As is often the case when out on the road heading to an assignment, we see something interesting and have to stop. And that’s what happened this day, even if it was only brief. So here, in the “sprawling metropolis” of Unity Saskatchewan, a couple large industries, one a grain elevator (Northwest Terminal), the other a rail/truck transfer facility for petrol products (Torq Transloading) and the pair of locomotives used to switch cars about each.
The smaller of the two units is an Electromotive Diesel (Illinois), model GP35, built for the Southern Pacific Railway in late 1964. That line was a big player in the US west. Later it came to work for a smaller regional line, still in the States, Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western, before ending up in Unity a couple years back. It carries number #6354.
The second larger engine is a General Motors Diesel (Electromotive’s Canadian Plant) model SD40 from 1971. It was built for Canadian National Railways that later was rebuilt to SD40-2 specs and worked for US based Burlington Northern/Santa Fe, one of the biggest railways in that country, before finding work here. It still wears BNSF colours and carries number #6991.
Both industries handle huge volumes of cars at a time (up to a hundred or more according to each firm’s website). We believe the larger locomotive switches the grain terminal, where as the other handles the trans-loading place – the two industries are right beside each other. On our visit, both units were sitting between jobs.
A couple quick snaps and the road calls. Bye bye Unity. Maybe one day we can come back…
Oh, and those Saskatchewan skies!
Photographed that same weekend… Kelts’ Collection – Old big rigs! Sunsets!! Auroras!!!!!
Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found. Or sometimes we just ramble on about Lord knows what.
If you need any more information on what we talked about here, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: September, 2017. Location: Unity, SK. All shots were taken from public roads.
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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Nice skies!
You’re not the first to say that. And they were awesome! Made for some nice pics.
What was the unit number on the orange and grey unit?
Number #6354, ex-Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western.
Is the 6991 a DLCX unit?
Yes, it is. You can see the markings on the locomotive but they’re a bit small so hard to see.
Gotta love that expansive blue sky!
It gets amazing out that way.
That blue sky, Chris & Connie !!
I know! They’re amazing.