The Canadian - a question

I'm making a return visit to the Toronto area at the end of the month, and I'd love to get some video of the Canadian departing Toronto on its trip west.

Can anyone recommend any good spots near downtown Toronto to catch it going by? And I would also need directions to those spots, using Union Station as a starting point.

I'll be using GO and the TTC to get around down there; I want to avoid driving in during rush hours if I can help it.

Thanks!

The Canadian almost always departs Union Station westbound to Bathurst Street, then northbound on the Weston, then Newmarket Subs. The best place to get pictures near Union Station is the end of the enclosed bridge to the Skydome. Just proceed from Union Station's great hall in a westerly direction, following the signs to the Skydome. Shortly after the bridge crosses the tracks, the enclosure ends and there is a handy outdoor viewing area. You could instead continue west and get a good photo from various areas including the Bathurst Street bridge.

marquisofmississauga wrote:The Canadian almost always departs Union Station westbound to Bathurst Street, then northbound on the Weston, then Newmarket Subs. The best place to get pictures near Union Station is the end of the enclosed bridge to the Skydome. Just proceed from Union Station's great hall in a westerly direction, following the signs to the Skydome. Shortly after the bridge crosses the tracks, the enclosure ends and there is a handy outdoor viewing area. You could instead continue west and get a good photo from various areas including the Bathurst Street bridge.

Thanks!

I guess either the viewing area or Bathurst Street will be my spot to film from then. And thank goodness I'll be in town for a week...if a GO or another VIA train blocks my shot, I'll have more than one chance.

Or maybe wait for one of its arrival days in the evening and catch it coming in. If the Canadian is on time....and if my CSX coworkers dispatch Amtrak #63 to VIA at the Falls just a tad late....there is the potential for a side-by-side meet.....

Silverliner II wrote:Or maybe wait for one of its arrival days in the evening and catch it coming in. If the Canadian is on time....and if my CSX coworkers dispatch Amtrak #63 to VIA at the Falls just a tad late....there is the potential for a side-by-side meet...

Not quite.

While the Canadian normally departs Toronto heading west, the usual arrival is from the east. The Canadian makes a sort of "U-turn" using different tracks coming and going.

If you look at the first map on Rails in Toronto (maps page), the westbound Canadian takes the Newmarket Sub (line #4) north to Snider and then the York Sub (line #12/2) to Doncaster while the eastbound takes the Bala Sub (line #11) from Doncaster south.

Amtrak 63/VIA 98 (The Maple Leaf) uses the Oakville Sub (line #1) which only parallels the Canadian's route out of Toronto for about a mile before diverging. GO's Lakeshore West trains also use the Oakville Sub.

Both trainsets spend the night at the Toronto Maintenance Centre (TMC on the map), so all sorts of chance "meets" are possible while deadheading.

Ken V wrote:

Silverliner II wrote:Or maybe wait for one of its arrival days in the evening and catch it coming in. If the Canadian is on time....and if my CSX coworkers dispatch Amtrak #63 to VIA at the Falls just a tad late....there is the potential for a side-by-side meet...

Not quite.

While the Canadian normally departs Toronto heading west, the usual arrival is from the east. The Canadian makes a sort of "U-turn" using different tracks coming and going.

If you look at the first map on Rails in Toronto (maps page), the westbound Canadian takes the Newmarket Sub (line #4) north to Snider and then the York Sub (line #12/2) to Doncaster while the eastbound takes the Bala Sub (line #11) from Doncaster south.

Amtrak 63/VIA 98 (The Maple Leaf) uses the Oakville Sub (line #1) which only parallels the Canadian's route out of Toronto for about a mile before diverging. GO's Lakeshore West trains also use the Oakville Sub.

Both trainsets spend the night at the Toronto Maintenance Centre (TMC on the map), so all sorts of chance "meets" are possible while deadheading.

Wow....thanks for that additional info! I suppose I'll go for a departure angle then. At least I know it will be on time (and if I'm really early getting in position....I could catch it being backed in from the TMC....

Thanks again!