Railfanning Greater Montreal and area without a car

[NS VIA FAN]

Where Rue Wellington crosses Lachine Canal. http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=rkfn57 ... orm=LMLTCC

That’s the old Wellington Tower just to the left of the RR bridge on the north side of the canal. Pan toward the north and follow the tracks/viaduct into Central Station. A good spot for photos is in the morning along the bike/walking paths along the canal on the southeast side of the RR bridge.

[njtmnrrbuff]

In Montreal, I see that there is a line that runs parrallel to the St. Lawrence River? It must be either owned by CN or CP? Does it see a lot of trains?

[Rotax]

In Montreal, I see that there is a line that runs parrallel to the St. Lawrence River? It must be either owned by CN or CP? Does it see a lot of trains?

In western Montreal, between Lachine and Dorion, there are a CN and a CP line side to side and they run parrallel to the Saint Lawrence river. They probably are the busiest lines in Montreal. You'll also see AMT trains on the CP tracks (Vaudreuil-Hudson line) and VIA trains on the CN tracks (Montreal-Ottawa and Montreal-Toronto lines).

Closer to downtown, there is the Port of Montreal. They have their own tracks and locomotives. Both CN and CP are connected to the Port of Montreal.

In eastern Montreal, there is a CN line that runs parrallel to the river. It serves mostly refineries and other oil industries.

[njtmnrrbuff]

How busy is that CN line that runs east of Downtown Montreal?

Are there any good spots west of Dorval where the right of ways cross water? What about in Montreal itself?

[SLR 393]

West of Dorval there are two spots with parallel bridges. Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Dorion. Ste. Anne has a nice walking path that goes along the canal lock under the bridges and you can eat and watch trains there. Haven't made it to Dorion other than on the train to and from Ottawa though so I don't know what is there.

East of Montreal - I like to go to St. Lambert VIA station, there is parking and no one has ever bothered me, in fact, the VIA people have come over to me to let me know when trains are coming. You can see signals in each direction and look out onto Victoria Bridge. A little east of there is Southwark Yard, not sure how much operation is left there but there is a walkway over one end of it and also the line cuts off to the south from there, through Brossard. Amtrak takes that route.

[njtmnrrbuff]

I'm sure I will end up at St. Lambert, especially to photograph 69 and/or 68. How could I get from Downtown Montreal to St. Lambert, if I don't take AMT? Thanks.

[Rotax]

I'm sure I will end up at St. Lambert, especially to photograph 69 and/or 68. How could I get from Downtown Montreal to St. Lambert, if I don't take AMT? Thanks.

Go to Longueuil-Université-de-Sherbrooke métro station and then take RTL route 1 or 6 to Saint-Lambert station
OR
Go to Terminus Centre-Ville (Bonaventure métro station) and take RTL route 55 to Saint-Lambert station.

Note : RTL = Réseau de Transport de Longueuil ; bus transit system of the Longueuil area (including Saint-Lambert, Boucherville, Brossard, etc).

[njtmnrrbuff]

Thanks. I checked RTL's site and it's pretty much all French. Before I make the trip, I'm going to have to understand French, which right now, I lack.

[Rotax]

Thanks. I checked RTL's site and it's pretty much all French. Before I make the trip, I'm going to have to understand French, which right now, I lack.

Here is the english version of RTL website : http://www.rtl-longueuil.qc.ca/english/index_ag.asp
Don't know if you checked it...

But it's still a good idea to learn a bit of french before your trip. You shouldn't have many problems getting served in english within Montreal (especially in the west island), but the suburbs are different. And in Quebec City, do not expect to be served in english (except at VIA rail and maybe at very popular touristic attractions). However, people there are very nice to tourists and they will do their best to understand and make you comfortable.

[njtmnrrbuff]

While looking at pictures of AMT commuter trains, I see that the engines generally face Montreal. I have also seen pictures of engines on both ends of the consist. How often do AMT trains have engines on the east end of the consists, especially on the line to Hudson? Thanks.

Which neighborhoods should I avoid while railfanning, in terms of crime, in Montreal? Thanks.

Quebec City will be done another time.

[Rotax]

While looking at pictures of AMT commuter trains, I see that the engines generally face Montreal. I have also seen pictures of engines on both ends of the consist. How often do AMT trains have engines on the east end of the consists, especially on the line to Hudson? Thanks.

On the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Candiac and Blainville-Saint-Jérôme lines, locomotives are always pointing towards Lucien-L'Allier (Downtown). Some trainsets have two locomotives. On most of these trainsets, there is one loco at each extremity of the trainset. Sometimes, but not regularly, it happens to have two locomotives on the same side of the trainset (double header).

On the Mont-Saint-Hilaire Line, locomotives are pointing towards Mont-Saint-Hilaire, except, once again, for trainsets that have two locos.

On the Deux-Montagnes line, well... there are only MR-90 EMU's.

Here are AMT's consists as the look like now (number of cars may change during summer)

Looking towards
Downtown ---> Suburbs

Vaudreuil-Hudson line
Loco - 8 MLV's - Loco (4 or 5 trainsets)
Loco - 5 MLV's (2 or 3 trainsets)

Candiac line
Loco - 5 MLV's (3 trainsets) (this may have changed since the partial closing of Mercier Bridge and additional commuter train service on that line to compensate)

Blainville-Saint-Jérôme
F59PHI - 10 MLV's - F59PHI (2 trainsets)
F59PHI - 7 MLV's - F59PHI (2 trainsets)

Mont-Saint-Hilaire
GP40FH-2 - 9 MLV'S - F40PHR (2 trainsets)
7 MLV's - F40PHR

Which neighborhoods should I avoid while railfanning, in terms of crime, in Montreal? Thanks.

Quebec City will be done another time.

Crime rate is really low in the Métro, the buses, commuter trains and other transit agencies in general.
I have often been told to avoid Montréal-Nord and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve at night. But I believe the overall crime rate in Montreal is not that high, compared to other big cities.

[njtmnrrbuff]

Wow, it looks like just about everything in terms of coaches is Multilevels on AMT.

Regarding the VIA train that runs to Senneterre, and Jonquire; which right of way does it travel on in Montreal, and where can I get good photographs of it?

[Rotax]

Wow, it looks like just about everything in terms of coaches is Multilevels on AMT.

Right now, AMT has a surplus of cars, so they only use Multilevels (we got 160 of them) on the diesel lines until we get all the necessary locomotives for the planned service improvements. MLV's will go on the Deux-Montagnes line once a few ALP-45DP's are in service. Right now, 58 MR-90 EMU's run on that line. Our 24 Comet coaches will be rebuilt soon and our 22 Bilevels are in storage. It is likely that AMT will install next stop announcement and displays while these cars are in storage.

Regarding the VIA train that runs to Senneterre, and Jonquire; which right of way does it travel on in Montreal, and where can I get good photographs of it?

Both trains travel together between Montréal and Hervey-Jonction. Departures from Gare Centrale are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8h15.
They arrive back at Gare Centrale at 17h15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at 20h15 on Sundays.

I believe a good spot to get photographs of this train is at the Rivière-des-Prairies yard, but that's a bit far from Downtown.

[njtmnrrbuff]

Which lines do the Comets run on, as well as the other bilevels? Thanks.

[Ken V]

I checked the St. Jerome Line, and saw that it's a "one way rush hour" service line to St. Jerome. I would take AMT one way and then take a bus to the Metro back.midday roundtrip on that line.

While the trains don't make daytime round trips to Saint-Jérôme there are afternoon return trips from Blainville available that cover most of the line so you might want to give that a shot rather than taking the bus to the Métro.

Regarding the VIA train that runs to Senneterre, and Jonquire; which right of way does it travel on in Montreal, and where can I get good photographs of it?

The Northern Québec VIA trains follow the same route as their Toronto and Ottawa trains from Central Station out towards Lachine and then curve north through CN's Taschereau Yard and then back east, crossing the AMT Deux-Montagnes line just south of Montpellier Station and continuing through Ahuntsic, Montreal North, and Pointe-aux-Trembles before crossing the river at the eastern tip of Montreal Island. I am not aware of any good photo locations for this route however.