I was saddened to hear that Dale Wilson died on May 5. Dale was a well-known railway historian and photographer who wrote several books, many focused on the Algoma Central. I have one of his books, Algoma Eastern Railway, and I’ve read a couple of others via our local library. He was a great writer. … Read more
For all the times that we sit trackside and watch empty tracks, we have to remember that occasionally Lady Luck smiles upon us and sends us something unexpected.
As he stood there in the darkness, watching the train, he felt her standing beside him, all too close. Then he felt her right hand slip into his left.
You may have heard the acronym FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. Many railfans have this affliction, and I have suffered from it myself. You hear about some special train or locomotive coming through your area and you feel like you have to go see it because other people are.
A recent CP derailment has put life back into the rail relocation zombie, the shambling agglomeration of ideas to move the rail yards and lines out of downtown Winnipeg that just won’t die.
Well I look over yonder across the plainThe big drive wheels are poundin’ along the groundGonna get on board and I’ll be homeward boundNow I ain’t had a home cooked mealAnd Lord I need one nowAnd the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love “Steel Rail Blues”, Gordon Lightfoot The … Read more
Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy, founder of OSIsoft, died in early April at the age of 79. He will be missed. Who was Dr. Kennedy, or Pat as most people knew him? And why am I writing about him here? Pat was a brilliant engineer, a savvy entrepreneur and a genuinely caring person. He was one … Read more
Today we take computer networking for granted. In fact, most people don’t even think of it at all. The fact that the device in your hand can load a web page halfway across the planet in a few seconds is taken for granted. It wasn’t always this easy. In fact, it was downright difficult.
The quiet town of Eastend, Saskatchewan has become the home of perhaps the largest collection of ex CN, ex VIA Rail equipment in the world. Gary Southgate, a farmer from North Battleford, SK, has been collecting railway equipment for a decade. He has purchased ex VIA Rail blue and yellow passenger equipment, and locomotives, and … Read more
It was far too nice an evening to sit inside. We had fresh snow on the ground, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperature was hovering around freezing. A very pleasant evening for early April in Winnipeg.
