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Profile Page for Ryan Gaynor

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About Ryan Gaynor

Railroad photographer and recent RTA School of Media graduate from Waterdown, Ontario.

Ryan Gaynor's Railpictures.ca photo upload statistics

Number of images: 158
Total gold: 1952
Number of comments recieved : 332
Number of comments posted : 171
Total views: 250839

Ryan Gaynor has the #24 all time image on railpictures.ca!
* Note: Placement on the Top all time image list is subject to change. Taken from the 'Top Shots' page measured by number of favourites

Ryan Gaynor has won Editors Choice 3 times

Contact Ryan Gaynor

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Ryan Gaynor's 158 photos on Railpictures.ca:

Early morning light, vibrant autumn colours and a layer of fog set the atmosphere at Northland, Ont., as Canadian National's Agawa Canyon Tour Train races towards "Canyon" on the former Algoma Central Railway.

Earlier this week, Watco announced that tickets have gone on sale for the upcoming season. The Tour Train is slated to resume operations on August 1st and will run until October 10th. Get your tickets for peak colour while you can because I'll suspect they'll go fast!

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	10/06/2021
Location:	Northland
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 11 Favourites

Under brooding autumn skies — that, in retrospect, may have been foreshadowing what was to come — a pair of Ontario Northland EMD SD40-2s hustle Timmins to Englehart train no. 308 past the line-side sentinels at Swastika, Ontario.

Unbeknownst to the photographer, less than 6 months after this photo was taken, the unique 1967-constructed station and surrounding signals would be reduced to a heap of rubble.

With the demolition of the town's station, Swastika not only lost a piece of its railroading heritage but a sense of character. All too often, the railroad landscape of today seems to become more and more sterile as the aesthetic of place is drowned out by ubiquity. An unexpected demolition such as this illustrates the point and serves as a reminder that in railroading, the only constant is change.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Ontario Northland
Date:	09/29/2020
Location:	Swastika
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 19 Favourites

VIA Rail's Prince Albert Park brings up the rear of Vancouver-bound train no. 1, The Canadian, as it highballs away from the former Canadian Pacific station at Parry Sound, Ontario. For a brief moment, all is right in the world. This photo is dedicated to Arnold Mooney.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	VIA Rail
Date:	04/24/2022
Location:	Parry Sound
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 22 Favourites

Emerging out of the darkness at Guelph, Ont., CN's Wisconsin Central heritage locomotive trundles over the historic downtown trestle with Kitchener-bound train no. 533 in tow. Affectionately known by locals as "Allan's Bridge", this photogenic structure has been a landmark of the Royal City since it was originally constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856. Today, extensive work has been done by Metrolinx to allow for increased speeds and future double-tracking. The track in the foreground is the Guelph Junction Railway (former CPR).

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	02/27/2022
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

7 Comments | 27 Favourites

In response to Arnold's sublime 1998 take on Hawk Junction, here is a contemporary view. The difference is stark. For a few months now, word has been going around that Canadian National's former Algoma Central line is on borrowed time. On October 6th, a sobering visit to Hawk Junction confirmed the rumours -- the old Algoma Central is very much a railway on its death throes. According to the local section-men and veteran train crew aboard Hawk Jct. to Hearst local 571, traffic on the line has dwindled drastically. These days, the twice-weekly local finds the majority of its traffic between the ONR at Hearst and the CN mainline at Oba. Franz, on the other hand, is infrequently serviced with only one or two cars received/dropped-off a month. Worse yet, the south-end of the line from Hawk to Sault Ste. Marie hasn't seen the passage of a revenue freight train since April 15th. Despite these veteran railroaders doing their best to keep the mood upbeat, the air of melancholy was undeniable. These men, many of which whom have been with the company for 30 + years, are witnessing their seniority, railway, and ultimately their livelihood changing in-front of their eyes. I couldn't help but feel a knot in the pit of my stomach as these men, who have worked on this railroad since the ACR days, described their frustrations and anxieties with being bumped to the bottom of the seniority list, and essentially, forgotten. Times are indeed tough on the old Algoma Central Railway. For a brief moment, though, former glories were rekindled as EMD SD70M-2 8830 notched out of Hawk Junction with sixteen loaded log cars -- supposedly, the first time a train has departed Hawk with loads in months. While the future of the ACR remains uncertain, CN will continue to rumble along the Tracks of The Black Bear a few times a week serving communities in Northern Ontario.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	10/06/2020
Location:	Hawk Junction
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 22 Favourites

The Barns are back! For how long, who knows. Nonetheless, it's pretty incredible seeing these ol' girls singing out their inevitable swan song on original home rails. After CP 8013 lost function of its horn somewhere in Eastern Ontario, CMQ 9020/9022 were pulled from a work train and tacked on at Smiths Falls. Now leading one of the hottest trains on the road, venerable SD40-2F 9020 is seen splitting a pair of CN searchlights as it races towards Buffalo with train no. 143 at Fort Erie, Ontario.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Central Maine and …
Date:	06/20/2020
Location:	Fort Erie
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 21 Favourites

Easing out of Kinnear Yard on an absolutely sweltering first day of summer, an eclectic pair of EMDs in the form of CMQ SD40-2F 9023 and CP SD60M 6260 guide train no. 246 south out of Hamilton towards their destination of Buffalo, NY. Here’s to a safe and healthy summer, all!

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Central Maine and …
Date:	06/21/2020
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 13 Favourites

Pinch me. I must be dreaming. Defying all odds, CMQ SD40-2F 9020 curves into Welland, Ont., with a surreal lashup including sister SD40-2F 9022, CP 8013, 7023 and TRE 120. Sometimes seeing really is believing.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Central Maine and …
Date:	06/20/2020
Location:	Welland
Province:	Ontario

14 Comments | 30 Favourites

Enjoying a gorgeous June morning, a man pedals his rail bike along the South Simcoe Railway as SD70ACu 7053 charges by overhead with train no. 420 at Beeton, Ontario. Moments before 420's arrival, I found myself day-dreaming of an over/under at this location. I certainly didn't expect to actually get one!

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	06/16/2020
Location:	Beeton
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 27 Favourites

Peekaboo! Emerging from the woods (in an ever-so-slight clearing), a pair of Ontario Southland RS's trundle towards Guelph Junction on a gorgeous June evening at Campbellville, Ontario.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Ontario Southland
Date:	06/01/2020
Location:	Campbellville
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 13 Favourites

Ontario Southland’s days in the Royal City may be numbered, but it’s business as usual as a pair of trains meet at ‘Lower Yard’ on this gorgeous spring afternoon in Guelph, Ontario.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Ontario Southland
Date:	05/21/2020
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 18 Favourites

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Ontario Southland
Date:	04/30/2020
Location:	Aylmer
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 23 Favourites

Today 147 years of Ontario railroading tradition came to a close as the final train operated between St. Thomas and Tillsonburg, Ont., on the Canada Air Line. In less than an hour's time, Operating Bulletin 518 will see this historic line Out of Service from Mile 114.55 to Mile 87.22, with Mile 80-87.22 now abandoned. While the abandonment of a railway is always a sombre occasion, leave it to the boys at the Ontario Southland Railway to go out in style.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Ontario Southland
Date:	04/30/2020
Location:	Aylmer
Province:	Ontario

8 Comments | 26 Favourites

<b>A Second to Spare at Swastika</b>
There are close calls. And then there are the mop your brow and curse to the heavens, way too close for comfort, close calls. As Canadian National detour train no. 188 rolled around the bend on ONR's Ramore Subdivision at Swastika, Ontario, I experienced the latter.

The morning of February 23rd looked promising. With word that 188 (a Hornepayne, ON to Taschereau, QC detour train) would be making a daylight run over the ONR to Englehart, I devised a plan. Knowing that 188 had departed Cochrane at 0700, I pressed north along the Trans-Canada Highway to Matheson, where a handsome ONR station still stands. With a general understanding of ONR's run-times, I'd arrive at Matheson shortly after 0800 to find a perfectly lit scene, shoot at the station and the chase would be on. In my head, everything played out flawlessly. In reality, I was dead wrong. While driving up to Matheson, I had unknowingly committed one of railfanning's cardinal sins: driving towards an oncoming trains. And yes, the train managed to sneak by me in the handful of spots where the railway does not parallel the highway. While a silent scanner on the drive north should've been my first indicator that something was wrong, every passing minute at Matheson sealed my fate. Now, almost 40 minutes after arriving at Matheson, I was starting to get very nervous.

Following a horrible gut feeling that 188 had (somehow) snuck by me along the way, I started back towards Swastika. In my mind, Swastika is the 'signature shot' on the line and I wasn't going to miss it. About 10 miles out of Swastika, and still with no sight of the train, the scanner crackled to life. "ONR equipment defect detector, mile 29.6 no defects". SHIT. Swastika is located at mile 26 and I'm at least 5 miles behind the train. Now the chase was really on. Literally flying into town, I arrived at the station and threw my car into park - engine still running and my legs trembling. By the grace of god, the train hadn't gone by the station yet, but I didn't have much time. As I ran up a snow-packed set of stairs to track-level, CN 2561 was already coming around the bend. Now, I'm sprinting down the platform as the train is coming at me. Its absolute chaos. Stumbling into place, I abruptly raise my camera and fire a rapid burst of photos. In total, I fired 8 hectic frames. This photo was the 8th. Between the first and last frame, a total of 2 frantic seconds had eclipsed. Now that is what I call too close for comfort.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	02/23/2020
Location:	Swastika
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 16 Favourites

With Toronto to Buffalo tonnage on the drawbar, Canadian Pacific SD70ACU 7015 (nee 9126) puts the 'H' between the T&B as it guides train no. 246 through downtown Hamilton on the former TH&B. Pre-dating the construction of the railway by over a quarter-century, the striking MacNab Street Presbyterian Church towers over the TH&B as it has since the very beginning.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	04/19/2020
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 13 Favourites

<b>Candy Stripes Under The Stars</b>
SD40-2 5871 slumbers beneath the stars at Waterdown North on Canadian Pacific's Hamilton Subdivision. Once used to service the sprawling Barnes Industrial Complex (Opta Minerals), today, this siding is very seldom used and has quite literally fallen out of service. The rails, with their varying gauge, date back to the 1930s. To my knowledge, this was the first time a train had plied the rickety siding at Waterdown North since Barnes stopped receiving rail service five or so years ago. A pair of SD40s added an additional level of intrigue to a scene not likely to be repeated anytime soon.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	04/02/2020
Location:	Waterdown
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 20 Favourites

With 2000' of continuous welded rail (CWR) in tow, a pair of venerable SD40-2 workhorses put on a nice show as they charge up the grade at Milton, Ontario. Days that start like this tend to be good ones...

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	04/02/2020
Location:	Campbellville
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 19 Favourites

Does railfanning alone count as self-isolation? Today was simply too nice a day to sit inside so I quarantined myself to my RAV 4 and took a drive out to Vinemount. A little fresh air and time trackside is good for the soul.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	03/15/2020
Location:	Vinemount
Province:	Ontario

5 Comments | 10 Favourites

Canadian Pacific EMD SD70ACu 7028 limps into Vaughan Intermodal Terminal on the tail-end of train 113. Unfortunately, at only a few weeks old, the 7028 has suffered an engine failure and was pulled off of the train.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	03/01/2020
Location:	Vaughan
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 13 Favourites

It's a minute past five and my thirteenth hour on the road. I was looking out at the road rushing under my wheels and feeling every bit like Jackson Browne. With 900 kilometres on the odometer and less than an hour of sleep keeping me going, I was running on empty. I'm not one to pass up a good opportunity, though. And seeing Canadian National stack trains on the Ontario Northland is no exception. With the sun now setting, the deep, dark forests have cast long shadows over Quebec's frozen Rte 117. Around the bend rolls a trio of smartly matched Canadian National EMD SD75is, catching rays of increasingly low sunlight as they press on towards Rouyn-Noranda. With a lengthy stack train for Montreal, detour no. 130 is taking the 'scenic route', having already traversed CN's Newmarket Subdivision, ONR's Temagami, Ramore and Kirkland Lake Subdivision's to join back up with the Canadian National further down the line. These rare detours are a result of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation rail blockade in Belleville, Ontario. For a once-a-decade opportunity such as this, I didn't mind running on empty.

Name:	Ryan Gaynor
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	02/14/2020
Location:	Lac-Fortune
Province:	Quebec

6 Comments | 15 Favourites

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