Loco Moto over the Rail Trails
My father and grandfather both worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, so my childhood was pretty much spent around old railway sidings, and the smell of creosote ties lingers strong in my memories. I even took a run at working for the CPR decades ago, loading up my 1981 Honda CM400T to attend brakeman training in Revelstoke, B.C. Motorcycling stuck, but being a brakeman was short-lived.
I did, however, retain a fascination with the romanticism of the bygone era of rail travel, when steeped-walled valleys echoed the sound of bellowing steam engines. I have continued to pursue that passion by travelling — on my much newer Honda — many of the former railway routes now converted to what are called “rail trails.” Typically, my goal on the rail trails is not to skip over any of the sections, staying true to the original grade and not bailing out on secondary roads that often run parallel to such routes.
“THE RAIL TRAIL TO GRAND FORKS IS IMPRESSIVE AND CONTAINS A NOTABLE TUNNEL, WHICH LOOKS LIKE THE ENTRANCE TO TOLKIEN’S MORDOR”
Trail Training
Riding the rail trails is not highly technical, but the topography offers enough thrills and excitement to keep you alert and standing on the pegs often, and, of course, keeping a watchful eye out for historic remnants from a time when life and society moved a bit slower, and distances seemed vast in comparison to today’s
