Caption: Foreign power leaders on the CP North Toronto Sub have been a relatively common thing for the last while now, however, probably 95% of that are UP leaders. BNSF leaders are rare, however, when they are seen, often 244 will fit the bill because it is typically non-stop from Wolverton so hospitality issues like hot plates or whatever CP requires that BNSF units don't have is not really a big deal for a 90 minute trip.

I found out about this train while waiting to get a picture of a GO train weaving down the Bala Sub at Pottery Road. A friend of mine gave me the heads that a BNSF leader was approaching Howland interlocking on the CP North Toronto Sub. Luckily for me that was a short distance up the road from where I was, however, the location I remembered as possible to choose from was more of a last resort. Within maybe three minutes of jumping out of the car it whipped around the bend. Lucky... Not knowing the potential of this vantage point, I was unaware that the CN Tower was largely unobstructed from view of this spot.

Alone, BNSF 6685 leads the short 15 car CP 244 through the west end of Leaside at track speed on the the way to CP's Toronto Yard in Agincourt. It took a while, but after seeing this a number of times, I finally have a photo of something other than a UP unit as foreign power leading a train in Canada. As for the GO train? Haha. Well, I was able to see it through the trees in the Don Valley on the way on the way back to my car. The anticipated L6 F59PH leader consist did not come, so in the end I guess it was a win win. Out of view beyond the road leading up to the line is the the former CP Don Branch, which if looking from this ridge would be seen clearly had the camera been pointing maybe 70 degrees to the left. There's a lot of rail infrastructure visible from this spot in the cooler months, but unfortunately both the Don Branch and Bala Subs are still heavily obstructed by trees. It's far from an ideal railfanning location sadly.