A Canada Trip: To Valleysfeild and Back (Many Pics)

[titaniclover]

Well, friday night my dad got a call from his boss at CSXT. The Transducer in Valleyfeild, Canada was down and he was the only one abled to go fix it. So he asked me if I wanted to come along, I said yes and we packed our bags and left.

Our journey began by heading to Syracuse and picking some equipment up (New transducer, lighting errester cards, tools).

While pulling in, I saw a train shunting some autoracks and thought, "Yes my first shot!" No such luck, no batteries in camera. GAAA!!! To make it worse, another train went by and we went right up close to it.

So now we fast foward a bit. We went across the border and I got my first look into Canada. We checked in at the Valleysfeild Hotel and went to examine the site. By now the sun was setting and it was too late to do anything. We headed in for the night.

Next morning we began work. After an incident where my dad spilled soda all over him we headed back to get changed and then began work for real.

I took a pic of the transducer on the tracks (old one) and also some shots of the control box and up and down the line. You can also see the bridge we went across. (Note: We did not get track clearance to work. The line was still active with trains. Do NOT Try this by yourself. Always be with an adult. In other words we kinda did this illegaly.)

For all of the people that dont know: A transducer is a peice of rail equipment that counts the number of axles (cars) in a train. The cable was pinched there for the transducer wasn't counting the cars.

My dad, even though he was sick, showed me around Canada a bit.
He showed me Centrale de Beauharnois, a large power plant, and the large CSX Transflow center nearby. Also the tunnel to get to the center.

Unaware to us, after taking a wrong turn we landed right near a major yard for the CNN Railroad. Unallowed to go in, I didnt get pictures.

We then headed back to the states.
Here is the bridge from an early pic. Its a draw bridge and its a combination track and road and they lift up for boats to go under them.

<CONTINUES>

 

[titaniclover]

Now back to the states! With some stops along the way.

Ok now we are out of Canada. And back in good old NYS.
My dad decideds lets stop at all the major area up here.

First was Massena NY. Not too much going on here. Just a few locos sitting around.

Then there was Potsdam. I caught a bridge across a river right next to the road.

Then came Cantan. Long time ago Cantan was a bigger city but there is no rail stuff in it anymore.

Next came Govenour. A place where trains are broken up. Caught a few here. The attena on the telephone pole my dad put it just a month ago.

Then came Philidelphia NY. Only thing here was a bridge over some junctions.

Then the major yard of Watertown. Went had lunch/dinner and refuled. Then caught a few here pics. This is where my camera batteries went dead. Luckly I had spares.

Finally came to Syracuse where I finally saw a moving train.

That ended our trip to Canada. I made one inference. The roads where I live are better then Canada's. So now I sit and relax till my next trip as the sunsets.

So just over 547 miles we drove over all. And nearly 200 spent on gas. It was an exciting trip none the less. Especialy for my first trip out of the states.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[jjslll54]

Great pictures and nice narrative. Thanks for sharing.

Jack

 

[Ferrous]

Awesome shots!

 

[lornyk5]

Good pics, if I was in the area I would of met you for coffee

Lorin

 

[titaniclover]

Thanks.

Just to give you an idea of where we were here is a screen from MapQuest. (Sorry Google Earth not installed on computer yet)

You can see the rail line we were working on as well.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Wessex_Electric_Nutter]

(Note: We did not get track clearance to work. The line was still active with trains. Do NOT Try this by yourself. Always be with an adult. In other words we kinda did this illegaly.)

You should of had:
A) a possession of the line
B) a high visiblity vest/jacket (Or "hit-me" vest)
C) atleast in the UK, a PTS

Extract from the PTS:

"Do not go on or near the line, unless your duties require it."
"On or near the line is described as the area between the nearest running rail and the boundry fence or the area within 10ft of the nearest running rail."

 

[JimDep]

Thanks for sharing! That's a beautiful area up there and what a great experience for you!