Morning Rush hour Railfanning Final Episode 2021 - Express GO Train & VIA Railfanning! Sept 8, 2021

Welcome to the final episode of the morning rush hour railfanning series in 2021 on the Lakeshore West line! And of course, I had to save the best one for last.

In early September, the Lakeshore West line further increased its service, bringing back express trains for the first time since March 2020. There are now 5 express trains in the morning, all of them running express from Clarkson to Union every half hour from 6:30 to 8:30. Four of them originated from Hamilton GO Centre, and the last came all the way from Niagara. On top of the increased GO Service, VIA Rail also increased its service on the Toronto-Windsor corridor, with two trains passing through the Lakeshore West line during the morning rush hour.

With all of these trains, plus equipment moves, I was able to catch 24 trains from 6:10 AM to 8:30 AM! I filmed at 6 different locations! It was still dark before 7, so I started with the first few trains at Clarkson GO. I then drove all the way to Port Credit GO, barely making the first westbound train of the day. Also caught a VIA, an express train, and an epic equipment move with a doubleheader and old cab car!

After Port Credit, I made the short walk over to Stavebank Road level crossing just west of the station.

The next level crossing I visited was Revus Avenue, a short drive east of Port Credit GO. This was my first time filming at this crossing, saw the famous pair of 601-255, and an express train.

The final pair of level crossings I visited was Ogden Avenue and Alexandra Avenue, which are 100m apart and a little west of Long Branch GO. The bells at this crossing had a lower pitch than the other crossings in this video. At these crossings, I filmed 6 trains, including a 10 car express train, and VIA 82 for the first time.

This session was quite challenging to film, transsee was down, and a few of the express trains were delayed due to heavy overnight rain. I was not able to film the final express train, since it was coming after 9 and I could not stay that long.

I hope you have enjoyed the Rush Hour railfanning series - subscribe so you don't miss the final PM episode in the coming weeks!

0:00 MP40 658 Equipment move Clarkson GO
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Willowbrook yard to Oakville GO. 6:09 AM

0:34 MP40 606 Clarkson GO
Pulling 10 cars eastbound from Oakville to Union. Stopped at Clarkson at 6:10 AM

1:28 Train Meet! MP40 629 Equipment Move & MP40 612 Clarkson GO
629 was pushing 8 cars westbound from Willowbrook to Aldershot. 612 was pulling 8 cars eastbound from Aldershot to Union. 6:25 AM

3:02 Train Meet Angle 2

3:38 MP40 661 Port Credit GO
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Union to Aldershot. Departed Port Credit GO at 6:42 AM

4:34 Double! Old cab car! MP54 672 & MP40 617 with 253 Equipment Move
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Willowbrook Yard to Oakville. 6:43 AM

5:00 MP40 658 at Port Credit GO
Pulling 8 cars eastbound from Oakville to Union. Arriving at Port Credit GO at 6:46 AM

6:04 VIA 71 - F40PH 6434 at Port Credit GO
Pulling 4 cars westbound from Toronto to Windsor. 6:56 AM

6:28 VIA 71 Angle 2

6:45 MP40 642 at Port Credit GO
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Union to Oakville. Departed Port Credit at 6:59 AM

8:36 MP40 615 Express at Port Credit GO
Pulling 8 cars eastbound, Hamilton GO Centre to Clarkson, then express to Union. 7:06 AM (25 minutes late)

9:11 Train Meet! MP54 673 East and MP40 613 West
Sadly missed the shot of 673. MP40 613 was pushing 10 cars westbound from Union to West Harbour. 7:12 AM at Stavebank Road

10:05 Double! Old cab car! MP54 672 & MP40 617 with 253
Pulling 8 cars eastbound from Oakville to Union. 7:15 AM at Stavebank Road

11:00 MP40 653 Express at Stavebank Road
Pulling 8 cars eastbound, Hamilton GO Centre to Clarkson, then express to Union. 7:19 AM (9 minutes late)

11:38 Revus Avenue Level crossing

11:49 MP40 629 at Revus Avenue
Pulling 8 cars eastbound from Aldershot to Union at 7:33 AM

12:44 Old cab car 255! MP40 601 at Revus Avenue
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Union to Aldershot. 7:39 AM

13:24 MP40 637 Express at Revus Avenue
Pulling 10 cars eastbound, Hamilton GO Centre to Clarkson, then express to Union. 7:46 AM

14:05 MP40 662 at Ogden Avenue
Pushing 10 cars westbound from Union to Oakville. 7:54 AM

14:31 MP54AC 674 Alexandra Avenue
Pulling 8 cars eastbound from West Harbour to Union. 8:05 AM

15:06 MP40 616 Alexandra Avenue
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Union to West Harbour. 8:09 AM

15:51 MP40 625 Express Alexandra Avenue
Pulling 10 cars eastbound, Hamilton GO Centre to Clarkson, then express to Union. 8:13 AM

16:23 MP40 627 Ogden Avenue
Pulling 8 cars eastbound from Oakville to Union. 8:19 AM

16:55 VIA 82 - F40PH 6407 Ogden Avenue
Pulling 4 cars eastbound from London to Toronto. 8:21 AM

17:20 MP40 643 Ogden Avenue
Pushing 8 cars westbound from Union to Oakville. 8:23 AM