CN/CPKC/VIA Rail trains across Northern Ontario in June, 2024

~June, 2024 - Across Northern Ontario~
Filmed over the month of June along Canadian National Railway & CPKC Railway mainlines running across Northern Ontario as everything greens up for summer. Starting at Hillsport just west of Hornepayne on CN's Caramat Sub we see the evening speeds whiz through. Over in Marathon a pair of intermodal trains meet in the fog on the Heron Bay Sub before returning to Hillsport to see VIA 1 fly by from stage left. VIA Rail Canada operates the Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver twice a week as well as the "BUDD CAR" connecting Sudbury and White River three times a week over CPKC Railway's Cartier, Nemegos, and White River Subs.
We get a glimpse (aerial + ground) of this rare operation as the eastbound train departs White River at 0700 sharp. Later in the day a CP welded rail train makes its way down the CN Bala Sub utilizing directional running rights. CN & CPKC operate the Ontario DRZ between Parry Sound and just south of Sudbury with northbound trains running over CPKC's Parry Sound Sub & southbound trains operating on CN's Bala Sub. This rail train crosses over at Reynolds/Boyne and back to home rails.
A week later we see a pair of southbound trains heading thru Dock Siding on CN's Bala Subdivision. VIA 2 closed the gap on Q104 which would duck in at Medora for the overtake. Up highway 69/400 we intercept CN Q102 heading across the Seguin River dam. Not far behind is CPKC 420 heading down CN's Bala Sub. We head further north towards the nickel belt as CPKC runs a extra rail/manifest train Against Current Of Traffic at Rutter. They would see CPKC 119 at Point Au Barel however I wanted to make tracks. Heading through Sudbury I tried to get VIA 186 west of Cartier but botched that! (I shoulda stuck to Levack and waited for U55 to arrive and then the budd car but this would have taken lots of time and I had another 600km to drive... oh well) then I wouldn't have timed it to hear CPKC 112 calling Sultan as I was coming across the Sultan Industrial Road connecting Highway 144 to the Chapleau area. I finally arrived at home watching a eastbound port stacker heading thru the plant at Marathon West.
0:00 Hillsport, ON ~ CN Z11531 09
2:09 Hillsport, ON ~ CN Z11131 09
4:21 Marathon, ON ~ CPKC 118-15
8:05 Marathon, ON ~ CPKC 113-16
13:27 Hillsport, ON ~ CN P00131 19/VIA 1
13:53 White River, ON ~ CPKC 86V-20/VIA 186
15:36 O'Brien, ON ~ CPKC 86V-20/VIA 186
16:45 Parry Sound, ON ~ CPKC 4WPS-20
19:07 Dock Siding, ON ~ CN Q10451 22
23:03 Dock Siding, ON ~ CN P00251 24/VIA 2
23:53 Parry Sound, ON ~ CN Q10251 22
23:37 Parry Sound, ON ~ CPKC 420-26
31:01 Rutter, ON ~ CPKC CWR-27
33:13 Sultan, ON ~ CPKC 112-24
37:08 Marathon, ON ~ CPKC 2104-27
#cpkcrailway #cnrail #viarail