My Mother was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. In my youth she would take me there every summer. Well, the CNR and the CPR met there as well as in Winnipeg. We, as kids, used to put pennies on the tracks and gather them up squashed. It was rare back then to see a steamer that wasn't from the USA. Rarely we would see a double head. I used to have an old Hostler let me in the cab of his steam switcher and operate it. My cousin worked in the station. You younger guys/gals that like trains have no idea what you missed. No insurance worries or any other worries. I even took a picture of a fully loaded handcar. I’m not talking about a Fairmont speeder, this was a real handcar. I once saw an engineer (young man) get out of the cab and spit on the drivers to see how hot they were waiting for a green board headed west. God, I do love the railroad…

Jim