Monthly Archive: September 2012

CPR boxcar DeWinton

DeWinton De Winton Dewinton

DeWinton – De Winton – Dewinton – I’ve seen it spelled many ways. This small town, officially De Winton I am told, is close to and directly south of Calgary but it sees few visitors since it’s well off the main highway and can only be accessed by a back...

S Brown elevator Azure

Azure grain elevator

Welcome to Azure Alberta, home to a house or two, an abandoned rail line, and a single grain elevator, the subject of this report. This structure has been privately owned for around fifty years and this accounts for it’s remarkable condition. Used during that time as a grain storage facility...

17' Boler

Crowsnest Boler

This Boler trailer was spotted in Coleman Alberta, in the Crowsnest Pass in May 2012. It represents one of the longer length 17′ models, which seem to be a lot less common than their shorter cousins. Out of every ten or so short ones seen, we see but a single...

KTASA D08

KTAS D08 phone rebuilt

The KTAS D08 is one of the true classics. Introduced over a hundred years ago, this phone was produced in quantity for many decades after and even today, modern facsimiles of this iconic design can be found. Made by KTAS or Kjobenhavns Telefon Aktieselska (hope I got that right) in...

Pinball show Calgary

Pinball!

Pinball! Once a year at the Calgary Pinball and Arcade show, we get to play. And we do it old school, with real pinballs, the stuff to make a serious pinhead jump with delight. The classics are all there – Williams, Bally and Gottlieb – the good stuff (and some...

Budget time lapse rig

Mount Hoffmann

May is a tough time for us. The weather is nice and in the valleys everything is green and vivid and alive. Up high where we want to go however it’s often still winter and this severely limits our options. Knowing that, but having spring fever, we elect to scout...

Herronton AB railway

Grain elevators and ghosts southeast of Calgary.

The area just southeast of Calgary has a remarkable number of grain elevators still standing and this makes it an natural attractant to us history explorers. We’ll visit a number of towns in the region, some abandoned and forgotten, some alive with small populations, all very interesting. For this trip...

Boler being renovated

Boler in pieces

Perhaps half the Bolers we’ve seen appear in original condition, that is at least on the outside. The other half seem to have gone through some sort of rebuilding or refurbishment. Almost completely in pieces, this work in progress will likely become an example of the later sometime soon. This...

Buller Pass

Spectacular Buller Pass

We’ve been meaning to do the Buller Pass hike for a long time. I’ve often been told just how spectacular the destination is and let me tell you, those people were right. The trail, from start to finish, does not disappoint. The route, known officially as Buller Creek trail, takes...

Retlaw AB ghost town

Retlaw ghost town

The ghost town of Retlaw is situated in the dry belt region of south central Alberta and sits along the former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Suffield Subdivision branch. Well off any major highways the place is seldom visited and is accessible only by a dusty back road. What little that...

Boler camper

Western theme Boler

Rarely do we capture a Boler while on the road. Usually they quickly pass us by heading in the opposite direction, but here we are lucky and find one going the same way we are. This one has been customized with cowboys and cacti, offering up an interesting western motif....

Aldersyde Alberta 2012

Aldersyde then and now

Approximately forty years separate the two pictures shown and in that time the small town of Aldersyde Alberta has changed a great deal. Well, at least in the area around the railway tracks has and one would be hard pressed to say this is even the same location. But it...

Magnesium plant Aldersyde

The mysterious Magnesium Company of Canada

What’s the story behind that mysterious huge brown complex seen off the highway between Aldersyde and High River? I don’t know how many times, on trips to South Kananaskis, that I’ve passed by the place and asked myself that very thing. I never seemed find the time to stop…until now...

Mack B series truck

Restored trucks Pioneer Acres Museum Irricana part 2

Technically not all the trucks shown here are fully restored, but all are complete so we’ll include those ones anyway. This is a continuation of a previous report and here we showcase some fine examples seem at the Pioneer Acres Museum in Irricana Alberta. We could not photograph every truck...

Cooking Bannock

Traditional First Nations Bannock

Bannock did not originate with the indigenous people of North America, but it was embraced by them. It’s a simple and hearty flat bread of Scottish origins, that is super easy to make and travels well. And it’s surprisingly tasty. There are many ways to prepare it, but in this...

Trillium travel trailer

Not a Boler – a Trillium

From a distance, a Boler and a Trillium look very similar and so it’s easy to confuse the two. Up close however, that changes. The Trillium is more square overall than it’s egg shaped counterpart – square shaped, squared windows, square-ish tail lights – all say Trillium. This particular one,...

Kenworth truck

Restored trucks Pioneer Acres Museum Irricana part 1

Pioneer Acres in Irricana is an gold mine for those who love mechanical things, In spite of having a huge collections of trucks, machinery and bits related to farming and settlement of the area, this museum flies under the radar and does not seem to be well known. It should...

Old pipe Burns Mine

Sheep River to Burns Mine part 2

The Pat Burns Coal Mine is situated deep in the mountains far up the Sheep River valley, and is certainly is the most stunning location of any coal mine this author has seen. While the operation was ultimately a failure, it’s certainly a winner for explorers like us. What a...

Pat Burns coal mine

Sheep River to Burns Mine part 1

The following report is a two-parter that combines some of our favourite activities, hiking and history exploring. This adventure finds us on the Sheep River Trail, a long distance route that parallels its namesake river for many dozens of kilometres. The section we followed takes us from the Junction Mountain...

Abandoned Highway 524 bridge

Highway 524 abandoned road bridge

This abandoned bridge caught us by surprise. We were heading for another such structure in the area, the old CPR span over the Bow River near Cecil Alberta, when this one came into view. When heading north on Highway 524 near Hays Alberta, this structure can be clearly seen in...

Kent farm Superman

Superman 1978 Kent farmhouse – then and now

One could easily pass by this house and barn, giving it no thought at all. Looking much like every other farm, there is not much here to draw your attention away – it’s a nondescript farmhouse along a dusty old road. In other words, instantly forgettable. However these buildings have...

Boler camper

Mossleigh Boler

It’s amazing how often Boler trailers turn up in out of the way places. Like the one here, seen in the small town of Mossleigh Alberta in September 2012. Had we blinked we would have missed it and we only noticed it by chance (which begs the question, how many...

Mossleigh elevators

Mossleigh elevators

Mossleigh Alberta lays claim to not one, but three classic wooden elevators and this must be one of the last original elevator rows left in Canada*. All appear in good condition, with one recently being re-sided. I kind of ignored the latter, since it no longer looks original and does...

Wasootch Peak scramble

Wasootch Peak (attempt)

In hindsight I think it was a bit foolish to try this peak. Normally, it’d not be challenge, but for this trip I was dealing with a problem – pain, stiffness and soreness. You see some six weeks prior, Connie and I were involved in a serious accident after retuning...

Glenbow Ranch trains

Town of Glenbow

Glenbow was a town. Once. Now it’s a open field nestled in a valley beside the railway tracks and the Bow River. Save for the one building still standing (barely), it would be hard to imagine anything was ever here. But on close examination, little details come forward. A pile...

Bow River Bridge Cecil AB

Abandoned CPR Bow River Bridge

This post has been updated and can be found here: CPR Bow River Bridge (Abandoned). They’re saying… ”…Chris & Connie do an amazing job on studying their subject matter.” Rik Barry (Time Air Historical Society). Remote… Taunton/Fortner Bridge. Green Door Ranch Then and Now. 80 Years Empty. If you wish...

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