I follow trains, not sure if you knew that…
Every year, through November and into December, CPKC (formerly Canadian Pacific) runs the Holiday Train, a short set of cars decorated with lights that get a little more elaborate every year, with a stage for holding short 30 minute concerts at certain stops along the way.
It’s part advertising (hey, we’re a railway) and part fundraiser (money and supplies for local food banks). In the past they’ve had some interesting performers, though in recent years the names are getting less and less known (to me) so I’m eschewing the concerts in favour of the chase.
Yesterday, the concert was in Calgary, which has been held at the Anderson Station in south Calgary for the last decade. As it’s a single line from the Alyth yard until De Winton (CP’s Aldersyde sub doesn’t get a tonne of traffic, so it’s only one track through the city), I suspected the train would sit in Alyth until it was time to send it south.
That said, I had no idea where the train was in Calgary, nor could I find out anything on any of the chats I was apart of.
I took up a position on Highfield Road, overlooking the 26 Ave SW roundabout, which is bisected by the CP Aldersyde line.
Being early, it gave me time to sort out my exposure. I didn’t know how quickly the train would be moving (I suspected “not fast”), so I knew I needed a higher shutter speed (1/250 or better), a decent f-stop (my lens is great, but anything under f6.7 has terrible focus at the edges). Fortunately, there’s enough traffic through the intersection that I got enough test shots to make myself happy.
I was rewarded for my patience as the train slowly worked its way down, passing just far enough away from me that getting the whole train in a single shot was possible.
Chasing it from there, however, was out of the question. It was possible to get to certain locations, but I just didn’t feel like trying in the city.
Outside of the city, however…
Today, I got to Seebe well in advance of the train. Its stop at Morley, a few clicks away, would bring it along overtop the bridge over the Kananakis River. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stop there or not, because I really wanted a shot further to the west, and getting out of Seebe in time to get to Gap seemed … difficult, if there were too many people.
There were already 20 people waiting, and Neil Zeller’s annual busload of Holiday Train chasers were just getting set up. I hunted a few spots, checking angles, before taking a hint and setting up behind Neil’s group.
(One advantage of being near Neil – he has the radio to CP, so he knows when the train is coming. He’s also good at reminding you what settings you should have.)
Although the wait was longer than expected, my cameras were ready when the light of the train could be seen. I had brought both my Sony A7 III (for the photos) and my Canon 70D for video. I like my pictures, but video of the scene is also good.
Whether Neil had ordered it or not, the train slowed down quite a lot, taking its time over the bridge. I could hear shutters all around me going wild. Even before the final far was on the bridge, the train started accelerating towards Canmore … and I accelerated towards my car.
Down 1X, turn onto 1A, willing the show-as-eff shmuck in front of me to to move. I needed to be ahead of the train, and this idiot was content to watch it from the road.
Through Exshaw, around the bend, I passed and floored it with one other guy who was also keen to get set up. He ducked into the Gap Lake parking lot, which I had considered myself, until I saw how many cars were there. Instead, I went to my primary shot, at the top of the hill, overlooking the strip of trackbed that lent the name “Gap” to the area. Two other chasers were already there.
With the Exshaw plant in the background, the train rounded the corner and came along at speed. I was glad I didn’t try to stay down at the lake level. In the lights I could see people standing on the ice – presumably skates – to get a closer look. I long-exposured the shot, getting a multicoloured streak as it rolled past.
Cars were already blitzing past me as I headed back. Sadly, I think the same idiot who held me up heading into Exshaw was leading the pack, making it nigh impossible for the rest of us to get ahead. Fortunately, I wasn’t heading for downtown Canmore, I was heading to the north end of town.
Despite an accidental missing of the turn onto the Trans Canada – thus leading me through town – I ended up in the Legacy Trail parking lot as planned, though nearly half the lot was taken up by some construction crew. I hucked my equipment across the road, into the trees, set up near the tracks, and waited.
The concert was half an hour. The next show, in Banff, wasn’t for 45 minutes, but it gave time for holdups on the line and the like. Fortunately, it wasn’t too cold.
The location was okay. Not fantastic, but I had the benefit of being alone. The train, of course, was not going to be passing slowly, so my settings had to accommodate the change in speed, resulting in less than ideal shots.
I jogged back to the car, a not-so-easy task carrying two cameras still attached to their tripods. I was quickly in the car and out of the parking lot, onto the Trans Canada, barrelling towards Banff. I’d lost more time than I’d expected, which in hindsight, wasn’t the best place to take a picture, anyway.
I had a hard time catching up, the train was at track speed heading for its final show of the night, and since there were hardly any places to gather a crowd to watch, had no reason to slow down. I shot onto Banff Ave from the highway, turning at Compound Road (the eastern access to the industrial park in Banff; yes, there is one) and arrived to find a crowd of train chasers already set up (Neil and his crew were elsewhere, which I would later learn to be a far better location).
I’d set up in this location once before, back in 2010, chasing CP 2816 into Banff with Monkey. I arrived in mere moments before the train arrived, hauling my camera out and plunking it in the snow just as the crossings started sounding.
The train trundled past, rounding the final bend towards the Banff Station. But for me, I was done. I packed up, noting that the chasers hadn’t left (they were waiting for a soon-to-arrive freight), headed up Compound, back onto the Trans Canada, and headed home.
One bright side of this excursion was a resparking of some of the skills I used to have that I’ve let wane from non-use. One thing I will have to do in the new year – more photography, especially at night.
