The Agawa Canyon Tour Train in northern Ontario is a long-running tourist attraction that brings thousands of visitors to the remote and beautiful Agawa Canyon. Canada’s famed Group of Seven painters traveled this route and painted several gorgeous views of the area. Today artists and tourists alike enjoy the views.

I was very sorry to hear that Ed Bowes died on September 12. He was a big part of the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad and he will be missed.

Manitoba is perhaps Canada’s most forgotten province. Most of our 10 provinces have something unique about them – Nova Scotia, the ocean; Newfoundland, the accents and screech; Quebec, French and poutine; and so forth. Manitoba has polar bears, I suppose, but otherwise we are pretty dull.

Author Terry Gainer recently published The Soo Line’s Famous Trains to Canada and shared a few Soo Line timetables from his research. I’m happy to be able to share them here for reference.

I was browsing a used bookstore recently and came across a copy of “Unlucky Lady” by Len Barrow and Emile Beaudoin. This is the story of the first HMCS Athabaskan, which had a short service life in World War 2 before it was lost in action. I bought the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. At … Read more

At one time, rails reached Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia. They ran over a pretty circuitous route from Windsor Junction to Dartmouth, through Shearwater, Lawrencetown, Three Fathom Harbour, Petain, Chezzetcook, and into Musquodoboit and even a little beyond. This timetable from June 1, 1919 shows a lot of stations that don’t exist on a map today. Back … Read more

I’m reading the book “An Anthropologist on Mars” by neurologist Oliver Sacks. He presents seven unusual cases, including the “Memory Artist”, Franco Magnani. Franco has the unusual combination of an almost eidetic memory, an artistic talent, and an obsession with the town of Pontito, Italy. He spent most of his childhood there, until his father … Read more