There used to be a vast network of railway owned telegraph lines spanning the country. Where the tracks went, so went the poles and the wires. This early incarnation of the information superhighway stood alongside the rights-of-way and were a familiar scene to people back when. Look at any old train photo and I bet you’ll see lines just like these.
Before long distance phone calls were commonplace, these facilitated communication to far off places for both Joe Public and many businesses. In addition they were used for inter-company messaging.
Falling out of use a looong time ago (countless decades), it’s not odd to find the poles still standing, sometimes with wires, sometimes without. The always frugal railways are not quick to tear them down unless they become a nuisance or hazard. So many stand, a reminder of how it used to be.
This section of telegraph was found along a Canadian National Railway line near Calgary. Them’s some nice blue skies in back.
Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found. Or sometimes we just ramble on about Lord knows what.
If you need any more information on what we talked about here, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: September, 2016. Location: Near Calgary, AB. Photo was shot from public property.
I apologize for a mental blunder on my part (which I finally realized yesterday). You had previously commented on a post (about the telegraph pole) I had made in the Facebook group Classic Canadian National. Thus I should have realized that you were already aware of this display. Mentally, I failed to recognize that Chris Doering and Chris BIGDoer are the same person.
Thank you for the article and photo. I always enjoyed seeing these along the railway lines! I don’t know if you are aware of a display in a Calgary front yard on the north side of 8 Ave. N.E. (and between Center St. & Edm. Tr.) which features a shorter version (& without the lower crossarm) of the rear 2 poles in your photo. There is also a switch stand and a flanger board sign there as well. The pole has a ‘natural’ look to where it stands among the shrubs and trees.
Glad you liked it. Yes, we’ve passed that house a number of times. Cool place. There’s anther house a few blocks away where there’s more switchstands (in the back yard).
Beer Parlour Project Friday🍺: The Thorsby Hotel, built in 1929 & a photo by the manager's 7 years old daughter. More below 👇
Agreema politely asked if she could shoot a few photos & we obliged. A dark environment like this is very unforgiving & the camera she used quite temperamental, so she did an amazing job. We're out of work as photographers! Great food at this place, BTW!
Beer Parlour Project Friday🍺: The Tofield Hotel, built in 1912 & patron Lana, shot on Rob's vintage view camera. More below 👇
She's a sweetie & met her late husband at the hotel. The building from the alley side hasn't changed much since being built but the front brickwork is now covered by siding.
Crossley slides (unrestored), an unnamed fellow snacking on Sun-Maid Raisins - mountains of BC - 1950s. More below 👇
The distinctive red box is instantly recognizable! The location is listed as the Whitewater Valley & we think it's in the Sandon area close to Retallack. Perhaps some of our friends out that way can confirm. Sandon B.C., would Hal know? Crossley frequented Sandon so the location makes sense. Note the (mine?) road cutting across the slope in back. The slide is dated 1955 in the catalogue but 1956 on the frame.
Shout out to: Jason Sailer. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
An old section of Highway #6 (BC) in the 1970s & 2021 - it's the second most shared post in our entire history! More below 👇
The original photo shows the road about the time it was decommissioned. This was always a troublesome section & so it got replaced by a new route further up the hill. While it hasn’t seen a car in eons, it remains overall in reasonable shape, save for some rockfall in places like this. These came down about ten years ago.
Happy Holidays from Off the Beaten Path w' Chris & Connie. Thanks for your continued support & encouragement. More 👇
🎄 🎄 🎄
CPKC's Holiday Train from a few nights ago. Rather than fight the crowds to see it, we wanted something a little more intimate. A bit of hike, but we brought mulled wine to help us keep warm while waiting. It's not a great shot & originally we had no intent to share it here, but what the heck.
Trainspotting is like fishing. It's not about the catch but rather getting out. If a train comes by, great, but if not, we had each other & a chance to get away from the day's problems. That's a BIG win in our books...even if we did freeze our bottoms off. _______
Out exploring with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
I apologize for a mental blunder on my part (which I finally realized yesterday). You had previously commented on a post (about the telegraph pole) I had made in the Facebook group Classic Canadian National. Thus I should have realized that you were already aware of this display. Mentally, I failed to recognize that Chris Doering and Chris BIGDoer are the same person.
And now our cover’s blown! No worries friend, it may not have been the easiest connection to make. Thanks for commenting a lot!
There appears to be a large bird perched on top of the middle pole; IMO, a hawk. Still a common site in rural Alberta.
Yes there is! Good eye. With all the gofers there’s no shortage of hawks either.
Thank you for the article and photo. I always enjoyed seeing these along the railway lines! I don’t know if you are aware of a display in a Calgary front yard on the north side of 8 Ave. N.E. (and between Center St. & Edm. Tr.) which features a shorter version (& without the lower crossarm) of the rear 2 poles in your photo. There is also a switch stand and a flanger board sign there as well. The pole has a ‘natural’ look to where it stands among the shrubs and trees.
Glad you liked it. Yes, we’ve passed that house a number of times. Cool place. There’s anther house a few blocks away where there’s more switchstands (in the back yard).
Wow great pic!
Thanks, I like it a lot of some reason. So simple a subject but nice. Thanks for commenting!
Great composition!!!
Thanks. I didn’t expect much from the photo but the more I look at it the more I can appreciate it.