Railfan 2025
December 2025 – I thought it would be neat to create a post for my past calendars with some additional information compared to the calendar. Each year will have varying amounts of notes, but will all contain the original caption and description, date taken, and the location on a map.
2024 felt like a slim year for railfanning. A new job meant a lot less time off and as a result, I did not have enough quality photos photos I liked from the year to put into the calendar. So, I pulled a few from previous years that just didn’t fit in those calendars. I have noted those with a year at the end of the caption. The two background photos on this page are from 2023.
I know that many of you enjoy my calendar very much, I appreciate all of you! Thanks for the kind words each year and your continued support of my work.
Cover
Cover
A westbound tank train has stopped for a crew change at Whitefish, MT in the dying light of the day.
Date Taken: 19 October 2024
Page 1
Background
The Empress on a test trip from Calgary to Lethbridge passes by a salt flat just north of Nobleford, AB.
Date Taken: 3 August 2023
In the Summer of 2023, CPKC performed several tests of their steam engine, 2816, in preparation for the 2024 trip from Calgary down to Mexico City. Fortunately, there were several trips from Calgary to Lethbridge which allowed me to sneak away from work and grab some photos when it was closer to Lethbridge. CPKC did not publicly announce these tests and I often did not know until the day of the run, that it was actually occuring. This makes it difficult to book time off work in advance!
Inset 1
At West Essex, Norfolk Southern 1112 blows by the signals on its way to the coast.
Date Taken: 27 October 2024
Page 2
Background
Intermodal on CN Three Hills Sub.
Date Taken: 13 October 2023
Inset 1
A westbound manifest train passes by the abandoned passenger station in Bozeman, MT.
Date Taken: 26 April 2024
Inset 2
Amtrak at Meriweather, MT.
Date Taken: 26 May 2024
January
Goat Boat
An oil train coasts down the western slopes of Marias Pass, MT on a sunny afternoon lead by two GE C44-9Ws, BNSF 977 in the Heritage 1 scheme and BNSF 684 in Heritage 2 scheme.
Date Taken: 16 December 2023
February
Classics
Sporting the pre-merger paint schemes of the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern, BNSF 1627 (EMD SD40-2) and BNSF 1985 (EMD SD40-2) have managed to elude the paint shops by hiding out in Shelby, MT.
Date Taken: 19 November 2022
March
Coming off the Night Shift
In the early morning light, CP 8630 (GE AC4400CW) leads a westbound potash train that has just crossed over the Lethbridge Viaduct on its approach to the yard at Kipp, AB.
Date Taken: 25 October 2024
April
April Showers
BNSF 6073 (GE ES44AC) and BNSF 3849 (GE ET44C4) drag an eastbound grain train up the side of Bozeman Pass in Montana on a rainy Spring afternoon.
Date Taken: 26 April 2024
May
Fresh
CP 6018 (EMD SD40-2), CSX 512 (GE CW44AH) and CP 6239 (EMD SD60) climb out of Middle Coulee on approach to Warner, AB as they travel south to the border on train C18.
Date Taken: 29 April 2023
June
Stuck
CN 2780 (GE ES44AC) sits in a siding at Ashcroft, BC on a summer afternoon, waiting for the line through the Fraser Canyon to reopen. Forest fires have created closures for the next couple of days.
Date Taken: 18 August 2023
July
Summer
Canola fields and southern Alberta go hand in hand. An eastbound train breaks up the landscape at Cowley, AB. CP 8907 (GE ES44AC) leads with CP 8604 (GE AC4400CW) and CP 9725 (GE AC440CW).
Date Taken: 14 July 2024
August
Overflow
C13 travels along an irrigation canal on the CPKC Montana Sub. CP 8030 (GE AC4400CWM) and KCSM 4711 (GE ES44AC) lead this southbound potash train to a temporary storage location near Wilson, AB.
Date Taken: 5 October 2024
September
Orange Shirt Unit
CP 8757 (GE ES44AC), the Every Child Matters tribute locomotive, leads an empty grain train eastward over the Lethbridge Viaduct on a sunny afternoon.
Date Taken: 31 December 2023
October
What’s Old is New
Just north of Wasa, BC, these EMD SD40-2s have been around since the early 1980s. Once a common, mundane workhorse locomotive for CP, their appearances on a train now make a railfan’s day.
Date Taken: 27 October 2024
November
West Wind
On a fall morning, an empty potash train has come out of the foothills onto the plains. With CP 8758 (GE ES44AC), CP 8007 (GE AC4400CWM), and CP 8701 (GE ES44AC) pulling, train 618 creates its own wind.
Date Taken: 11 November 2024
December
Glow
On a cold, gray day, CP 8566 (GE AC4400CW) and KCSM 4660 (GE ES44AC) are like warm spots of colour as they haul a potash train westward at MP 77 on the CPKC Crowsnest Sub.
Date Taken: 4 February 2024