An Ancient Boxcar

Progress is a steam roller with anything in its sights standing zero chance. Here, a farm, one that was vacated only a short time ago and now sitting empty (but kept up), an ever-growing bedroom community expanding around it with the land under petition of redevelopment (according to Cochrane Alberta town records). And with that, soon enough all that is seen may go bye-bye. Or maybe it’s happened already? The shots are from some months back. There’s a post-war era house, a fine old barn dating back some time before, some odd outbuildings and most interesting to us, an old wooden boxcar.

Being used as shed, it’s an ancient one dating back easily a hundred plus years, give or take. We look close to see a car number, using our zoom lens, but it’s long since faded away. With it, we could have had a history. It’s not odd to see old boxcars made into utility buildings like this – they could be had cheap when retired from service – but to see a survivor made of wood is quite a delight. They usually rot away quickly. It’d be safe to assume this one has been sitting here longer than it was in service. Most cars like this were gone by the 40s/50s. Looks like it was used for hay storage – there was often a horse in the coral next to the boxcar back when the place was occupied.

Might have to go back to see what’s going on. You know, nothing’s forever.

More…
Boxcars!

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: May, 2018.
Location: Cochrane, AB.
All shots were taken from public property.

Old Boxcar Alberta

At a vacant farm, this old boxcar.

Old Wood Boxcar Alberta

This one dates back a long time.

Abandoned Farm Alberta

Some out buildings.

Vacant House Alberta

And an empty house.

16 responses

  1. Roy Heckler says:

    We see old train cars at different places here in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. You guys have interesting posts.

  2. Rhys Courtman says:

    That’s neat. There’s an old wooden boxcar south of Airdrie, just off RR294, that’s used as a shed as well.

    • Yes, I know of that one. It survived a fire as I recall, the house beside it burning down but the boxcar managing to survive. Still, I thinks its days are numbered. I bet developers are eyeing up that land.

  3. Joan Bender says:

    I so enjoy yours and Connies travels, I keep you in my prayers.

  4. Michael Pannell says:

    With wooden ends its likely pre 1910.

  5. Peter Sorbie says:

    There are four in a field West of chestermere.

  6. Peter Nunes says:

    “it’s” correct two out of three times. Not bad

  7. Jenn says:

    That box car is gorgeous!

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