General railway discussions

[urbancog]

There's an inventory of railway crossings maintained by Transport Canada, ranked by collision risk.

Unfortunate reminder from France on the risks of mixing high-speed rail and level crossings.

"There were 89 incidents [of trains hitting vehicles on crossings] recorded in France in 2024, causing 20 deaths"

 

[smallspy]

Wouldn’t deferred maintenance be one thing. Then wouldn’t China and Russia have railways that are close to NA standards? And in Poland, they still run 76 M62s or ST44s on PKP Cargo which were recently modernized with new engines. Unfortunately from Russia.

No, because deferred maintenance leads to shorter equipment lifespans, not longer.

Dan

 

[CMQSD402F9011]

No, because deferred maintenance leads to shorter equipment lifespans, not longer.

Dan

I do recall hearing that after EHH came to CP Rail in 2012. He cut around 75% of mechanics/shop workers at CP Rail and i believe changed the way on how locomotives are assigned to after completing a run at yards.

 

[Bojaxs]

What's the deal with the CN mainline and Brantford? Why does it dip into downtown when it appears that there is an abandoned stretch of track that skirts around just north of the city?

If you zoom in on Brantford, you can actually make out where the track used to go around Brantford.

RAC Canadian Rail Atlas

rac.jmaponline.net

 

[crs1026]

What's the deal with the CN mainline and Brantford? Why does it dip into downtown when it appears that there is an abandoned stretch of track that skirts around just north of the city?

If you zoom in on Brantford, you can actually make out where the track used to go around Brantford.

RAC Canadian Rail Atlas

rac.jmaponline.net

View attachment 728187

Time to read a couple chapters of a good CNR history book. A cautionary tale for Alto…. Never underestimate the power of a grass roots local political movement to get a railway line diverted.
In Brantford’s case, the move likely paid off by enabling industrial development. The price paid is having your town bisected by a busy rail line.

- Paul

 

[Bojaxs]

Time to read a couple chapters of a good CNR history book. A cautionary tale for Alto…. Never underestimate the power of a grass roots local political movement to get a railway line diverted.
In Brantford’s case, the move likely paid off by enabling industrial development. The price paid is having your town bisected by a busy rail line.

- Paul

In this day and age of intermodal trains, it would make more sense to rebuild this stretch of abandoned track, straighten out the mainline, and completely bypass the city centre.

 

[IRT_BMT_IND]

What's the deal with the CN mainline and Brantford? Why does it dip into downtown when it appears that there is an abandoned stretch of track that skirts around just north of the city?

If you zoom in on Brantford, you can actually make out where the track used to go around Brantford.

The GTR realigned the main line through the centre of Brantford in 1905. Brantford was a major industrial centre then so it made sense

In this day and age of intermodal trains, it would make more sense to rebuild this stretch of abandoned track, straighten out the mainline, and completely bypass the city centre.

The right of way actually has room for two tracks and there are still intact bridges, though they may not be structurally sound anymore. I'm not sure any time savings from using the old route would be worth the cost (does CN even still own the land?) of rebuilding it. Probably only a handful of the highest priority trains (148/149 and 122/123, if they are still running) would see a real benefit.

 

[Bojaxs]

The GTR realigned the main line through the centre of Brantford in 1905. Brantford was a major industrial centre then so it made sense




The right of way actually has room for two tracks and there are still intact bridges, though they may not be structurally sound anymore. I'm not sure any time savings from using the old route would be worth the cost (does CN even still own the land?) of rebuilding it. Probably only a handful of the highest priority trains (148/149 and 122/123, if they are still running) would see a real benefit.

The 148/ 149 are still running. I know this for a fact.

 

[crs1026]

In this day and age of intermodal trains, it would make more sense to rebuild this stretch of abandoned track, straighten out the mainline, and completely bypass the city centre.

That depends on how much utility CN gets out of Brantford Yard (hint: lots), and how much it would cost to remediate it upon abandonment..
Considering the yard continues to be used regularly, and considering how difficult it would be to relocate it (over likely nimby opposition and current environmental processes) it will likely stay put. The old bypass doesn't help VIA, and the current route is needed to reach Hagersville. So the ROW is still needed. I can't see CN reviving the bypass route just to save a few minutes for only some of its trains. A few do still work the yard and.again tbey need the full route.

- Paul

 

[hawc]

Photographed at Dundas & Jane.

A Kansas City Southern (KCS) GE AC4400CW locomotive with a GE 7FDL-16 diesel engine generating 4,400 hp to drive electric traction motors. This 16-cylinder turbocharged prime mover operates at a maximum of 1,050 RPM.

 

[ShonTron]

The GTR realigned the main line through the centre of Brantford in 1905. Brantford was a major industrial centre then so it made sense




The right of way actually has room for two tracks and there are still intact bridges, though they may not be structurally sound anymore. I'm not sure any time savings from using the old route would be worth the cost (does CN even still own the land?) of rebuilding it. Probably only a handful of the highest priority trains (148/149 and 122/123, if they are still running) would see a real benefit.

Yep. The Brantford-Paris section was already built 40 years earlier; it was a relatively easy build between Lyndon Junction and Downtown Brantford. Even at a time when CN was still big on passenger trains, it couldn’t justify maintaining the old GWR mainline between Lyndon and Paris in the 1930s, when it also removed the last of the redundant Canadian Northern tracks between Toronto and Napanee.

 

[smallspy]

Photographed at Dundas & Jane.

A Kansas City Southern (KCS) GE AC4400CW locomotive with a GE 7FDL-16 diesel engine generating 4,400 hp to drive electric traction motors. This 16-cylinder turbocharged prime mover operates at a maximum of 1,050 RPM.

Nitpick: That's an EMD SD70MAC.

The easy tell is the 3, discrete radiator fans located on top of the back of the long hood. GE locos generally use internal fans mounted within large "wings" mounted at the back of the loco.

Dan

 

[hawc]

AI lied to me!