Saint-Lambert Locks, St-Lawrence Seaway. Ecluses de Saint-Lambert, Voie Maritime du Fleuve Saint-Laurent. The Saint-Lambert Locks are part of the St-Lawrence Seaway. They have also been an integral part of our lives for the past 47 years since the opening, to which I was present, in the Spring of 1959. We see the locks from the streets that border the St-Lawrence River and from the bridges that we use to go to Montreal. We see the huge ships that pass between Saint-Lambert and Montreal, travelling on their way to and from the Great Lakes and the Atlantic ocean. There are three bridges linking Saint-Lambert and the city, Jacques-Cartier, Victoria and Champlain. Downtown Montreal is ten minutes away from Saint-Lambert via Victoria bridge that begins in the middle of our town. As people take this bridge, sometimes twice daily by car or by train, they pass directly over the locks. Shortly before a ship arrives at the locks, an arm of the bridge closest to the ship is raised to let it inside while the other arm is lowered to let the diverted traffic pass. The locks' gates are closed and the water level is raised. When this is done, the traffic is again diverted, this time to the newly lowered branch of the bridge, while the other side is raised to let the ship pass. Our region is known for its considerable cycling paths. An important link to the extensive network of South Shore and Montreal cycling paths runs over a highway, the locks and a short part of the river to reach the islands, then Montreal. When a ship must pass and the bridge is raised, people on foot or on their bicycles using the part of the path that is integrated to the bridge must wait, sometimes a long time, for the bridge to be lowered. Meanwhile, they enjoy the view! More photos will be taken from other perspectives in the near future.

This is the Saint Paul Transfer (Canadian Pacific Saint Paul / Pigs Eye to Minnesota Commerical) heading past Saint Paul Union Depot as seen from the Robert Street Bridge. The lead locomotive, SOO 6042, is an EMD SD60 in Soo Line's "Candy Apple" livery; trailing is CP 6067, an EMD SD40-2 wearing CP Rail's "Pac Man" insignia. The Mississippi River is on the right. I've been making a conscious effort to incorporate things that will change in my photos; in this instance I chose an angle that would show off those lovely standard cab EMD's; the vehicles in the parking lot and the street in the background (they'll all be classics someday); the Lafayette Bridge (getting replaced); and SPUD, which is serving its final months as a postal warehouse before it gets converted back into a train station.