DASH 9 DUO! Railfanning the CN Bala Sub (JAN 11, 2026)

On Sunday, January 11, 2026, I decided to start off on the CN Bala sub from sparrow lake then detour south. I got Q102 by the searchlights at mile 91.3, then I went south to smail north to get the 107 departing the siding. Unfortunately, I was backlit there but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Next, I went more south to brechin for VIA 1 with a wrapped F40 leader. Then for the last 3 northbounds, I stayed around the pine orchard and west Franklin area. M303 had a nice dash 9 duo on it and 105 had a fresh 75i leader on it to end the day.

Train 1:
Location: Cambrian rd - Sparrow Lake, ON
Time: 10:42 am - January 11, 2026
Train: CN Q102 (Roberts bank - Brampton)
Units: CN 3013, CN 2809
Direction: south
Mile: 91.3 Bala sub

Train 2:
Location: Switch rd - Smail, ON
Time: 11:05 am - January 11, 2026
Train: CN Q107 (Brampton - Vancouver)
Units: CN 3404, CN 3856
Direction: north
Mile: 86.95 Bala sub

Train 3:
Location: concession rd A - Brechin, ON
Time: 12:02 pm - January 11, 2026
Train: VIA 0001 (Toronto - Vancouver)
Units: VIA 6445, VIA 6452
Direction: north
Mile: 68.84 Bala sub

Train 4:
Location: Herald rd - West Franklin, ON
Time: 12:57 pm - January 11, 2026
Train: CN Q101 (Brampton - Winnipeg)
Units: CN 3426, CN 3905
Direction: north
Mile: 39.05 Bala sub

Train 5:
Location: Herald rd - West Franklin, ON
Time: 1:50 pm - January 11, 2026
Train: CN M303 (Toronto - Winnipeg)
Units: IC 2722, CN 2527
Direction: north
Mile: 39.05 Bala sub

Train 6:
Location: Vivian rd - Pine Orchard, ON
Time: 2:08 pm - January 11, 2026
Train: CN Q105 (Montreal - Vancouver)
Units: CN 8321, CN 2787
Direction: north
Mile: 35.35 Bala sub