Railfanning with Jason, 2024 Edition

My friend Jason Paul Sailer was in Winnipeg recently, and we made plans to go railfanning together, again! I picked him up at 5 PM and off we went.

VIA’s Canadian was due to come into Winnipeg in the evening, but after we checked VIA’s online tracker, we ruled that out. The train was several hours late and would not come into the ‘Peg until after dark.

Instead, we headed west on the CN Rivers subdivision, always a reliable source of trains.

We didn’t see anything until we reached Elie. There we saw a green signal facing east, so we set up by the Elie grain elevator and waited in the sweltering heat.

Elie

While we were waiting, a fellow driving by stopped to check on us to make sure we hadn’t broken down in the heat. Appreciated!

Eventually a CN train came rolling past in great light.

We followed the train west, catching up to it near Newton. It slowed as it approached the Assiniboine River crossing at Nattress, where the two track main line narrows to a single track.

This told us that there must be an eastbound train coming. We went to the last crossing on the east side of the river and waited at the curve. I’ve been here several times before (Leapfrogging Home, 2022; Back Before 11, 2021; Morning Light, 2019).

Nattress

I like the location for the nice curve in the tracks – seen above. It looks great in the morning light. Since we were here in the evening, the sun was definitely against us but we did the best that we could.

Someone has cut the brush and trees down “within” the curve, so the entire curve is now visible. This allows a shot of the automated rail inspection portal, previously hidden. I tried to get the train and the portal in one shot, which was a little challenging with the low evening sun!

As the westbound train passed us, the westbound train that we saw at Elie was creeping up.

They met several hundred feet east of us.

Unfortunately the creeping westbound train kept on creeping, obscured by the other train. It would have made a nice shot in the evening light!

We contented ourselves with watching the last of the train roll into the golden sunset, through the portal.

After a brief discussion, we decided to head into Portage la Prairie along the CPKC line. We doubled back to Oakville, then north to near Poplar Point, then west along the CP Carberry subdivision.

Unfortunately, CPKC did not grace us with any trains – unsurprising – but we did get a great look at the grain elevator at Tucker just outside Portage la Prairie as the sun was setting.

On into Portage!

Portage la Prairie

The sun set, but the trains kept rolling.

Both CN and CPKC’s signals showed green facing west. Since the two railways cross each other at West Tower on the west side of Portage la Prairie, they would have to take turns going through the diamond crossing. We weren’t sure which railway was going to win… but in the end CN got there first.

They passed by the former CN / VIA station – now shuttered – and I tried a pan shot of CN 2829 as it rolled on by.

Quickly we switched over to CPKC to await their train. It didn’t take long!

Through the wonders of digital camera technology, we were able to make some decent photos of CP 8160 East as it rolled past the restored ex CP train station.

The train had an SD70ACU in the middle, and a Kansas City Southern unit pushing on the tail end.

By this time it was pretty dark, and getting pretty late, so we packed it up.

However, CN was showing a green signal, so…

One More For the Road

We intercepted a westbound CN train right at the edge of Portage la Prairie, as it approached East Tower. This was the best of my pan shots of the train. I like the abstractness of it.

It was great to go railfanning with Jason again!