Lost Railways of Central Alberta Canada 

Wow, I just took a look on Google Maps and you can still see exactly where the Alberta Midland line ran! I until recently owned a 1963 Ford F100 originally purchased by a Mr. Russell Bazian of Thorhild, and I found some old railway union books in the cab. I believe he was a foreman with the NAR, I will have to get them out and refresh my memory!

Oh Tony, you certainly invested a whole lot of work into this great documentary, and it definetely paid off! Especially for us foreigners from abroad it offers so much detailed information about AB rail history, thank you very much for that! 👌💯👏😃

One recent railroad we lost recently was the Drumheller subdivision. It was a major branch line from Calgary to Saskatoon averaging 2-4 trains per day.

Very nicely done Tony great historical info, I liked that! (Dave).

Great research on the history of these lines. The collage of your vids really adds nice touch to the modern day view of the various subs. Well done Tony!

Very nice History lesson, Tony! Beautiful scenery as always!☺🤗

This was excellent, I learned a lot. Great videography and editing as always

Wow. I spent my first summer in Canada (19969) in Meeting Creek, Alberta. I didn't need an alarm clock--the train horn woke me up every morning. My house is still there, but almost everything else has disappeared. Thanks for this video.

Fascinating history. I grew up in Edmonton but never realized, until now, that the Low Level Bridge was originally a rail bridge. The long shots at the end of this video are amazing! Thanks for posting.

It’s a shame that all this is gone now. Was a fantastic way to move freight, and people. Such a different view/ experience than just driving down the highway,looking at the bumper in front of you

Excellant chunk of history, thanks Tony.

Wow! A tremendous amount of time and effort went into this collection of clips! Well done. It takes a passion to invest so much into doing this and bringing something that most will never get to experience. Kudos to you and all you do. 👍👍👍

Thanks!

Good episode. Meeting Creek looks well preserved

Very cool video my friend .

Awesome job man, you should look into Saskatchewan North and all the lines from and inbetween Wetaskiwin to Minnedosa and the Bermuda Triangle Saskatoon to Regina, Regina to Wynyard, Wynyard back to Saskatoon

Excellent video, Tony! I loved the historical information that you presented. In Saskatchewan you can also see where rail lines once existed if you know what to look for. Likely that way everywhere. There was some great footage in your video as usual too. Thanks, Tony. Well done! Cheers, Jack

I live near Camrose and there's lots of remnants of these old lines all over the place. The rail beds, culverts, and some bridges are still up. In some places the tracks are still in place and they're often used to store mothballed rolling stock

Great info on railways around where I live, thanks!!

I remember when they took The Pembina Valley Railway out 20 years ago when I lived in Busby the main point where both Rail came together. That rail line was really strange because Westlock was literally a 10-minute drive versus the train that would have to backtrack and then head towards Westlock adding hours into the trip.

Nice video. Thanks for posting

Im in barrhead, parts of that old branch rail line still exist such as an original bridge from the railroads constructon, its in a hamlet called Manola, rumor has it that some of the switch houses and some of the track still exist, hunters or snowmobilers use the switch house as a rest area/ shelter.

FANTASTIC Documentary. You did yourself with this one...

i love this. this is the best video i have seen on the history of alberta abandoned railways. i like how you show what the lines are named as now and previously and loved learning about the line that went to Athabasca. Thanks Tony

Great video. Really enjoyed that.

Another perfect train video. Amazing shots and attention grabbing information.

Wow, great history, wonderful drone footage. New subscriber.

Another great video.

Outstanding video Tony! Love learning about the history and specially the NAR since I’ve been visiting northern Alberta quite a times now.

This is gonna be GOOD

Great work 🎉

🚂 FANTASTIC TONY 🚂 ❤ THANK YOU ♥️

Great footage!

I really hope the Premier is serious about about bringing commuter rail to Edmonton and Calgary. Both cities could certainly use it when edge cities around each community are sometimes pushing 100,000 people... Airdrie, St Albert, Sherwood Park for example... And 60,000 is some case... Stony Plain/Spruce Grove... Even Fort Saskatchewan would be a great example of offering commuter train connections every 15 minutes to at least Clareview station or even perhaps downtown at the old CN Tower if they keep the ROW clear long enough to revive it as Premier Stelmach once proposed...

I noticed on your maps that the rail line to Cold Lake is not marked... It was still active (Mostly carrying jet fuel for RCAF Station Cold Lake) till around 2000. It was shut down, and tracks removed and much of it is now part of the "Trans-Canada Trail".

❤rest research thank you for the information

Great footage of the trains that still run. I have quaded the whole Iron Horse Trail last year and the part from Sanders to Nodegg. I am looking foe more rail line that have been removed that we could quad on. Where does one look for maps from years gone by of where the train us to run? Look forward to more videos

What happened to the Battle River Railway from Camrose to Alliance. I live about 150 yds from the track and grain cars and oil car storage are very active on this line. As a pre-schooler, I lived in Innisfree and loved the daily train chugging along.

great video just so you know the line south of metiskow (Hardisty line or highway 13 line ) to the old sulfate plant has been out of service for well over 30 years

Great video and historical context about Edmonton and region's railways. As someone who grew up in Vegreville and Lavoy region's I miss hearing the train everyday rumble through town. I do hope that the proposed project to shift VIA rail traffic to the CN Prairie North line via Battleford, Lloydminster, Vegreville and Edmonton goes ahead even if it would probably have to involve upgrading some of the track since I believe a lot of it had a 40 mph speed limit on it.. And the existing line allows for 79 mph trains now which is a huge speed difference. Another cool future video if you're up to it is a before and after of what Edmonton's streetcar network used to look like as to what it looks like in 2024. Personally I hope ETS expands its services soon to offer more streetcar/tram service especially along 118 Avenue and Jasper Avenue again since these are major traffic corridors with high density development and neighbourhoods around them, perfect for upgraded transit.. To think in 1923 Edmonton had 90 km of track or something like that. Now with over 1 million we've got 30-ish km of LRT? Not nearly good enough!

Great video. I would like to check out Meeting Creek.

Toni thanks you for video.yes,the western canada change a lot due crow rate change cn and cpkc rail.when built new tunnels in 1980s i did visist few time during construction it was start decline small farming town due crow rate.cn speed few buck on fort mcmurray line when start haul crude oil.you post next video about northern line bc,ab,sask and manitoba.i work one job pipeline 2000 alliance next small died due cn rail pull track after line was built it was a shock.the worst is sask they hit very hard now they have move grain on road and lots are not build heavy trucks made gravel i saw own eyes sad.thanks again video😊

thanks for this film. Great to see Redwater still has its railway. caroline

Well done Tony. Have you ever tried tracing the right of way of the Canadian Northern between Evansburg and Edson ? There is very little trace of it even on Google maps. East and west of there is usually quite obvious.

Wonderful vid thanx for making it. And GREAT drone work and visual composition btw, obviously took pains to frame up footage. I dont know if theres a 'medical condition' term for it but I have always had a lust to walk decomm'd railways all over the country. Only had time in life to do a total of a few miles here and there over the decades. Is that a common urge or do most ppl prefer the working active trains/rails? Also, love seeing folks use homemade carts and travelling long abandoned stretches of line... another 'condition' of mine. Something about the rails... Im subbed with your channel now.

I live in Camrose and i knew some other rails lines existed in the past but very little information to go on, and google maps satellite view shows landmarks of old lines into and through town.

Very well done. What about Rail that went to Cold lake and beyond as well as the line that ran ran SE to Heinsburg. CP ran a line between Two Hills and Vegreville. I don' t believe there ever was a line that ran SE of LacLaBiche?? Breton line also continued south towards rimbey....

New sub here. We live in Morniville and railine heads north to Athabasca abandoned at Legal now and other line goes North to Slave Lake and beyond. So many old lines out there. What line was it called that is now the Iron horse Trail to Cold Lake, Will be bing watching now

Very well done (except for the "music") and clearly illustrating the vision of the pioneers, including the Edmonton urban streetcar system. Unfortunately, it also dramatically shows how much we have lost as a Country in the name of distorted economics. Concerning the mention made of the CNR at marker ~05:40, it should be noted that the corporate name then contained the plural form of the word "Railways", as it then was an amalgamation of various previously independent railway companies. 2024/04/22. Ontario, Canada.

The line from Edmonton to Athabasca was taken over by CNR or was it part of the NAR at one time?

At about 10:35 there appears to be a steam locomotive operating on the CPKC Leduc Sub. How do I get a ride on that train?

Is this available on CD.

and he beat me to it

less epic music. or maybe no music, its distracting.