My 2024 CPKC Holiday Train Chase: Sherbrooke

Day 2 of my Holiday Train chase, and this time I’m heading from Montreal to Sherbrooke.

And how I made it through this leg of the journey is completely beyond me. But seven angels must have kept watch over me that day.

Let me explain.

I left my Montreal motel at about 11:30 a.m., with what I thought would be a simple 90-minute drive to Sherbrooke. Just get on the highway, and I’ll be there in no time flat.

About 60 minutes into the journey, my car’s dashboard alerts me that one of my tires – the left rear – is showing 31 PSI.

Fuck. The last thing I need is a flat tire. Not right now.

Okay, I need to find a place where I can get my tire checked.

Now where in Canada can I find a Canadian place that works on tires?

Oh yeah …

I pulled into a Canadian Tire in Magog, and went to the front desk.

“Can you help check my tires and put air in them in case there’s a leak?” I asked.

The attendant looked at me as if I had insulted his mother. “We can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s Saturday. I can go out and check your tire pressure, but that’s it.”

“Wait, you have a garage here and you won’t help me out?”

“Can’t. It’s the weekend. All the mechanics are home.”

“Is there another place I can go to?”

“No, all the mechanics are closed on the weekend.”

“What do you do if someone has a tire emergency on the weekend?”

“They have to wait until Monday.”

Merde.

The situation deteriorated when I tried to get air at a gas station. The air pumps were $2 apiece for air, and they only took Canadian coinage. And neither of the air pumps connected properly to my tire. And the attendants – who barely looked like they even WANTED to be in the store that day – were no help, either. One told me he didn’t know how to use the device, and another called me something that I’m not going to repeat here, in any language.

That being said … I figured I’d take my chances. I’ll drive as far as I can, and I’ll keep monitoring the tire pressure. Worst case scenario, maybe I can call AAA and they can call CAA and CAA can come and rescue me. As long as CAA works on the weekend.

Anyways … I made it to the Sherbrooke stop. And again, I checked the locale to plan out my photography options.

First, I needed to park. There’s a parking lot, and it looks like it’s a pay-to-park facility. $4 later, I placed a little receipt on Lightning’s Girl’s dashboard.

While I sat in the car and checked over my camera gear, I watched a security guard go from car to car. He stopped at the car next to mine, photographed its plate, then texted the photo somewhere.

I rolled down my window. “I’m not in trouble, am I?”

“No,” he said. “You’ve paid. This guy didn’t. I just texted my office, he’s getting a fine and he could be towed out of here.”

I looked over at the scofflaw car. Tesla Model S.

Good. Maybe Elon Musk can pay his fine.

I got out of the car. There’s a light drizzle in the air. Not really conducive to great photography. But I didn’t drive all this way to just sit in my car and mope.

I scouted the location. And – wait – the train has to arrive from west to east, because it travels to Farnham for its next stop. And to arrive at the train station in Sherbrooke … it has to pass under Rue Belvedere S.

Which means … if I can STAND on Rue Belvedere S … and shoot straight down …

I ran back to my car and grabbed my tripod out of the trunk. Those seven angels were earning their pay tonight.

All right. Train has to arrive by 4:45. The overpass looks down on track … and there’s a bit of a creek puddle near the track, which I hope can get the reflections from the illuminated boxcars.

Eventually, other people joined me on the bridge. One guy brought a whole digital movie camera setup, complete with microphone and other equipment. But after the drizzly rain turned into more of a mist … and the wind blew one of his protective covers off his camera lens … he relocated to another spot.

But yeah … this should be good.

And at about 4:35 p.m. … look what arrived. Train #2249. I set my camera to tungsten balance to enhance the light decorations, and pressed that shutter button like I was in the final round of a Defender video game.

And this is what came out.

Sweet Lord. I’ve got the train, I’ve got the reflection in the water, I’ve got the raindrops glistening off the locomotive’s head lamps, this is fantastic!!

I thought about going to the concert … but the bands that are performing in Sherbrooke will be at other locales along my journey, so I’ll catch them there. Meanwhile, I need to make sure I can get home.

And thankfully, as I drove back home, the tire pressure in my left rear tire increased back to 32 psi. At least it wasn’t a leak or a puncture, it may have been that, at the time, Sherbrooke was colder than a tin toilet in Siberia.

By the time I reached the U.S. border (the border guard there said he takes his family to the Holiday Train show when it arrives in Plattsburgh), I drove for another couple of exits until I saw salvation.

And by “salvation,” I mean a Stewart’s. Stewart’s has free air pumps, and I’ve used their units before.

A couple of quick pumps, and my left rear tire filled up to 35 PSI. And it stayed that way for the rest of my trip.

I made it safely home. And now it’s time to plan the next phase of this Holiday Train chase.

The New York run. Let’s do this.