December 22 Frostbite Flashback. In December 1989 a good friend and I booked a rountrip ticket on the Canadian between Winnipeg and Calgary to experience the train on its historic CP routing (it would shift to a CN routing in January 1990). What I recall most about that trip was the brutal (even for my northern Minnesota standards) cold. The HIGH temp in Winnipeg on 12/22 was -13F. I recall us stopping a few times so frozen pipes could be thawed and steam pressure built back up. The steam heat really caused issues.
The coniferous and boreal forests of North America, found above about 44-45 degrees North, hold a magic all their own--especially when framing a long freight.
Photos of North America's favorite First Generation locomotives. EMD, ALCO, Baldwin; essentially anything that represents the OG wide cab diesel locomotive