425 Search Results

One evening in Coleman Alberta, in the wondrous Crowsnest Pass. With no goals or plans in mind we simply wander the historic downtown taking in this and that, passing trains and old buildings from the boom days when coal mining drove the local economy. It’s about getting out, working those… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…founded about a century ago and at the peak, in the 1920s, was home to a couple hundred people with lots more on farms in the area. There were businesses and stores of all kinds and a busy main street. Trains came and went (it was the coming of the… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…on the this section of track and so trains are short and infrequent. Passenger trains used to pass by here, travelling between Edmonton and Calgary. ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Scroll down for photos and to comment ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ The structure was built by the Manitoba Bridge and Iron… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…and all the while the bridge did its work day after day, supporting passing trains. As with most railway infrastructure, the bridge was overbuilt and while ancient by most people’s standards, it has no trouble supporting the heavier trains of today. Railways always like to get their money’s worth. The… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…– today) tourist trains past through town. They not only stopped at Big Valley, but visited other quaint places up and down the railway as well. Most of these lines, except for the section between Big Valley and Stettler have since been pulled up. One of these tourist trains happened… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…last built for the CPR. While the area had been populated long before the arrival of the railway, the trains were certainly responsible for the towns and villages that sprung up around the line. Most of what you see here dates from the time of the railway’s construction, The towns… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

Built to service the coal mines on the south side of the Red Deer river valley, the East Coulee bridge is an amazing piece of local history. Unusual and rare in design it was used both by trains and vehicular traffic on a common shared roadway. Today, the structure is… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…spite of being on the edge of bankruptcy for much if its short existence, they built tracks to anywhere and everywhere at a furious pace. Railway archaeology @ Big Valley Alberta. Big Valley was a busy centre with trains travelling the north/south Alberta Midland, which came in from two points… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)

…track, complex but necessary since trains had to completely reverse direction after dropping down from the hills above to reach their final destination, Nelson. Remains found include several bridges, ties, the roadbed itself and many other bits. Fascinating! To get to this location requires a fair hike in along the… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 2 in comments.)

…from here served their country well. Retlaw is Walter spelled backwards and the town was named for a CPR official. Little settlement took place in the region before the trains came in 1913. Concurrent with the railway, the plans were to build irrigation canals so the often bone dry prairies… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 1 in comments.)

…short hop into “town”. The railway is the only sign of life now and the trains pass by Alderson unceremoniously. Soon it’s depression after depression, all orderly in a line, marking the location of some former business or dwelling. Some foundations are of concrete others of stone rubble. A big… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 1 in comments.)

…a visit in person. It’s a little treasure. Here it’s a structure witness to the comings and goings of pioneers, settlers, travellers of all types and of course, countless passing trains. Once hugely important to the community, a connection to the outside world, it’d be easy to imagine it busy… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 0 in comments.)

…elevator where locally grown grain was shipped out to market. The trains came now and then and connected Carolside to the outside world. But in very short order, the town seems to have shrivelled and died. By the 1950s, it appears only the grain elevator remained and soon after even… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 0 in comments.)

…Canadian National Railways in the early 1920s. Competing carrier, Grand Trunk Pacific, also served Calgary and most places the CNoR went and was another line added to the network. The track here was witness to passenger trains up until the early 1970s and for a time after freights serving a… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 0 in comments.)

…carried a railway line over a broad meandering river just inside the Saskatchewan border. Today only the piers remain, lots of them, plus the old roadbed leading to each end, the decks that supported the trains long removed. Our viewpoint didn’t allow us to see the remains in their entirety…. (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 0 in comments.)

Three old grain elevators, very photogenic ones at that, can be found in small town Mossleigh Alberta. They’re located along a railway branch line that has been out of service for well over a decade, but as of spring 2015 (so just after our visit) hosts tourist trains coming in… (Search hits: 0 in title, 3 in body, 0 in comments.)