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I hadn’t been down the CN Letellier subdivision (Winnipeg-Emerson) in quite some time, so I decided to do something about that. I set out on March 20 down highway 75 from Winnipeg toward Emerson and the US border. As I drove down, I was hoping to see a CN train along the way. While you … Read more

I was watching a freight train roll by a few weeks ago, and I saw a series of sand cars with a variety of patched reporting marks. I thought I’d share them – they are interesting if you look hard enough! (what is a reporting mark?) PMRX 13105 has a relatively clean patch over the … Read more

I’m sorry to report that noted railway historian James Arthur “Art” Clowes has died. Art worked for CN for more than 30 years. After he retired, he volunteered at the Salem and Hillsborough Railroad and was instrumental in creating the museum there. I met Art at the museum. He was one of the few people … Read more

I was reading this very thought provoking article by Levi Sim, Taking Street Photography Should Be Illegal, and it got me thinking about ethics with railway photography. Levi’s article touches on some of the ethics of street photography, and taking photos of people without their permission. One key paragraph in his article talks about taking … Read more

You may remember that I featured Nick Lafreniere’s LEGO® VIA Rail “Canadian” a while ago. He was trying to get 10,000 supporters in order to get the LEGO company to consider it for a kit. Well, he made it! It’s now being evaluated and hopefully they’ll give it the green light. Heck, even VIA Rail … Read more

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

From 2006!