Time was you could drive down any back road in this part of the world and come to a railway level crossing. Until fairly recently the tracks went everywhere, be it main line or branch, and these rural intersections of steel and pavement or gravel commonplace. Some crossings were protected by lights and others lights and gates and also perhaps signage. It all depended on the the frequency which trains would pass, their speed, the amount of vehicular traffic and other factors. Less busy roads often had nothing more than a cross-buck, like what we see here. This one also has a stop sign* due limited visibility down the tracks. You may not see a train till it’s almost upon you.
And now with so many railway lines abandoned, these are less and less seen, especially one lacking any kind of warning lights.
The track here belongs to Alberta Prairie Railways, their spur line east of Stettler Alberta and what’s left of the CPR’s former Lacombe Subdivision. They don’t run their excursions trains along this section but rather use it to serve a grain terminal every now and then (switchstand seen is for their siding) with the remainder being used for the long term storage of surplus rail cars. So they’re not just a passenger carrier. These side gigs help keep the lights on.
The broom seen is used to clean snow from switch points. An accumulation there could gum things up. Till next winter it stands there on guard.
*One would think stop signs at all lesser used crossings would help save more lives. Often people just blow through them without looking and sometimes the inevitable happens.
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.
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Date of adventure: June, 2018. Location: Near Stettler Alberta.
Nice photos! I wonder how many crossings that sit quietly on the prairies waiting for the trains to pass by? And the many more that have been removed… A place to ponder and reflect.
With the loss of so many branch lines idyllic scenes like this are few and far between. There’s something about a rural train crossing that fascinates us.
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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Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
You are most welcome!
I hate to say it, but that is a lovely photo. Keep doing.
Thanks and we will. But make sure you drop by often, and please comment when the urge hits you.
Beauty!
Thanks!
Lovely pictures and stories always!!
Thank you…keep dropping by for more new content.
love the sun
It sure put on a show for us that day.
Beautiful
Short and sweet and awesome!
Beautiful pics!
We so appreciate the kind words.
Sunsets are beautiful. Nice photos.
They sure are! Glad you like the pics.
Love the photos…!
Awesome, we’re so happy to hear that!
Great pictures….what’s to hate with such great pictures and stories as well…I think this is great to see….
Thanks, we’re so happy to hear you appreciate what we do. Keep dropping back for more new content.
Glimmering rails are all part of the prairie landscape.
With so many lines gone now, a shot like that is getting harder and harder.
Beauty !!!!!
Thank you…credit goes to that amazing sunset!
Nice photos! I wonder how many crossings that sit quietly on the prairies waiting for the trains to pass by? And the many more that have been removed… A place to ponder and reflect.
With the loss of so many branch lines idyllic scenes like this are few and far between. There’s something about a rural train crossing that fascinates us.