The Road Taken examines the experiences of Canada's black railway porters

WMRC Vice-President Dave Downie sent us this fascinating documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) titled "The Road Taken".

This 52 minute documentary produced in 1996 takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada's railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted to other railway jobs until finally, in 1955, porter Lee Williams took his fight to the union. 

Claiming discrimination under the Canada Fair Employment Act, the Blacks won their right to work in other areas. Interviews, archival footage and the music of noted jazz musician Joe Sealy (whose father was a porter) combine to portray a fascinating history that might otherwise have been forgotten.

You can view this fascinating documentary by clicking here. 

Newfoundland Railway video featured at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's October 10 meeting

Our main program for our meeting on Friday, October 10 is a fascinating U.S. Army documentary made in 1943 about the making of the telephone and telegraph line along the narrow gauge Newfoundland Railway lines during WW2. The 21 minute film is in colour, which was pretty rare for a documentary at the time.

Speeders were used to lay the cable, and local trees were used to make over 30,000 poles. Because there was little or no communication between Army HQ and the bush, the crews were never really sure when the trains were coming. During WW2, there were lots of trains running - usually 16 a day! Wait until you see the segment on the video when two men in a speeder had to swiftly dismount their speeder and then throw it off the track to get out of the way of a freight train!

After a short break, we'll see a National Film Board movie from 1958 by Guy Cote called Railroad-ers. The movie depicts the life of CPR railroad men out of Revelstoke as they run their trains and maintain the line through the Rocky Mountains. The original Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian is featured throughout the film.

Our meeting starts at 7:30 PM at the Charleswood Legion Hall, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. Access is through the west entrance. Guests are always warmly welcomed. Hope to see you all there!

Watch Buster Keaton travel across Canada on a Speeder in "The Railrodder"

    In 1965 the National Film Board of Canada released a short film featuring legendary silent movie comedian Buster Keaton, titled The Railrodder. Buster travels across the entire country from Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia to the Georgia Strait in a CN speeder.

     This was one of the last Films Buster Keaton ever made, and it was a fitting ending, as one of his most famous films was The General, where he rescues a train stolen by the Union Army during the civil war.

     The Railrodder is a delight not only for Buster Keaton fans, but for rail fans and historians alike, for it gives us a rare glimpse into what Canada looked like in the mid 1960's all from the perspective of an open speeder.

     If you have 24 minutes to spare, sit back an click here to see The Railrodder.