George Redmond snapped CN SD60 5404 in her new CN uniform at the engine facility in Centralia, IL August 31st.

Darren Doss snapped CN 5431  leading CN train L513 (Fulton - Paducah - Fulton) over the Paducah & Louisville's Maxon District on September 11, 2012. Trailing the 5431 is the freshly painted HLCX 1033 in route to the UP in Memphis, TN. It was a pretty good train for the CN 5431; 51 loads, 30 empties, 7648 tons and 5021 feet of train.  This branch line crosses and has a connection with the CN's Bluford District at Maxon, KY on the western end of the line. On the east end of the branch, it ties into the P&I line going to Paducah, KY. CN uses the line for trains traveling from Fulton, KY, to Paducah, KY.

At Bryan Hill WI. Henry Nye caught five CN SD60 (ex-Oakways) on one train! This amazing lash up moved as an extra (Train X343) from Centralia, IL up through Fond du Lac, WI destined to Winnipeg, MB (or possibly the DMIR) and September 23rd. with CN 5402, 5404, 5406, 5415, 5442 and GE C44-9W 2583!       

One of the newest SD60’s, CN 5416 was the third unit in the consist of CN 382 as it passed through Copetown, ON Sept 24th.

Dave Burroughs also snapped CN 148 on August 16^th, with fresh looking ES44DC 2333 on the point at Lemonville Rd, Aldershot, ON.  

NIL

Passing through Matoon. IL on September 12th, Zachary Walters snapped freshly painted CN F40PHR 104 without lettering, but now wearing the Agawa Canton train livery.

George Redmond caught Operation Lifesaver liveried  IC GP40-2R 3117  earmarked for a CN repaint at the engine facility Centralia, IL August 31^st.

CN southbound M342, Henry Nye caught CN SD40u 6008 on September 18th minutes before seeing the dual “Oakways” on Q119.  CN 6008 was overhauled and repainted at Transcona Shop in July /August.  CN 6008 arrived at the former EJ&E Kirk yard September 23^rd, and now re-classed as “GH30a”, and therefore she may get used at the Kirk Yard Hump.

CN SD38-2 1652 was photographed at Woodcrest shop load test building after getting a rebuilt engine change-out on August 29^th.  It is one of only three on the roster, and at press time was still at Woodcrest possibly to get a repaint.   

The hood off GTW SD40-3 5938 is seen on a flatcar at the Woodcrest Shop August 21^st as this is getting a rebuilt engine.

New locomotives coming:  CN will soon be receiving 42 C40-8’s numbered 2000-2041, and are lettered CREX 9023-9064 and are ex-UP same numbers nee-CNW 8501-8542.   This is the second group of ex-UP nee-CNW Dash 8’s that CN has purchased.

LNG Locomotive Testing: Sporting SD45-like flared radiators, Canadian National’s Liquefied Natural Gas test units (CN SD40-2W 5258 and 5261) departed for Edmonton August 30^th.  CN did this conversion of these older SD40-2W locomotives as a test, because  natural gas prices are lower and even more stringent emissions rules will come in 2015.  CN is using a leased Union Pacific-owned LNG tank car (CNW-1 is in Umler) to provide fuel to the two locomotives for the initial testing. UP attempted a LNG program in the early 1990s, but no locomotives were ever placed into service with the LNG tank cars that UP purchased for the testing. The two locomotives and LNG tank car were moved to Edmonton late last month, and the consist was setup and fueled for the first time this week. Field testing began in September on a short 30-mile section of the Coronado Subdivision immediately north of Edmonton. In Edmonton on September 7^th began testing the units between Walker Yard and Boyle, Alberta.  C. W. King of Edmonton took this shot at Bissell Yard September 6^th, located just west of Walker Yard.  

Ken King snapped the hybrid diesel / LNG (liquefied natural gas) test consist at Edmonton's Walker Yard September 14^th CN 5258 and 5261 with the LNG fuel tender .  This consist will be used in 'captive service' between Edmonton and Lynton, Alberta, (1.5 miles south of Fort McMurray).

These factors are likely causing railroads, particularly Canadian National Railway, to rethink prior assumptions about natural gas fuel. Westport and locomotive manufacturer Electro-Motive Diesel are outfitting two CN locomotives with a natural gas-powering system. The duo will use high-pressure late-injection technology, while Energy Conversions along with Gaz Metropolitaine (Quebec) with Cadrail last month  completing two CN locomotives (CN 5258 and 5261) with low-pressure, direct-injection equipment. Chesapeake Energy (USA), the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S., also wants in. Chairman and CEO Aubrey McClendon in March said the company partnered with Caterpillar and General Electric to build natural gas locomotives.    According to a CN employee Richard Marchi spoke with, they use diesel fuel when in notches 1 through 3 and Natural gas only through notches 4 through 8. 

More photos and info can be found here:  http://www.okthepk.ca/news/2012090701.htm

History of Natural Gas testing by BN and UP and other information on LPG: 

Click here for PDF

CN Symington Family Day September 15th, 2012:  Besides celebrating the 100th anniversary of the CN Transcona Shops this June, on Saturday, September 15th, 2012 a Family Day at Symington will be celebrating the 50th anniversary since the opening of Symington Yard. This event will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 16:00. Tickets will be required in order to attend so mark your calendars.  On September 2^nd, CN E9A 103, three CN business cars, and two IC business cars were parked at the south end of the Woodcrest Shop, and began moving to Symington Yard on Sept 3rd on CN train Q199. 

CN 8958 and 2507 lead Q199 (Intermodal) into the Neenah yard on  September 3^rd.  In addition to their usual container cars, the train hauled portions of the CN business train.  Directly behind the lead power was: CN E9Au 103, CN 1060 "Sandford Fleming", CN 1059 "Tawaw", IC 800413 “Illinois Central”, IC 800210, and CN 1058 "Gatineau".  Kim Kafura photographed the consist in transit to Winnipeg, MB where CN will hold their Symington Yard Family Day September 15th, 2012.

Mark A. Perry snapped these photos at the 50th birthday of CN’s Symington Yard in Winnipeg, CN put during the annual Family Day for employee’s and friends.  IC E9Au 101 and business cars   shuttled the guests around the yard and up and down the St. Boniface Industrial lead.  Here are a few shots from the day where Mark volunteered as a engineer and conductor.

CN intends to enlist the help of partners like the Province of New Brunswick in the development of an agreement that would preserve rail freight service in northern New Brunswick, in the face of declining traffic volumes and the need for significant investment in the rail infrastructure.  Freight rail traffic volumes on most of CN's Newcastle Subdivision, specifically a 139-mile long stretch of track between Irvco (20 miles west of Bathurst NB) and Catamount (just west of Moncton NB) have been declining steadily since CN re-acquired the line in 2008. The line now requires investments of up to $50 million to maintain service. Current volumes over the line do not justify that level of investment by CN.  CN has therefore decided to place the 139-mile-long section of the Newcastle Subdivision between Catamount and the Irvco, into the federally-regulated Canada Transportation Act (CTA) rail line discontinuance process.

CN will work in good faith with stakeholders and interested parties to find a way to preserve rail service. Critical factors will include shippers' willingness to put more traffic on the line, and the willingness of governments to partner in funding major capital upgrades needed to retain the line's ability to efficiently handle freight traffic.  "For many months, we have been in discussions with customers and the government of New Brunswick on the challenges facing the Newcastle Subdivision," said Sean Finn, CN Executive Vice-President Corporate Services. "Our joint goal has been to find ways to increase freight volumes on the rail network, but these efforts have not succeeded. The CTA discontinuance process puts in play a process and a timeline to bring interested parties together to find ways to preserve rail service where possible."  That process is now underway. CN and the Province of New Brunswick will begin work on an agreement with the view of preserving the segments of the line that offer potential growth opportunities. The Province has identified potential business opportunities on northern and southern segments of the Newcastle Subdivision which it believes warrant keeping the line in operation, and has therefore agreed to work with CN to prepare a detailed funding proposal for consideration by partners that would ensure the necessary maintenance and upgrades are made to keep the line in service.

CN will continue to cover operating losses over the term of the agreement. CN will also ensure that passenger rail service between Montreal and Moncton and beyond can be maintained, either on this or other CN rail corridors.  The two segments that offer growth opportunities run between Irvco and Nepisguit Junction (just east of Bathurst) in the north, and between Catamount and Nelson Junction (east side of Miramichi River, near Miramichi NB) in the south.
"We are prepared to work together with CN and other partners to find innovative solutions that will keep this line in service," said Claude Williams, New Brunswick's Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. "Ensuring the appropriate infrastructure is in place for current and future industries in Northern New Brunswick is an important part our government's commitment to strengthening our regions, and building a strong and prosperous province." 
Under the federally-regulated CTA discontinuance process, the earliest that any segment of the Newcastle Subdivision can be discontinued is March 2014. This allows ample time and opportunity to strike strategic industrial rail and passenger partnerships, and to develop and implement solutions.  CN - Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.  

CN plans to spend $12 million to expand its Locomotive Reliability Centre in Prince George, BC. The project calls for increasing the shop's floor space 50% to about 50,000 square feet to add four repair bays with pits. The larger LRC will enable the railroad to handle a forecasted increase in locomotive inspections and repairs, CN officials said in a prepared statement. The shop is strategically located midway between Edmonton, AB, and Prince Rupert, BC, which are about 1,000 miles apart, they said. "The facility serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains that transited the city last year," said Keith Creel, CN's EVP and COO. "We are at maximum capacity at the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need to expand it to handle existing and forecasted growth of intermodal, coal and other traffic in northern BC"

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency must determine whether a federal environmental assessment is required pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 for the proposed “Côte-Nord Mining Railway Project” in Quebec. To assist it in making its decision, the Agency is seeking comments from the public on the project and its potential effects on the environment. Côte-Nord Mining Railway Company Inc. is proposing the construction and operation of a railway network in the Côte-Nord and Labrador regions. The railway right-of-way will extend between Sept-Îles, QC, and Wabush/Labrador City area in Labrador, where the ROW will join the Tshiuetin Railway. The project would include handling and storage facilities located at the Port of Sept-Îles in Pointe-Noire.

Anxious about pipeline capacity, Southern Pacific Resources Corp recently threw its full weight behind rail, committing to transport its entire output through CN and its partners. While rail companies have seen roaring business from their crude-by-rail operations in the past few years, no other oil producer before had committed its entire bitumen output to CN long term, completely bypassing pipelines. It certainly put a dent in the theory that crude-by-rail is a temporary business. Howard Bolinger, CFO at STP, cites "future risk of pipeline capacity availability" in Alberta as one of the reasons for the deal. Under the contract starting in the fourth quarter, the producer plans to truck 12,000 barrels per day from its McKay plant to CN's terminal in Lynton, AB, from where it will head south 4,500 kilometres to a terminal in Natchez, MS. It will then be hauled on barges to Gulf refineries.  While most oil companies remain reluctant to lock themselves into long-term rail contracts, CP and CN are starting to get used to the business and even making investment commitments. CP, which had earlier estimated it would deploy 70,000 carloads to transport oil by 2014, now expects to reach that target a year earlier. The company also has the only direct rail-way between Calgary and Vancouver. First Energy Capital analyst Steven Paiget estimates CP's crude-oil business to be worth $175M, or 3.4% of total 2011 revenue. The company has a 'line of sight' to 80% of a targeted $400M of incremental annual energy revenues, including oil by rail, frac sand, drill pipe and other construction materials. "We're going to grow at two times GDP in those markets," Jane O'Hagan, CP's EVP and chief marketing officer, told analysts on a Q2 earnings call.

CN, which benefits from exclusive access to the Alberta oil sands and BC Montney gas fields, is investing $35M to upgrade a 64-kilometre track in northern Wisconsin to move frac sand from a processing plant to shale drilling areas across the US and Western Canada. CP has invested $90M to $100M over the past two years to grow its energy supply chain and its customers are investing $400M to $600M in production and terminal facilities, according to First-Energy estimates. North American rail shipments of crude oil are estimated to have grown by 360,000 barrels per day within the past 12 months to reach 465,000 bpd - equivalent to the addition of a major pipeline, according to First Energy. If pipeline companies are worried about rail companies eating into their share, they are not showing it. "Rail is a temporary option but not a long term one," maintains Philippe Reicher, VP, external relations at the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.  (The Financial Post)

In September, Canadian National Railway announced they will acquire over 2,200 new freight cars in late 2012, as well as 1,300 new containers, to support traffic growth and improve customer service. Jean-Jacques Ruest, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said: "CN is acquiring new freight cars and containers for a range of markets, including forest products, metals, minerals, coal, iron ore, steel, consumer goods, finished vehicles, and grain. These fleet additions will help us grow in line with our customers' demands and ensure CN has the right mix of modern, productive assets."  CN's largest rolling stock addition in 2012 is the acquisition of 600 premium 60-foot, double-door box cars for forest products, and metals traffic. These higher payload cars help improve customer loading efficiency. CN's other main 2012 fleet additions are:

• 1,300 containers for grocery and consumer goods.
• 558 high-capacity modern covered hoppers for grain exports.
• 317 multi-level cars for finished vehicles deliveries to major cities.
• 300 gondolas for coal exports.
• 232 new ore cars for pellets of iron ore produced in Minnesota to supply steel mills in the United States.
• 200 multi-purpose box cars for the North American freight car pool.

Christopher Bodkin snapped southbound CN A432 with SD75I 5777 C40-8 2127 and HLCX GP38-3 1028 thru Carbondale, IL on August 27th.

CN train A432 has IC SD70 #1036 in the lead at Carbondale, IL on September 5^th,  and CN train A432 had CN SD60 #5432 and GTW GP38-2 #4932 at Carbondale, IL on September 14^th.

Rolling through Cobden, IL on September 23rd, CN coal train C75691 had SD70M-2 8836 and C40-8W 2176 as up front power, with  BCOL C40-8Mu 4605 and CN SD70M-2 8004 as  DPU’s.  The train was on the heels of M336 that had passed only 15 minutes earlier. These trains were bound for Convent, Louisiana and handed over to CN at Centralia, IL from NS. They originate from a coal mine on the NS line near Litchfield, IL

CN train M336 with SD70M-2 8811 and SD40-2W 5351 shake the right of way at Cobden, IL on September 23rd.

In Carbondale, IL,  CN A432 had C40-8M 2413 and C44-9W 2651. The 2413 has had recent upgrades a  split cooling system installed and the truck overhauled and a needed shower!

Barry Silverthorn snapped HLCX SD40-2 6340 as the third unit, eastbound at Geddes Street in Belleville, Ontario, on September 7^th.  Over the years this former SP unit had been leased to CSX, CP, DME,  UP etc., and is  now destined to the NBSR.

George Redmond snapped CN GP40-2LW 9437 at the engine facility Centralia September 9^th.

CN SD75I 5765 leads southbound train A432 at Centralia, IL on September 13th

CN GP40-2LW 9437 and ICG caboose 199756 move a tank car north to the BNSF yards, as CN ES44DC 2255 leads a southbound loaded grain train at Centralia, IL September 14^th.

On September 27th, George Redmond caught the last of the London built KCS SD70ACe’s being delivered with IC 1001 and CN 2673 tugging KCS 4139. 4134, 4138, 4137, 4132 on CN A432 passing southbound through Du Quoin, IL.

On September 9th, at Neenah, WI, Kim Kafura snapped CN Q199 with an interesting array of power: IC C44-9W 2697, BCOL C40-8Mu 4625, CN SD60F 5543, and GTW SD40-3 5940. However, only the lead unit (IC 2697) was running at the time.  

There was a WC family reunion of sorts in the Neenah, WI yard on Sept 18^th,2012: Caboose WC 16, WC 1563 (still in her original colors) WC 1562, and  WC 1570 all sit under threatening skies in front of the yard office.

Great shot!  At Iron, Minnesota April 29^th  2011 Jeff Terry photographed CN C40-8 2119 and  2104 working a Thunderbird between Forbes and Fairlane on the DMIR, providing  some much needed color during Minnesota's brown stick season.

Kevin Dunk photographed CN SD70M-2 8872 and C40-8W 2164 (ex-BNSF) pulling out of Canoe up on the Albreda Sub near Valemount with double stack traffic.  Moving south near Doyle, BC he caught a pair of CP ES44AC’s (CP 8709 and mid-train DPU 8767) with a loaded coal on the Windermere Sub just north of Ft-Steele near Cranbrook, BC.  This last shot was one of those perfect opportunities. He was about to head home and thinking “wouldn’t it be nice if something could leave Ft. Steele right now in this magic lighting!”  Suddenly, the scanner squawked and his wish come true, and within 5 minutes bagged this northbound train!

Dan Tweedle took  this great shot of CN C44-9W 2601 and C40-8W 2128  approaching the summit of their 10 mile climb making a bare 13 MPH amid a huge winter snowstorm at Copetown, ON January 28th 2012.

On September 20^th Michael Lussier clicked an Army train at Ste-Madeleine, on the St-Hyacinthe sub with CN C44-9W 2524-2679.