Trains and Mountains: Old Alco on Display in Cranbrook, B.C.

If you're in Cranbrook, B.C., on your way south to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel on Highway 95, the first thing you pass on the west side of the road are these old, worn and tired units--ex-CP MLW (Alco) FA-2 4090 and FB-2 4469.

The two locomotives were built in 1953, and started work in B.C. before being assigned back east.

According to reports, the goal is to repaint the units into their original maroon and gold (if funds can be found). Below find a photo of the 4090 during its Action Red years. (Photo by Ted Ellis from Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive Roster and Photo Archives.)

Also by the units is an old CPR enclosed water tower and the old Elko, B.C. station. Both are also owned by the Museum.

Trains and Mountains: The Creston, B.C. Museum HO Scale Layout

The Creston, B.C. Historical Museum is a great place to visit, even if it didn't have a model railroad. But it does--and that makes it even more worthwhile.

The layout is the workd of the Seventh Siding Trackers model railway club, which has built a representation of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Creston Valley.

The layout is open during the Museum's operating hours, and is included in the admission.

More photos of the layout below.

Trains & Mountains: A Great Combination

CPR double stack at Banff, Alberta

In early August I had a chance to visit one of my favorite places--the mountains in B.C. and Alberta. The trip included a drive south into Washington as far as the Columbia Gorge and along the eastern edge of the Cascades. Over the next few posts I'll share a few photos from those travels, beginning with the CPR Windermere Sub. in B.C.'s Columbia Valley.

The Windermere Sub. is the main route for CPR coal trains heading out of southeastern B.C. to Pacific Ocean ports. It runs from Fort Steele in the south to KC Junction, on the busy east-west Mountain Sub., in the north. The line features about 8-10 trains a day, including two wayfreights.

We stayed in Radium Hot Springs during our time in the valley. Our hotel was far from the tracks, but not so far I couldn't hear the trains blowing their horns at the crossing at the north end of the town. One afternoon I left the hotel as soon as I heard a train come into town, managing to take the photo below of an empty coal train headed back to the mines from an overlook along Highway 95. (Note mid-train helper.)



I caught up with it at Windermere, where I was pleasantly surprised to find a loaded coal train headed north. (Of course, right about then the sun went behind the clouds, making for the dark shot below.)

After a few shots, I drove back to Radium to catch the northbound at an overlook close to the tracks. The photography gods rarely smile on me, but this time, they did--the sun came out, and I had a great location as the train rounded the bend by the Columbia River.

As it passed by below me, I grabbed a few more shots (below).

For me, there's nothing better than trains and mountains--and an understanding wife, who patiently waited with me trackside at several locations while I waited for trains. 

Free N Scale Billboards

Morton Salt girl billboard from 1941-56.

Need a billboard? A sign? Flag? Grafitti? A selection of these items for N scale is available free at N Scale Limited. I model in HO, and my era is the 1990s, but I found these to be very attractive--and the price is right.

Most of the billboards are from the 1920s to 1950s, and include companies such as Wrigley’s gum, A.C. Delco batteries, Sinclair oil, Coca-Cola and others. (See examples below.)

Each post also includes historical information about the company, and the years the billboard was used.

To save the images, first click on the image to enlarge it. Then right-click the image and select “save as.” Print, and you're ready to go!

Ford billboard from 1950.

Texaco ad from 1950.

Top Ten Most Visited Pages on the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision Blog

Another milestone was passed last week when the CP Rail M & M Sub. blog passed 80,000 views. When I started it back in 2009, I had no idea it might be interesting to so many visitors.

Looking back, I wondered: What are some of the most visited pages? Here are the top ten.

The number one most viewed post is A Tour of the CP Rail M & M Sub.

That is followed by Happy Birthday, CN Wet Noodle!

Next comes Most Unusual Layout Location, about a long-distance trucking friend who has a layout in the cab of his truck.

The Twin City Model Railroad Museum in St. Paul, MN--with their wonderful O scale layout--was the next most visited page.

A post about the Montreal Model Railroad Assocation losing its longtime home came next. (An update on the club's future is here.) Perhaps that speaks to the fears we all have of losing space for our layouts.

There may be more VIA modellers out there than I thought. How else to explain the popularity of the page about Eric Gagnon's new book, Trackside With Via?

An overview of the CP Rail M & M Sub. came after that.

Next, and perhaps also touching a primal fear, was the post titled Death and the Model Railroader.

(I actually have four posts about death and model railroading on my blog, which either makes me very morbid or very realistic. One is about the death of my friend David Dyck, and the dismantling of his layout; another is about the passing of model railroader Michal Howe, and the wonderful things said about him; and the last is about how Winnipegger Harold Weston surprised friends taking apart his layout following his passing. Hint: It involves a bottle of fine spirits and a mountain.)

Rounding out the top ten is the most recent post about Brian Elchlepp's BC Rail Dawson Creek Subdivision--a layout that is gone, but not forgotten.

When I started the blog, it was mostly an opportunity for me to do some fun writing (as opposed to the writing I have to do for work). Plus, it was a way to learn more about the hobby, share tips and ideas, and showcase some of the great modelling I've seen over the years through my work with Canadian Railway Modeller, or just found on the Web.

I'm glad others have enjoyed it, too.