The Junior Jet Club

I’m written before about how I was an “army brat” – my father was in the Canadian military – and we lived overseas twice when I was a child. On our second tour overseas, to Moscow, USSR (see Soviet Military Toys), I was apparently enrolled in the British Airways “Junior Jet Club”. This was a … Read more

It’s All About the Grain Cars

I often go railfanning on Sunday morning. The rest of the family usually sleeps in, and I wake up early pretty much every day, so it’s either putter around quietly at home or go look for trains. The trains usually win… On January 17 I left the house around 8 AM and headed up to … Read more

Top Videos of 2020

I post a lot of videos on my YouTube channel (feel free to subscribe!) If you are on my mailing list, you’ve been getting a weekly summary of the video(s) I have posted that week. I thought I’d go back and look at the most popular train videos that I uploaded in 2020. I say … Read more

Last Light Railfanning

Drone View Along Rivers Subdivision 20200816 SLB-3

I enjoy railfanning in all seasons. Fall brings gorgeous foliage. Winter brings clear skies and blowing snow. Spring brings bright green and pools of water for reflecting trains. Summer brings pleasant temperatures… and long days. In mid August 16, 2020 I took advantage of those long days to get some “last light” railfanning in. August … Read more

Northbound at Jubilee

Back in May 2020, I was midway up Pembina Avenue in Winnipeg and I had an hour to kill. Why not go to the Bus Rapid Transit station stop by Jubilee Avenue? Doesn’t everyone? Seriously, though, I did want to see it as I hadn’t been in the area since the shelter was completed. That … Read more

Ex-Pillsbury Cylindrical Grain Cars

I saw a post by George Dutka on the excellent White River Division blog about ex Pillsbury covered hoppers. I’ll chime in with my own observations. These blue, often rusty, cylindrical grain hoppers can be seen with SOO reporting marks on Canadian Pacific’s lines. These are 263,000 lb cars built in 1979 for Pillsbury and … Read more

Catching the Morning Trains

CP 834 rolling into Winnipeg

The day after “thinking different” on Boxing Day 2020, I went out again on December 27th for more railfanning. It turned out to be a busy morning on the rails. First I headed to the CP just west of Winnipeg, and caught this approaching eastbound freight train around sunrise. I really liked the look of … Read more

Timetable World

Railways operated on official timetables, issued a few times a year, and they still do in many locations. There are two types – public and employee. If you’ve taken a train, you’ve probably consulted the public one in some form or another. The employee timetable is far more detailed and gives a lot of information … Read more