At one time, rails reached Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia. They ran over a pretty circuitous route from Windsor Junction to Dartmouth, through Shearwater, Lawrencetown, Three Fathom Harbour, Petain, Chezzetcook, and into Musquodoboit and even a little beyond. This timetable from June 1, 1919 shows a lot of stations that don’t exist on a map today. Back … Read more
When does one actually become “old”, anyway? I’m almost 56 and I don’t feel old. I guess I’m not “there” yet, although it’s quite a stretch to call me middle-aged.
I’m reading the book “An Anthropologist on Mars” by neurologist Oliver Sacks. He presents seven unusual cases, including the “Memory Artist”, Franco Magnani. Franco has the unusual combination of an almost eidetic memory, an artistic talent, and an obsession with the town of Pontito, Italy. He spent most of his childhood there, until his father … Read more
I want to wish blog partner Eric Gagnon a hearty “happy anniversary” on this auspicious day, the 15th anniversary of the start of his great blog, Trackside Treasure.
I was in the Kitchener-Waterloo area recently, spending a few days with my son and his wife. I had hoped to take the train to Kitchener when I arrived at Pearson, but Air Canada made sure we landed too late for that to work. Fortunately the return Kitchener-to-Pearson trip was successful.
The Waterloo Central Railway just announced that they have reached an agreement to purchase ex Canadian Pacific Railway steam engine #1238. This “Pacific” type steam locomotive operated on tourist railways in the USA for years, and has been resting in Winnipeg since 2015 at the Prairie Dog Central.
I was in Toronto recently. While walking toward the UP Express to get to Pearson, I came across the exhibit “We Are Still Here” by Blake Angeconeb. This is a collection of six paintings on display in the west end of the station just outside the great hall. From the artist’s statement: ‘In Anishinaabemowin, “Mino … Read more
I love train stations and I love abandoned buildings. The old station in Piney, Manitoba ticks both of those boxes! Our family took a road trip to Piney in April 2017 to see the old station. You can read this post if you wish. That one post ended up getting more than 14,000 views and … Read more
I woke up at 5 AM one morning, laid in bed for a while, and decided to get up. It was a gorgeous morning outside but I didn’t feel like going to shoot trains. I rarely do, these days. Instead, I chose to reframe it as walking in the wilderness, near train tracks. That appealed … Read more
