Google Earth Map Icons: Railway sidings
Posted on | November 30, 2009 | No Comments
Quite literally the network of railroad branch lines which crisscrossed the southeast after 1905 were the arteries that gave life to our corner of the province. Along these arteries were sidings, in essence parallel rail lines located roughly six to ten miles apart, which were designated during the initial survey of the rail route. Later, rail companies would take the liberty of naming sidings after railway officials, prominent individuals and investors in the CPR.*
For every incorporated community in the southeast past and present, with the exception of the Village of Bow City, the establishment of a townsite along an existing subdivision was a necessary pre-requisite in the establishment of a village or town. In the case of Bow City, incorporation for the village was granted in 1913 under the assumption that the construction of a branch line to the community was imminent. With the declaration of the First World War, and the evaporation of investor capital, the proposed rail line was scuttled and the village was disorganized within four years.
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Drawing on over 100 years of family history in the southeast, this is my attempt to shine the spotlight on southeastern Alberta's forgotten history.
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