Only a third of the way in and I already know that this video is better than 95% of the rail videos on KZfaq. You know the importance of locking down the camera and having your subject move through the frame. Pan & zoom have their place, but it’s a very small place...if one wants to produce a professional looking product. Also, this is an interesting story told in a clear way. Bravo!

There are several stretches of "foreign" track on both sides of the border. CP has a line that cuts across Maine to reach New Brunswick which has been there for a long time. It caused an interesting situation in the early part of World War 2. Back then, the U.S. was still neutral and Canada could not ship war supplies or troops along that line, so it all had to go along CN, which was entirely in Canada. Of course, that changed after the U.S. entered the war. Also, there is a bit of cross border railroading in southern Ontario, between Niagara Falls and Windsor or Sarnia Ontario. U.S. lines crossed into Canada and then back into the U.S. Also, both CN & CP own some U.S. lines, with CP recently reaching Mexico after merging with Kansas City Southern.

I noticed something on the hoppers I am very familiar with. Every single one has K Class Brenco 6 1/2X9 100 ton tapered roller bearings installed on the wheel sets. I worked for the company that manufactured them, and the company that re-conditions them. Canadian National Railway was one of our biggest clients. Their AAR reporting mark is CNPU. Their car shop where we shipped the completed bearings is in Winnipeg Manitoba at the Winnipeg Yards.

You can see CP running in northern Maine! They bought back the line from the MMA a couple years ago and now run from Sherbrooke, Quebec through Maine back into Saint John, New Brunswick

Very interesting video! Good job

So these are Canadian CN trains, as opposed to the American CN trains that run down the former Illinois Central.

Super cool, we'll explained thx!

At the mile 14.5 detector there’s a lady that lives right next to the track. You’ll see her waving to every train that goes by.

I guess I'll be able to Ralph and Canadian Pacific and merged form with Kansas City Southern going all the way down to Mexico you should do a documentary on that big shebang I hope their paint Scheme is going to be as cool as Kansas City Southern one was if they make a lame paint Scheme that's really going to suck for all of us railfan interesting video good job

Good vid, thx!! 👍

Also, this video was extremely well put together and informed me of a stretch of traco I had no idea about! Cheers

I would love it if you covered the BNSF Manitoba Railway, a small Canadian subsidiary of the BNSF Railway. The BNSF Manitoba is wholly contained within the city of Winnipeg. It started as the Midland Railway of Manitoba, which became the Manitoba Great Northern Railway, which became Burlington Northern Manitoba, which became BNSF Manitoba. They use a BNSF GP locomotive, which CN brings up via the Letellier Subdivision.

It’s minor, but it’s pronounced “Simington”. Like the name Simon. Great video. (Winnipeg CN guy here)

This video needs more views.

no wheel flat spots... nice

if there is a Derailment on this line?Which Government is responsible for the clean up.The Canadians or the Americans

Welcome to Minnesota! It’s where I live!

Did you notice the rare safetran type 1 bell at 13:26?

Man those are the cleanest box cars I’ve ever seen! I work just behind the main line in Alberta and every time I see a train passing by EVERY car is just marked up with graffiti

I work at Symington as a Carman.....On an average shift will inspect over 1500 cars about every 8 hour shift, that's split among 7 yard teams.

I guess if the train derails on the U.S. side, overturns, spilling absolutely everything from 100 railcars, where scavengers start picking up what they can for themselves, there will be a pile of customs paperwork. :/

FYI CN employs American citizens for track maintenance along this stretch of track. Also both CN and CP now own several American rail lines and CN trains often travel great distances into the US. CP handles freight similarly on the opposite side of the Mississippi. Fun fact Bill Gates owns up to a little over 13% of CN. I've travelled the road route paralleling this particular section of track dozens of times over the years travelling to Winnipeg. Now with Covid we have to travel through Kenora at the top of Lake of the Woods to get to Winnipeg adding an extra hour to the trip because the border is closed. My home in Fort Frances is two blocks from this line and a 1/4 mile from the Rainier border crossing. Saying this route is busy is an understatement. We have 100 to 200 car trains 2 miles or more long running through Duluth junction up to 24 or more times a day and the sound of horns for the nearby level crossing give the impression of being nearly constant. However some thoughtful crews at night just chirp the horn once at this crossing since it isn't a major crossing in town. There are two level crossings and a major overpass all within a 1000 yards before crossing into Rainier. I enjoyed your video and reposted it to a rail fan I know.

I remember seeing a CP or CN locomotive running on the UP tracks along the Columbia River. It was a pretty cool sight to see.

So Canadian crews on the trains, wonder who does the maintanence work on the U.S. stretch

i noticed at 1:44 that there is a city called "emo"

How much of a headache is it if you have to stop( hot axle, etc)

looooove this part of MN/ON/MB. I spend a few weeks every summer in the southern part of Manitoba along the CN mainline, such a lovely place. So active. Literally trains every 15 - 20 min. The bridge at Fort Francis ON that goes to International Falls MN is also a really good spot to watch trains, lots of action. And there is CP rail in Minneapolis but I guess it's not operated by Canadians as the point of this video is.

So the tracks are owned by CN. How would trespassers be dealt with? Are they subject to CN rail police? Do they even have rail police? Or do they radio US enforcement? If there is any?

CN owns a fair bit of track in MN and WI having bought some of the smaller short lines in the US. Hell there is even a VRF cam in WI where the track crews recently replaced a switch and it was all CN personnel. Same for some track rights for CP across spaces of MT, ID and WA, and quite often you will see CP power be used by BNSF (borrowed power). At times entire trains being pulled by pure CP locomotives (with BNSF crews) and mixed BNSF/CP. Recently some new contracts were done and Canada is buying a LOT of grain from the US, as such a lot more grain tonnage is headed north to Vancouver B.C. well, more then usual. So a lot of mega grain trains have been running through from Vancouver WA, to Vancouver B.C. and the train names are fun to see the letters on those.

If I'm not mistaken , that used to be called the DW&P (Duluth Winnipeg & Pacific) line. It was as a subsidiary of the CNR back in the 60s-70s. I have some pics of the engines that I took back in the 70s. I assume that the CNR absorbed that line a few decades ago.

Another similar but far less busy situation occurs in Quebec/Vermont with the CP Newport Subdivision.

Does the train cross in Windsor Ontario

Shouldn't the title be "America's Canadian rail line?"

This video reminds me of 50 years ago when CN ran from Moncton NB to Montreal straight across Maine. Does that section still exist? Anyway, long ago when we were at university in the US NW but from northern New England, we would catch CN in Brownsville Jct. Maine and ride for 3 1/2 days all the way to Vancouver! That was the cheapest and most fun way to cross North America to get back to campus!

Who does MOW for this stretch?

I wonder if Hobo Shoestring has ridden this route? The video mentions a slow run past for customs viewing. The grain cars shown in this video don't have good hiding places for hobos like some do. I wonder if that is done on purpose or is required? I know that he has been deported several times from Canada because of illegal entry. Perhaps there would be a good opportunity to hop on in the US in one of those sidings that was mentioned if the train actually comes to a stop for a short time. If an inspection is done in Fort Frances, perhaps it is not inspected again upon re-entering Canada further to the west. Just wondering.

There is also some track that runs in and out of Vermont and Quebec near N. Troy VT and Highwater QC. Not sure how far south it runs. May be White River Juncion VT at least?

Does the FRA have jurisdiction or is the line extraterritorial?

As a person who grew up and lives in the area and travels frequently across the border, I grew up a railfan. When I was younger, when trains crossed the border from Canada to the U.S. all trains would have to stop at the U.S. customs office. Then across the border is retired CN 4008 a 2-10-2 T-1-A Santa Fe style locomotive, which isn't talked about in the video. This locomotive has city ties, as this locomotive was the main freight train from Rainy River to Winnipeg. Of course this was back when Rainy River was a main CN hub with a roundhouse and employee hotel. How I know this, is a family member was the main engineer on the locomotive back in its heyday. Plus I've been inside of the cab of 4008, which was an awesome experience.

How many trains does this line see?

Inspection platform at 15:30?

Thanks for this info. I found a cool spot close to T Bay due to it. Also you never know CP and CN have been known to share power, seen it the other day on the Toronto to Detroit line here

what is mac yard..?

Really well done.

There was passenger service on this line until 1977, a three trip a week Budd RDC between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, including the 45 mile segment across Minnesota.

I think CN even had a passenger stop somewhere in Minnesota along this line, but it ended around the time VIA Rail started

could you do a video about CASO

In the early 20th century, Great Northern's (long abandoned) VV&E used to cross back and forth across the Canada US border between BC and Washington State. There is still a remnant (now owned I believe by OmniTRAX) that briefly crosses from Washington into Grand Forks, BC

never realized the simington yard fed a line going to through the states. that yards sorta neat to watch from the bridge as u go down the transcanada highway or localy known as Fermore ave or lag(french accent) aka 59

It's good that the two nations can cooperate. With a bit more planning, many trains would not have to stop at the borders. Trains traveling "in bond" is how the Inland Port in Virginia functions. Trains are loaded at a deep water pier and move to the Inland port with minimal inspections. The detailed "customs" work is done almost in the "middle of nowhere."

How nice, the defect detector gives the temperature in Centigrade.

I see Canadian Pacific locomotives in southwest Missouri all the time.

You can railfan Canadian Pacific in the US! The Soo Line was a subsidiary of CP and was absorbed in the 2000s. There are two border crossings, Portal, North Dakota (traffic from Vancouver, Calgary and Regina), and Noyes, Minnesota (traffic from Winnipeg). From there CP runs through Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee to Chicago's Bensenville Yard (Former Milwaukee Road/Soo Line). Unlike CN, CP has no tracks between Chicago and Windsor, Ontario, where it owns the Detroit River Tunnel, so must rely on trackage rights to get to Toronto.

Hey do you want some Canadian picture of a train of the state

Lots of CN trains here near port huron. The tracks in my area are a mix of CN and CSX, but the main line through port Huron tunnel is owned by CN.

Can u do a video on the line that goes through Albion Pennsylvania

Awesome educational video

Wonderful video!

Awesome video! It's neat to see someone cover the interesting Sprague line. As a Winnipeg foamer, I wanted to say that the yard here is pronounced "sigh-ming-ton", and the Sprague actually becomes the "St. Boniface Lead" and ends at Terminals Cutoff Jct close to the Downtown/Union Station area. But with those minor nitpicks aside, this is a really well done video!

This is fascinating. Are the railroad crossing gates & signals American or Canadian as it crosses Minnesota?

Thank You, I don’t see many videos on that segment of CN in northern Minnesota

Very neat! I've been up there to that crossing in Baudette! It is indeed very busy!

What happens, when they have to do track/ signal/ snow maintenance? Does an American crew look after that? Great video Stay safe, stay sane, be well

CSX used own a line in Southern Ontario from Sarnia to Leamington.

As someone from the region - pronunciations are spot on! Great job! I was in Rainy River just a few months ago - and saw a train blow past into Baudette - which, during the current lockdown, made for a double take! Also - would you be the person to ask about why CN owns rail lines all the way down to Baton Rouge and New Orleans??

Isn't that the old Grand Trunk rail line they use in the states?

No presentation of the Sprague-Fort Frances sub is compete without mentioning FWA

You should do the CP line that starts at Brigham, Quebec (east of Farnham) enters the US at Richford, Vermont, makes a U-shaped detour, enters Canada again, and re-enters the US near Highwater, Quebec, which eventually connects to another railway at Newport, Vermont.

I think you might be wrong about how exactly customs operates... My understanding is that all trains running INTO the USA from Canada are heavily scrutinized by US Customs and their VACIS machines. Whereas Canadian customs are far more lax. Once in a blue moon CBSA (Canada) may ask the CBP (USA) to scan a train on their behalf, but this is a very rare occurrence. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Aren’t there a couple Canadian rail lines going through Maine? I know the CN used to.

I love this video.

Garant vs Norfolk Southern Railroad. After being hired in 2011 and telling the physical doctor that I may have M.S. and after being approved for FMLA in 2015 for possible M.S., then fired in 2016 for possible M.S. and with such a rush, attempted to cancel medical insurance for my family and I a month before they were allowed legally, in hopes I die without medical aid as a result of their actions. How is M.S. diagnosed, with what certainty, if there is no test everybody might have M.S.?

You have so many trains there, you are so lucky! Here in Greece we have 2-3 paris of freight trains per day only in main axis of the country... Even the passenger trains are not much, so we need to wait hours upon hours to film only maybe 10 trains? Being a rail fan in the wrong country feels so bad... maybe one day i have the money to travel over there and visit this spot to satisfy my hunger for really long freight trains!!

Clean train.

Doesn't CP still run its trains on the former Milwaukee Road and Soo Line between Regina, Twin Cities, Milwaukee and Chicago? I thought there is a lot of CP action in the upper Midwest.

You forgot about the Ontario Northland Railway as well in the province of Ontario where I live.

we gotta tell Jaw Tooth! best "but wait, there's more" vid for him!

You make this sound odd, but Germany and Switzerland have a few similar lines, some with agreements predating the creation of Germany (they were made between Switzerland and the Kingdom of Baden).

Now that the CP has taken back at least some parts of their line across Maine, perhaps we'll see Canadian-style operations west of Mattawamkeag also.

37:53 Tetris fail. 😆

Until two years ago, CP ran into Taylor, Pennsylvania (south of Scranton, PA), and NS had trackage rights. Now it is NS owned, with CP trackage rights. Ex-DL&W/EL mainline.

... of course this doesn't take into account the extensive track owned and used throughout much of the US by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. The former Grand Trunk and Illinois Central lines owned by CN and the SOO Line owned by Canadian Pacific... each of which now carry their CN or CP branding respectively.

Lovely! I know where I’m going next!

I live about a mile from this track!

Very interesting

Cool sounding slow down just after 17.00

So what about the long-term cost of having two countries’ tariffs placed on goods? And what about the political implications of having the US contain part of Canada’s railway network? If things got unfriendly between the two countries, the US could easily shut the entire thing down. (Not like anything unfriendly would happen between them...)

It's the Swayze Express

Remember there is CP track between Montreal and St. John New Brunswick that runs through New Hampshire and Maine

Did the old TH&B work the same?

My dad grew up in Sprague,MB in a CPR family. I don't see too much CP track....

this is not the only deal like this ! N.B southern railroad runs around new brunswick canada and passes through MCADAM NB where a american train crew takes over and runs the same train to browsville maine where it connects up with canadian pacific rail road to continue west to where ever! this is how CP rail gets containers out of the port of st john newbrunswick! by the way NB southern and maine central railroad are all part of the IRVING family groupe of companys which includes, paper mills, trucking, oil refining, huge wood lots, gas stations on both sides of the boarder and kents building supplys,and hardwear, they also manufature gyprock wall board in stjohn nb, oh yea, frozen food in prince edward island too

Great story my friend.

I live in Victoria and have no train to watch :(

I think the yard for CP in Concord, ON is bigger than the one in Winnipeg

So does this stretch of track require PTC?

Anyone know what the story is with Canadian grain trains showing up in portland headed by two UP units with a CP unit between them? Also I see CN trains in portland all the time, is that just leased power?

Would be cool if VIA used this line.

Very interesting shoot TMT.

Is no one going to talk about the RARE canadian safetran type 1 E-Bell @ 13:30 ????