Antique steam engine

Railways were of critical importance in the early growth and development of Canada.

The Alberta Railway Museum north of Edmonton now owns and displays the CNR steam locomotive 1392. This engine made its last run in 1955.

Here's a link to a YouTube video of 1392, the old "mixed freight" engine pulling a string of cars past the kind of tank that provided the water for the steam.

Those steam engines were noisy machines, and their whistles sounded mighty lonesome as they howled across the prairies by night.

CNR pottery made in Alberta

This specially designed Canadian National pottery was made in the historic clay district of southern Alberta.

Located in clay country, Medicine Hat was once the home of Medalta, a thriving pottery works that made dishes with unique and appropriate logos for the Canadian armed forces, many hotels and restaurants, and even the last Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie.

Now a museum, Medalta Pottery gives tours of the once thriving pottery making works. Not so long ago, Alberta produced 75% of Canada's pottery. Artists in residence work at Medalta and some pottery is still made there, and sold in the gift shop, as described in this short video. Ebay is currently offering over 60 items of vintage Medalta pottery for sale.

The CNR Porter's cap recalls the shame of a racist past

An exhibit at the Alberta Railway Museum, this cap was once worn by a porter on the CNR. To me, it evokes my first view of the Rockies after growing up on the flat prairie till age 7.

When as a child I watched the friendly black porters letting down the upper berth so I could climb up the ladder and sleep in the cosy cubby -- such bliss -- I knew nothing of how the railways treated these men. Recruiting men from across Canada, the US and the Caribbean, the railways kept black men in the dead end job of sleeping car porters. They were not allowed to apply as conductors, a job reserved for whites.

They worked long hours for low pay, preparing beds for others. Shockingly, they were not given sleeping quarters on the train. The typical run was 72 hours, and these workers had to snack and nap when and where they could, out of sight of passengers.
 
During World War II, when trains were busy, Canadian porters finally formed a union. Their first collective agreement was signed in 1945, but racist social attitudes still prevailed. The first black Canadian to be given the job of railway conductor did not take up his post until 1954. 

Quebec heater in the caboose evokes warm memories

The poorly insulated and partly finished house I lived in growing up had a Quebec heater. It was small, but it cast lots of heat. On the coldest winter days, we warmed our chilled garments in our beds, then rapidly dressed as close as we dared to the Quebec heater. Dad kept a banked fire in that stove through the night.

The one in the picture is in a staff rail car at the Alberta Railway Museum. No doubt in its day it threw plenty of warmth into the small space of the caboose to warm with workers as the train roared across the winter prairies.

Quebec heaters have become antiques but people still use this type of stove. Many originals have been restored, and newer versions are still being made and sold. Voyageurs used these stoves. When the need arose, they could be carried across two large canoes that were then rowed in tandem.

Railroad cats at the museum

The Alberta Railway Museum has a couple of resident cats. They're a bit shy and scruffy, and also a bit grubby from their habit of climbing around and  under the old trains.

Water tower at the Railway Museum

Now on display on the Alberta Railway Museum, this 1919 Gibbons water tank, designed to supply water to steam trains, can hold as much as ten home swimming pools. Though some railway water tanks held as little as 5000 gallons, the ones along the prairie lines usually had capacities between 40,000 and 60,000 gallons.

The water was held in the upper portion of the tank and a stove in the bottom had to be fired in winter to make sure it didn't freeze. The rod on top has a ball attached to a float. This showed the water level at a glance.

This basic style lasted through the forties, but each line used a slightly different building shape. This typical CN tank has sloped walls. CP tanks had vertical walls, often topped by a cupola.

St. Albert Station now open at the Alberta Railway Museum

This building was moved from St. Albert to the current location of the Alberta Railway Museum, northeast of Edmonton.

Inside and out, it evokes the past of Canada's railways, once so very important to our nation.

I enjoyed sitting on the bench beside the freight wagons, pretending to wait for a train.

While Chris waited by the telegraph office, Yaz imagined what the engineer's job would be like.