Montreal Railfanning Questions

As Montreal is on an island, all the AMT routes include at least one bridge crossing. The Deux-Montagnes (Two Mountains) electric service is rather scenic with two bridge crossings to reach the north shore and it also offers the most frequent service including weekend trains.

My favorite ride is north to St. Jerome but you will have to do it on a weekday. This is the former CP route to the Laurentian Ski areas north of Montreal: “La Petit train du Nord” .

http://www.laurentians.com/parclineaire/
(you might have to click on the english tab)

AMT trains were extended north from Blainville about 2 years ago to a new station (resembling a ski-chalet) in St.-Jerome. Also quite scenic including two river crossings and just after leaving the Ste.-Therese station the train takes a curve to the right and starts to climb up onto a ridge which allows you to looks south and see the lights of Montreal 30kms away.

http://www.amt.qc.ca/docs/pdf/train/Depliant_BL.pdf

There is no return train trip from St.-Jerome in the evening but there is frequent bus service from the train station direct to the Metro at Montmorency in Laval.

http://www.tec.amt.qc.ca/itec/pa1/ghora ... DA_J10.HTM
(scroll to the right on the schedule page)

Kaback9 wrote:It looks like I will be in Montreal between Jan 3 thru 6 ...........

Hi Kaback9
Interested in hearing about you trip........how 'bout a Trip Report when you get a chance. Thanks

Sure thing.
I arrived on an hour late Amtrak 69, due to customs. The next day (the 3rd) I decided to ride the electrified Deux-Montages line I took the 9:00 train arriving at Deux-Montages around 9:40, I then proceeded to take the 11:55 back into Montreal. On Sunday the 6th I woke up late so decided to just ride the Montreal Metro. Monday the 5th was busy as I took the advice you guys gave me and headed out to Dorval. I took the 9:55 train out to Dorval and spent a few hours there coming back on the 2:30 train back. There were a few freight movements while I was at Dorval, I must admit I have never seen as many trains of grain hoppers as I did there! It was nice to see CN and CP engines as well a nice change from the usual Conrail Blue, CSX Blue and NS Black. I also got a close up of some VIA rail equipment including an F40 still in the Spiderman scheme! Then on the 6th I returned via Amtrak 68 to NYP, from train 68 I was able to get a few shots of leased NJT equipment which was a nice addition since next time I will probably see the equipment I'll be shaving with it!

Thanks for the Trip Report. You’ll have to come back again......hanging out for 4 hours on the Dorval platform is just so much nicer on a warm summer day!

I’m going to be in Montreal in a couple of weeks for a bit of railfanning and with the new schedules effective this Monday, January 12 (made possible by the NJT equipment acquisition) you will now be able to make mid-day roundtrips on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Candiac lines without a bus trip one-way.

(PS: Saw your photos over at the NJT Forum. Thanks)

Hi!

it's my first post here,so I read about someones have been seen the Montreal-Blainville/St-Jerome commuter line

I made some shooting last month and i filmed almost all the line from the cab coach if you want to see
there's all there
Montreal-West to Park
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Za0ramdBqTk

Park to Chabanel
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=8WiFYi5dIh0

Chabanel to Bois-de-Boulogne
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXvmkFi4n0

Bois-de-Boulogne to De la Concorde
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=NwaPMiNLSB8

de la Concorde to Vimont
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ipGZOeXyv4c

Vimont to Ste-Rose
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=KV3tEAXKrL4

Ste-Rose to Rosemere
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ibeA5UemD_M

Rosemere to Ste-Therese
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=dMQdIO6_eOU

Ste-Therese to Blainville
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yUp5uHYlqsg


for some NJT materials I get some pics of them,there's 5 engine and around 20 comet!! cars

one of the are on the Montreal-St-Hilaire commuter line,and another one on Vaudreuil line too
some It get a shot from the St-Hilaire one




and the Via F40 with the Spiderman panel still riding


Here's the Montreal Deux-Montagnes electric commuter train


near the Deux-Montagnes trins station,we can see a Z1a,the old CN's box cab,fist and last to deserve this line


and now,we going to Dorval station,where I caugh a nice shot in the snow


there,we can see CP's and CN's trains,also,the AMT trains




and some surprises


when we lucky,we can get CSX,SOO Line,NS,OCR and some other ones passing by,recently,friend on myne saw a KCS MP20 switcher on a CP westbound train,looking like brand new


and finally,If showing another video,from the back of the train,10 minutes,going from Montreal Central station to St-Lambert across the Victoria bridge..
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Os9mFRnVgiE

have a good day!

Hi around Montreal

there's a lot of good spot,at St-Henri on de Courcelles Crossing,there's a lot of trains,like Dorval
also some yard where we have some good views,we have a gantlet bridge,where one of the tracks going over the other one,whtiout switches..


heres some view frome those spots
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=5hI-Z8S_tOM

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKKJUQmXoc

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yVZkvZ97YcA

and there,south shore of Montreal,we can see the Chambly sub from the CN,at the beginning of last automn,they tooked of the tracks
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ua8Fxky7M

And the gantlet bridge over Rivière Des Prairies
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=nuaOQWVB3xs

Welcome to railroad.net! Great photos I wish I had more time when I came up, there were lots of spots around the city that I would like to take photos at so I'm already planning a summer trip.

If your'e agree,I can shot you some "hotspots" around Montreal I'm always around the tracks and spotting the trains,but in the winter,I'm not there every days,but in the summer,Always a moment on the day,I going to spot trains..

EDIT:
I shooted that today 20 minutes,4 trainsI puted at the end,some pics of my latests days
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=8V2SplbaTtw

Here's some shooting I did last sunday,I get surprised,when I seen an IC engine passing by,there's not a lot of them comming out in Montreal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUytaiNsS8M

and two shots I've been sended on rail-video.net
http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=5029

http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=5028

Where is the best place to see Port of Montreal? And which terminal station does VIA run out of? And also what is the busiest AMT terminal station to witness trains at? And does anyone know where AMT keeps its old equipment such as some of the old F units?

atsf sp wrote:Where is the best place to see Port of Montreal? And which terminal station does VIA run out of? And also what is the busiest AMT terminal station to witness trains at? And does anyone know where AMT keeps its old equipment such as some of the old F units?

The main problem with the Port of Montreal is that it is 40-miles long and the major activities are now distributed all over, away from the old port. A good spot for railfans is on Jacques-Cartier bridge, where you have a good aerial view of the tracks where most of the railway action is. You have to take the subway (Metro) to Papineau station, walk uphill on Papineau street to the entrance of the bridge (about half a mile) and come down south on the bridge (the best view is on the east sidewalk (the one on the left when looking toward the bridge).

All VIA trains go to Central Station (there is an underground entrance through Bonaventure subway station).

The two main AMT stations downtown are Central Station again (2 lines) and Lucien-L'Allier station (between the Bell Center hockey stadium and Lucien-L'Allier subway, 3 lines). To see the trains, you have to go to Lucien-L'Allier where the main hall allows you a view on all the tracks. At Central Station, the tracks are underground and you will only see some of the trains if you buy a ticket! Another good spot is the Montreal-West Station, where the three lines from Lucien-L'Allier also stop. It is especially good if you want to take pictures, as you can see everything from outside the AMT grounds. You will therefore not be hassled by the security guards!

AMT does not store its old equipment, it leaves it in service and even leases old NJT equipment! The F-units are long gone though. They were sold to the now bankrupt Quebec Central Railway in the early 2000s.

So where would the best VIA spotting be? I know Dorval is a good spot but I can't really spend time lingering. So is there anywhere around central to see VIA?

atsf sp wrote:So where would the best VIA spotting be? I know Dorval is a good spot but I can't really spend time lingering. So is there anywhere around central to see VIA?

For VIA trains going West, the closest spot would be the Courcelles crossing in St.Henri. It is a few blocks west of the Place-St.Henri subway station. On this map, the crossing is on the extreme left, behind the maps legend:

http://www.stm.info/metro/Place-Saint-Henri.pdf

For trains going both East and West, but you won't be as close to the trains, you may catch them as they cross Lachine Canal from the Wellington street bridge (which is right next to the railway bridge).

There is also the Atwater bridge on the canal, which is close to another train bridge where the West trains cross again, but I don't know if it is a good spot.

Thanks. But I have a few more questions, is there any way of easily viewing Taschereau Yard, especially the engine house and hump? How many CP trains run through Dorval each day and how often are AMT trains on that line and what power do they use?

When we were in Montreal in August we poked around by Tashereau and the access road at the north leg of the wye appears to turn into a railroad road. Our friend who lives up there told us he has been turned around there by CN police a few times. You can see trains coming and going on the wye into Taschereau from Rue norman, there is a sidewalk on the bridge and lots of signals to tell you what is going on. Beware parking is hard there if the auto auction is going on, otherwise there is a nice parking lot right at the bridge over the tracks.

Probably going back up in a few weeks over the kids april vacation and if so we are going to explore more.