Sunday morning rolled around, and Peter & I were up at 6AM. I was planning to be on the road by 7, but we were out of the house by 6:20. A quick stop in the bank to procure some funds, and we were off. Made nice time on the 101...there isn't a whole lot of traffic anywhere at 6:30. Rolled into Windsor Junction around 7:15, and as we came over the tracks, I looked at the signals. They were black (what I call dark signals), so I figured that both 120 and 148 were in all ready, as I'd heard they were both usually into Rockingham by 7:30. As we turned to leave, I glanced at the signals again...this time, they were green over red, so I backed the car up and parked, to wait for a few minutes to see if anything came along. Nothing did, so at 7:45, with the signals still green over red, we left. Got back onto the 102, and headed for Truro. Upon arrival, I drove to McDonalds to grab a burger. To my surprise, McDonalds doesn't server burgers at 8:30 in the morning, so I had a breakfast bagel, giant hash brown and chocolate milk. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting, honestly. Drove towards the A-Yard, hoping to see #307. Just as I left the main drag, I heard 307 call RTC Montreal for clearance. I figured that meant he was out of the yard already, so I hung a sharp left and headed for Onslow. It wasn't until I was well outside of town did I hear that he was just coming out of the yard. Not wanting to stop, I kept rolling. Eventually got back on the 104 and kept going. Rest of the trip was uneventful, really...made good time the rest of the way, and even with all the stops, we still made it into Gordon yard in Moncton around 11AM. Called Luc, a friend of mine from Atlantic Rails, to let him know I was in town, and arranged to meet him at the Platform. I drove around town a bit, and stumbled upon IRSI (Industrial Rail Services, Inc). I meant to put gas in the car before I went to the station, and I wanted to grab something to snack on while driving, but I totally forgot. Then, we headed back to the platform, met up with my friend, and got the tripod set up for the arrival of train #14. There were literally hundreds of people on the platform, some civilians, some veterans, and some passers-by. There was an honor-guard there, complete with RCMP officers and members of the armed forces. Inside, there was a choir singing songs from the days of the war. ATV, CTV and Global were all there filming the arrival and departure.

#14 called the westbound limits of Moncton at 12:30, about 30 minutes behind schedule...not too bad, considering the slow orders and length of the train. I would later find out how he was maintaining such a nice schedule. I got a couple shots of the train arriving in Moncton, as well as some of the consist. Luc and I walked around the front of the F40's, and I got a couple shots of the lead unit. Luc knew the engineer that just drove into Moncton, so he spoke with him. The other crew was already on board, getting caught up on the paperwork and RTC Clearances. The conductor came out of the unit, and walked back. The engineer called us up into the cab, and we willingly climbed up! I got a couple shots from up in the cab too, and got into a nice conversation with the engineer. Turns out, he used to live about 40 minutes from my house! The conductor came back, and told us that they were ready to leave, so we had to leave too. Luc climbed out, as did I, and we started walking back the length of the train as it slowly and silently rolled past us. I said goodbye to Luc, and hopped into the car. While in the cab, I heard 307 tell RTC he was holding in Painsec Junction to let 14 go by. So I knew I had a bit of extra time. I started the car, and realized I had 1/8th tank of gas left. CRAP! So, I headed for the nearest gas station, catching every single stinking red light between the VIA station and the gas Station. Gassed up, and got on the highway. Having never been accused of having a light foot, we managed to catch up to and eventually pass #14. By Sackville, I figured we had about 5 minutes, at most, before they arrived. And, just our luck, neither Peter nor I knew Sackville. So, we got lost, asked directions and eventually found our way back to the station. Parked, got out of the car, walked across the tracks, and within a minute or so, the headlights came into view. As the train approached, I got the shot I wanted. I was standing at a grade crossing, and had put no thought into how I was going to get back across the tracks after the super-long train blocked the crossing. As the lead units went by, the engineer I had become friends with gave me a wave. As the train stopped, he opened the window, leaned out and took a picture of the train in the station. I think he got one of me, too, but I'm not sure. I walked up, and talked to him for a moment or two, then crossed in front of the units and back to the car. Peter had asked, and figured a fast way out of town...I was trying to drive, and look up side streets to see the train, so I would know how far behind I was. When I hit the down-ramp onto the 104, 14 was a good quarter-mile ahead of me, and pulling away. There was traffic ahead of me, but nothing beside me, so I tramped down the gas and tried to catch and pace 14 across Tantramar Marsh, a 2-mile-long marsh in which the 104 and the CN Main line are right next to each other. To catch 14, I ended up doing 140kph (87MPH)....I slowed back to pace the lead units, and with Peter's help, we determined he was doing about 75MPH, Track speed across the Marsh. The Hotbox Detector registered no alarms and a speed of 79 (130KPH)! Got off the first exit into Amherst, at Fort Lawrence and headed into Amherst on Laplanche Street, which also parallels the mainline. I figured I was a good bit ahead of the lead units, so I was doing a bit under the speed limit. Looked in the rear-view mirror, and saw headlights! Got into Amherst just as the grade crossing lights came on....jumped out, and selected a good photo spot. Got the shot I desired, and got a wave from the engineer as he rolled by. Got back in the car, and headed for the 102. Next stop, Folly lake!

There was almost no traffic on the old Highway (Rt4), so again, I made darn good time! That, combined with the fact #15 was late out of Truro (meaning a later meet at Folly), and #14 was running slowly, to kill time for #15, meant I had a good 15 minute wait in Folly Lake, on the overpass, before the train arrived. As we were coming up the hill towards the overpass, I was trying to find a spot to park. I saw someone pulled off up ahead, so I went up, figuring I'd park behind him. Turns out, it was Garnet Clarke from Windsor! I parked; got out and walked up to him...he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him! We talked for a few minutes, and a guy in a green Beetle drove by. Garnet said it was another railfan. He turned at the quarry a few hundred feet down the road, and pulled up beside us. I didn't recognize him until he told me his name, but it was Geoff Doane. Sorry Geoff. Garnet mentioned he was further down the road shooting, with his tripods and everything set up. Geoff left to go back to his spot, and Garnet and I continued talking. A couple ATV's drove under the overpass, and went to cross the tracks. I wish I'd taken a picture. It's hard to explain how they went about doing it, but all I can say is that I would have loved to have seen an SD70 come around the corner at track speed and plow into one of those ATVs! The operators managed to get them nice and firmly wedged between the rails. Moments earlier, we'd heard a horn, and it sounded close. After the ATV guys got their 4-wheeler unstuck, I looked behind me to check the signals into the west end of Folly Lake passing siding. As I looked, they lit up and went to Orange over Red, proceed at reduced speed into siding. About 5 minutes later, Peter, who was farther down the street and could thus see farther up the tracks, yelled that he was coming. I turned on the camera, waved to the crew, got a short blast on the horn, and got a couple shots. Ran across the street, got a couple shots as the train was going into the hole for 15 to pass, then ran back across the street to find out where garnet was going, and got into the car to get back ahead of the train. I tooted the horn as I whizzed past Geoff's car on the side of the road, and waved as I passed Garnet, who'd stopped to get a shot of the motive power across a lake. I continued on to a road just east of the end of the passing siding, waiting for 15 to show up. Garnet arrived a minute or two behind me, after getting the shot he wanted. Just after he arrived, the grade crossing signals started flashing, and 15 laid on the horn from around a curve. Seconds later, 15 blasted around the corner and were gone shortly there after. Garnet got back into his car and headed for the East Mines trestle. I stayed to see 14 head out, which it did a minute or two after 15 had passed. The engineer I was talking to in Moncton and Sackville was now on the conductor's side, but he still waved! I was standing trackside, watching the cars go by. A whole lot of Veterans waved at me, and looked back as they passed to see who I was...a couple saluted, and a couple took my picture. It was a rather touching moment. I got a nice going-away shot, too. Then, back into the car. Driving along, trying to make up a bit of time after this (unexpected, though productive) stop. Came under the East Mines trestle, and came to a crossroads. Garnet was about a hundred feet ahead, with video camera in hand, waiting for 14 on the trestle. Next stop, Brookfield!

Got to Brookfield, parked and got out to line up the shot. It had clouded over a bit, which I figured would screw up the Auto Focus on my camera a bit. Don't as why, but for some reason, my A/F doesn't like overcast shooting, especially not of targets moving at high speed. It was cooling down, too, so I got back in the car, getting out occasionally seeing if I could see anything. I could see from the car, but it was my excuse to go stretch my legs a bit. I saw the headlights round a curve about a mile ahead, and got out of the car. Peter was out shortly behind me. I got my shot lined up, and snapped the shutter. The guy I got to be friends with was back on this side, and he did the normal crossing signal, followed by an extra touch or two. The light was starting to die, and 14 was seriously pushing to try and make up some time, after Truro they were over an hour late. I've never seen a train moving that quickly up-grade through that crossing before! I waited for the train to pass, ran across the street before the traffic got a chance to start moving, and got into the car to head for Bedford Quarry. I set the Digital camera on the console, between the cup holder and gear shift. Remember that, there will be a quiz later. Next stop, Bedford Quarry!