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| a shadow of its former self, a derelict railroad car at wakefield notch in quebec waits for whatever end time may bring. |
| "Freight trains on the CNE are heavy these days and if business continues as it now is or increases, the road will have to be double tracked." |
| such read a bulletin in october, 1890, regarding the increased traffic on the canadian national east line out of quebec. how times have changed - given the modern-day efficiency of truck transport and the popularity of sending container ships up the st lawrence seaway, combined with the overall decline in agricultural production in the east, has led to a dramatic reduction in the role the railroad plays in our economy. in nova scotia, fully half the old railroad routes are no longer in service. the yarmouth corridor, the digby shortline, and all of the south shore railroad is now defunct. at present, CN rail is contemplating discontinuing service to cape breton island, a route that i have full intentions of running before service is severed. elsewhere in the country, the situation is much the same, with once-vital double tracks either being torn up or left to rust as their purpose has evaporated. perhaps it is this that has given me the greatest drive in photographing and riding freight trains in eastern canada; we are losing this valuable cultural staple. ever since the early 1870s, when sir john a. macdonald demanded of his government a way to build a railroad to unite all of the canadian provinces, the railroad has played host to infinite visions and inspired a romance all its own. there is no finer nation than canada in which to take to the rails. i have seen the spectacular scenery, entirely hidden from highways, which i have attempted to reproduce verbally - though i assure you, the full impact of seeing such sights cannot be conveyed in mere words. my project for 2003 is to attempt to capture some of the essence of my railroading trips on film. i have ridden the rails almost a thousand kilometers from halifax to charny, quebec. i have walked the tracks at valemount and grieg's pass in the rockies. my greatest ambition for the coming summer is to expand my scope to include toronto and central canada.. herein, i will continue to chronicle my adventures...thanks to all the people who made me feel that this site needed to be created! click on the quote below to be taken to the pagebase. |
| "gonna get me down to the freight yards, find me a big ol' boxcar headin' away in the west gonna get me away from this town got nothin' for me fine me a place where a broken man gonna lay his head." (chester "howlin' wolf" burnett, 1956) |