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About Stephen C. Host

I've been into photography since 2001 - but like many others grew up interested in all things railway from an early age. I reside in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and currently use two cameras: Nikon D800, and a Nikon D90 (Backup or videos only). Prior Nikon cameras include D60, D70 and D100, and a F65 for when I dabbled in Film (Kodachrome/Fuji Velvia and Provia). Lenses used tend to be either 70-200 F/2.8, 50mm/1.8, or 16-35 F4 (Until 2016) and a 18-35 F/4-5.6 (2016+). I acquired a 80-400 Nikkor which I've been playing with and after some trial and error and a free repair by Nikon it is producing nice sharp results. Professionally - I am an Engineer (P. Eng. - Computer) for a large automotive concern. I also freelance as a photographer with the Canadian Press and their affiliates (AP/etc.) since 2009.

Stephen C. Host's Railpictures.ca photo upload statistics

Number of images: 1535
Total gold: 18890
Number of comments recieved : 5234
Number of comments posted : 8300
Total views: 2731587

Stephen C. Host has the #4 all time image on railpictures.ca!
Stephen C. Host has the #27 all time image on railpictures.ca!
* Note: Placement on the Top all time image list is subject to change. Taken from the 'Top Shots' page measured by number of favourites

Stephen C. Host has won Editors Choice 1 time

Stephen C. Host has 6 images in the Time Machine

Contact Stephen C. Host

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Stephen C. Host's 1535 photos on Railpictures.ca:

I never thought I'd see a foreign unit on our area Branchlines. This one seems quite a home given that it's not too different than the G&W Orange that plied these rails for about a half decade when the first Orange units arrived in 2014. BNSF 2968 is also one of the oddest ones on the "BNSF Borrowed" CN roster: A 567 powered (rebuilt) GP35 built as GMO 613, now a GP-39V as per its 12/1990 VMV Paducahbilt (NRE) rebuild plate. The air conditioning must be a welcome relief for the folks in the cab this summer. This unit was in Oakville earlier this week but Oakville kicked both BNSF's to the curb as fast as they could as they didn't like them. Kitchener did the same too. Can anyone say hot potato? Feel free to give your guesses why below.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	BNSF
Date:	07/14/2023
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

6 Comments | 12 Favourites

L540 pausing in Guelph after working Gerdau metals and will return to Kitchener light power. Note the somewhat uncommon CN Sublettering on 9449.

Name:	Stephen Host
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	08/15/2021
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 6 Favourites

Hours earlier, CN 1437 was working CN L566 as what I believe was the last GMD-1 in active service on CN. Used by CN crews in the couple days prior, the locomotive was dropped off around midnight on the 23'rd and later that day, WCR crews took their new locomotive for a spin for some photos and to try 'er out. I was able to attend and get a guided tour of the new equipment along with the WCR staff. The locomotice was posed in a couple spots near Harvey H. Martin farm. Within months this unit would be repainted and re-numbered 1012.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	4/23/2023
Location:	Elmira
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 10 Favourites

Standing at Bayview waiting for NS, CN or VIA trains, you never really knew when a CP would make an appearance, and here comes "Barnes Turn" with a single car for W.R Barnes Minerals (now Opta Minerals) in Waterdown. This place took cars into 2015-2-16 but stopped taking cars lately. W.R Barnes operated a sandstone mine but stopped operating it. Now Opta processes slag into sandstone. Not sure what they got in the rail cars.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	6/2/2005
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 15 Favourites

Departing the Sarnia VIA station, #84 begins its journey to Toronto on a nice blue sky sunny winter day. Note in the background the water towers of Port Huron, Michigan in the distance. Later that day I'd shoot <a href=http://steve.hostovsky.com/STRSCH_D718_POHO_7659.jpg target=_blank>CSX L306 (formerly D711) from the exact opposite direction, at the exact opposite sun angle</a> (Note: External website) from the Port Huron side (CN yard at left, Train in C&O Yard adjacent PH&D yard at right) looking toward Canada. I usually cross the border for gas and groceries, and bring my camera just in case, this was very much worth it considering what I photographed from the Canadian side. This comparison also made it into a magazine!

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	VIA Rail
Date:	2/15/2023
Location:	Sarnia
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 11 Favourites

Protecting the points as nsc ge 45 ton #11 about to cross the Dofasco bayfront lead. Crew use both riding platforms, illegal on any common carrier railway but this is industrial railroading. Keen watchers will note this is well after all sw1001's entered service. The crew was using one until moments before this and hopped into #11 to make this move meaning 4 units are in service when this photo was taken. #11 has lived all its life here. News note: national steel car went on strike yesterday.

Name:	Stephen Host
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	5/12/2023
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

9 Comments | 22 Favourites

Parked for the weekend, a normal mostly ignored thing ... GO Trains. In months they would move to Milton. This yard waa leased from Guelph Junction Railway for nearly 30 years and when they left the yard became freight.

Name:	Stephen Host
Railway:	GO Transit
Date:	11/19/2005
Location:	Campbellville
Province:	Ontario

4 Comments | 18 Favourites

Not something we saw often and only a handful of times on both CN and CP - EMD's Tier 4 demonstrators leading on the mainline during 2020/2021 - this group ended up KCS on lease, but were parked before the CPKC merger. They are now headed to Mexico.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Builder/Manufactur…
Date:	2/1/2021
Location:	Palgrave
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 8 Favourites

CN L540 passing the Fixed Gear brewery and pub on Edinburgh Road at the "Junction" Neighbourhood. With the railway location known as CN Guelph Junction Wellington, this Granite Homes development has embraced their railway roots with gusto, complete with a caboose and other railway items on site. The food and drink is great as is the view of about 30 train movements daily. Visit soon!

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	6/25/2023
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 15 Favourites

If someone told me 6 years ago that CN would take back the Hagersville and BNSF locomotives would be on it - I'd tell you this is either a railfan's fantasy or BNSF has finally merged with CN. The merger still hasn't happened, but as of the time I write this there are now 8 or 9 BNSF GP38-2's or thereabouts (some may be 35's or 39's) on the CN system with more coming every week. Nobody knows how many are expected, no one really knows why except Management, and they are scattered from Vancouver to Montreal, but they are assigned to locals on a HPH basis meaning at this time CN does not own them. Basically, it's foreign power on loan to repay horsepower debt BNSF owes to CN. Based on this it appears summer 2023 is the year of BNSF on CN locals. Have any western or Montreal/Eastern folks seen them yet? 2098 assigned to L580/581 in Brantford brought a few dozen folks out, two dozen were out for yesterday's run - pictured switching the yard at sunrise at the VIA station. There was one (2316) assigned to Toronto a couple weeks ago but it only lasted a few days.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	BNSF
Date:	6/19/2023
Location:	Brantford
Province:	Ontario

8 Comments | 15 Favourites

On a beautiful Kodachrome sky winter's day, Canadian Pacific Railway's T72 is nearly done for the day as they blast around the final curve in Ayr before entering Wolverton Yard with a tripleset of GP38-2's. Note the insulator that just wouldn't hang on any longer on the codeline.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Canadian Pacific
Date:	2/6/2022
Location:	Ayr
Province:	Ontario

Comments | 8 Favourites

Running extra, GEXR Train 582 is northbound at Arkell with 1928 built CPR 436994 in tow owned by the <a href=http://www.ghra.ca target=_blank>Guelph Historical Railway Association</a> which went on display in downtown Guelph for Doors Open Guelph in April 2023 (and many years previous). Our group is all volunteer based and anyone is welcome to join us - we're planning to do this again possibly in September for Railway Safety week pending the plans of the local railway(s). It's always nice to see an operating piece of equipment get back out on the mainline, not too many wooden cabooses left that are in this condition, during the moves to and from our parking location <a href=http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=51814 target=_blank>22 cars were on the caboose's drawbar.</a>. To join our group see the "membership" page on the GHRA website.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Goderich-Exeter
Date:	4/29/2023
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 15 Favourites

We're at the very end of track of the N&NW Spur (former H&NW Railway) and infrastructure is everywhere. Framed between highways, transportation, electricity and pollution is the 7524, a yard unit with temporary ditch lights. <a href= http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=18993 target=_blank>I did something similar 8 years ago</a> and that too would get a bumper not long after. The 0700 is using almost all of what remains of the N&NW to pull empties from Parkdale Warehousing before spotting the loads. The fresh snow kind of hides the grit of Hamilton, in a way, but down here you really can't hide it. It's everywhere.

Name:	Stephen Host
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	1/14/2023
Location:	Hamilton
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 13 Favourites

Arriving in Niagara Falls VIA 97 is passing the dissapearing railway tracks of the Niagara region with the 2'nd mainline being ripped out between Clifton and the former yard, now also removed. These GE B32's were not all that rare in Canada as the "International" had them often into the early 2000's, but the VIA crews do not prefer them so they rarely lead in Canada anymore.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Amtrak
Date:	3/17/2019
Location:	Niagara Falls
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 16 Favourites

The final days of the OBRY were not all that interesting. GMTX 333 *bleah* but sometimes you just gotta go seek a few things out you may have missed. I'm standing at Queen St at the site of the CPR Brampton station, long gone, but share here by <a href=http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=33072 target=_blank>Bill Thomson, 1981</a> and <a href=http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=43694 target=_blank</a>Arnold Mooney 1976</a> with great thanks lads. What's missing on this site? A photo of a train passing the station or on the station grounds. Anyone have one to complete this collection? I believe the station would be completely within the empty space in the foreground in my picture at right. As stated in <a href=http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=24090 target=_blank> my Origin story or how I got into trains</a> Brampton has a place in my heart. I was born and raised there as a wee lad. As a result, despite the last locomotive used on the line being not .. my favourite.. I had to go get a wee bit more photography when the time was right. Hoping this request can be fufilled over the coming years! Cheers all.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Orangeville-Brampt…
Date:	10/19/2021
Location:	Brampton
Province:	Ontario

1 Comments | 10 Favourites

Cando's CCGX 1329 pictured switching Magna's Formet Industries and entering the CN Cayuga Spur in St. Thomas in March 2022.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Cando
Date:	3/22/2022
Location:	St. Thomas
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 15 Favourites

If I had a dollar for every time L542 would die here at what the crews call "Muscle beach" I'd have.. a few dollars. Muscle beach is the "gym" located along Edinburgh road where the former CNR Fergus sub is parallel for a few kilometers. Here's one such time in 2022 where they'd park it here and the train will wait for a recrew. I highly value my sleep but night shots in winter are fine by me, since it gets dark so early.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Canadian National
Date:	2/3/2022
Location:	Guelph
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 19 Favourites

Just north of Alliston and south of the Baxter siding on the Mactier sub is this really nice spot with rolling farmlands. It almost looks like the scene is made for the CMQ paint scheme with the farms blue and greys matching the CEFX 1002 just perfectly. CEFX 1002 was on lease to the CMQ and when CP purchased the railway leases went with it. This lease was or is set to expire in June 2023 unless it gets extended. <a href=http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=25846 target=_blank>1002 was a CP leased unit prior to CMQ</a> and CMQ took lease in 2018.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Central Maine and …
Date:	2/26/2021
Location:	Alliston
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 9 Favourites

A motly crue (crew) of locomotives found at the CN Sarnia Roundhouse, the building leased to Lambton Diesel. We'll never see this group of locomotives together again as they're all out on assignments now. From left to right: In primer is GMD-1 JLCX 1201 (nee SRY 1201) which would be painted for CREWS for Johnstown Ontario and shipped off in a couple months - this locomotive was not owned by LDS merely serviced and painted by them. In green is SW900 LDSX 904 painted for Roslin Enterprises and now assigned to St. Marys Ontario. Former Esso/CN SW900 now LDSX 7920 is now in GIO Grey and assigned to Welland, seen here being prepared for paint. Former CN SW1200RM now LDSX 7316, pictured in LDS Black, was painted in that black scheme in October 2021. It only lasted in that paint scheme for 3-4 months. Within weeks they'd have it stripped to primer again and painted for a new customer, Nova Industries. In orange is SW1200 former Conrail, HBIX now LDSX 9359 (H. Brorer Equipment, a trackmobile dealer in Aylmer Ontario that owned one locomotive). The locomotive was sold to LDS after being stored at SOR/CN Hamilton then OSR briefly, and is pictured being prepared for NOVA paint. Both 9359 and 7316 are now assigned in shiny nova paint to Nova's new $2 billion Rokeby plant which is just beginning commissioning now. Rokeby is adjacent to the sprawling pre-existing Nova Corunna and shares a track and yard.

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Industrial
Date:	12/31/2021
Location:	Sarnia
Province:	Ontario

3 Comments | 15 Favourites

For the TH&B Railway Historical Society meeting (of which I am a member) held at the OSR shop in Salford on May 7 I surprised attendees by bringing something special. We brought lanterns from the collection of the GHRA donated to that group in the last two years. These lanterns are 1920's era Adlake steam lanterns, converted in 1947 to electric by TH&B shop forces in anticipation of the first Diesel Locomotives which #51 was one. Complete with proper plug-ins right at the front of the locomotive, these lanterns fit like a glove on #51. Special thanks to Drew Goff who sacrificed his vehicle to get these to us in time..

Name:	Stephen C. Host
Railway:	Toronto Hamilton a…
Date:	5/7/2023
Location:	Salford
Province:	Ontario

2 Comments | 16 Favourites

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