Caption: It doesn't look like much, but the grade at Beare takes a toll on all westbound traffic. I first learned of this location nine years ago, but I had never been able to visit it. Beare is a great spot as the CP Belleville Sub crosses over the CN York Sub in a rural setting with excellent sight lines. Unfortunately, the heavy road traffic on Plug Hat Road does not make this a pleasant location to stand for long periods of time. I survived long enough to see two trains: one CN and one CP. In this image, CN 149 is crawling up the grade with a 572-axle train. About a mile up the line, the conductor was pleading with the RTC to line all the tracks in anticipation of the 14,000 ton train. As far as the crew were concerned, once 149 stopped, it wasn't going to start again.
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You can always stand on the embankments on either side to avoid the bridge… Not sure how high the weeds are now a days though, I last went 2 summers ago and they were up to my knees.
Hmmm, 14,000 tons on that grade may be too much for those 2 GE AC’s. There would be no place that the dispatcher to stop 149 unless it was at McCowans and yes if he had to lift that train from there it could be a problem. Thanks for the shot from trackside as its nice to see a different perspective than from the locomotive!