Railroad Forums 

  • Railfanning Greater Montreal and area without a car

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Canada. For specific railroad questions, see Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Canada. For specific railroad questions, see Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.

Moderator: Ken V

 #944732  by Rotax
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Which lines do the Comets run on, as well as the other bilevels? Thanks.
The Comets and Bilevels are not in service right now, but they used to run on the Vaudreuil-Hudson (Comets & Bilevels) and Candiac (Comets only) line before they were put into storage.

If you take the Vaudreul-Hudson line, you might see these cars at the Lachine garage, between Lachine and Montréal-Ouest station.
 #945428  by njtmnrrbuff
 
I will look out for the Comets and Bilevels.

Are there any good places to get photographs of the various yards in Montreal?

About the train that runs to Senneterre, and Jonquire, I see that it goes in a loop after it leaves the VIA Corridor Line.
 #945451  by NS VIA FAN
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:About the train that runs to Senneterre, and Jonquire, I see that it goes in a loop after it leaves the VIA Corridor Line.
Check out the map here: (you might have to paste into you browser as the link may be broken)

http://www.proximityissues.ca/Maps/RAC- ... al_sub.pdf

Northern Quebec trains go west on the corridor route to Ballantyne, pass through Taschereau Yard then head east on the St. Laurent Subdivision across Montreal Island. Until the early 1990s they were hauled out through the Mount Royal Tunnel by ancient Box Cab electrics to the jct between the Deux Montagnes/St Laurent Subdivisions about 5 miles north of Central Station. After the rebuilding of the tunnel line, they could no longer use this route, therefore, the round-about route they follow today.

Here's an old electric box cab ready to depart Central Station with the train to Jonquiere (Chicoutimi) back in the '70s.

Image
 #945615  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Very interesting about those old Box units. Thanks for posting that map link.

Is there anything to do near the Deux-Montagnes AMT Station, in terms of railfanning, food, and drink? How fast do those trains go on that line? What other railfan opportunities are along that line? Thanks.
 #945742  by Rotax
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:
Is there anything to do near the Deux-Montagnes AMT Station, in terms of railfanning, food, and drink?
There is an old CN Boxcab on display at Deux-Montagnes station. And apart from that, all you'll see there are AMT trains (MR-90 EMU's and the ALP-45DP if you're lucky).
I think there is a small restaurant near the station, but Boulevard des Promenades is the nearest commercial street (restaurants, shopping centers, movie theatre, etc.)
It's about 1 km (0.6 mile) from the station.
How fast do those trains go on that line?
65 mph (maximum speed)
What other railfan opportunities are along that line? Thanks.
Well, there's the Jonction de l'Est (East junction) where they're replacing the diamond by an overpass to increase the commuter train service. This is located just south of Montpellier station. There are also a couple of streets from where you could get a good view of the junction.

Canora station is also popular among railfans because it is at the entrance of the Mont-Royal tunnel.

There is very little freight traffic on that line. There is one switcher that operates on weekdays, and you might see it between Montpellier and Bois-Franc stations. It connects to Downey spur, that serves an industrial area.
 #945808  by NS VIA FAN
 
Rotax wrote: There is an old CN Boxcab on display at Deux-Montagnes station. And apart from that, all you'll see there are AMT trains (MR-90 EMU's and the ALP-45DP if you're lucky).
Yes......Stuffed & Mounted!.......and the current EMUs.

Interesting to note that those Box Cabs that hauled the first electric trains back in 1918, were still in service hauling passengers on the last day before the line was rebuilt in 1995!.......nearly 80 years.

Image

Image
 #946552  by Rotax
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Are there any good rail bridges I can photograph, and where are the best vantage points of them?
Here is a list of bridges connecting to the island of Montreal.

There is the Victoria bridge (CN owned, and you'll see CN, VIA, AMT and Amtrak trains). Maybe you could have some good shots from this location :
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.48899,-73. ... 1,,0,-2.83
You'll see that there is a small gravel path running parrallel to the road.

There is also the Saint-Laurent Bridge (CP owned and you'll see CP, MMA and AMT trains). I think that Lasalle train station would be a good spot, because it is right at the entrance of the bridge. There are also a few interesting parks, sidewalks and bike paths nearby where you could get good pictures.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.424194,-73 ... .2,,0,5.25

In western Montreal, there a two parrallel train bridges. The north one is CP owned (with CP and AMT trains) and the south one is CN (with CN and VIA trains). You can stop at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue train station and walk on the pedestrian path on the higway bridge nearby. You should get good shots.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.404311,-73 ... 59,,0,9.96
Normally, the pedestrian path is on the other side of the bridge. You can clearly see the Streetview picture was taken during construction.

On the Deux-Montagnes line, there are three bridges. Two of them are near Île-Bigras and Sainte-Dorothé stations. There is another pedestrian bridge running parrallel to the last one. Grand Moulin station would be the nearest station.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.53187,-73. ... 09,,0,1.55

In northern Montreal, there is the Perry Island bridge (CP owned, but you'll see only Québec-Gatineau and AMT trains at this time of the year). There is a bike/pedestrian path on the bridge. It is accessible via STM route 69.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.546059,-73 ... 1,,0,-0.27

Finally, there is a CN bridge (with CN and VIA trains) in Pointe-Aux-Trembles in eastern Montréal. There is a highway bridge with a pedestrian path nearby.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.701114,-73 ... 16,,0,0.18
It is accessible by bus (STM routes 86, 184 and 410)

Can I get photographs of trains from Mt. Royal Park? thanks.
Well, you should be able to see the Victoria bridge from there, but I doubt you'll get good photographs, because it's pretty far. Other railroads are hidden by the skyscrapers.
 #948334  by Rotax
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:How busy is the CN Line that serves the oil refineries east of Montreal. Are there any good spots to catch action on that?
Well, I know there is the "Ultratrain" that runs between Lévis and Montréal-Est refineries. This is a long and heavy train running daily, but I don't know much about CN operations in that part of Montreal. I think there is also a switcher serving the different oil facilities.

There are a couple of crossings in Montréal-Est where you could get a good shot of a train.

The place where you'd see the most action in easter Montréal would be at the Rivière-des-Prairies yard.
Here's a Street View image near the yard. You can clearly see a couple of GP9u's.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.637695,-73 ... 01,,1,2.01

You can also try going on the Armand-Bombardier blvd viaduct. You can see the whole yard from there.
http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.627188,-73 ... 2,,1,-1.55
 #948511  by Rotax
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:How busy is Dorval on a Sunday afternoon, later in the day? I see that there are very few AMT trains.
You won't see a lot of AMT trains on that line during weekends. You'll probably see a couple of CP freight trains, though, especially intermodals. They have a lot of ex-SOO locomotives still in the SOO line livery. These locos are popular among railfans.

You should see a couple of VIA trains at VIA's Dorval station (next to AMT's Dorval station). The busy Montreal-Toronto and Montreal-Ottawa lines stop there. You'll also see CN trains of all kinds.

Both CN and CP line at Dorval are fairly busy. I don't think you'll have to wait very long for a freight train or a VIA train. But if you want to see AMT trains, it's better to go during weekdays at rush hour.