CPKC has a large presence in the Regina area because it is on their main line. CN’s presence is much more limited, and Regina is connected to CN’s network via a branch line from Melville to Regina named the CN Quappelle subdivision, which runs through the Qu’Appelle Valley.
When I left Melville after seeing the VIA Rail Canadian, I drove down highway 10, which parallels the CN line for much of the way.
Lorlie
This building at Lorlie, SK caught my eye, so I pulled off the highway to grab a quick photo. There isn’t much in Lorlie at all!
Balcarres
The only grain elevator on the line is in Balcarres, Saskatchewan. An ex Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator sits quietly by the line, its time over, while a large Cargill elevator does the work of grain storage and shipping.
What really surprised me was the signals still in place on what was the CP Bulyea subdivision.
A signal stands sentry on the roadbed, protecting against the former CNR crossing ahead. The mile 24.9 signal and mile 25 milepost sign stand, bereft of rails.
I’m not sure why the signal still stands. Maybe it’s still a work order in one department’s system, stuck in processing, waiting for approval, lost in bureaucracy.
Fort Qu’Appelle
North and east of Regina is the Fort Qu’Appelle Valley. This prairie anomaly was gouged out by ancient glacial floodwaters, and today is a beautiful “hole in the prairies”. It’s quite striking – you drive along the flat prairie, and suddenly a valley opens up below you. When you are in the valley, you forget you are in the prairies at all.
Fort Qu’Appelle is in the heart of the valley, nestled between the lakes and at the junction of several roads.
My family visited here in June 2003 for a wedding, and we stayed at Katepwa at the southeast end of the valley. It was beautiful. We visited Fort Qu’Appelle for the wedding, and I grabbed one shot of the station with my powerful 1 megapixel Sony camera.
Back to 2024… I stopped in Fort Qu’Appelle briefly to make a few images of the station, then I carried on. As I was climbing out of the valley, I spotted a northbound CN train descending into the valley. I wish I could have photographed it right there, as it was in a very picturesque location, but I was driving at 100 km/hr and there was no good place to stop.
Eventually I was able to turn around, and I returned to the station area to capture the train as it passed through the valley on its way to Melville.
The train had four locomotives on the head end (CN 3071, 2776, 2874, 3061) and none in the middle, which seems unusual these days.
I really like the photo below. It captures the station and shows the climb out of the valley.
One rail car that caught my eye in this train was BCNE 90065, a coal car bearing both BC Rail and CN markings.
I didn’t encounter any more trains between Fort Qu’Appelle and Regina – even at Balgonie where I encountered the CP main line – and I made it to my hotel while there was still light in the sky.
Too tired to go to a restaurant, I ordered a gluten-free pizza from the hotel’s restaurant and ate the whole thing. It was pretty tasty!
The view from the balcony outside my room was pretty nice. This is facing west along Victoria Avenue, from the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel on the corner of Victoria and Broad.
Summary
On my roundabout trip from Winnipeg to Regina, I traveled over some new-to-me roads in Saskatchewan, spotted a few trains and a new-to-me grain elevator (at Waldron), and caught the Canadian outside Melville.
Much better than traveling the Trans-Canada, if you have the time!
I resolved to take a different, non Trans-Canada, route home.. and I did. More later.
Fort Qu’Appelle is a scenic area. That signal is peculiar though! An interesting find!
I love these road trip posts. Interestingly enough, I am re-reading Pierre Berton’s The Last Spike and am reading about the time when Regina was first chosen as the then NWT capital. This is an area of the country with a fascinating history, much of it now being retold to those of us who were only taught the settler’s perspective.