Algoma Central Equipment

Collage of three black and white photographs of Algoma Central Railway equipment

Here are a few scans of black and white negatives I acquired on an online auction site. I don’t know who the photographer(s) were, unfortunately. The auction listings showed two dates – July 27, 1979 for the flatcar and the rules car, and August 3, 1979 for the observation car. Bulkhead flatcar AC 2372 is … Read more

QNS&L Timetable From 1968

Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway logo and partial map

Here’s a public timetable for the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway effective October 17, 1968. It was printed on a two-sided piece of stiff cardboard / paper, roughly 8.5″ x 11″, with rounded corners. The cover shows a map of the railway, from Sept-Iles, Quebec north through Labrador to Schefferville, Quebec. In 1968 there … Read more

Travel to Batumi

The following is a letter my dad wrote and filed at the Canadian embassy in Moscow to advise new residents about traveling to the resort city of Batumi (Georgia). I have reformatted it for the web and added some footnotes, but I kept the grammar and punctuation as it was. TRAVEL TO BATUMI To let … Read more

The Road Forward

Shadow of a person on a gravel road stretching into the distance

You may have noticed a lot more non-train posts here at Traingeek World Headquarters. This isn’t intentional. I’ve been writing what I feel like writing, and these days I want to write about a lot of different things – life in the USSR, life as a computer geek, train stuff, random fiction.

Art Inspiration

Framed photos on a wall

I’d like to share the work of a few talented artists whose work graces the walls of my room. I’ve collected a few pieces over the years and seeing their talent on the walls inspires me.

Helping Others

Cat looking out a window with Christmas decorations

This will be my last post before Christmas. I hope you and your loved ones are happy and well. We are doing fine here. It’s important to remember in this time of giving and sharing that not everyone has enough to eat. CBC Manitoba recently ran a series of articles on local food banks and … Read more

CP 1834

Railway locomotives

I love images like this. There are so many little details. The white extra flags on the distant unit. The little red box on the crewman’s belt – what’s that for? The switch stand – electrically locked? The whistle sign indicating a nearby crossing. The line of telegraph poles with a new cable strung across … Read more