Railfanning in Northern Ontario

A Northbound CN freight skirts along a quiet lake south of Parry Sound.  The second unit still sports its original BC RAIL paint scheme

CN and CP in the Parry Sound Area....by Don Janes

     Every year we set aside a couple of weeks to go camping at Horsehoe Lake Campground, about 15 km south of Parry Sound.  The first year I was there I heard the constant sounding of train whistles so set out to explore the area for possible train photography.  Both CN and CP pass within a few miles of the campground and I now have several favorite spots to from which to watch trains. The three spots featured here are Rosseau Road where the two railroads come within a few yards of each other, the secluded lake beside the CN main on Lawson Bay Road and the CP town of MacTier which was once a busy division point but now only a crew change spot with a couple of sidings.

    Although lines are on the two railways transcontinental route, traffic can be very light some days and getting a train photo can entail a lot of waiting.  The upside of that is that sitting by a peaceful lake on a summer afternoon with a beer or two can be very relaxing.  

    Although the north and southbound VIA Canadians are scheduled through here in the wee hours of the night I was very fortunate to catch a very late running northbound Canadian with a huge train pass through in mid afternoon which was the highlight of this years train watching. 

      Next year I hope to get some shots in Parry Sound where the CP has a huge trestle over the mouth of the bay and the CN line crosses a really neat dam further in town.  The two railroads do direction running through Parry Sound so you can catch trains from both roads on each line.  Until next year.

Shortly after the train in the above photo passed through a second CN intermodal train passed by my lakeside location. 

My next outing took me to Rosseau road where within seconds of my arrival this southbound CN welded rail came drifting around the curve.  I barely had time to turn the camera on.

About an hour after the CN train passed this giant southbound CP intermodal train came along with only one unit on the head end. the CN main is to the right.

About two thirds of the way back in the train was a DPU unit pushing hard as the train neared the crew change at MacTier.

My favorite shot of the trip. The Northbound Canadian with 3 units and a very long consist skirted the lake.

Bring up the rear was dome/observation car Prince Albert Park.

Shortly after the VIA passed another CN northbound freight came along.  There would be one more CN freight before I headed back to the fifth wheel for dinner.

Back at Rosseau Road a few days later I caught this northbound CP freight with 2 units on the point and another DPU cut in about halfway back.

As soon as the 8772 passed Rosseau Road I hightailed it to MacTier to catch the crew change.  Here the outgoing crew is getting a roll by inspection from the inbound crew.  In a few more hours the train will be in Toronto