Category: Old Things

All the vehicles seen in this article, numerous old tractors, lots of pickups, a few heavy duty trucks, along with one classic car, were found in the tiny community of Rockyford Alberta. In the mix is a disproportionate number of International Harvester vehicles. Also noteworthy are some Lamborghini tractors (yes,...

In this post we look at a van made up as the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, a funky 1970s Champion motorhome (painted green no less) and lastly, a strange and wonderful homemade RV. All these were found in Calgary, completely by chance, as we walked or drove about town. We find...

In this report we’ll look at a strange Rube Goldberg-esque device, a jet powered railway snow blower, used to clear out compacted ice that has accumulated between the rails. Surprisingly that material can be quite hazardous and can even cause a train to leave the tracks. This odd piece of...

Boxcars: the rolling of two sixes in a dice game, specifically craps, or it could refer to an enclosed railway car used to carry general freight. When retired from service the latter are sometimes sold to be used as sheds and the like. Farmers are known for their thrift and...

They’re done. They’re finished. They’re gone. RIP 2014: Calgary Transit Fishbowl buses – so long, and thanks for all the rides. Once the mainstay of the fleet, they have finally run out of time. After all that hard work, after all those millions of kilometres and millions of passengers, it’s...

The photos we’ll be showing you in this report date from 1989 and were taken in North Vancouver BC. I’m at the Lonsdale Quay terminal, having just arrived by the cross harbour passenger ferry, and before heading out, I take time to photograph some buses passing by. Both of those...

The transit buses that are the subject of this report are known as “Classics”. The ones seen here were built in the early 1990s and are the oldest such vehicles currently on the Calgary Transit roster. These old warriors will likely continue to serve for some time however, even in...

Known affectionately (to us anyway) as the “little yellow locomotive”, this tiny engine sits on a disused siding at the abandoned Coleman Collieries coal processing plant in the Crowsnest Pass. It once worked at this very site and when the operation closed, it was simply left behind and forgotten. Looking...

For a brief couple years in the late 1980s and early 1990s I lived in the Lower Mainland of BC. During one of my few days off (I’d often work every day for months on end), I’d head out to explore the area. On this trip, I was off to...

How many transit systems can say there have an active fleet of GMC Fishbowl buses? Not many! Most cities have retired these venerable workhorses and outside of a couple stragglers here and there, Calgary’s remaining examples comprise the largest fleet in service anywhere. They live! All the buses we see...

While travelling about we’ll often discover old and interesting vehicles hidden away in fields, back lots and industrial properties. We rarely search them out and stumble across most by accident. Often we’ll be heading to a neat historical site, or a scenic hiking trail, and in the process come away...

For this report we’ll show some of the assorted old trucks and interesting vehicles we’ve stumbled across while out on exploring. We did not go looking for them, but rather they were all discovered by chance while out travelling the back roads of Alberta and BC, on our field trips...

Anyone who reads this blog knows we seem to have great luck finding rare, old or interesting trucks, cars and vehicles. This trip, on the Heritage Day long weekend, was no exception. We found ourselves in the Hanna area in eastern Alberta doing some field research, and this work had...

For a time, in 1989 and 1990, I lived in Vancouver. Actually I did not live but rather I worked and did little else, sometimes seven days a week for months on end. It was a horrendous pace, a classic case of working harder NOT smarter. Occasionally, as I neared...

It’s been a while since we posted any phones here, so I though it time to show some. I’ve been keeping busy fixing them all this time, just for some reason I did not document it. This report covers two rotary phones brought in by the same customer Both these...

Some would argue that Pacific should hold the title as the toughest all around truck ever produced. All business and with few frills they could be found hauling logs, transporting oilfield equipment, working on construction sites or in mines. The one seen here was an example of the latter, a...

Calgary’s Heritage Park is a wonderful living museum with numerous exhibits and displays documenting this area’s fascinating past. There are far too many things to see in a single day so for this pass our goal was to document some of the park’s extensive collection of railway equipment. The big...

I’m hanging with pro John Sharpe and our goal is to discover old farms and other interesting places to photograph. With no specific route in mind we just point the van in a direction and drive. Finding ourselves southeast of Calgary between the towns of High River and Vulcan, we...

At the gateway to Calgary’s Heritage Park are two locomotives. One is from the celebrated Selkirk class, a mountain conquering steam and smoke belching monster. At the time, her and her sisters were the biggest such engines on the CPR system and this example was one of the last steam...

One of the very last steam locomotives purchased new by the CPR, Selkirk 5931 was set aside upon retirement and now sits at entrance to Heritage Park in Calgary Alberta. This engine and her sisters were the most powerful locomotives on the entire CPR system and they could be seen...

If you are a regular reader of this blog you no doubt know about our fascination with old trucks. In particular we like the larger ones, medium duty or tractor trailer sized. These hold our interest, over say a pickup truck, as they are less common and were always made...

In 1990 I was living on the west coast and on days off (few and far between) you might find me poking around rail lines and industrial areas looking for adventure. On this day I headed to North Vancouver to check out the action at the BC Rail yards. You...

In 2012 we found that Big Pink Trailer and in keeping with that theme 2013 brings us The Big Green Motorhome. With its dated lines and paint job, it’s the ultimate retro-mobile, a vintage house on wheels that would make the Brady’s squeal with delight. Like a Pug it’s so...

While driving through Blackie Alberta something on the rail line caught our attention. It was as a small rail crane with its two attendant railways cars and having some time to burn we stopped to take a good look at this interesting machine. It’s sitting on an old siding and...

We hit the jackpot in Vulcan Alberta, a literal treasure trove of old trucks, and during our walk around town we found numerous old and interesting examples. Everything from a Mack B series and a Cruise Liner; five, count them, five old GMC and Chevrolet farm trucks, a Willy’s Jeep...

My recent article on the ex-Lethbridge Transit GMC Fishbowl bus had me thinking, how many of these are left in Calgary? If any? I do know the city has been operating Fishbowls up until recently, as I have seen them occasionally pass by on a busy street near us. However...

Here we see a ubiquitous GMC “Fishbowl” bus. If you live in a town with a transit system it’s likely you’ve seen one these, although maybe not that recently. Officially named The New Look by its maker, it seems that it’s often refereed to by it’s more endearing nickname instead....

Old trucks are like a magnet drawing me in and in our travels we come across a great number of them. In this pass we see a couple old GMCs and a real gem, an ancient Fargo. All of these appear to be old farm trucks, not surprising given our...

In August of 2012 I did a report about a yard I found that was full of all sorts of interesting big tucks. There were old Macks, an REO, a gaggle of old farm trucks from the 1940s and 50s and lots of other interesting bits. And then there is...

By the early 1980s the snowmobile industry was on the decline. The years prior saw a huge shakedown with maker after maker closing their doors. None the less there were still lots of models being offered by those companies who managed to tough it out, including examples from an early...