Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie - Est 2012

The Alberta Prairie Railway Excursion tourist trains makes regular stops in Big Valley Alberta, a lovely and picturesque town with an historic ex-CNoR train station. This century old building welcomes those visiting no matter how they get here. We came by car but wished it we arrived by train instead....

The subject of this report is a fine reproduction building based on the circa 1893-1911 CPR train station that once stood in downtown Calgary. Located at the entrance to Heritage Park, this picturesque replica depot is made from local sandstone and greets those entering the facility. Interestingly, the old structure...

This adventure has us joining author Jonathan Koch from ForgottenAlberta.com. Together we’ll explore the field that was once the site of Bow City Alberta, “The City of Natural Resources”, a town which existed for only short moment in time. Also accompanying us, as our guide, is Leo Smith, a long...

The quaint little village of Big Valley Alberta is great place to visit if you like historical structures. Among the buildings worth exploring are a traditional wooden grain elevator, roundhouse remains, a lovely train station, and a unique little place of worship located on a small hill overlooking town. It’s...

The subject of this report is the massive CPR Bassano train station, moved from its namesake town to Beiseker for eventual display at the Alberta 2005 Centennial Railway Museum. It currently sits, boarded up and in rough shape, not far from the foundation which it is to eventually to be...

The tracks are still in place, but it’s been a good number of years since a train passed over the CNR Midland bridge that spans the Red Deer River near Drumheller Alberta. An imposing structure, many large concrete blocks can be seen in its deck, leftovers from the spring 2013...

The charming town of Big Valley is like Disneyland for the history buff. There are so many things to explore including a traditional wooden grain elevator, a picturesque Canadian Northern railway station, lots of old and interesting buildings, including the lovely (and blue) St. Edmund’s church on a hill overlooking...

The CPR’s famous Spiral Tunnels were an important and costly project that allowed the railway to finally abandon its troublesome Big Hill. The latter was a steep and dangerous stretch of track and was a major bottleneck. The new bypass helped alleviate, but not totally solve, the congestion issues the...

The picturesque village of Big Valley Alberta is rich in history – railway history in particular. There is a beautifully restored train station, remains of a once busy railway divisional point with roundhouse, and the subject of this report, an iconic wooden grain elevator that for decades loaded rail cars....

This post has been updated and can be found here: CPR Water Tower Cranbrook BC. In our travels we’ve come across a few octagonal water tank foundations… Bridge hunting – Bullpound Alberta. Yahk then and now. If you’d like to know more about what you’ve seen here, by all means...

Located in a gorgeous setting on the shores of Moyie Lake, the town of Moyie BC was once famous for the huge St. Eugene Mine, the remains of which can still be seen today. Gone is the hustle and bustle of days past and all that’s left is a sleepy...

What a great day to explore the restored ghost town of Rowley Alberta. We are blessed with glorious blue skies with wispy white clouds, beautiful fall foliage and lovely browns, tans, greys and whites of the various buildings in town. It’s a wonderful autumn day and we have all of...

The remains of the Kootenay King Mine concentrator, cement walls and machinery support pads, a large wooden ore bin, and other bits are still visible a few kilometres up the Wildhorse River road. In production for only a brief time in the early 1950s, there many things to explore, surprising...

Located in High River Alberta, almost downtown in fact, the old CPR railway bridge across the Highwood River has not seen a train in years. In spite of that the tracks are still in place, as though waiting for one to pass. This massive structure has stood fast for what...