Joe Chollak, he is one of the best Locomotive Engineers that I trained with. He was born in Lethbridge, Alberta on March 8, 1926. There were two way freights that worked from Monday to Friday, and were tied up for the weekend at Fort Macleod, Alberta. Joe was in High School and looked after the steam locomotives, making sure that the fire in the firebox was high enough, and that there was sufficient water in the boiler. Joe was promoted as a locomotive fireman on June 20, 1942 when he was 16 years old.
I am siting on a bench outside Field’s Station waiting for a eastbound train, looking eastward is the powerhouse, and a Speno train is pulling into the yard.
The Seno international SA is a manufacturer of railway track maintenance machines. The Speno company was founded by Frank Speno in 1960 and is now headquartered in Switzerland. It operates maintenance trains in many countries. The Speno trains are bright yellow in colour. The other main activity for which a-speciality design Spano trains are used is measuring and inspecting railway tracks. With these trains the tracks can be inspected in “real time” while the train runs over the tracks, with video, infra-red recorders, acceleration equipment and other high-tech measuring tools the quality of the rails and points is monitored and recorded. After running over a specific route, the system generates reports containing all (potential) problems with the tracks. The straightness of the tracks in all dimensions (lat, long and height, is measured, as is wear and tear. The requirement for grinding and possible other repairs is reported and used to plan further maintenance. The same equipment can also be used after grinding, maintenance of reviewing of a route to check that the builders have laid the tracks according to requirements. The measuring and inspection trains check not only tracks and points but also, in the case of electric routes, the overhead or third rail power source.
Looking westward from the fireman’s seat at No. 1 The Canadian,
When Norris Roy (Buck) Crump born on July, 1904 died December 26, 1989 age 85 became the president of the CPR. Buck started his career working as a track labourer and then in the machine shop. He was transferred to Winnipeg, where he continued to work while completing high school at night. After time off to complete a university degree, he took a position as a night foreman. He was transferred to Montréal as an assistant to the vice president, and in 1943 became Superintendent of the Ontario district. In 1948 Crump was a vice president at CPR; to counter lower numbers of passengers, he advocated increasing advertising and spending more money to make train travel attractive.
Crump was elected President in 1955, the company was severely in debt at the time. At the time the company was mainly using diesel locomotives only in the rail yards, and duringt the following 12 years, Crump oversaw the dieselionization of the railroad. He ordered the refurbishment of the companies showcase train The Canadian this luxary train cost $21 million, one of the reasons for its success was the lack of highways between Revelstoke, and Kamloops, British Columbia. When the Trans-Canada Highway was complete, it spelled the end of passenger trains.
Tunnel going through the nose of Mount Stephen
Looking westward off the bridge over the Kicking Horse Canyon, and Spiral Tunnel
No. 2
Now one of my favourite slides looking backwards at our train, lots of British Columbia lumber, a great view of Castle Mountain. There are two lengths rail, they are sitting on two pieces of timber, and were spaced out every 2 miles along the right-of-way. This way if the section men had to change out a rail they did not have to travel too far.
One of 
This photo shows that we are stopped at the east end of Massive Siding. The head end brakeman is talking to the Train Despatcher on the trackside telephone that is attached to the aluminum signal box, he will get a form No. 264, this will give us permission to pass the stop signal, we will have to go restricted speed (15 mph) being on the lookout for broken rails, once we see a more favourable signal we will go back to the Timetable’s authorized speed limit if the signal is green.
Turkey-Vultures-nesting in the trees sticking out of the embankment, along the Bow River between Bearspaw and Cochrane.
Here we are stopped at the east switch at Keith man is 9 miles west of Calgary. You can see the switch derail, this was installed when kids released all the handbrakes on the cars started their, and one train rolled out on the main line. My instructor Bill Yates as garbed to the trackside phone to find out how many train would we be there for.
You can see the headlight of the westbound that we were in the siding for.
Bill waves to the crew on the westbound, we were only there for one train.