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Caption: In wake of the new drone laws put in place by Transportation Minister Marc Garneau, I thought I might throw in one of those shots I knew I couldn't get away with for much longer. Sure enough, within less than a year, the drone laws became highly specific to the point that this photo would be a huge no no had I taken it with in the last two weeks. And thus, any future drone shots I may post will not be taken near cities or buildings of any kind.
It was just a couple days earlier I was made aware that the Algoma Central unit that had made its way into southern Ontario had experienced problems upon returning west, and was dropped off at Mac Yard. My quest was to find it since I had no photo of it, and sure enough, here it was sitting by the engine shops in Mac Yard still hooked to the widecab Geep that had led it back from Montreal.
Off to the far upper right is CN's deadline, which has since thinned out. Besides the four slugs visible within the yard here, I was nonetheless surprised and relatively disappointed by the pool of CN power around the yard. My younger days would recall trips near MacMillan Yard always being a treat, as the most elusive power could be found here. Whether it be a CN SW1200RS, a deadlined M630, or a high hood Grand Trunk GP9. Most of what can be seen in this shot I'm quite familiar with seeing however. Nonetheless, it was still well worth it because of the Algoma Central unit. As railroads thin their power variety out, at least the loss of drone opportunities above yards will also gradually become less significant.
My opinions on my disappointment of the current federal government will be kept to a minimum, but I'd like to highlight that safe drone flying can be done within relatively close quarters of people and buildings. Just like driving a car, it has to, and can be done responsibly and with care. Perhaps drone licenses could solve this issue, and loosen some of these overextensive laws? Since government sees drones only with eyes of irrational fear however, the drone community would probably be lucky if the laws did not become even more strict.
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Nice shot Daniel of one big train yard ! looks like some SD60F’s in the deadline ? I thought some were coming outta storage but heard that CN will be retiring them in the future. would be sad to see those units go.
Glad they did not catch you with your drone..assuming you were operating the drone on CN property.
As with any visit to yards or railfan sites it all comes down to timing. The Algoma Central F40′s were stored at Mac all this past winter. They are now getting serviced and I assume will head home at some point. The QNS&L 214 is still there, plus we have had NS and BNSF power at Mac recently as well as the former CP units that were going to scrap in Pickering. Timing is everything.:-)
What’s the deal with the huge pile of dirt in the middle of the balloon track top centre?
Thanks Mike! Yes, the SD60F’s were there at the time. From the sound of things, they’re getting retired. Most of the crews despise them, and apparently they don’t run very well.
Haha! Phil, I haven’t lost all my marbles yet thankfully. I was operating from the northern tip of the pond by Creditstone Road. Indeed, timing is everything. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to try that again unless I go guerrilla with the drone and post the photo like 5 years later. It certainly isn’t worth it though.
Jeremy, I wish I knew the answer to that question. I would never try and guess though.
I wouldn’t have thought the yard is considered a built up area, and you’re far enough from YYZ. You’re not Ok there is you stay below say 300 feet?
@Jeremy..the big pile of dirt was from a construction project right next to Mac Yrd on CN owned lands at the tine. They were dump trucks day and night building that mess.I guess the area in the balloon track was as good a place as any to dump contaminated soil.
That’s one big anthill. Next thing you know, the ants will be talking to the crews and shop personnel. Walking and talking ants. Lol.
Dumping contaminated soil there must’ve sounded real smart at the time. Not so smart nowadays. Don’t they have to truck that offsite?
@driver8666. Well actually the whole yard would be considered as having contaminated soil, so whats one big hill of it
@ngineered4U:
Ooops. Forgot about that one. Brain must’ve not been working at the time. Forgot all sorts of stuff spills from the “freight”. That includes locomotives.
I’m still waiting for those talking ants though.
Apparently, these SD60Fs are still there. In preparation for the May 2017 sell off, CN has moved them all to Illinois where the auction took place. As far as I heard none of them will ever pull a train again since they were all sold off to scrap companies. Yesterday, I saw five of these SD60Fs standing on the same storage track that they stand on in this photo. I also know that there is another pair tucked away somewhere in the diesel shops which makes a total of seven SD60Fs. The reason why these engines are back is because a certain number of them were sold to K&K Recycling in Pickering Ontario where these engines with be scrapped one or two at a time. In the mean time the other engines in line are being stored at the Mac Yard for K&K does not have the available track space.