Originally posted by CharLac My siblings and I, all born in the early 60s, were fascinated by the prairie trains. Growing up in Montreal, we saw trains but usually pulled by one locomotive. Then while driving across Canada, pulling a Terry travel trailer with a Chev Townsman station wagon, we saw our first prairie train that seem to go on forever. Three locomotives and sometimes four; so cool. I may not be old enough to remember steam but I do remember when the caboose was a standard.
Long prairie freight trains still exist.
It is not uncommon to see two to three locomotives at the front, then a locomotive 'pusher' in the middle, then another locomotive 'pusher' at the very back of the freight car line. I have seen up to six diesel electric locomotives out here, pulling vast lines of freight cars.
The freight cars are flatbeds with cargo containers, oil tankers, automotive carriers, regular cargo box cars, grain cars, flatbeds with processed wood. Mostly freight trains have all these cars and more. I don't know the number of freight cars in a line, too many to count and I lose my place
as they fly by a rail crossing, with me and others in our vehicles waiting, and waiting.
What we don't see and haven't seen for years, are any passenger car trains, except the Canadian on occasion. In the prairies we don't have much in the way of highway passenger buses, either, since Greyhound pulled out of the prairies a few years ago.
Our public transportation in the west (prairies) are our own vehicles. We have lots of space, lots of farms, ranches, but not a huge population considering how much square miles there are.
But on the other hand, I enjoy getting out in the countryide....solitude can be nice.