Category: Old Things

Garbage Gobbler Trash Can

Highway History (BC): the Garbage Gobbler

Trash receptacles like this were once a common sight along British Columbia’s provincial highways, at rest stops and parks. This army of cartoonish monsters were part of a campaign aimed at children to keep the province beautiful and litter free. That was long ago and they’re gone now, but this...

Alamo Concentrator

Coming Soon in 2024 (2)!

Coming soon in 2024 (part two): more amazing places the Team has visited and will be posting about in the next couple months or so. As always, it’s a varied menu of subjects, to keep things interesting, and here’s the list. There’s mining remains, lost cemeteries, roadside memories, something “super”,...

40 Mile Rail Locomotives

Locomotives of 40 Mile Rail (Amazing Skies)

A chance encounter earns us a couple wonderful minutes getting to know the locomotives of 40 Mile Rail down in Southern Alberta. Trains are something we’re more into than our readers so normally not many pics like this are shared. Emphasis on normally. With such a spectacular setting we just...

Rotary Display Cranbrook BC

CPR #4090, #4469 & Elko Station

The Cranbrook History Centre, Cranbrook British Columbia, is home to a huge collection of railway stuff and in this post we’ll be showing you just a little bit of it. Founded in the 1970s, as the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, the organization has grown over the years and today...

2-8-0 Steam Loco Smokebox

Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions #41

Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions #41 is a century old steamer just recently returned to service after a lengthy absence and seen here in 2019 awaiting repairs. Based out of Stettler Alberta it powered tour trains full of happy folks down the scenic line to Big Valley and now it’s back....

Koehring Ross Heel-Boom Log Loader

Roadside Rust: Heel-Boom Log Loader

Here’s some really cool roadside rust and this wheeled monster is an old log loader found in the remote mountain community of Beaton British Columbia. It’s a small settlement, so far off the map and hidden away that it might as well be on the moon. Not that it’s a...

1970s Kenworth W925

On the Job: ’73 Kenworth W925

Today we’re looking at Austin’s vintage heavy-hauling work truck, an early 1970s Kenworth W925 and approaching fifty years old it’s almost twice the age of its owner/operator. It’s seen here on standby for fire fighting duty and since the alarm could sound at any time, it’s kept prepped and ready...

CTS Fishbowl Bus #1046

Calgary Transit #1046 Fantrip

There’s some silly fun in the forecast. Come jump on board Calgary Transit #1046, a vintage GM Fishbowl (still in old CTS blue) and hit the road with a group of crazy bus nuts for a special fantrip. We’ll be your guide, so grab a good seat and enjoy the...

Caboose Nakusp Rail Society

Nakusp Rail Society

The last train to Nakusp British Columbia was close to thirty five years ago and with that a chapter closed. The line into town remained in service just shy of a hundred years, so it wasn’t a total wash. As a memorial to this past, the wonderful folks at the...

Calgary Transit #7632

Calgary Transit #7632

Among collectors of classic vehicles there’s a fringe group that does things a little different. A little? Let’s label them crazy weirdos and leave it at that. There’s no ’57 Bel Airs for these folks, no T-Birds, no roided out muscle cars, but instead things called Fishbowls, Old Looks and...

Candair Flextrac

Canadair Flextrac CF-23

Roaming industrial parks is our thing, as strange and bizarre as it seems. There’s always treasures to be found – old train tracks – character buildings – big trucks and while an edgy backdrop, it’s somehow compelling. In that theme, here’s a random discovery of curious tracked-vehicles on display in...

Vintage Snow Plane

Snowplane

Imagine yourself sixty or seventy years ago and living somewhere on the expansive Canadian Plains. Think of a place remote and lonely. It’s winter and while there’s still a need to travel, the roads are blocked with drifts and anything with wheels useless till spring. A horse might do the...

Calgary Fire Department Bus

TDH-3501

General Motors once made transit buses and lots of them too. In the 1940s-1980s period they were a dominate player and at times appeared to literally own the market. Their “New Look” model is perhaps most iconic of all and we’ve chatted about them before at this website, but today...

1951 Hudson Pacemaker

The Mysterious ’51 Hudson

We’re thinking there’s an interesting story connected to the old car seen in this post. Here’s a rare ’51 Hudson found alongside a disused road deep in the Rockies, something we discovered by chance. We were looking for one thing and found another! Given the remote location, it may not...

Bucyrus-Erie 200-B Reynolds

Monsters of Metal: Reynolds Museum

The Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin Alberta is home some amazing vintage machinery and documented here it’s earth movers on a grand scale. These humongous beasts date back as much as a hundred years and came from a number of mines across the province. It’s historic diggers for the win! Put...

Eamon's High River

River City Classics @ Eamon’s Garage

Historic buildings and vintage metal are equally a passion for us and this piece has both. Presenting historic Eamon’s Garage, a mid-century gas station at a small town museum and kindly showing up to pose in front, vintage rides belonging to members of the car club that own the building....

Canadair CL-215 Water Bombers

Canadair CL-215

Peeking through the fence @ Calgary International we’re here to see some very specialized aircraft. Able to handle a number of demanding roles, it’s aerial firefighting which they excelled and where most were kept busy. Presenting the legendary Canadair CL-215, a unique design for a unique job. Whereas most “water...

Diplomat Mine Marion 360 Shovel

Monsters of Metal: Diplomat Mine

Here’s a tour of two massive machines, along with all that remains of a third, that once worked at a Central Alberta coal mine. Look up, look waaaay up, they’re freaking huge! Wide angle lens are mandatory should you visit and if you’re not thoroughly impressed by their sheer size,...

Retired 737-200

737-200

Aimlessly cruising in search of something to photograph, it’s a target sighted. It’s a jet, an old Boeing 737-200, parked on the apron*, a plane in plain sight, just waiting for us to come by and snap a picture or two. We’re at the south end of Calgary International, the...

Wolseley SK Drive In

On The Way! (2)

And now it’s on to part two, a sneak peek of articles due to be published in the coming months. With the world in turmoil and everything locked down or cancelled, here’s a nice little diversion with no TP needed. Presenting for your approval, articles that’ll be coming soon (or...

Stone House Saskatchewan

On The Way! (1)

The anticipation is killing us! We’ve photographed so many epic things over the last year that have yet to see the light of day that we want to show you. Always hopelessly behind, with this post comes some relief. Here’s where we give you a preview of what’s coming, pieces...

Chris BIGDoer.com

Austin’s Collection

Time for some vintage metal! There’s a number of brutish beasts here, work trucks, the stuff we like, all of it big, one over the top BIG, and all of it old. Show us something rugged and non nonsense and we’re in happy land. All but one of the trucks...

Roger Sugar Taber Locomotive

Ex-Manitoba Sugar

Today it’s a railway theme (hooray!) and the subject but a single piece in the extensive collection belonging to Aspen Crossing, a tour train operator. All eyes on this “little” industrial locomotive that one half of your humble Team had a run in with decades ago. It’s sits on a...

CNR 4-6-2 #5080

Canadian National Railways #5080

Introducing a recent addition to the Aspen Crossing collection. These guys, operators of a popular excursion train that’s just a short drive away from Calgary, already own many pieces of vintage railway rolling stock. It’s a little slice of train heaven and they have so much they’re running out of...

Oshkosh 8x8 LVS/HEMTT

Vandervalk Collection

We have some of the most awesome friends. Some do interesting things, some own interesting things, and all have a different approach to life. It’s these folks that make our short time on this little blue marble something memorabele. Case in point, a family we’ve know for many years now...

CF-101 Voodoo Edmonton

Stuffed & Mounted @ Alberta Aviation Museum

It seems so long ago now. Time takes us way back to the spring of 2018 where we found ourselves up north in Alberta’s Capital documenting the Edmonton Pinball and Arcade Show. It’s was a full day of fun and frivolity hanging with fellow pinheads and recording it all for...

Sandon British Columbia Bus

Old Metal Sandon BC

Earlier we took you on a crazy tour of Sandon British Columbia (link a few paragraphs down if you missed it), a must see ghost town in the East Kootenay region of the province. Today, we mix it up and take in some old metal found scattered about the community....

Wetaskiwin AB Train Station

Wandering The Alberta Central Railway Museum

Out near Wetaskiwin Alberta there’s a wonderful attraction you and the family can visit, home to a collection of vintage train equipment…and who doesn’t like that stuff? Drop in, say hi, explore the grounds, go for a ride around the loop and make it part of a grand day. On...

Cessna 150 Plane

Old Jack’s Collection (2)

And we’re back! Here’s the much anticipated second instalment where we take in a most amazing collection of old machinery. There’s cars, trucks, tractors…you name it…stretching off as far as the eye can see, all of them old and with tons of character, a showcase of that moody decrepit vibe...

1940s Mercury One Ton

Old Jack’s Collection (1)

Old Jack is a friend. In 2017 he made an appearance in the documentary “Forgotten Prairie” (Rueben Tschetter/Cache Productions – links below), where he took Team BIGDoer and some pals on a tour of his local area. Included, was a (now) ghost town just up the road from where he...

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