We had a great trip to Canada in 2006. We stopped at a nice spot near the Royal Botanical Gardens near Brampton, Ontario. This was a great location in which Canadian National traffic heads for international trackage. The album is here. The Ex-New york Central Station is also located in Hamilton. Hamilton is a large city with a large population which is between Toronto and Fort Erie on the Queen’s Expressway. Route 403 also was one of the first roads in North America to feature an Electronic Toll Collection system which did not require the use of a transponder. We also stopped at the Freedom Bridge which carries the Canadian National into Buffalo from Fort Erie. With the aid of some locals we were able to discover all of the best locations to capture pictures of the traffic moving through the junctions. One spot is practically adjacent to the Queen’s expressway. If you see cars parked by the road while railfanning, make sure to check them out. They could be on a pathway through the brush to a scenic overlook of the tracks.

During our adventure in Brampton, ON we saw some run through IC power. We saw IC 6017 on a train from the States. It was fantastic to see IC power in a different spot for once. We also saw IC 6129 which had been repainted with the Canadien National Railways Paint Scheme.

We were also able to take in some stations along the shared VIA/Amtrak route as we headed towards Buffalo. We also captured some rare pictures of several short line operations in the vicinity of Brampton. It is a great area with some fantastic scenery. We stopped at nice museum in Fort Erie, Ontario as well. The people in the area were all extremely friendly and very helpful. The artifacts kept in the Fort Erie museum were in great condition and had received much attention from the museum volunteers.

These pictures were taken in one day. We had a mixture of overcast skies and bountiful sun. It can be a challenge at times. The overcast skies also allowed shots in certain directions which would have been difficult if the sun was in the wrong place or we in place at the wrong time. There are four principal shooting locations in the area. We took the Queen’s Expressway until we switched to Route 2 for the approach towards Hamilton, Ontario. The Junction is called Bayview Junction. Route 2 passes over two of tracks. The northeasterly trackage from Hamilton heads north on the side east of Route 2. The Queens Expressway passes over two of the tracks as they funnel towards the east on the side west of the Route 2. There is an unpaved parking area on the western side of Route 2.

(1) You can walk into the bush for some shots coming from the west.

(2) You can also shoot along Valley Inn Road, which makes a perpendicular connection to Route 2 on the other side; Route 2 is a four lane divided highway.

(3) Further backwards is a bridge where Route2 crosses the combined tracks heading north.

(4) You can also park in the parking lot on Spring Garden Road, which is off Route 2. There is a walkway to a foot bridge, which crosses the tracks. This bridge takes visitors to the Royal Gardens.

There is also a yard north of the Aldershot Go Station. You should be able to easily find the yard. There is an overpass, which traverses the yard.

I shall also enclose a picture of Amtrak operations. This photograph was taken south of Hamilton, Ontario at a station for joint services.

N1EY