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Caption: Beautiful windy fall day out there as local CP 5017 (GP35) heads into Woodstock eastward with a short train. The train is crossing Hwy 2, which certainly doesn't look like a provincial highway, seeing such minimal protection at the crossing ........and this location is somewhat obscured when approaching from the west due to a dip in the roadway. I am standing on a farm laneway overpass, an old wooden structure that serves about 3 farmhouses. This particular bridge was replaced by a modern steel one a few years ago. I very rarely shoot here as it IS private property. Pleasant local citizens, thankfully.
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Classic pinstripes
It was still a King’s Highway in 1979. That certainly wasn’t much protection considering that it is a main line piece of track. Nice shot; I’m sure there are more trees in the sightline at that spot today too.
I see now, from the story you shared back when we went railfanning in this area at the end of June, how much this area really has changed. So too have the trains…still a busy line, although you won’t ever see a caboose anymore!
Re this crossing, I believe this was a county road in 1979, made into highway 2 later.Original highway 2 ran Woodstock to Ingersoll and into Thamesford. That section of road was concrete from nearby cement plant & it was called Governor’s road in 1979.
Regarding the crossing protection: there are many crossings on main lines in Canada with only flashing lights, including some where track speed is as high as 95mph. Gates are now required on all crossings with more than one track, and all crossings where track speed is 30mph or greater. Grandfathering rules apply to existing crossings and old style constant warning circuits. New crossings must have motion detectors that determine train speed and adjust warning time appropriately to avoid nuisance operation of warning. This particular crossing now has gates as well as large advance warning signs on the roadway, which have flashing yellow lights on them.
This train was displaying green signals for a second section. It may have been running on the schedule of 50,52,904, or 54 at this time of day. I suspect the small train was either run “regardless” in an effort to get a crew and/or van to Toronto, or it may have been seetting off the few Woodstocks on the head end and then proceeding to Galt to lift dimensional loads from Babcock & Wilcox using a few boxcars ahead of van for brakes and buffers. It was unusaual at this date to see single unit consists on mainline trains.
I just saw this one now for the first time. Awesome shot Arnold! And I was born only 14 days before you took it.
Now aren’t you sorry you didn’t make it out trackside?
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PS: thanks!!
This road was not a provincial highway until 1978.Hwy 2 ran through Beachville & Ingersoll and connected at Thamesford. This was Governor’s Road & was paved with LaFarge concrete originally in the 1950s. It was a tricky drive in the winter sometimes as it didn’t get the salt that the highway did. Hwy 2 was rerouted onto it in 1978.In the Mike Harris era, it was off loaded to lower level of gov’t in 1998.