All The Queen's Horses

I used to watch the show Due South. The story of fish-out-of-water Mountie Benton Fraser in Chicago entertained me, and of course the Canadian content was good. Recently we bought a Tivo and I saw the classic episode All The Queen's Horses come up on the guide, so I recorded it. I just watched it and it was better than ever!

The episode features the RCMP Musical Ride travelling by train from "southern Manitoba" to "somewhere in Illinois". The train is intercepted by terrorists and mayhem ensues.

This time I watched it with a railfan's eye. The train is quite real and features CP 3072 leading three platform cars (with RCMP containers full of horses), and three VIA coaches, with a yellow CP caboose on the end.

It's quite an entertaining story, if you don't pay too much attention to detail. Early in the show the terrorist "driving" the engine is tossed out of the train, yet someone keeps blowing the horn for crossings. And, not to give too much away, but at a particular scene Leslie Nielsen shoots the target on a switch to reline it. Never mind the handle that would hold the switch in place... what about the switch lock? :)

Nit-picking aside, the train shots in this movie are good. There were lots of helicopter views of the train and it was nice to see something filmed on an actual moving train. Recommended!

McAdam Documentary

I heard there will be a documentary about the restoration of the McAdam station on Rogers Television this Saturday, December 1 at 6:30 PM.

BACKTRACK: Restoring the McAdam Train Station is a documentary that focuses on the heroic efforts of the villagers of McAdam to save the McAdam Train Station.

The volunteers at McAdam have done a remarkable job restoring the station. They deserve congratulations for their work. The ground level is looking really good and much progress has been made.

BACKTRACK: Restoring the McAdam Train Station

Speaking of McAdam, here's one of Gary Lee's videos showing NBSR 9801 pulling a string of cars past the McAdam station.