The Road to Regina, Part 1

Street signs: Third Street and South Railway Avenue

Recently I had to travel to the Regina, Saskatchewan area for work. I elected to drive from Winnipeg using my own car, rather than fly there and then rent a car. This gave me some flexibility on the route and how long I took to get there, so I used that to do a little exploring.

Asia and the Giants

Whenever I hear one of the classic Asia songs, “Heat of the Moment”, “Sole Survivor”, or “Only Time Will Tell”, I think of Dungeons & Dragons, and in particular I think of giants and Drow elves.

RS-18s in the 1970s

Here are a few slides I purchased showing CN RS-18 locomotives in the 1970s.

The RS-18 was built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) as the Canadian version of the Alco RS-11. These locomotives had an 251B diesel engine under the long hood powering the traction motors driving all four axles. Just over 350 were produced, mostly for CN.

The MLW S-12

Passenger train on a wooden trestle

In 1958 CN placed an order for 11 diesel-electric switchers, 1000 horsepower with Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). At the time, MLW’s 1000 HP offering was the S-12, superseding the S-7. The S-12 had the same 539 “prime mover” diesel engine under the hood, but with a new car body.

Book Lessons Learned

Proof copy of "Dances and Daydreams" book

Back in late 2018, I published my first print book, “Passing a Half Century“. This told the story of my railfanning trip through Alberta and British Columbia to celebrate my 50th birthday (in 2017). I published it in electronic form and also in paperback form. I learned some lessons from my first print book, and … Read more