Caption: The Human Side Of The Railroad
When most of us think of the human aspect of the railroad when we are railfanning, we think of the men and women in the cab of the locomotive as a hotshot freight or passenger train blasts by us and through our camera lens. The railroad is ran by so many people who are often not photographed or interacted with, from RTC's, MOW workers, Yard Masters and so many more. A side of the railroad that we don't often interact with is the Railway Police, they're not as big as a local municipality force, they tend to have less officers who cover greater territories and we often don't come across them. Last Friday while photographing Via 72, two Via Rail Canada Police officers got off the train at Brantford. They both greeted me and went to visit with the local Via agent at the station. They would spend a few hours in Brantford connecting with the local CN Police Officer before getting back on board train 73 to London. They were kind enough to allow me to capture to posted image of them observing the arrival of Via 916 before getting on their train. Via Rail Police was formed in 2014 and their officers are mandated to protect the people, trains and track of the Via Rail Network.