Current Projects

CP 5723 in Winnipeg, Sept 3 2020

I often have a lot of different projects going on and sometimes it’s hard to keep track. I’m going to share what I’m working on so you might see what’s coming down the wire and also for a little accountability. I might be a little vague on a few things that I can’t share details … Read more

The BC Rail Heritage Unit

BC Rail heritage unit CN 3115

I mentioned in a recent post that CN had five locomotives specially painted to honour the railways they acquired since their 1995 privatization. Naturally, railfans chimed in with their opinions, the railways don’t care, and the trains keep rolling. Ahem. The word circulated that CN 3115, the BC Rail “heritage” unit, would be leading train … Read more

Oil Trains on the Sprague

Train passing through Ste Anne automated rail inspection portal

It looked like a beautiful Sunday morning, very nice for railfanning… sunny and blue skies galore. I hit the road and headed toward Symington Yard, intending to take a look and see if I could find the “heritage” CN 7600 that was at the shops earlier. Those plans were derailed replaced by a single red … Read more

Cross “Air Force” Off The List

As many railfans know, the Canadian Pacific Railway painted five of their refurbished SD70ACu locomotives to honour the armed services of Canada and the US. Each are painted differently to represent different branches of the militaries and/or time periods. The five are CP 6644 “D-Day”, CP 7020 “NATO green”, CP 7021 “Sand”, CP 7022 “Navy”, … Read more

Making a Difference

CP 8872 at Culross, MB

In these trying times, it’s hard to stay positive. With the pandemic still raging – and here in Manitoba, worse than it ever has been – it’s difficult to see any silver lining. I’m generally a positive, “things will work out” kind of guy. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on bad things … Read more

They Shall Grow Not Old

Thank you to all the men and women who have served our country. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice and all have been changed by the experience. Let us support, help and remember them. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the … Read more

A New Angle

Winnipeg is half encircled by the Red River Floodway, which can divert most of the Red River around the city during times of flooding. It was expanded after the 1997 “Flood of the Century”. I’ve included the handy map from Wikimedia above. Remember that the Red River flows from south to north, coming from Fargo … Read more

Bus Spotting at Osborne Station

I had an hour to kill one June evening this year, so I headed over to the Osborne Village area of Winnipeg. My intent was to look for different photo angles in the area. I decided to visit the Osborne Station on Winnipeg’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. Here’s a map I drew of the … Read more

Book Review: Steam Echoes of Hamilton

Steam Echoes of Hamilton is a nostalgic look at mid-1950s railway action in and around Hamilton, Ontario. I have been aware of author Ian Wilson’s “Steam” series of books for some time. People have spoken very highly of his books, known as the Canadian Branchline series, but until now I haven’t read a single one. … Read more

Former Diesels of the TH&B

In my review of In The Shadow of Giants by Norman Helm, I mentioned that when the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway was absorbed into the CPR, some of the TH&B was kept by Canadian Pacific. The TH&B’s GP7 and GP9 locomotives had their short hoods chopped, and were repainted into red CP Rail colours. … Read more