Here’s a Then & Now with a BIGDoer family connection and it was only twenty seven years in the making. Presenting our kid and his kid (our grandkid) both at ten years old in the cab of the same excursion steam locomotive. The original was captured in Donalda and the follow up in Big Valley but the background to both is Alberta Prairie Ry #41.
It’s a classic old steamer, built just over a hundred years ago and little changed in appearance not just as long as we’ve know it, but since new. Old photos found on the net and showing it in service long ago attest to its timeless appearance. The world is a much different place compared to back then, yet it looks much as it did.
27 Years Apart with Alberta Prairie Ry #41: our kid, his kid and a vintage locomotive. With Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
Posts like this would not be possible without the help of sponsors like the Wilson Family. Be like the Wilsons…
Locomotive #41 works for Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions out of Stettler and recently returned to service after a lengthy downtime while under repair. Parts and the expertise to do the work are both hard to come by and when something goes wrong, it’s never a quick fix. It’s sure nice to see it back.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
Up to the 1950s steams locomotives ruled the rails but today, for those that still function that is, they can often be found pulling tour trains and the like. Just like #41. They’re complex machines, and high maintenance so keeping them running is a tall order on its own.
This locomotive came from the US and has worked APRE trains since the late 1980s. To know more about it history please scroll down to the end of the written part of this post and look for a link.
The original photo, showing our kid Will was taken on a stretch of line now out of service. It ran from Stettler north-ish to Meeting Creek and one of many routings used by the tour trains back then. All but one are gone now.
The line used by our train back then was pulled up shortly after this visit and we later found out it was the second last run on the line. That was fall 1996. The next day’s run was the final trip and with that they closed the book. Present day they run Stetter south to Big Valley exclusively, which is too bad since the Donalda/Meeting Creek line was quite scenic.
The second photo was taken in Big Valley and shows Will’s kid, so our grand kid, Ben. Doesn’t he look thrilled? Many decades have passed, our kid has a family of his own, and we’re just as spry as ever. Or something like that.
The only thing that hasn’t really changed is the locomotive that is backdrop for both photos.
The Team, accompanied by large format film photographer Rob Pohl, was in town to film an instalment of the Beer Parlour Project at the Big Valley Inn and this Then & Now a little diversion. The hotel is right across from the tracks. Connie kept Ben busy while the interior pub shots were done, but there’s lots to do in town so it was no big deal.
A time-lapse of the train journey from Stettler was captured as a tie-in to the BP Project and if you look close you can see the rig in the far lower corner of the locomotive cab. A caption of the photo where it’s seen makes mention of it – look down and away from the big 41 – little grey blob.
This footage from this camera will be used to help complete our look at the Big Valley Inn and the things around to which its connected. The railway and hotel are forever linked.
The Beer Parlour Project, by the way, is multi-year, multi-media undertaking, where were look at old small town hotel pubs and their connections to the community over the years. We’ll examine them both from historic and cultural angles. When done we’ll have a galley exhibit and a book deal seems likely too.
It’s expected we’ll be at it for a good many years and at this point we’ve only just begun. In the meantime, we’ll post little snippets on our webpage, but the real meat and potatoes won’t come till later. If we’re ever done, that is. We’re having such a good time at it so if it goes long, all the better.
Back to the locomotive – maybe when Ben has a ten year old of his own we’ll come back for another visit and duplicate this shot a third time. We’ll get that kid to smile though. How ever it plays out, we look forward to seeing Alberta Prairie Ry #41 again sometimes in the future.
”I enjoy your pictures and write ups so much. They bring back a touch of nostalgia for things we used to know, or didn’t even know about. It’s all about keeping our history alive and vibrant. It’s about where we came from, and about the people that made today’s world possible. Today’s world is so fast paced and so focused on the future, which is all well and good, but it’s nice to remember too, how it was not so very long ago. Thank you Chris &. Connie.” Jan Cooper.
Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!
Date of adventure: 1996 and 2023. Location: Donalda and Big Valley Alberta. Article references and thanks: Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions and the respective crews of #41.
**Beer Parlour Fridays!** Here's the bar staff at the Grand/Ben Franklin Hotel in Rimbey, Alberta, in a late 1940s or early 1950s photo. The same cooler door can be seen in our 2024 image. Not much has changed here at the Grand and many original beer parlour tables from the early days are still in use at the bar.
This photo is on display there and while several people have been identified over the years, the rest remain a mystery. Note the sign, "No case sales after 9:55 p.m."
The Camrest Motel, Camrose Alberta. It was spotted while scouting out the hotel next door for the Beer Parlour Project. Based on the exchange we're not yet sure our entourage will be heading to this town soon, but the list of places we'll be visiting is growing daily. The Beer Parlour Project is becoming a monster and it's a thrill ride! _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
**Beer Parlour Fridays!** the Champion Hotel tavern had been closed for a while when this photo from 2020 was captured (no rooms rented either). There was still a restaurant inside, but it seemed to have a lack of business due to the pandemic. This was early in the planning stages of the Beer Parlour Project and we hoped to include it in the "closed hotels" section, but the owners said no.
The building was being worked on last we heard, but we've not had any updates. Does anyone local care to chime in?
(Reposted) 9:31 pm in Burstall Saskatchewan from last summer. That's the town's former train station, down here at the sports fields. An auto club was having a big party in that tent back there and earlier invited us. What a surprise when the building came into view and we didn't know about it before. But then again we're pretty oblivious to a lot of things.😜
The building is from the 1920s and only survives because it was moved here.
Like what you see and want more? Make some NOISE! 👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The Dvorak Family Plot in Morrissey BC. The bicycle belonged to Frank (1906-1990) and his as a kid. A plaque reads: "After being stored since 1929(?) the bike was reunited with its owner Frank Dvorak in 2018(?) by the Dvorak Family" (dates were hard to read).
Over the summer the Beer Parlour Project visited SE Saskatchewan. Every night we'd visit a hotel to document the buildings and people, then every day, we'd roam the countryside looking for places like this...
No sleep - go - go -go and it was heaven.
Like what you see and want more? Make some NOISE! 👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Connie.
Comments are currently turned off