April 22, 2007
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last updated: 05/08/07
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© 2000-2007 Dave Honan
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I had intended to spend Sunday morning photographing the north end of the Windermere Sub,
but locally cloudy skies and the appearance of clear spots to the north voided that plan, so after
a brief southbound chase I headed up to Golden to see what there was to see.
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| Harrogate, BC |
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As I was heading north I heard the loaded coal train I was following take the siding at Seeney
for a meet, so I scouted for shots south of there. A mile south of Harrogate, I photographed CP
9722 sweeping through a curve alongside the Columbia River with yet another empty coal train in
tow.
I really liked the spot and was disappointed that the end result was so bland, but I hoped I'd have
the opportunity to try again tomorrow. |
| Brisco, BC |
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After meeting another load at Spillimacheen, the southbound passed over the Mileposts 97.2 defect
detector as it approached Brisco and was informed there were "no warnings" amongst its 472 axles.
At this point I gave up on the chase and headed back north towards Golden and what I hoped would be
clear skies. |
| Horse Creek, BC |
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The clouds were breaking up as I passed the siding at Horse Creek, so I paused to take a quick
shot of the meandering Columbia below the Dogtooth Range.
I arrived in Golden to find clear skies and an eastbound grain train just pulling out of town, which
made for a very easy decision to explore east towards Field. |
| Glenogle, BC |
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Rolling east on the Trans-Canada Highway past Glenogle siding I was surprised to find the twisty
two-lane road suddenly open up into a well-engineered four-lane highway, and then was absolutely
amazed to come around a corner and find the new Park Bridge towering over Kicking Horse Canyon.
Subsequent research revealed that this was
Phase 2 of the joint British
Columbia/federal government Kicking Horse
Canyon Highway Improvement Project. As a civil engineer, a project of this scope is very
impressive to behold, and I can't wait to return and experience the finished product. |
| Glenogle, BC |
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This was also a perfect location to photograph CP 9635 East working up the 2.2% grade between
Glenogle and Palliser with 112 empty grain cars trailing behind. |
| Ottertail, BC |
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After missing a shot near Palliser by seconds, I discovered that all of the offroad access
points east of Leanchoil were still closed for the season, so it wasn't until Ottertail -- merely
eight miles from Field -- that I was able to photograph the train again. The eastbound, dwarfed by
Mount King, is just about to cross the Ottertail River. |
| Stephen, BC |
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I returned to Kicking Horse Pass for the first time since Lou
and I visited in 2003, but I wasn't really inspired to do much due to the sun being almost directly
overhead. Near Stephen and the summit of the pass, the grain train (now with a fresh crew that boarded
at Field) leans into a reverse curve alongside the TCH.
I knew I was near one of the most famous spots in Canadian railroading, so I jumped ahead of the train
to explore to the east of Lake Louise... |
| Lake Louise, AB |
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CP 9704 leads loaded sulphur train 607 into Morant's Curve, a location named for Canadian Pacific
Railway company photographer Nicholas Morant who made the some of the railroad's most dramatic advertising
photographs at this location. Well, sort of... |
| Lake Louise, AB< |
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...because this is the view Morant made famous, and which has been recreated by photographers
for decades since he worked his magic. I freely admit that this is a rather poor rendition of the scene,
but one does what one can with the conditions available, and hopefully next time I'll be lucky enough to
catch an eastbound here on a clear morning. |
| Field, BC |
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I was delighted to find another loaded sulphur train; I wasn't able to get a good view of the one I
had seen on Saturday, and I made a special effort this day to photograph the train's unique neon green
load. Here, the train pulls down the main at Field for a quick crew swap at the depot. |
| Ottertail, BC |
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Back at Ottertail, although unfortunately now under cloudy skies, train 607 rolls across the Ottertail
River bridge as it cruises downgrade. |
| Palliser, BC |
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Between Palliser and Glenogle sidings the Mountain Sub twists through the upper part of Kicking Horse Canyon.
The sulphur train is seen here running alongside and then crossing the Kicking Horse River, as viewed from
a pull-off alongside the TCH. |
| Palliser, BC |
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ATCSMon indicated that another westbound was following the sulphur train, so I stayed at the pull-off to wait
for its passage. Before long, CP 8735 led a sister GE motor on the point of train 107. |
Feeling lazy and not wanting to drive any great distance, I spent the remainder of the afternoon parked near
the Kicking Horse River alongside the Windermere Sub, between KC Junction and Golden Yard, and whiled away the
time by reading a book. As the sun dipped towards the mountains I set off one last time for Radium Hot Springs,
hoping the morning would bring with it sunny skies but expecting another day of dreariness.
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