There were a fair number of rail sidings in Alberta that disappeared over time. Technology made a lot of them redundant. Some vanished when the rail line was abandoned. Some of the buildings, such as grain elevators, were moved to new sites or demolished. Some of them did have train stations, it would have been interesting if a few of them could have been preserved.
Some of the places get the barest of mentions on the internet. Google Maps is interesting as you can type in place names and often get a location. A lot of times the satellite view will show nothing there. If you get a view with enough definition you can see the outline of what once was a settlement.
Ardenode was a rail siding with a bit of a settlement and from what I could tell from other internet sources there was a abandoned general store. A photo someone posted in a forum showed it still standing in 2007. It is reasonably close so I took a quick drive after work. The general store is still there, unfortunately it is right in someone's yard and I could not get a photo from the road. You can see the old rail line and bridge. I did get to see an old truck though. No idea what it is or the vintage. No closer look was available as it was in another person's yard.
Boy, that tanker sure is an old-timer!
ReplyDeleteI used to go to the Ardenode store when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteIt was owned by a man named "Wilfred" and his mother. They were very nice people.
Wilfred had a huge collection of grandfather clocks.
At some point, I remember there being an auction sale to sell all the antique clocks.
Thanks for the info. Appreciate the comment.
DeleteThank you for this post! Back in @'88 there was a photo display (showing a variety of Canadian scenes) in the lobby of a building in downtown Calgary that featured an exterior view of that general store. The color of the building was green, and a gentleman was also in the photo. I passed through Ardenode in 1994 (@late May); the building (still green in color) was still present and in good condition, but I did not take the effort to determine if the store was still in business. The white pages of the AGT directories in the early '70's indicated the presence of at least one grain elevator.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the bit of history you provided. I thought there was a grain elevator here at one point.
DeleteI have seen that truck before, at Pioneer Acres farm show in Irricana back in 2010 https://www.flickr.com/photos/sherlock77/4874737372
ReplyDeleteWe lived in Ardenode from 1985 for 12 years.
ReplyDelete