The Lost LAV: Which Way to Wainwright?

Which Way to Wainwright? We’ve come to this spot (marked Philips Alberta on maps) to watch trains, but they no-showed and instead kept an eye on something else playing out not far from the tracks. How curious! It seems a transport with a military load bound for a nearby Forces Base had lost its way and in an oopsie moment got a little stuck doubling back.

We arrived just after the tow-truck and our position allowed us to view the action without getting in the way. Plus we could keep an eye open for approaching trains as well. Spoiler alert: due to a track maintenance window there were none to be seen, but we didn’t know it at the time. It’s such a joy being so blissfully unaware.

Normally this section of Canadian National mainline is crazy-busy with passing freights (occasional passenger runs too), but for the hour or so we hung around, saw not a one. Even in a short time like this, we should have expected to see a couple, minimally, but got bupkis.

Sometimes they’re so frequent along here that soon after one passes, you can sometimes seen another hot on its tail off in the distance. The track is arrow straight and for the most part the views can be far reaching. Trains are often monstrous in size, extending from horizon to horizon and they really move. Here: The Trains Here, Do They Fly.

Our location is not far from our home base for the weekend in Viking Alberta and just off Highway #14. There we were with a few hours to burn and cruising around looking for fun, but never did we expect this. You gotta love when it falls on your lap so easily. Incidentally, we were in the area for this: Train Stations: Viking Alberta and while there, shot this one as well: Downtown Viking Alberta (w Harry Palmer).

So it’s clear the truck was heading to Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, a huge military post some sixty clicks to the east and somehow overshot the target. The cargo, a LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) 6, is a dead give away and there’s no way it could be bound anywhere else.

The Forces have a big fleet of these brutish 8x8s and they appear to move around a lot. We’ve seen other transports hauling them while up this way and it seems they use contract carriers for many of these moves. That’s the case here.

Where the load came from is anyone’s guess. Had we be able to make out the name on the side of the truck it may have given some insight but we couldn’t from our position. Curses for not bringing a longer lens. There was no way we were getting closer as we did not want to make an already stressful situation worse. That poor driver.

We’ve seen these LAVs move under their own power in the area – it’s so cool to pass one on the highway – but they’re not well suited for long distance travel. That this one was trailered suggests it came from afar and from the east too. We could see tire marks that confirmed the direction of travel and that haul truck had been the only vehicle to pass before us on this road.

Where as most LAVs carry weapons of some sort, this is an engineering variant and equipped with a dozer blade. These beasts are some of the newest fighting equipment in the Forces and if you look up their off-road capabilities, they are seemingly able to travel pretty much anywhere.

So it appears the driver at some point realized they were headed in the wrong direction and using a couple of grid roads, made a loop to spin back around. Stuff happens and that seems like a reasonable solution, except in hindsight perhaps. Couple things: these backroads are narrow, turning angles are sharp and shoulders are soft. Oh, and it had rained which further complicated things. That’s a bad mix when you’re both long and heavy and so we got what we see here.

It took some time, and much cursing from what we could hear, to free the rig, and right after it was back on its way (east). No harm, no foul, but no doubt the recovery cost a pretty penny. That’s how it goes in trucking and sometimes you’re ahead, and sometimes money’s in the toilet.

It soon becomes clear why not a single train has passed. A headlight, then another, is seen off in the distance but it’s no fast moving freight and instead some slow, lumbering track maintenance equipment. They’ve been working in the area and that means a total halt to all movements. The railway is already running at high capacity and we bet this further bunged up the works.

But it’s necessary and if the track is not maintained then everything comes to grinding halt. It must be kept in fine shape, even if the down time is painful, especially given the tonnage hauled and speeds at which it moves.

The transport and it’s LAV cargo is soon gone and ditto for the railway maintenance equipment, so I guess we’re done too.

Back in Viking we pass by some of the local grain terminals and you know, damn they’re huge. Later that night, from our motel room, we could hear the railway was busy again, with trains coming fast and frequent. Their horns echoed hauntingly in the night, signalling the track work was done and the floodgates had opened.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Know more (new tabs): Canadian Forces LAV 6 and Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.

They’re saying…

”The wonderful out-of-the way locations and the photos of them are pure gold…Keep up the good work!” William Gibbons.

We love doing it…
Great Beater Challenge 2021.
Twilite Drive-in Wolseley.
Goin’ Waydowntown.

If you wish more information on what’s seen here, don’t hesitate to: contact us!

Date of Adventure: May, 2022.
Location(s): Between Viking and Kinsella, Alberta.
Article references and thanks: CanadianArmyToday.com, Army-Technology.com and Canadian Forces.

Which way to Wainwright?

Unstuck – RR maintenance equipment approaches.

We came to watch trains and got this instead.

Due to track work, the line was oddly quiet.

Some heavy rail on CN’s mainline.

Later at a grain terminal in our home base of Viking…