Rail fanning in Melville with Felix Lesiuk

By Felix Lesiuk

On Monday, August 20,  I took a group of people on behalf of Rail Travel Tours to Manitou Springs Spa resort, which is just north of Watrous, Saskatchewan on VIA's Canadian.  It was kind of neat seeing all the spots I usually take pictures of the train but from the "inside" perspective.
    
We stopped in Melville for a crew change and a chance to stretch the legs. Nice to see that they are fixing the old station. Last time I saw it was boarded up and smelled like pigeon crap.  We were making fairly good time until we got stuck for about three hours near Uno, Manitoba. A CN freight had mechanical issues and had to be rescued by another train.

Take a visit to railroad town

   Another film that WMRC Vice President Dave Downie found in the NFB archives was Railroad Town, a 29 minute documentary about life in Melville, Saskatchewan in 1956, when railroad was king.

   As most prairie rail fans know, Melville is still very much a railroad town. It's right on the CN mainline, and they even has their own railway museum to celebrate that heritage. But as busy as it is today, it's nothing compared to the activity of almost 60 years ago! Best of all, there's steam, steam and more steam!

    The documentary is narrated by the CBC's Fred Davis, host of  Front Page Challenge, who visited various railway workers and learned all about the operation of one of the most vital stations on the CN mainline which kept all of their trains running smoothly.

    To see this remarkable film, go to: https://www.nfb.ca/film/railroad_town