VIA Rail's Canadian Railfanning Fail - A Moment Of Levity

Just to give you some chuckles in an otherwise serious environment.... and hoping to pick up some location tips for next time....

I was in the Toronto area from July 1st to 9th. I already had a location picked to video the westbound Canadian for Saturday, July 8th, at Downsview Park GO station, on the Newmarket Sub. A friend then suggested the Dundas Street W. bridge over the Newmarket, near where it splits off the Weston Sub. So I planned for that instead.

But first, let's go to Tuesday, July 4th. As I was departing on a GO train to Appleby just before 1pm, I noticed the inbound Canadian also starting to pull out, heading for the TMC. Fortunately, it got held short of Exhibition for an eastbound GO train and I had time to make it to Mimico, where I bailed off my train and got the video shot of the Canadian entering the TMC.

So now I'm a little more hyped to get the Saturday departure: different location, different set of equipment, and my first time snagging it twice in one visit. I got to the Dundas St bridge a full hour before it would have departed Union. Around 20 minutes after departure time, I started to get concerned that it hadn't even made it in on time the day before. An hour and ten minutes after departure, I checked the tracker. It showed departure from Union Station was on time, but a 48-minute delay was expected into the first stop at Washago.

Translation: it likely did the reverse of the usual operation and arrived via the Newmarket Sub on Friday and departed via the Bala Sub, in which case I should have been at Oriole GO instead. Had I not had to come in before the trains started running on Lakeshore West, I'd have seen which way it was pointing at the TMC, but as it was, I had to bus in.

Which brings me to my question: given that which route the Canadian arrives by (and subsequently has to depart the next day) is dictated by operational needs even though there is a normal routine, are there any good spots anybody can suggest that are beyond the point (north/west) where the train could go either routing to/from Union?

Man we all get hit with those snafus... CSX loves to schedule their business train for a 6am departure from a big city then cut it loose at 3am. Happend to me in Chicago a few years back. I wake up at 5a, drive to Blue Island, and she's long gone and folks in Indiana are posting pictures. Woof.

Silverliner II wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 3:37 am Which brings me to my question: given that which route the Canadian arrives by (and subsequently has to depart the next day) is dictated by operational needs even though there is a normal routine, are there any good spots anybody can suggest that are beyond the point (north/west) where the train could go either routing to/from Union?

if I understand your question correctly, the Canadian must use the CN Bala Sub to go north. The route to get to it would be either the Metrolinx Newmarket and a reverse onto the CN York Sub, or going up the Don Valley as happened here, but at Doncaster Diamond the routes converge. I can’t speak to optimal fanning locations in the area, but there is a level crossing at Green Lane east of Bayview Avenue, not far north of the Diamond

dowlingm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2024 8:38 pm

Silverliner II wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 3:37 am Which brings me to my question: given that which route the Canadian arrives by (and subsequently has to depart the next day) is dictated by operational needs even though there is a normal routine, are there any good spots anybody can suggest that are beyond the point (north/west) where the train could go either routing to/from Union?

if I understand your question correctly, the Canadian must use the CN Bala Sub to go north. The route to get to it would be either the Metrolinx Newmarket and a reverse onto the CN York Sub, or going up the Don Valley as happened here, but at Doncaster Diamond the routes converge. I can’t speak to optimal fanning locations in the area, but there is a level crossing at Green Lane east of Bayview Avenue, not far north of the Diamond

I'll keep that spot in mind (especially if I can get to it easily from a bus stop.

I did once catch the outbound Canadian on the Newmarket at Downsview Park station in 2019, so I was caught by surprise when it slipped out of my fingers this time.