Rain continued to soak the long stretch of the Canadian West between Biggar SK and Viking AB and the cold had found it’s way deep into what ever I was wearing. It had been that way for days. I hadn’t dressed for this when I left home and I had nothing suitable packed away in… Continue reading »
The clouds are still heavy and the ground is still soaking wet but this train guy soldiers on ever ready for that one great shot. No need here to find the sun at my back – or better still – at that excellent angle that shows off the details I’m looking for. Quite the contrary…. Continue reading »
The CN facility in Biggar Saskatchewan is worth a visit. The big city facilities in Saskatoon and Regina, and even Moose Jaw, are very large and well cordoned off making them pretty much inaccessible to the average train buff. Restrict your touring to Melville, Swift Current, Wayburn and Estevan and you can still get up… Continue reading »
As one of those omni-present stack trains glides through on the station track I get a chance to get a closer look at one of the last Canadian style Safety Cabs. I was never a fan of the SD60’s but I’m a huge fan of ‘The Stripes’ and the 4-window design. It takes me back… Continue reading »
My home in Peachland is not a hub of railway activity so from time to time I need a trains fix by either going ‘over the top’ into the Ashcroft/Cashe Creek area or by spending a summers weekend in Didsbury Alberta. Of course the real high for a CN railfan is the Thompson River Canyon… Continue reading »
They don’t call them road switchers for nothing. Looking north now while sitting in my car at the crossing of highway 582. Three engines; 8506, 9706 and a now leading and unidentified GE unit have parted ways with their south-bound consist and are working their way back through the Y about ½ a kilometer from… Continue reading »
A little farther north of that crossing there is a small facility with two sidings, each about ½ a km long. On another day two southbound locos, 8909 and 9504, pause, break the train, and spot 6 tank cars on one of the sidings. The 4400’s are almost as prolific today as the SD40-2’s were… Continue reading »
The small yard in Didsbury consists of the main line and two long sidings that pretty much stretch, north – south, from one end of town to the other as well as a short spur used mostly for MofW equipment. On this day the second track was home for two old timers waiting work. 3029… Continue reading »
There may only be one train a day into Kelowna these days but the city still offers some easy to view switching for the local railfans. There are powers that want to see and end to even that in order to have all freight in and out of here handled by big trucks. What are… Continue reading »
The Hungry Hound Café is at home on the corner of Richter St and Recreation Avenue and if you don’t feel like going inside you can find a seat outside in the sun and watch engine 2632 work the spur at OK Ready Mix. This day found a pretty typical shipment being moved around. Bulkhead… Continue reading »
The Hungry Hound Café is at home on the corner of Richter St and Recreation Avenue and if you don’t feel like going inside you can find a seat outside in the sun and watch engine 2632 work the spur at OK Ready Mix. This day found a pretty typical shipment being moved around. Bulkhead… Continue reading »
While the engine idols at the Richter Street crossing, and the operator seemingly does nothing, the second man has walked the length of the train checking to be sure everything is properly connected and all the loads are secure. Nice job if you can get it on a sunny day deep in the Okanagan but… Continue reading »
…and there are stripes all over it. Wow! Don’t you just love the paint scheme? Often referred to as Sergeants stripes or Zebra stripes this paint scheme was the best result (IMHO) of reinventing the Super Continental back in 1961. It put a welcome end to the short 6 year experiment with the black and… Continue reading »
A high speed east bound container train lead by three of my all time favourate zebras somewhere between Rivers and Portage la Prairie in the summer of ‘88. Just one of a hundred + pictures I took on a photo trip out of Winnipeg. Roles of film filled my pockets. New on the right –… Continue reading »
Down Ontario way, as well as other points east, the motive power got more varied but the stripes remained the same. This HR616 number 2107 is at Belleville Station on a sunny winter day in 1986. My three years teaching in Trenton were outstanding not only because of the job (I really loved it) but… Continue reading »
In the hotel was on a hill above the harbour in North Sydney the early risers were gawking out the window during breakfast. The ferry had pulled in during the night and people were anxious to see those big blue Marine Atlantic logos. Even as we edged our car into a line and waited for… Continue reading »