Random Pick (x3): Magnesium Chloride

The random pick subject today is…Magnesium Chloride. What the? Where do we start? First, these photos were never really meant to be shared, but taken just for us, then by chance were picked for this silly series. We literally close our eyes, select an image (or three) from our collection that have never been published before and post them here. Good, bad, or incriminating they have to be posted.

It’s not the contents that drew us in to this location but some of the the vessels themselves. Most are ancient railway tank cars (pre-1940s from the looks of it), long retired and repurposed as static storage tanks. It’s these, plus the old railway line that together are of interest to us. Railways archeology is a thing and stuff like this is what we look for.

This track was in service of a lumber mill and what’s left of it can be seen in back in one photo. It closed about a decade ago and in more recent times home to a bitcoin mining operation. It was operating when we visited then (fall 2018), but we’re not sure their current status. The crypto biz is volatile, uses scads of energy and a head scratcher to most folks.

The area seen in the photos was the log sorting yard.

Magnesium Chloride, in the context of this location, is likely to be used as a road deicer in winter. It sounds nasty but basically is a salt-water brine solution which alters the freezing properties of water.

So far there’s been nothing too odd come from these random picks, and trust us there’s some laughable shots and plenty of stinkers, but these ones we suspect won’t make sense to many readers. It’s stuff the railways left behind and even we understand that’s not everyone’s thing. That is why they’ve never seen the light of day…until now.

Completely random…Marblehead Underground Quarry, Tuxedo Park School (1920 and 1956-7), Chestermere Town Loop and Downtown Bawlf Alberta.

Short Subjects: Reports that are brief in nature. Think silly little snippets, vignettes and things of that sort. You’ll be in and out in no time.

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Date of adventure: September, 2018.
Location: Canal Flats, British Columbia.

A disused rail line in Canal Flats BC.

These former railway tank cars hold Magnesium Chloride.

Track used to serve the lumber mill in back.