In this, our forth Silver Streak movie then and now post, we take a look at the derelict boarded up station seen in the movie, actually Calgary’s old CNR train depot. While made up to look abandoned it really didn’t need much help at that time as it had sat...
Here’s yet another then and now from the 1976 movie Silver Streak, a fun little tale of mystery and intrigue on board a transcontinental passenger train. In this scene two of the main characters leap from the moving train, landing in the waters below. This view (hard to believe) is...
In our second Silver Streak movie then and now series we pick a very obscure location. Situated within the bowels of CPR’s huge Alyth yard complex in Calgary, in this view the highjacked train hurtles by on the tracks above with the police in hot pursuit. Interesting, where we shot...
Being a train buff, the 1976 movie Silver Streak has always been a favourite of mine and while I knew it was filmed in and around Alberta, I never really paid much attention to that aspect of it. Until recently that is when we manged to come across a DVD...
Farmer Jones Carz was a Calgary institution for decades, a used car lot selling well worn el-cheap-o transportation and doing it with a quirky style. The lot was always brimming with old beaters and the iconic sign with its slow-witted looking chubby farmer in coveralls with a sprig of grass...
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 is the second Boler Trailer we found in the Calgary neighbourhood of Bowness. Mere minutes from the other we stumbled across (report link below) like that one this example is looking a bit haggard. It has an interesting red and white paint job, but it’s not clear if this...
Here’s our first Boler of 2013 and one of two we’d see this day, both within minutes of each other. This somewhat ragged looking example was found in February in the Calgary neighbourhood of Bowness, as was the other which will appear in a follow up report. It looks like...
Stealing a title from a syrupy sweet TV show from the 1970s, it’s not the little house but rather The Little Church on the Prairie. Located in a charming little village, the Emmanuel Anglican Church seen here is a few years into its second century and while it appears that...
This city hike has everything! Urban blight, a dull overcast day, gritty industrial areas, noisy highways, airways and rail yards, funny smells, neglected city parks, icy pathways and an unexpected and intense snow storm to round it all off. What more could one ask for? In winter our hiking options...
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...
The Lethbridge Viaduct, also known as the High Level Bridge, is of course a well known landmark and the longest and the highest steel rail trestle in the world. Towering over the Oldman River it’s located right in the middle of the city and can be easily seen from any...
When one thinks of large train bridges in Alberta or even Canada for that matter, the Lethbridge Viaduct instantly comes to mind for most. Its massive size means an equally massive notoriety and it’s clearly the most famous of its type. However scatted nearby throughout the southern half of the...
Calgary’s National Hotel is being reborn. Forgotten and neglected for many years it rises like a phoenix from the ashes. Most recently a haven for the downtrodden it will find a new life, being converted to condominiums and retail space. Now over 100 years old it’s nice to see that...
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...
At this time of year, here in the cold wilds of Alberta, spotting a Boler or even a Boler look alike trailer is pretty rare. Most of them are nicely tucked away for the winter in back yards, alleys, garages or in other obscure or hard to access spots and...
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...
Chris rushed in excitedly and showed me this comparison, but after a short pause, his look changed. It's that confused expression one gets just before the face-palm, when they realize something they did just doesn't add up.
One year shy of a century separates the two images but as it turns out, they're not even of the same building. The top is Westmount School and the bottom McDougall School, both in Edmonton and not far from each other.
It took this long to realize we'd been shooting at the wrong place all this time! The two schools were built in the same year and very close in design, so it's still an interesting comparison. We had a good laugh and we'll give Chris a mulligan on this one.
Looks like we're going have to head back for a do-over.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photos: 1924 and 2023. Submitted by Connie.
It's amazing how many of these Canada Centennial Maples Leafs still exist out in the wild across the prairies. We could fill an album with the ones we've photographed. It seems rural folks embraced patriotism with more fervor than their urban counterparts, but that's just an observation.
This example was found in a small Saskatchewan town. When they placed this up above the community hall there was a certain optimism that's not seen now. Today, only a handful of people call the community home, and it's that close to being a true ghost town. Almost sixty years in place and this memorial to a 100 year celebration is still here.
If our readers have found any of these while out exploring, please share in the comments. We'd love to see them.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
Billy Clark’s Cabin in Meadow Creek BC and it dates back over a century. Now at the local museum it formerly stood in a valley a little to east and on the shores of Duncan Lake (now Ducan Lake Reservoir).
Billy was a trapper, hunter, and woodsman. All he had was this tiny log house, a small plot of land, the surrounding wilderness, and his wits for survival. Nothing more. That spirit of self reliance seems to be a lost art today.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Submitted by Connie.
Both Chris and I both grew up in the malaise era for cars and get giddy when we spot one from that time out in the wild. It's like meeting an old friend. This '80s beauty was found out in a hiking area of Kananaskis and by all appearances, looks to be driven regularly.
The malaise era is marked by cars with uninspired design, quirky traits, hobbled performance and often questionable quality. Depressing stuff. This Cutlass is probably one of the better GM cars of the time, and both Chris and our son Will have owned examples in the past.
Have a malaise era story or photo to share? Post it in the comments!
Out in nature with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2023. Submitted by Connie.
We come over many rises on a the prairies and on doing so surprised by many interesting things. This one caused a double take.
This lonely locomotives sits at the then very end of track outside Leader SK and was out of service at the time. Guess they socked it away out of sight to forget about it. We found photos showing it in service the year before our visit but here it was cold and dead.
Since this photo was taken, the Great Sandhills Railway has extended the track across the road and set up some kind of transloading operation. In years passed, the track (under CP ownership) continued west all the way into Alberta, but that's a distant memory.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
The messages have been coming fast and often. No, the book we produced a couple years back is not being published after all, in spite of appearing on many websites recently. Oddly some are showing it with the cover from another volume altogether. Please don't order and it must be a glitch.
The other two books shown in our capture are available however (and are awesome) and were produced by some friends. Interestingly, Chris contributed to each and those you can order.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Submitted by Connie.
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