Mar 282011
 

Arilem and I had gotten up really early one day last fall to make it to a large location that we had been interested in seeing.  We spent about 3 hours in the location before we decided we had seen as much as we could and moved on.  We were in a rather desolate area of Manitoba on a Sunday and were looking for some lunch.  The town we were in had nothing to offer so we started heading east towards a larger town where we hoped to find something to eat.  We drove the entire town and only found a small run down Chinese restaurant open, and we decided that if we wanted to eat that this is all we had available.  Much to my surprise the food was very good and with full stomachs we decided to see what else we could find before we made the drive home.  As we drove around town we stumbled across a small abandoned motel on the side of the highway just outside of town.

Motels like this were once very common however there aren’t many around like it anymore.  It was far from anything fancy, consisting of about a dozen rooms that all opened up onto the parking lot and they were connected to the main office which also was the residence for the owner.  It appears to have been abandoned close to 10 years and it appears that structural issues may have played a role in its closure.  The floor had collapsed near the back of several of the rooms and even had plants growing in some of them.  For the most part the rooms were complete with furniture, beds, and even bedding still and the only obviously missing thing was the televisions.

It was definitely not the most exciting place we ever saw but it was interesting none the less.  I hope you enjoy it.  There will be another update in a day or two. 

Motel 1
The Motel had a neet sign with parts that appear to be neon

Motel 2
A view of the portion of the motel with the office on the end

Motel 3
A bed with bedding and one without – I wonder were the bedding went

Motel 4
Desk with heater beside it

Motel 5
Fancy couch in the signle rooms and a bible on the shelf

Motel 6
Where the MTS phone once resided

Motel 7
Front Desk in the office

Motel 8
Stickers on the door to the office

Motel 9
Another view of the front of the motel looking away from the office

 Posted by at 14:30
Mar 222011
 

In early December Arilem and I were exploring in east-central part of the province when we stumbled across an old railway station.  This location is about as far off the beaten path as one could get.  The rail line that it was on has been abandoned for more than 30 years, there is no highway going to this hamlet nor is there even a paved road to take you there.  I don’t even recall a sign on the nearest highway indicating its presence.  This hamlet is little more than a name on the map.

One might think that a railway station wouldn’t be very rare in this province due to the thousands of them that once existed.  Passenger rail service to most small communities ended in the early 1970’s and being owned by the railways most of them were shuttered at the time.  Over the years some have been acquired by the towns and turned into museums or visitor information centres.  Many have been torn down over the years leaving ones that are abandoned in their original condition very rare

We had to walk a fair distance in deep snow to get to the building and we were starting to run out of daylight.  I didn’t get a lot of good shots of the place due to the temperature and lighting but it is an interesting piece of Saskatchewan history just sitting – rotting in a field.  I hope you enjoy it.

Railway Station 1

The station at dusk – the snow was at least knee high all the way 

Railway Station 2

A closer view – the platform is on the opposite side.

Railway Station 3

Ticket window and waiting area in the station.

Railway Station 4

Stairway to the upper floor – appears to just be offices up there.

Railway Station 5

Old school heating – I wondered if this was still used up until the station was closed.

 Posted by at 11:40
Mar 212011
 

Well I know I said I would try for 3 updates a month to the blog and here we are with almost 4 months later and no updates.  That will be changing very soon as I have approximately 6 posts ready to go and I will be publishing them all in the next couple weeks.  This winter has been a little slow for exploring due to heavy amounts of snow and very cold conditions.  I got out a few times in December on some small trips where Arilem and I explored some ghost towns in the Yorkton and Swift Current areas.  Things may continue to be a little slow for us until the snow pack melts.  The desolate rural areas we tend to frequent are almost inaccessible right now even with a 4×4. However if the flood predictions are true I might have to go document some of the flooding which I will post on this blog as well.  I appreciate everybody’s patience and the patience should be worthwhile as several updates are on the way.

SaskUrbEx Administrator

 Posted by at 10:52