Author Archives: nfroese

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About nfroese

Neil Froese is a retired teacher residing in Ontario with his wife, Eileen. Growing up and living in southern Manitoba in the 1950's to the late 1980's, Neil's interest in trains was piqued by the visual and sound drama of early Canadian Pacific steam on cold, crisp winter mornings as the trains would dutifully deliver most anyone and everything to and from the towns and villages in southern Manitoba. The CPR station with its "agent" was the commercial and in many ways, the social hub of prairie towns until 1950's when train passenger service was terminated as more and more persons choose the independence of the automobile and the use of better highway infrastructure. However, a pre- Christmas winter ride on the CPR passenger train with his mother and brothers from Mather to Winkler in the 1950's to spend time with the grandparents was "as good a gift as was needed" as far as Neil was concerned. To a young boy 8 years of age, It was a great, unique experience - always to be remembered!

351 The Napinka Subdivision, Mile 0 to Mile 49.

Picture11994/08, CPR/Napinka Sub. Mile 21.1 The Clearwater Pump House. This pump house, now electrical powered, is used to pump water up to the Clearwater Water Tower about 400m to the W. The tower is now the village water source. At one time this pump house was a larger building housing a stationary steam engine and a coal bin. Coal was slid down a chute on the side of the rail bed from a train car parked on the track high above to the left in this photo. (Information – “Prairie Pride Land-Looking Back” The Louise History Book Committee, 1998) (Click on photo for detail) © Text and Photos exclusive copyright of N. Froese.