Over fifty years separate the two pictures yet not a whole lot has changed between them. The tracks are still there, the warehouse building is still there and even the lettering shown in the first image is still there. Check the third picture to see the latter. Nelson BC is an amazing place where time seems to stand still. Now if only a train had come by the shot would have been perfect.
The only feature that is noticeably changed from one picture to the other is the road crossing in front of the locomotive. It’s was pulled up at some unknown time and is no longer there.
The train seen in the then picture would be the Kootenay Express which traversed CPR’s southern lines, taking a rather meandering and circuitous route from Vancouver BC to Medicine Hat Alberta. Calling it an express is sort of misleading as basically these trains were a long distance locals stopping at nearly every town and village along the route. The westbound counterpart was know as the Kettle Valley Express. These locomotive hailed trains were replaced in the mid 1950s by self propelled “Rail Diesel Cars” (know as RDCs from the Budd Company.) before being discontinued in the mid 1960s.
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The locomotive seen appears to be CPR 2371. This engine was built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston Ontario and was one of twelve of this class constructed in 1940. Refereed to as a Pacific model, these were built to the 4-6-2 wheel arrangement (Whyte notation). This locomotive was retired in 1957. The Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) would later supply diesels to the CPR which were often seen in the Nelson area as well.
The rail lines in and around Southern BC were referred to as the Kettle Valley Lines (or Kettle Valley Railway). This was a predecessor to the CPR in the area and comprised an extensive network of main and secondary lines. Not much of the “KVR” remains today and only the track seen here if left, a line coming in from Cranbrook heading west to Nelson, Castlegar and Trail. Formerly it went all the way through to the west coast and had numerous feeder lines connecting to it. This tracks sees perhaps a couple to a few trains per day. In the 1950s when the first picture was taken, the line was much busier.
It’s not clear the purpose the building seen here has, although what ever it is, the original lettering has remained. In Nelson, it’s not odd to see old building repurposed, but retaining many of its original features.
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
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Amazing!!