Stumbling across an abandoned railway line in Saskatchewan is not hard to do. There used to be a literal spaghetti bowl of tracks going every which way in the province, with nearly every town regardless of size, having train service. There was a branch to anywhere and everywhere! Almost all these are long gone now, although reminders of what was, mostly the roadbeds bereft of track, can easily be found in a multitude of places. We make a project of following these ghost lines on Google Earth.
To find a disused stretch with the rails still in place is much less common, as is what we see in the attached photo. Along some dusty backroad, in a place remote and lonely, some remains of Canadian National Railway’s Mantario Subdivision heading south from Alsask, near the Alberta border. While it’s been a while since a train last ran here, close to a decade or so, for some reason the rails here were not pulled up once the last customer closed, a Sodium Sulphate operation (used mostly as a fertilizer) a few clicks south of our photo position. Perhaps there was plans to reopen the plant at some later date and the track retained?
This line was built about a hundred years ago (started by Canadian Northern, finished by the CNR) and while never that busy it was a vital outside connection those who lived in the area. A small part of it remains in service on its far south-eastern end with a shortline operator. Otherwise, it’s all quiet.
Standing there alone on the limitless plains, with nary a sound to be heard, we await a train that will never come. These two streaks of rust take us back to an earlier time when railways were the lifeblood of the communities here, hauling out grain and bringing in settlers. The future looked bright. And now it’s this.
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Date of adventure: April, 2019 Location: South of Alsask, SK.
Thank you for this interesting post! The photo ‘speaks volumes’ to a railfan such as myself who lived in a village in the 60’s and 70’s that was situated along a branch line. Hard to believe most of it is gone; hard to believe that it was ever there. I enjoy reading Larry Buchan’s Railway Earth posts about his time working on wayfreights in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the 1970’s. The photo ties into his experiences very well.
There’s something about disused track like this that primes the imagination. Of all the things we document, railway archeology subjects are a particular favourite (even if they’re not with our readers) and so we’ll often be seen checking out old lines even if few of those photos ever make it here. We had the chance to spend an afternoon with Larry at his home a few years back. What an incredible experience, just sitting there listening. With his compromised health, you could see it was draining for him, but he went on as long as he could. His retention for recalling even the tiniest detail was incredible. Sad to see him go.
Did some research the mine switched hands a couple of times in 1970 the company that owned mine went bankrupt. And the mine sat vacant until the 1990’s. You can even see the railway spur on google maps.
We researched it too, and yes, it changed hands a lot. If you look at older images on Google Earth stand alone, you can even see a rail car parked for loading.
As part of the abandonment of this trackage, CN and Cando Rail Services donated a significant amount of 60 lb rail to the Alberta Railway Museum, and delivered it free of charge.
All I know is that it came from a spur at or near Alsask. Enough rail for half a mile of track was donated, so it may have been the old elevator tracks right in Alsask, or yard trackage at the Sodium Sulphate plant, if any of that was still there.
60 lb rail is of no use to the big railroads anymore as they do not have any locomotives that can safely operate on it, and much track jewelry and switch parts are no longer in regular production.
Locomotives are prohibited from using the few spurs and backtracks that still have 60 lb rail, reachers (extra cars) must be used.
Looked at my notes and the rail in this picture is 85lbs, which I guess makes sense as the line was in use at least partway into this century. I suppose that’s about the minimum a big locomotive could safely operate on. Anyway you are probably right in that the rail you’re speaking of came from sidings or some such thing. Sixty pounds is tiny track. Got to tour steamer #6060, all stripped down and being worked on (a post as yet unpublished), and it looked way too large to be sitting on the sixty pound track in use by the Alberta Prairie Railway. But I guess it handles it fine.
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Beer Parlour Fridays: The Cadillac Hotel in Cadillac Saskatchewan, visited in June 2024 by Chris and Rob. Sadly, they unexpectedly closed soon after their visit, but it is for sale and hopefully will reopen under a new owner. Those amazing SK skies! Watch for the Cadillac Hotel and others appearing at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. Celebrating old school watering holes!
Scroll down to the comments for more!👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: before Pilsner in Saskatchewan, there was Bohemian or simply Boh. For decades, it was the most popular beer in the province. Incidentally, both Pil and Boh were for decades products of Sick's Brewery. This Boh cap was found in the basement of an old hotel in SW Saskatchewan during a visit by the Beer Parlour Project. It celebrates the beer winning a prestigious best in world award in the late 1960s.
Beer Parlour Fridays: here's a standard issue cast-metal leg round-top Beer Parlour table. These were supplied through the liquor control board (who heavily regulated the business) and therefore could be found at most drinking establishments. They date back to the 1940s-1960s period and surprisingly, we still see them out there in the wild all the time. Often they were covered in terrycloth to help sop up spilled beer. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Tompkin's SK Hotel/Lucky Loon Saloon, previously Woody's. It was just a drive by visit and not a stop on the recent Beer Parlour Project tour of SW Saskatchewan. Had it been open we would have checked it out, however. Celebrating old school watering holes at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Wildwood Hotel in Wildwood Alberta, built in the late 1950s to replace one that earlier burned down. Visited in October 2024 by Chris and Rob. Watch for this hotel and others appearing at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. Celebrating old school watering holes!
Scroll down to the comments for more!👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Thank you for this interesting post! The photo ‘speaks volumes’ to a railfan such as myself who lived in a village in the 60’s and 70’s that was situated along a branch line. Hard to believe most of it is gone; hard to believe that it was ever there. I enjoy reading Larry Buchan’s Railway Earth posts about his time working on wayfreights in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the 1970’s. The photo ties into his experiences very well.
There’s something about disused track like this that primes the imagination. Of all the things we document, railway archeology subjects are a particular favourite (even if they’re not with our readers) and so we’ll often be seen checking out old lines even if few of those photos ever make it here. We had the chance to spend an afternoon with Larry at his home a few years back. What an incredible experience, just sitting there listening. With his compromised health, you could see it was draining for him, but he went on as long as he could. His retention for recalling even the tiniest detail was incredible. Sad to see him go.
Did some research the mine switched hands a couple of times
in 1970 the company that owned mine went bankrupt. And the mine sat vacant until the 1990’s. You can even see the railway spur on google maps.
Kinda confused on why the spur was not taken out during that time period
Perhaps they expected the business to reopen?
No idea
We researched it too, and yes, it changed hands a lot. If you look at older images on Google Earth stand alone, you can even see a rail car parked for loading.
It just draws you in!
That’s the effect we were after.
Abandoned railroad porn!
Now that’s quite the thing to say! Love it.
Nothing like a pair of rails receding into the distance to draw you in and start your mind wandering.
Yes, that’s it! That’s the feeling we get.
As part of the abandonment of this trackage, CN and Cando Rail Services donated a significant amount of 60 lb rail to the Alberta Railway Museum, and delivered it free of charge.
Wow light rail. The track further down past where the last customer was?
CN and a kind act? Stop the presses! Haha, nice of them to do that.
All I know is that it came from a spur at or near Alsask. Enough rail for half a mile of track was donated, so it may have been the old elevator tracks right in Alsask, or yard trackage at the Sodium Sulphate plant, if any of that was still there.
60 lb rail is of no use to the big railroads anymore as they do not have any locomotives that can safely operate on it, and much track jewelry and switch parts are no longer in regular production.
Locomotives are prohibited from using the few spurs and backtracks that still have 60 lb rail, reachers (extra cars) must be used.
Looked at my notes and the rail in this picture is 85lbs, which I guess makes sense as the line was in use at least partway into this century. I suppose that’s about the minimum a big locomotive could safely operate on. Anyway you are probably right in that the rail you’re speaking of came from sidings or some such thing. Sixty pounds is tiny track. Got to tour steamer #6060, all stripped down and being worked on (a post as yet unpublished), and it looked way too large to be sitting on the sixty pound track in use by the Alberta Prairie Railway. But I guess it handles it fine.