foosaintbeast
CN 2257N West Vancouver
CN local train 546 or the Squamish turn is by far my favorite train on the CN system. Ever since I first took a bus all the way to Brunswick beach to see 546, my favorite thing to do was to walk up the tracks and find amazing shot after amazing shot. It really doesn't ever get old with this sub and I could spend my whole life shooting every rock cut and tunnel this line has to offer. BCRail's old mainline really does not disappoint, you know your on a great line when you can spend 2 hours traveling just to get a shot of a gevo leading 2 boxcars and come back happy. Maybe I'm just weird but this is definitely the most scenic and pretty line on all of CN and maybe in all of Canada.
That's why I was quite sad to hear that 546 was temporarily stopping operations to Squamish due to lack of traffic. Even though it was temporary, its never a good sign for the future when trains stop due to slow traffic, especially when only 1 industry keeps this line alive. I got into the game a bit to late to shoot 571/570 between Williams Lake and Squamish, (by far the more scenic part of the BCR.) so I made sure to shoot 546 as much as I could.
After a few weeks 546 is back tearing up the Howe sound and a Sunday-Thursday schedule seems to be consistent. Even with the current strikes in the Ports of BC, todays 546 is hauling 33 boxcars up for the Squamish docks with an additional 45 copper gons for storage. With an increasingly rare all DC powered lash up, 546 is making good time as they cut through a rock cut near Horseshoe Bay. I've shot this spot before, so I figured id try something different by climbing up the rock ledge on the other side of the tracks, Its slippery and wet out and one misplaced step will surely send me crashing down onto the right of way. Even then I crouch right on the edge and lean out with my camera for the shot because my brain hasn't properly developed risk vs reward yet. One day I wont be so lucky but until then, we ball.
CN 2257N West Vancouver
CN local train 546 or the Squamish turn is by far my favorite train on the CN system. Ever since I first took a bus all the way to Brunswick beach to see 546, my favorite thing to do was to walk up the tracks and find amazing shot after amazing shot. It really doesn't ever get old with this sub and I could spend my whole life shooting every rock cut and tunnel this line has to offer. BCRail's old mainline really does not disappoint, you know your on a great line when you can spend 2 hours traveling just to get a shot of a gevo leading 2 boxcars and come back happy. Maybe I'm just weird but this is definitely the most scenic and pretty line on all of CN and maybe in all of Canada.
That's why I was quite sad to hear that 546 was temporarily stopping operations to Squamish due to lack of traffic. Even though it was temporary, its never a good sign for the future when trains stop due to slow traffic, especially when only 1 industry keeps this line alive. I got into the game a bit to late to shoot 571/570 between Williams Lake and Squamish, (by far the more scenic part of the BCR.) so I made sure to shoot 546 as much as I could.
After a few weeks 546 is back tearing up the Howe sound and a Sunday-Thursday schedule seems to be consistent. Even with the current strikes in the Ports of BC, todays 546 is hauling 33 boxcars up for the Squamish docks with an additional 45 copper gons for storage. With an increasingly rare all DC powered lash up, 546 is making good time as they cut through a rock cut near Horseshoe Bay. I've shot this spot before, so I figured id try something different by climbing up the rock ledge on the other side of the tracks, Its slippery and wet out and one misplaced step will surely send me crashing down onto the right of way. Even then I crouch right on the edge and lean out with my camera for the shot because my brain hasn't properly developed risk vs reward yet. One day I wont be so lucky but until then, we ball.