Back in the fall of 1997 we were passing through the area and so paid a brief visit to Nordegg Alberta with intentions to explore the old CNR rail line located nearby. Fast forward a few years to 2001 and we are in the area again and have a bit...
Nacmine is a former coal town in the bad lands of Alberta, only a few kilometres west of Drumheller. At one time there were many mines here and in fact the town was even named after one of them (North American Collieries Mine), but the subject of this report however...
The tiniest Boler yet! You’ve heard these trailers were cramped but this one takes that to the extreme and in fact is the smallest one we’ve seen. A rare sub-sub-sub-compact model, we caught this one pulling into a gas station. Actually…it was seen at a local train show in September...
If you’d like to experiment with time lapse photography but don’t want to invest a lot of money into it you might want to consider the home-brew rig described here. It’s proven, simple, dirt cheap and produces pretty respectable results. The parts needed can be purchased cheaply online, in a...
This post has been retired and a new version can be found here: Coleman Miners’ Hospital 100 Years Apart. They’re saying… “OTBPwC&C is a brilliant concept. Thank you for enriching our lives with so many engaging and entertaining posts. Five stars all the way.” Erin Bay. Random awesomeness… The Sidewalks...
Canadian National Railway #1158 is a fairly workaday engine most at home on branchlines or in local service None the less she and her many sisters played a very important role and they could be seen up and down the entire CNR system working hard every day, doing the mundane...
At one time nearly every medium to large sized town had a rail yard and often located nearby or within it was a turntable and roundhouse. These were needed to turn steam engines around and as a place where they could be inspected, maintained or stored. Nowadays few of these...
This post has been revised with new info and pictures, here: A Few Minutes in Stavely Alberta. The old pictures here have been retained for your enjoyment, but please refer to the new post for all esle. Grain elevator time… Prairie Sentinels: Bulwark Alberta. Grain Elevators of DeWinton. Providence Grain...
Before anything: I really enjoy old trucks but I am by no means an expert or even remotely good at identifying them. With that said, even though I got some help from those in the know I am certain I’ve made some mistakes in this post. If you see where...
They’re loading coal trains in Coleman! Hurray, hurray, coal mining has returned to The Pass and prosperity will soon follow! They are so eager to get going that cars are already being lined up at the old Coleman Collieries plant and it won’t be long before they’re filled and headed...
“Connie…is that a Studebaker?”, asking like I expected her to know. “Damn, I think it is and it’s a later one too…a 1964 or 1965 maybe.” “I’ve got to get a picture of this.” So here are and without even trying we come across a seldom seen car. Not a...
I guess you could say this was a weird choice for a hike, trekking along the rail line from south Calgary into Okotoks. Yea it’s odd, but we’re strange anyway. Not a terribly challenging undertaking, even given the long distances, it was less than pleasant in places given the hot...
For this trip we set the time machine back to 1998 and we find ourselves exploring the barren and dry prairies in the eastern part of the province. For this report we’ll make a brief stop in Empress Alberta, a tiny little hamlet right on the Alberta – Saskatchewan border...
This post has been retired but a similar post can be found here: Polish Hall Coleman Alberta (1927). They’re saying… “Thank you for all the engaging write ups and pictures…you two are a national treasure!” Bonnie & Gerald McDonald. Check out these… Marblehead Underground Quarry. Downtown Bassano. Rocky Mountain House...
It’s old, cold and gold! No lightweight, this massive mellow yellow coloured Marshall road roller is a long way from its birthplace in the UK and can be found in a small town on the Alberta prairies. Seen on a cold winter’s day, it sure makes one wonder how it...
While a sign proudly proclaims it to be The Biggest Piggy Bank in the World, instead it’s actually a small underground mining locomotive. Looking much like a miniature steam engine, this “dinky” operates under the same principles, except it actually runs on compressed air instead of steam. This makes it...
Okay, here’s an odd choice for a hiking trail – let’s follow access roads that parallel the CPR”s rail line along Bow River, travelling from the Bearspaw Dam on the west edge of Calgary all the way to Cochrane. Sounds like a interesting idea and in spite of being close...
Known as a “Buffalo 2000” the elevator seen here in Lyalta Alberta was an innovative and advanced design for its time and was to help usher in a new and exciting era in the Canadian grain handling industry. It was the future! However, in spite of such lofty aspirations, in...
The locomotive seen here, CPR 9005, is known as a “Red Barn” and while to the uninitiated it looks like any other engine out there, it’s unique and fascinating in a number of ways. It’s rare in that it was made with non-standard body style (called a cowl), and it...
The notorious American Hotel doesn’t look so menacing today. Vacant, sombre and forgotten, in the not too distant past it was ground zero, a place for trouble, BIG TROUBLE, and not a weekend went by without seeing it in the news. Fact is you would not want to be standing...
In this then and now series we take a look at the Greenhill Hotel, a prominent Blairmore landmark for over ninety years. In the early days this distinctive barn shaped structure was a watering hole for coal miners, locals and visitors and it today it serves in much that same...
Almost forty years separate the two images seen here and while the mountains in the back help line up the pictures, otherwise one would be hard pressed to know this is the same location. Seen in Cowley Alberta, the elevators, the train station, the oil shed are all gone and...
Once again I line up the shot pretty good but mess up on some angles a wee bit. However, it’s pretty close and given the conditions at the time of my photograph it was amazing I could get it at all. Let me elaborate – try to shoot one handed,...
Not a lot of years separate these two photos but in that time the change has been dramatic. The trains are no more and the row of elevators has been reduced to one.
Down by the tracks in Arrowwood Alberta, 1997 and 2015. Interestingly the then photo is from us and this a rare case of Team BIGDoer shooting both. It was captured by Chris back when he was doing oilfield hotshot.
The last elevator standing is a former Alberta Wheat Pool facility and dates from the 1970s. That's it's fairly modern is perhaps the reason it survived into today and it's now used by a local farmer for grain storage.
Check the comments to know more 👇
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
Spotted while documenting The Great Beater Challenge, 2021 edition! Here, it's a little diversion into the near ghost town of Orkney Saskatchewan to look at a disused Patterson Grain Elevator. The structure dates from the 1970s and was built with features foreshadowing those used in high throughput grain terminals of today. Fast load systems and the like.
Check out that vintage yield sign and we doubt it's really needed any more. There's no traffic on these streets.
BTW, we got to chase the Beater Challenge 2023 and we'll post about it soon.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2021. Posted by Connie.
After we drop off a couple rolls for processing, we'll call home! A little corner pharmacy, in a nondescript Calgary strip mall, and it's sort of lost in time. Shot in 2016 and we find anachronisms like this fascinating!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
St Francis in the Woods out in BC's East Kootenay region dates back over a century. It's sort of hidden away down a little backroad and is far removed from the modern world. While no longer used in a spiritual capacity, it still hosts community functions from time to time. Otherwise, silence rules.
Know more about this subject in a link posted to the comments.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2023. Posted by Connie.
The same stone house about a century apart and from almost the same angle. It came close to being a proper Then & Now, but interestingly, we didn't know of the old photo when we captured ours.
The house was only lived in for a few decades, starting about 1910 and abandoned on account of arid conditions.
A family of twelve (yes, two parents plus TEN kids) lived in this modest-sized dwelling. Those early pioneers were hardcore. A house in the middle of nowhere, farming conditions that at best were marginal, brutal winters, few neighbours, little of anything and a bus load of children to raise in a house the size of a garage. Give them credit!
Know more via a link in the comments.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2015. Posted by Connie.
The Fort Motel in Fort MacLeod Alberta, seen in an old postcard circa 1960 and again on a quiet evening late in 2023. It's one of many old style motor-court motels in this historic town and as you can see it's little changed over time. Too bad about that sign, though. The Fort Motel first makes mention in phone directories in the early fifties.
To know about our subject scroll down to a link in the comments. Hey Lethbridge Historical Society, thought you'd like this!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
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