roymac

Door to the Past

This looks into 5 of the 10 service bays that made up the roundhouse in Big Valley, Alberta. The original railroad to build this service facility was the Canadi...
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This looks into 5 of the 10 service bays that made up the roundhouse in Big Valley, Alberta. The original railroad to build this service facility was the Canadian Northern Railway which laid rails in 1911, the station in 1912 and the roundhouse shortly after. In 1919, the CNR and Grand Trunk Pacific railways (and several smaller lines) amalgamated to form the new CNR (Canadian National Railway). In 1924, the CNR divided their divisional point facilities between Mirror, Hanna and Drumheller, so the "boom time" of the railroad was over for Big Valley. The remains of the yards and roundhouse are still visible today. A self-guided walking tour of the long-abandoned facilities is worthwhile for any railroad buff.
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