Churchill, MB Summer 2016

Trackside Treasure reader and now guest blogger Mark Fidelak travelled to Churchill, MB aboard VIA Rail in June and July 2016. Mark kindly shared some of his photos of the station, yard and harbour. Mark's close-up photo of 85 lb rail, rolled in 1951 and he noted it is commonly seen in the yard trackage.

For more on Churchill, see these posts on my brother Dave's blog Rolly Martin Country on his 1987 trip: touring Churchill, grain to Churchill, the trip north, then heading south  Feeling reflective - Churchill's yard awaits harvest that will never come:

Trackside Treasure blog partner Steve Boyko blogged about recent developments regarding Churchill in this post during Mark's visit, and then in October 2016. Hudson Bay Railway locomotives 2261-3002 at the terminal elevator:

Crane, flat cars and  what looks like a BCR boxcar at the harbour:

A classic ex-CN 57-foot auto transporter with patchwork lettering and HBR logo - HBRY 720100:

The station, platform and elevator:

CN 527745 40-foot boxcar with ACI label and U-1 wheel stencil, now used for storage. One end is painted bright blue!

Some flatcars await unloading in the largely-empty yard:

Many thanks to Mark for sharing the photos of his memorable trip. Almost as good as being there!

Running extra...

It's great to have Mark the guest blogger take over while things are heating up on the book front. My fourth and upcoming book on VIA Rail, Trackside with VIA - Research and Recollections has most of its text pieces and data in review-ready form. Now I'm going into the darkroom to match up some photos. Here's one:

A young Mark Perry working for CN aboard VIA train Nos 92/93 deep in the blue & yellow VIA era. Mark started with CN in 1979, working in the shops before becoming a brakeman in 1981, qualifying as conductor in 1985, then engineer in 1991. Mark worked out of Gillam, MB from 1982 to 1988, then out of Dauphin until 2010 now Winnipeg. A noted railway photographer, not only has Mark's work been featured in TRAINS magazine, he also happens to be a staunch supporter and reader of Trackside Treasure. It's great to have Mark aboard!