Canadian Railway Yards,
Water Towers, Round Houses,
Control Towers and Freight Sheds
What I am trying to do is sepperate all these various
structures from the Station pages
This section like the station pages is devided into provinces or areas
Alberta
 |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones |
| Ogden’s 75th. anniversary was held in 1988. To commemorate the event, Odgen Shop employees decided to assemble a lasting monument. Originally called “Oggie” (for Ogden), the monument has since been renamed SPIKE. SPIKE is 27 feet tall and constructed from various pieces of freight car and locomotive parts. The body is a boiler, the head and ears are gears and the arms and hands are couplers. He is holding a locomotive engine crankshaft in his right hand. The monument stands within the parking lot at the entrance to the Shops (now Alstom), in the 7200 block of Ogden Road in Calgary. |
 | The square water tower at Calgary’s Heritage Park still provides a steady supply for steam locomotives CP2013 and CP2014 during the Park’s open season from May to September. Notice one of the smoke plume of a steam engine in the background. The locomotive in use that day is watered around 5:30pm, near the park’s closure. Note the wig-wag signal, featured elsewhere on these pages. The Railway Water Tower was built in 1902 and the adjacent Railway Sand House, circa 1920. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The Railway Car Shop is open to the public at Calgary’s Heritage Park. It houses several preserved historic cars from the 1880s to the 1920s, with the average being from 1910. One of them can be seen just inside the open doors. Part of the turntable pit can be seen in front. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
.jpg) | Snowplow 400884 was built December 1911 in the CP Montreal’s Angus Shops and originally numbered 300884 before getting its new number in 1991. It is now displayed in Calgary’s Heritage Park roundhouse, alongside a few other artifacts. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | CP2018 on static display in the roundhouse at Calgary’s Heritage Park was built by the CPR in February 1905 (Ser# 1392). It was in service as CP2144 in 1912, then CP 6144 in 1943. It next bit of service was at Canmore Mines (near Banff AB) as their No 4., before being acquired by Heritage Park, who converted it to diesel power. It is presumed that the nose cone is removed (for air intake) when the loco is running. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones |
 | The Canadian Northern Railway station at 141 18 Ave SW in Calgary, after fire damage in August 1985 during renovation. Thanks to funding from The Nat Christie Foundation, the building had been totally rebuilt by 1987, as seen in a companion picture. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The Nat Christie Centre in September 2009, after restoration |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | CN Sarcee Yard in Calgary is basically located along 50 Ave SE, between 52 St and Barlow Trail. and was a very busy place until recently, when the railway moved its intermodal terminal to a brand new facility that they built for themselves near Conrich, north of the city on the Three Hills Sub. The new Calgary Logistics Park has according to CN, better access by road and rail. https://www.cn.ca/-/media/Files/Media/Media-News- Release/map-cn-calgary-logistics-park-en.pdf At 2:30 pm on 5 Apr 2013; we find only 3 engines in the yard, which usually held about a half-dozen. Just arrived from servicing nearby industries are coupled CN 1433 and CN 7271, while newer CN 4792 was already in the yard awaiting assignment. The sign of the very left indicates Mileage 126.0 of the Three Hills Sub. CN 1433 was built as GMD-1 (Ser#A1446), in September 1958 as CN 1026. It was renumbered to CN 1603 in 1988 and then to CN 1433, as it acquired the trucks and fuel tank from CN 1134 which was scrapped. CN 7271 is a remanufactured Geep (GP9RM) built by GM in May 1959 as CN 4239 (Ser# A1686). It now has a flashing light on top of the cab, which means that it is fitted for remote operation, while CN 4792 was built as CN 5592 by the Electromotive Division of GM in London Ontario in December 1973 as a GP38-2W (Ser#A2919) and renumbered to CN 4792 in 1988. Note the different livery for 2 of the locos. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The CN Sarcee Yard in Calgary is not as busy today, as in this view along 50 Ave SE, in the mid-1990s. This mid-day photo doesn’t do the yard justice, as a long freight arrived from the East very early morning. After a brief sorting, the train departed for Edmonton and the move was reversed around midnight, with Dash 9 locomotives on the point both ways. The railway is now using their newly-constructed Intermodal Park at Conrich, just north of the city for that purpose. http://cwmarketing.ca/CN_Logistics_Park/CN _park_network.pdf |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | In busier days, Sarcee Yard saw a lot of activity such as in this view looking east but there isn’t much of it today. It is located along 50 Ave. SE between 52 St. SE and Barlow Trail. Up to about a year ago, the yard was used as a final stop for CN freight in Calgary, off the Drumheller Sub and the Three Hills Sub. Switchers, consisting of SW units, chopped-nosed Geeps and GMD1s sorted the cars and serviced local industries, including freight transfer from CN to the CP Alyth Yard about a kilometer away. The heavy loco in the picture is reserved for the night train, leaving eastbound around midnight. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | A layout of the various yards within the Alyth CPR complex, gives a ready reference to employees and emergency crews. This panel one is located near the Bonnybrook Bridge. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The Pulldown Tower at the CP Alyth Yard in Calgary mid-80s. It looks into the hump yard shown on this page. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The hump yard at CP Alyth (Calgary), viewed from the tower. A hump yard is so named because a locomotive pushes a series of cars up a slight hill, then at the top of the hump, they are released and then roll downhill on their own to a selected track. So that the cars don’t run away as they accelerate downhill and and slam into one another at the end, “retarders” are used. They are those dark areas at the bottom of the picture. Each retarder consists of a series of individual piston brakes on a short section of track that grips and slows the wheels as the car rolls down the slope, bringing it down to a safe speed for coupling. The entire operation is computer controlled. View the Calgary hump yard in use https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrPuqWrn1-g |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The 12th STREET EAST Tower is of utmost importance in Western Canada. It is the junction of the MacLeod and Red Deer Subs in Calgary and also controls most movements in Alyth Yard, as well as all those from Calgary to Field on the Laggan Sub (136 miles). In other words, east-west and north-south traffic. The track in front is part of a wye in and out of Alyth Yard, while traffic by signal 1724E (on the Brooks Sub) gets infrequent but steady traffic. The tower is accessible by alighting off the Calgary Transit Route 24 and walking for a half-block or parking nearby but it’s not a good viewing area. A better one to watch yard action is a couple of blocks down the road, covered on the bridge page. The area is a bit “shady” after dark. This view was taken in May 2014. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | A view looking southeast into CP Alyth Yard from the 12th Street Tower in Calgary, mid-80s. The gondolas in the foreground will eventually hold sulphur, a byproduct of the oil and gas industry. In the background, the container area and the chimney has since gone and the bridge in the background is Blackfoot Trail, covered on my bridge page. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | Looking southeast into the CP Alyth Yard during the late-80s from Blackfoot Trail. The building to the left and the chimney have been demolished and the diesel shop in the centre, almost doubled in size. A view such as this is no longer possible, as the sidewalk from which this was taken was switched to the north (other) side during the Blackfoot Trail road reconstruction. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The CP Industrial Yard (IYO) just east of the downtown core in Calgary, viewed from an aircraft during takeoff. It is now closed but the area to the left of the picture (8 St SE in Inglewood) is a fair place to catch some westbound action coming out of Alyth Yard. The large building to the left is the Calgary Transit bus garage, while on the right is Fort Calgary, with the Calgary Tower to the extreme right. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | Another view of the CP Industrial Yard downtown Calgary looking west, during another takeoff, on June 11th, 2007. A couple of good (but not great) spots for picture taking are at 8 St SE (across the Elbow River at the bottom of the picture for trains in and out of Alyth Yard) and the parking lot by the Calgary Tower, about the middle of the picture, for the price of parking the chariot there. A better spot is by 11 St SW at the very top left |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The CPR Industrial Yard, looking east from the Calgary Tower. The office is closed now and the area only used for emergency storage but the east-west mainline still runs through 24/7 with mile long trains and it is an important part of the system. The area where the track widens, fairly well marks the site of the first CPR station (a boxcar) in Calgary during 1883, when the construction train crossed a bridge over the Elbow River in the background (and very well shown in aerial photos). The CPR East-West mainline runs through the centre of the photo. The Calgary Transit Victoria Park garage is to the right and veering right at the top of the picture brings us to the beginning of Alyth Yard. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | A ground view of the CPR Industrial Yard looking west on March 27th 2008, from around the yard office (IYO) now closed. The Calgary Tower is in the background and Fort Calgary, across the street. The east-west mainline is in front. The right side is where a boxcar was dropped off as a temporary station to serve track crews as they built the line to Port Moody (Vancouver) in 1883; after the railway crossed the Elbow River, immediately to the bottom left of this picture. The next station was located between the Calgary Tower in the background and the curve. It was r eplaced by yet another station, which lasted until demolished in 1967. The very last CPR /VIA was in the basement of the Tower. View my station page http://yourrailwaypictures.com/TrainStations/index Alberta.html |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones |
 | A “low oblique” view of the historical roundhouse complex at Big Valley, showing the former turntable pit and stalls from the back. Notice how large the roundhouse was. Big Valley was an important divisional point for the Canadian Northern Railway around 1910. The CNoR got absorbed by the Canadian National Railways a bit later and Big Valley lost a bit of importance. The picture has been inverted from the original PC view to show the back of the roundhouse and now looks southwest instead of straight north. The black line is the railway (Alberta Prairie). The station is just a bit out of the picture to the centre right. More of this landmark at: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place- lieu.aspx?id=5001 |
| Google Earth photo submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The Big Valley Roundhouse, in Big Valley, AB, November 1989 The roundhouse ruin is on the list of Canada’s Historic Places. |
| This picture taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | Another view of the The Big Valley Roundhouse, in Big Valley, AB, taken in May 1997 |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Wayne Anderson, Lethbridge Alberta | |
 | The old Red Deer CP Yard, looking towards the station October 1989. The chimney in back is a local landmark (Alpha Milk). Since this photo was taken, CP moved its yard to a newer location and the area was totally redeveloped. |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | A closer view of the CP Red Deer Yard. The mainline is about centre. At a point near the bottom of the picture, the Red Deer Sub from Calgary ends at Mileage 93.5 and the Leduc Sub to South Edmonton starts at Mileage 0.0 |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones |
 | The Edmonton CN Yard when it was in full operation in the downtown core,during the 60s or 70s, when this picture was taken as a colour slide with a lower priced 110 camera. The tracks were lifted to make way for the Grant MacEwan University (much of the land still remains barren) VIA moved its operation near the former Edmonton Municipal (Blatchford Field – CYXD) some 8km from city centre (12360-121 Street NW, Edmonton,AB) In the background is CN Headquarters, since relocated to Walker Yard, basically in the same area as the VIA station (The Canadian must be wyed from the Walker Yard mainline in and out of the VIA station). The 111 metres (364 ft) or 26 storeys tall building remains marked with the CN emblem, due to its historical value. Tracks at the bottom centre of the photo may connect with CPR tracks to South Edmonton (Strathcona) through the High Level Bridge (see the station and bridge pages) Part of those CP tracks, now ending between 109 St & 110 St at 100 Ave are still used in the summer by the Edmonton Radial Railway for their tramway operation and pass through a small tunnel under a housing project. See the bridge page and http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/highlevelbridge |
| This picture was taken by L. Unwin and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The CN railway line in Edmonton AB (shown in blue), as it appeared in an inset of a map issued by the Canadian Freight Association, around the mid 70s, showing the detour which Montreal-Vancouver CN (pre-VIA) passenger trains took through downtown Edmonton. After Winnipeg, passengers traveling west took a northwesterly route through Saskatoon and Wainwright, before coming to a junction and swinging south into the downtown Edmonton Yard (City Yard) and station at the CN Tower. Upon departure, passengers proceeded north to a junction near Calder Yard (now Walker Yard) before turning west to Edson, Jasper, Prince George, Prince Rupert or Vancouver. To put it in today’s context, the City Yard portion has now been eliminated and VIA trains from both directions now come to the junction by Calder/Walker Yard) and turn south on a small stub track, which is the site of the present VIA station, before backing out and proceeding again in their selected east or west direction. The CP line is shown in red. The lower portion is the Red Deer Sub to Calgary (Alyth Yard) two hours away, while the portion to right has been largely abandoned. CP passengers traveled via Sudbury, Winnipeg, Moose Jaw and Calgary to Vancouver. In January 1990, VIA abandoned passenger service on CP track and all its trains now travel through Edmonton. Freight continues to be exchanged daily between Edmonton and Calgary on either CN or CP with the lines shown on the lower part of the frame, although the red line (CP track) no longer reaches to the City Yard but just to South Edmonton; the portion from South Edmonton to downtown now being used by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society (see the Tunnels page). |
| This picture was submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | he CN Yard Office in Jasper, Alberta, on May 1st, 2009 from Connaught Avenue, adjacent to the VIA station at 8:15 pm. The building, situated across the railyard from the station, does not cater to passengers. In addition to overseeing yard and other area movements, it has crew rest facilities. |
| This picture was submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | The Water Tower at the Antony Hendray Museum. Delburne AB (near Red Deer) This CNR tower at the Antony Henday Museum in Delburne AB accomodate railway artifacts. The museum has fixed hours of operation in the summer but will accomodate appointments. CN metal caboose 79290 (1967) is also on the property, along with a small rail speeder.Admission to the museum is by donation. http://www.unlockthepast.ca |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | New Bridgen AB Water tower is located in the town of New Bridgen |
| This picture was submitted by Dale Redekopp St. Albert, AB | |
 | The former CN/VIA yard in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, behind the CN Tower shown above. All the tracks were eventually removed to make way for construction of the Grant MacEwan University campus and the station located about a mile north. |
| This picture was submitted by Massey F. Jones | |
 | These people in the picture were attending a prayer service at the pioneer monument. They were Ukrainians as was most of the population of Willingdon at that time. The water tank was located West of the station & South of the main line Approx. 1955 |
| This picture was submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | The base of the above water tank Willingdon AB, March 2007 |
| This picture was submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | This outhouse was located just off the East end of the station platform |
| This picture was submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | CP Bunk house at Andrew, AB This building is unused. April 6, 2011 |
| This picture was taken and submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | CP Bunk house at Andrew, AB, April 6, 2011 |
| This picture was taken and submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | CP Bunk house at Andrew, AB, April 6, 2011 |
| This picture was taken and submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | CP Bunk house at Andrew, AB, April 6, 2011 |
| This picture was taken and submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | CP Bunk house at Andrew, AB Sketch |
| This picture was taken and submitted James Booth, Willingdon AB | |
 | C.No.R /C.N.R. freight shed, Donalda, Alberta taken in 1997 |
| This picture was taken and submitted by Wayne Anderson, Lethbridge Alberta |