. I’ll be describing it as if you are heading west from Winnipeg, and I am only talking about CN in this post because the CP line doesn’t come near the Trans-Canada between Winnipeg and Portage.

The Trans-Canada Highway mostly parallels the CN Rivers subdivision. In fact, a portion of the TCH was built on the former Grand Trunk Pacific right-of-way, while this stretch of the Rivers subdivision is mostly the former Canadian Northern track.

The CN line is to the south of the TCH, but the rails and the highway get close in a few locations.

You can leave Winnipeg on the Trans-Canada Highway through Headingley, or elect to follow route 427 / Wilkes Road west out of the city to maximize your trackside time.

Diamond

Diamond, located here, is a very popular spot for watching trains. The CN Rivers subdivision is crossed by the CP Glenboro subdivision at a right angle. The combination of two tracks, signals and the open prairie so close to the city are an irresistible combination to many.

Heading west, you can take Wilkes Road / highway 427 to Diamond on pavement, then head north on Harris Road (gravel) to Roblin Boulevard (421) to get back to the Trans-Canada Highway. If you don’t mind driving on gravel, continue west on 427 several kilometres to White Plains Road (424) and head north to the TCH. This will maximize your trackside time.

Dacotah

Dacotah is quite accessible from the highway but I have not been impressed by the sight lines there. It used to have a grain elevator but it was demolished in 2003.

I would skip Dacotah.

Elie

You should consider stopping at Elie, or at least passing through it. I often do a quick loop through Elie; heading west, head south off the highway at the traffic lights by the gas station/Tim Hortons down route 248 until you cross the tracks. To your left (east) is the former Elie train station, now a private residence.

Turn right onto Elie street, which will take you west out of town onto a gravel road. Take the next right onto Janzen Road and head north back toward the tracks and the highway. There are several good angles to photograph trains passing the grain elevator on the west side of town.

If you’d prefer to do a loop back to Winnipeg, from Elie it is easy to head north on route 248 about 12 km to route 26 and then take route 248 to Marquette, then east on 221 back to the city.

Benard

The track is not far from the highway at Benard but there’s nothing particularly photogenic here.

Fortier

At Fortier the rail line turns due west while the highway continues in a west-north-west direction.

I have railfanned the section between Fortier and Oakville many times. It is nice and wide open and there are quiet back road crossings along the way. You can take route 331 west from Fortier to Oakville, although it is a gravel road. There are several spots between Fortier and Oakville to stop and photograph trains.

Oakville

Oakville has a great former Manitoba Pool grain elevator. You can photograph trains passing it from within the town (above) or just east of the town at a rural crossing with a long lens.

The town is only a few minutes from the highway and is worth visiting for the elevator itself. It has a small downtown as well. Watch out for the 30 km/hr speed zone.

Newton

There isn’t much in Newton other than a curve in the tracks… although it is a nice curve, especially for westbound trains in the afternoon or evening. I wouldn’t go to Newton from the highway just for that, but if you are in Oakville you may as well drive west to Newton and then either return to the highway or take the back road past Nattress into Portage la Prairie.

Nattress

It’s not easy to get to Nattress from the Trans-Canada Highway. You drive south to Oakville or Newton, then head west on route 331 (paved) then north on Rd 31W or Rd 30W. It’s probably not a good spot to “duck into” from the TCH.

The nice thing about Nattress is the curve in the tracks, excellent for morning shots of eastbound trains. There is a bridge over the Assiniboine River just west of Rd 31W but it’s not accessible without trespassing, as far as I know.

You can also approach Nattress from the west side of the Assiniboine River by heading south on Bowes Road from the TCH. I’m not impressed by the photo angles there, and there are several private property signs preventing close access to the tracks.

Route 1 Overpass

The TCH bypasses Portage la Prairie with a loop around the south side of the city. There are several photo angles available at the TCH overpass on the east side of Portage la Prairie. The photo above was taken from near the overpass itself by pulling onto the shoulder while driving east.

You can also take Rd 34 W south from the Fort la Reine museum area to a crossing just west of the overpass. Here you may find a train waiting to head west through the city, and there are a few angles of interest here.

I would definitely recommend driving into Portage la Prairie instead of driving around it. There’s the CN & CP main lines next to each other, and the two railway stations. The CP station is a museum but it’s not open very often.

West of Portage la Prairie you’ll have CN north of you and CP south, so you can make a quick jaunt to either track to see if anything is coming. CN will be far busier. Mostly you will see the CP line west of MacGregor MB as the CN main heads northwest.