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Number of images: 354
Total gold: 3235
Number of comments recieved : 1016
Number of comments posted : 846
Total views: 447005

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rsmith's 354 photos on Railpictures.ca:

The joys of this hobby... My intention was to have a leisurely day following GEXR 581 to Goderich. After arriving good and early in Stratford, and watching crows walk on RLK 4095 for over an hour, I threw in the towel shortly after 09:00 and headed for Salford. Is the crew for GEXR 581 not on duty at 08:00 anymore? Anyway, I got to Salford in time to watch the Woodstock turn's crew fire up Ontario Southland's RS18s 181 and 182, so chasing them became plan B. I'm sure the crew thought I was an idiot by the end of their day (if not well before), after I spent all day fighting clouds in an attempt to get a few semi-decent photos. Earlier in the day Mr. Bishop informed me that CP 7017 was leading CP 235, and I had kept that in the back of my mind. Now late-afternoon, I found out CP 235 was still at Wolverton so I decided to wait for it. Of course CP T69 scooped 235 while they were at Wolverton, and then worked Coakley, so 235 was at Wolverton for almost 2 hrs. After starting off as a mostly cloudy day, the intended targets not going as planned, the late-day unexpected photo op. ends up being the photo of the day. The lengthy CP 235 finally showed slowly rounding the curve at Coakley, approaching Woodstock, in nice evening light. Gotta love it.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	07/30/2021
Location:	Woodstock
Province:	Ontario

9 Comments | 16 Favourites

Perusing through the Canadian Trackside Guide a few weeks ago, I was intrigued by an entry indicating that there is an ex. Erie caboose on display in Chatham, ON. I found it on Google street view, and was initially appalled by the gaudy paint. Returning from week at a cottage today, we took a break off the 401 to go check out the caboose; mainly to see if it's still there and in hopes it looked a little better. Nope, still horrendous. I'd love to know the story of how this Erie Dunmore caboose (and a fire truck) ended up on display next to an End of the Roll carpet store on the north side of Chatham. I suppose it could have come off the CASO when it was still operated by Conrail, but it was obviously trucked to this location. The trackside guide lists the car as "No #". It'd be easy to figure out the car number had the "KarTrak" barcode tag not been painted over. Shortly after I took this photo the skies opened, so I wasn't able to look around much. The interior looked mostly gutted, with a card table and chairs inside. Usually you see cabooses on display that are local to nearby railroads, so this Erie caboose sure isn't what you'd expect to find in Southern Ontario.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Erie
Date:	07/24/2021
Location:	Chatham
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 6 Favourites

Spiffy JLCX 3502 leads the northbound Trillium Railway train to St. Catharines across the old Welland Canal and in to Dain City. The two gondolas would be dropped off at a customer in Welland, leaving only the two boxcars to continue on to St. Catharines. The GP35 started life as Denver & Rio Grande (DRGW) 3036.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Trillium Railway
Date:	06/25/2021
Location:	Dain City
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 12 Favourites

CP 426 patiently waits at the pot signal for NS 369 to come off the International Bridge and clear the main. Once NS is out of the way, the CP will proceed across the Niagara River to the US.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Norfolk Southern
Date:	11/29/2008
Location:	Fort Erie
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 11 Favourites

Ontario Northland caboose 121 was not something I expected to find at Puddicombe Estate Farm & Winery in Winona when we went there for apple picking. A ride on their miniature train was a must! They have several standard gauge cabooses, tank cars, and a sleeper on display. Unfortunately, everything seemed rundown and slowly decaying. The other cabooses were in much rougher shape than this one. Hopefully they've gotten some TLC since then.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Ontario Northland
Date:	10/08/2016
Location:	Winona
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 8 Favourites

CP 254 has had a pair of ES44ACs for weeks, but recently one of the GEs was replaced with a pair of SD60s. After departing London mid-day as it usually does, they seemed to take forever and a day to get to Wolverton, work Wolverton, and finally get on their way again. Even heading south on the Hamilton Sub. took unusually long to get to Desjardins, perhaps because of on-going track work. Any way, working remotely from my car longer than I anticipated, I finally managed to get a photo of CP 254 emerging from the shadows to cross Milburough Line, north west of Carlisle, at 5:19 p.m. Just like the old man always says about CP, "Hurry up and wait." Hopefully this consist bounces back and forth a few times. Good luck!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	05/18/2021
Location:	Carlisle
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 10 Favourites

On a day that started at Bathurst St. in Toronto to watch the morning GO rush, late morning we relocated to CP Guelph Jct. CP 421 came along mid-afternoon with a consist that even in 2010 was pretty rare. Despite all the driving I'm glad we had to good sense to chase it to Woodstock. After a brief delay waiting for OSR to clear, CP 421 is shown at Oxford St. continuing on their way west. It was a very hot day so the crew wisely had the front door open to get a breeze in the cab. And check out that polished brass bell on 9004! It sure beats a pair of GEs.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	07/05/2010
Location:	Woodstock
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 13 Favourites

CN 1437 was recently purchased by the Waterloo Central Railway. The GMD-1u was assigned a notable role in 2003, being leased to the power-short Port Colborne Harbour Railway. It is seen here switching grain hoppers at the massive Robin Hood Flour elevator in Port Colborne. This was the same day Dad and I photographed TRRY 110 on Townline Road (between St. Catharines and Thorold) on their way to switch Interlake Paper seen here: <a href="http://railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=12045"> http://railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=12045 </a>

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	12/04/2003
Location:	Port Colborne
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 23 Favourites

The International accelerates out of the St. Clair River tunnel in to the first sunlight on Canadian soil since leaving Michigan on the other side of the river. At the top of the grade, the train will make a stop at the Sarnia station. Was this near the end of the International? Didn't it usually have more than three cars? We photographed counterpart VIA 85 at Komoka earlier that day with AMTK 37 and only three Superliner cars also.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Amtrak
Date:	04/03/2004
Location:	Sarnia
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 12 Favourites

In Niagara Falls in search of new VIA P42DCs being delivered on NS 445, the Maple Leaf came along while I waited. Looks like I lucked out with the sun, which made for a nice photograph. NS 445 showed up later in the day with NS 9350 and VIA 914, 912, 917. 915 and 916. If I did it right, here's the link to that photo:
<a href="http://railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=15082"> http://railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=15082 </a>

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Amtrak
Date:	12/21/2001
Location:	Niagara Falls
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 14 Favourites

The International pauses at Sarnia before continuing it's journey to Chicago. I too was headed to Chicago, but I'd be a passenger in my brother's sweet Chevy Cavalier from this point on. The parents had dropped me off in Kitchner, and I rode the International to Sarnia to meet up with bro, who was doing a co-op at Dow Chemical at the time. The following day we left for a Chicago railfan tour, and we saw some great stuff. This photo is yet another example of not going out of my way for an Amtrak photo; I found it amusing after looking through so many slides the past few days. The Amtrak B32-8WHs never looked good after they were repainted from the very attractive "Pepsi can" paint scheme.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Amtrak
Date:	08/19/2001
Location:	Sarnia
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 14 Favourites

After going through 29 binders of slides spanning roughly 1996 - 2007, I've concluded that I have very few Amtrak photos, and those that I do have I did not go out of my way to get. Case in point: Feb. 1, 1999 was a P.A. Day, and my Dad dropped me off at Reg Button's house to spend the day with him. He lived near Kinnear, and the first thing we caught was CP 523 that had NS 8902 in the consist (foreign power was rare at the time). We, or at least I, photographed it at Kinnear and then we went out to Bayview for another photo. Those that didn't know Reg need to know that he had a stroke in his later years, and was not the most mobile. He often drove everywhere he needed to go to get a photo, so that's how we ended up at Bayview Jct., very much trespassing, but I was held against my will! After photographing CP 523 again, we caught a few CN trains and Amtrak before moving on to Howard Road in Aldershot. Amtrak had the standard-issue F40PH and five amfleet cars - four coaches and a cafe car. For a teenager on a budget Amtrak rarely warranted a photo, but on this occasion I must have figured I better take a photo because of where we were. It was the only day I photographed trains at Bayview Junction proper. Good old Reggie!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Amtrak
Date:	02/01/1999
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 10 Favourites

The foam was thick for the Herzog ballast train on the Hamilton Sub. with a a pair of CMQ SD40-2Fs as sole power. After the train's plan time was bumped back 4 hours, having to follow CP 246 from Toronto, wait in Milton for CP 247 to come north, and then follow CP 254 south, it was quite the ordeal for the many that were trackside waiting for it. At least it allowed for the weather to clear and some socially-distant catching up while we all waited. After photographing the train a few times going south, we figured it would take them a while to turn at Aberdeen so many headed for home. I had only been home about a half-hour when I heard the ballast train get a northbound clearance from Aberdeen to begin end CTC sign Campbellville, so I abandoned plans for dinner and headed out the door again. I joined four others at Concession Road 6 to get a nice evening shot of the ballast train heading back north. The train ultimately went to Sudbury for another load of ballast, and it is reported to be returning to the Hamilton Sub. Saturday, April 17.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	04/13/2021
Location:	Flamborough
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 14 Favourites

CN 1439 was lifted from Hamilton this morning, so this could be the last GMD-1u to operate in Hamilton... or anywhere. Knowing its days were numbered, I made a few attempts to photograph it in the north end. Some successful, some not so much. On the evening of March 19 the sun was shining, and 1439 was facing the right way on the 16:00 job for myself and a few others to get some good photographs of it. Hopefully some of the GMD-1us find a new home on a shortline.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/19/2021
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 14 Favourites

CP TH11 has finished their switching at the South end of Kinnear Yard, and is now backing through the yard so they can access the belt line. I thought it was interesting getting CP 3042 beside UP 3041. The UP ran solo on a rack train to Welland Tuesday night, and apparently came back light to Kinnear, where it has sat ever since. I like SD70AH-T4s, and figured I'd have to railfan the UP somewhere to see one. I sure didn't think I'd see my first UP SD70AH-T4 at Kinnear!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	03/25/2021
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 22 Favourites

I'm beginning to like train 402, but it's schedule doesn't work well for good sun angles until the tracks turn southwest in Caledonia. Today's 402 was worth a chase, and after getting clouded out at a few locations, the sun was out in full force at 3rd Line as the train crawled through a slow order passing the mountain of gypsum at CGC. There was an armada of foamers following the train, but somehow I managed to be the only one at this crossing. It was good to see you today Kevin!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/05/2021
Location:	Hagersville
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 13 Favourites

The GMTX leasers don't seem to get a lot of love from railfans. I seem to be one of the few that like them, so when GMTX 2254 showed up in Brantford I hoped for a decent day to get a photo. Today was the day, and again their shove back from Normerica occurred right at lunch. The sun even cooperated. You may not like them now, but years from now when they're gone, you'll wish you had taken more photos of them!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/05/2021
Location:	Brantford
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 8 Favourites

The 4th 402 to run from Sarnia to Garnet on Thursday didn't have any cars. Perhaps they brought cars from Sarnia to London, and ran light power from London to Garnet. I don't know, but I sure hope there was cars at Garnet for 401, otherwise I'm not sure why they didn't annul this 402. It takes time for Imperial Oil and Stelco to switch back to rail service after using trucks for many weeks, so hopefully they get things organised soon. Regardless, it was a CN train on the Hagersville Sub. so it was worth a shot.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/04/2021
Location:	Cainsville
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 9 Favourites

Not just another pair of CN GE's on a dull winter day. Naturally, a noteworthy train runs in less than ideal weather conditions. This is the first Sarnia - Garnet train 402 to operate, which is a new opportunity to photograph a "main line" train on the Hagersville Sub. The train is photographed just east of Cainsville, ON, at the first of three crossings of Old Onondaga Road East. The timing of the train should work out perfectly to get early-afternoon photographs of the train crossing the Grand River bridge in Caledonia. Counterpart train 401, Garnet - Sarnia, will operate at night, based on the current schedule. CN 2153, built as ATSF 836, is a long way from the Santa Fe transcon! It's hard to believe these C40-8Ws have been on the CN roster for 10 years already. Hopefully 401/402 will stick around awhile and yield some interesting consists; I'm looking forward to photographing at locations along the Hagersville Sub. that I haven't before, as well as seeing other's photos taken along the Hagersville Sub.

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	03/01/2021
Location:	Cainsville
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 15 Favourites

I enjoy taking photos that could have been taken 20-30 years ago. Today's pair of CN GP9RMs on 580 could have easily been taken 30 years ago, since 4131 was in the last batch of GP9 rebuilds, completed in 1991. Also noteworthy is the other unit in the consist, 4028, the last of the 4000's in service on CN. Unfortunately, this consist only lasted a few days. CN 4131 replaced CN 4770 late last week, and GMTX 2254 arrived in Brantford later in the afternoon to replace 4131 already. Today was the only day the pair operated in decent sunlight, so I was fortunate that 580's shove back from Normerica coincided with my work schedule. The GP9RMs look good for being 30 years old; that lead paint has sure held up!

Name:	Rob Smith
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	02/24/2021
Location:	Brantford
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 15 Favourites

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