It was a frosty and foggy morning when I set out from Winnipeg in search of trains. The date was March 17, 2019 and I had a few hours to get some trains and maybe fly my (relatively new) drone. As soon as I stepped out of my house, I saw the fog and I … Read more
Monday, August 5 was a holiday here in Manitoba. It was Terry Fox Day, a provincial holiday to honour the heroic runner who attempted to run across Canada in 1980. See below for more information on Terry. I noticed that VIA 2, the eastbound Canadian, was late again and was set to depart Winnipeg shortly … Read more
Most of my railfan posts tend to be long stories of what I saw when I was out railfanning. Sometimes, though, I just see a train while we’re out doing something else. I thought I’d share a few of those here… call them “short stories” instead of novels or novellas. A Real Branch Line Train … Read more
I went up to the Prairie Dog Central early Saturday morning (August 3). I wanted to make a donation to help support the PDC and its operations, so I arranged to meet with the General Manager, Paul Newsome. We ended up sitting in the office with Jeff Livingstone, the Operations Manager, and I (re)joined the … Read more
The book “Speedway to Sunshine” by Seth H. Bramson is an unabashed love letter to the Florida East Coast Railway. The author is the railway’s biggest fan and makes no bones about it. I bought the hardcover version of this book at a local book sale for $3. This is far outside of my normal … Read more
I never regret getting up early to take photos. Whether I’m on vacation or at home, getting those early photos is worth losing a bit of sleep. I’m a big fan of sunrise photography. We were in Europe recently on a family trip – that’s a post or two in the future – and we … Read more
This is a guest post by Alan Graham. You may remember his previous guest post about riding three trains in northern Quebec. Take it away, Alan! In June 2019, I had the opportunity to ride passenger trains in northern Manitoba. This guest post will focus on overall impressions and tips for railfans. Northern Manitoba has … Read more
After the railfanning and grain elevator-ing (vatorfanning?) I did in the morning of June 1, I would have been quite satisfied. However, there was more to come before the day was complete. My daughter was out with friends and I was tasked to pick her up at 10 PM. The rest of us were at … Read more
June 1, 2019 was a pretty glorious day of railfanning. So glorious, in fact, that I have to present it in two parts. I set out early in the morning to take some photographs of grain elevators with my drone. Since it was June 1, the new drone rules came into effect and there were … Read more
Terry Gainer’s book, “When Trains Ruled the Rockies”, is part autobiography, part history book, and I recommend it for anyone who likes the CPR, or the Banff area. It’s a great read. (buy it on Amazon) Author Terry Gainer lived in the Banff, Alberta train station from 1948 to 1955 when his father was the … Read more