Starting April Off
I hate April Fools’ Day. Call me a cranky old man, but I don’t care for pranks.
This year, I chose to spend part of April 1 trackside. I hadn’t planned it, but when I awoke that Saturday morning, I felt like seeing trains.
Review: The Empire Builder
“The Empire Builder“ is a new four-part documentary on James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern Railway and a huge figure in the history of railroads in the northwestern USA (and parts of Canada). I was recently offered a chance to view the documentary. So far I’ve watched two of the four parts … Read more
Trams in Milan, 1973
I happened to see a quartet of Milanese tram slides for sale on an online auction site a few months ago. I submitted the minimum bid and, lo and behold, I won. I guess there isn’t much competition for this type of slide! All of the slides are dated 1973 but have no other markings. … Read more
Milan’s Trams
My wife and I went to Italy in September 2022 with her parents. I was a little nervous about traveling with my in-laws for 19 days. Don’t get me wrong – I like my father-in-law and mother-in-law. They are good people. It’s just a challenge being together with your in-laws for such a long time.
Railfanning CN Between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie
I was recently asked for some advice on railfanning near the Trans-Canada Highway between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. I’m sharing a portion of this route here. Feel free to chime in with your own suggestions in the comments. I’ll be describing it as if you are heading west from Winnipeg, and I am only … Read more
From the Snowbank
The tracks run pretty straight around here. The flat prairie lent itself to straight lines and easy grades for railway planners in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so there aren’t a lot of curves on the main lines in the prairies. The CN main line west of Winnipeg is no exception.
A Computer Geek: The Super Snapshot Cartridge
Back in the late 1980s, I was hired for my first commercial programming task. I wrote two programs for the Super Snapshot cartridge… a Sprite Monitor, and a Sprite Editor. What was a Super Snapshot cartridge? What’s a sprite? Why do you want to monitor or edit it? To tell that story, we have to … Read more
Visiting Uno
The largest and longest train bridge in Manitoba is the CN trestle at Uno on the Rivers subdivision. Today, the bridge at Uno is a 1533′ steel trestle bridge. I visited it in April 2017.
Public Transit in Cologne
Public transit in the German city of Köln (Cologne in English) is the responsibility of Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG, which is responsible for operating the light rail and bus system and the subway (U-Bahn). Collectively the public transit network is known as the Cologne Stadtbahn. When we were in Cologne in early December 2021, we used … Read more
Snowshoe Railfanning
I’ve been looking for something to do during the winter besides huddling inside waiting for warmer weather. Late last year I asked Santa for a pair of snowshoes and on Christmas morning this HRKING set was under the tree.
