My Dad & Me

I thought for a change I would not post pictures of trains or Steam Locomotives but post a couple of pictures Dad took of me at the railway tracks.


Dad took this picture of me when I couldn't have been no more than 4 or 5 years old. And as amazing as it may sound, I remember Dad taking this picture and the next picture. It was a Early Spring day and I remember Dad asking me if I wanted my picture taken standing on the railway tracks.

I remember telling my Dad what would happen if a train came while he was taking my picture. My memory is a bit foggy but I think I was assured that we'd have more than enough time for Dad to grab my hand and safely get me off the tracks.

Closly looking at this picture you can see the railway bridge crossing the Brierly Brook. In a couple of months the brook will be full of Trout. Looking at the picture all of a sudden makes me think of another thing Dad shared with me, and that is going Trout Fishing.

I cannot remember if this picture was taken after Dad took the above picture, or took this picture first. I can remember my Dad asking me to rest my hand against the Wig/Wag standard. This is not really a Wig/Wag but a Railway Crossing sign with the alternating red lights.

The thing I remember in this photo was Dad telling me to stand still until he got the picture. I don't think we got to see a train that day either. What I marvel at is how there is no growth at all and you can clearly see the Back Road running parallel with the railway tracks.


This is "Joe Stephens". I don't remember this picture being taken but it is the height of Summer. It looks like a hot day and the bugs would be singing in the hot air. When you look at this picture of Edie and Myself, you will see a lane leading to a Gravel Pit. In here was where Dad would park the car and he and I would go fishing and Mum and Edie would pick the wild strawberries. This picture would have been taken a 3 or 4 years after the above pictures were taken.

Where the railway passes though here, the land is a bit damp and I remember Dad telling me that in the Spring the CNR would post slow orders through here and trains were not allowed to travel at the posted speed. I believe the CNR posted the speed limit to about 20 mph.

This picture was taken about 35 or 36 years after Dad took the above picture. I took this picture Thanksgiving Day (Canada) October 2001 so to have one to compare to Dad's. You wouldn't think this was the same location. The Road is totally obscured and you can barely make out the bridge the railway uses to cross the Brierly Brook. Sharp eyes will find the bridge. It is still possible to enter into the old Gravel Pit I still know as Joe Stephens.

Another Change is the telegraph poles and lines are missing. The Railway got rid of the poles and lines in the 1980's. But I can remember making fishing trips in the Brierly Brook in later years and finding some of the Cross Beams that would be attached to the poles the insulators would be on to keep the wires from grounding out. Back then I never thought about taking a couple for souvenirs, but these glass insulators are collectors items today.

This is looking in the other direction from the above picture. You can see the swampy area the railway passes through. At this time of the year there are no slow orders, but in the Spring it would be different. I can remember when I used to take the train to Halifax and if it was Spring the train would slow right down coming through here.

Neither Dad or I took this picture, but I searched the Internet and found a picture of a Railway Wig Wag. I found the picture at Dan's Wig Wag Site. The picture was found at the Contributor Photo collections link and by clicking on the Douglas Peterson link.

Some of you will remember the Wig Wag and the way it swung back and forth. Some would have a blinking red light in the center of the swinging warning sign. The bells would be so loud you knew the train was coming before the Engineer blew his whistle for the crossing. I never remember seeing a wig wag, but I remember Mum calling all the railway crossing signs as wig wags.

I don't know when the railways phased out the Wig Wag for the standard Crossing lights and bells with the Crossbucks that say Railway Crossing. Before the Wig your crossed at your own risk, and this is when the Railways came up with the Slogan "Stop, Look and Listen"

On this will close down for now.

Till the next time.

All Aboard

"The Old Fart"