VIA Rail in LEGO?

Lego Canadian Train

Would you want a VIA Rail Canadian in LEGO®? How about a VIA Corridor train? If Nick Lafreniere is successful with his bid, this could happen. Nick has designed two potential LEGO kits featuring some of VIA’s trains operating today. Nick needs your help to get these to kit form. Click one or both buttons … Read more

VIA 12?!

VIA 12 Outside Winnipeg

Since the global shutdown due to Covid-19, a lot of transit services have reduced service or stopped running entirely. VIA Rail is no exception to this, and has shut down all long distance travel with the exception of the Winnipeg-Churchill train (see The Longest Train Still Running) and a few shorter haul trains in Quebec. … Read more

CP TEC Trains

CP TEST train near Niverville 20200512 Paul La Rocque-1

Blog reader Paul La Rocque sent me these photos of a mysterious passenger train on the CP Emerson subdivision south of Winnipeg. He was wondering what type of train this was. This is one of Canadian Pacific’s “TEC” trains, featuring a Track Evaluation Car (TEC) behind a generator car and a passenger car. These trains … Read more

Rail Trains

Today’s railways use continuous welded rail (CWR) a lot instead of the traditional jointed rail. CWR or “ribbon rail” is a very, very long rail, often a quarter mile in length. CWR is preferred because it is strong and has no joints to sag or fail. Most wheel and track wear occurs at the rail … Read more

The Maroon and the Military

Sunday, May 3rd was a very exciting time in the Winnipeg area for the railfans in the area. There were not one, not two, but three Canadian Pacific Railway “heritage” units in town during the day! Also, it was a lovely day and the three all came through in daylight. A railfan’s delight! The three … Read more

Ottawa’s Public Transit Rail Experiment

OTrain by David McCormack

This is a guest post by David McCormack. Thank you, David! Click on any of the photos to see them on Flickr. Today, after 20 years, the City of Ottawa has fully completed its OTrain experiment. It all started out as a small project (of $21 million to 26 million (Ottawa Citizen, 2001-10-13) depending on … Read more

The Longest Train Still Running

VIA 6436 mile 16 west of Winnipeg

These days, a lot of VIA Rail’s trains have been reduced in frequency or cancelled outright. The Canadian, the Ocean, the Maple Leaf, the Jasper-Prince Rupert train – all cancelled. Corridor service is reduced, and other longer distance trains like the Sudbury-White River and Montreal – Jonquière/Senneterre trains have been reduced in frequency as well. … Read more

Photography in the Age of Covid

In this time of social distancing, sheltering in place, and all the other new phrases associated with the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, what should photographers do? Things You Clearly Can’t Do One on one type photography is clearly not OK. A photographer should not be doing studio work with models, families, babies, business headshots and … Read more

Book Review: The Old Railway Station Book

The cover of “The Old Railway Station Book” really caught my eye. This is the stone station at Kensington, PEI, a station I have visited several times. I was hooked. This book by Michael Golay follows the train station from its humble beginnings at the dawn of railroading, through the heyday of train stations at … Read more