Stephen Yakimets

Hi Everyone: How time flies. I suddenly realized I have not sent an update for months. The Museum had a successful full visitor season in 2022, welcoming visitors back after being closed for 2020, and only open to visitors in August 2021. We hosted regular visitors, preschool tours, wedding photos, our Member of Parliament Ziad Aboultaif, and finished the season with the launch of the young adult book Lucas and the Ghost Train, written by friend of the Museum and…

Hi Everyone: Thanks to everyone who attended our virtual AGM in January. It was great to see everyone, even if it was in tiny squares over Zoom. I will keep the newsletter short and sweet in honour of Valentine’s Day and February being the shortest month. Our new board was elected at the AGM and consists of Stephen Yakimets, President; Kevin Franchuk, Treasurer; Roland Nairon, Board Secretary; Bob Cowie, Motive Power Director; Hans Huizinga, Archivist; Claire O’Brien, Director; Nathaniel Hehir, Director; Wayne Telcs,…

Hi Everyone: The Alberta Railway Museum Annual General Meeting for the fiscal year ending October 31 2021 will be held on Saturday January 29 2022, online over Zoom. Doors will open at 11:30 am. Our special guest speaker is Jim Cullen, western Canadian railway historian and executive director of the Revelstoke Railway Museum. While we had hoped to gather in person at the Namao Hall, with COVID restrictions and the spread of Omicron, we felt that it was best to…

Hi Everyone, including our members, volunteers, supporters, and interested friends: T’was the day before Christmas and not a creature was stirring, not even the cats (Jinx and Sparky)! With Christmas almost upon us, and New Year’s right around the corner, I would like to thank everyone for their contributions and support of the Alberta Railway Museum. Together, we all make a difference in preserving Alberta’s railway history. The Museum’s Annual General Meeting, for the year ending October 31 2021, will…

Hi Everyone: Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Your donation can make an historic difference! As society slowly rebounds from the  COVID-19 crisis, please reflect on the institutions and cultural elements that bring so much joy and learning to so many. These organizations and museums such as the Alberta Railway Museum have weathered the COVID storm but the long term ramifications — the threat of future lockdowns, loss of visitors and volunteers, and possible funding cuts by governments coping with massive pandemic-related…

Hi Everyone, including our members, volunteers, supporters, and interested friends: Fall is well upon us and at the Alberta Railway Museum the restoration season is ramping up, after our abbreviated and successful summer season. It was wonderful to be able to welcome visitors and show off northern Alberta’s railway history. Our primary project this winter is the NAR business car Dunvegan. The siding applied in the late 1980s is being removed, and will be replaced with metal cladding. As part of this the window…

Hi Everyone, including our members, volunteers, supporters, and interested friends: Where does the time go? In June opening day was ages away and now it is right around the corner. The usual gang of volunteers at the site have been chipping away at the task list, but now with only two Saturdays remaining before our soft opening, it is crunch time. We will be hosting work parties for the next two Saturdays to “get ‘er done”, as Herb Dixon used to…

Hi Everyone: I kept holding off on sending my monthly update as I was hoping for good news from Alberta Health Services on the lifting of restrictions. However there have been no easing of the restrictions, which means that unfortunately volunteer activities at the Museum are still suspended with the exception of solo work. The big news for March is the release of the long anticipated book Northern Alberta Railway Diesels: 1952 – 1980, written by Museum member Les Kozma.…

Hi Everyone: Thank-you to everyone who attended our first ever virtual Annual General Meeting over Zoom at the end of January. I was pleased that the technology worked, giving us the opportunity to get together as a group and attend to business. At the AGM, Hans Huizinga and Stephen Yakimets were re-elected to the Board of Directors, and Brian Ducherer and Wayne Telcs were elected to the Board. Both Wayne and Brian were CN employees, and have many years of…

I am writing this on the Thanksgiving weekend, and I am most thankful for all our volunteers who do all sorts of wonderful work, both at the Museum proper and behind the scenes. It’s definitely fall with the cooler weather, the honking geese flying over, and the fields in the area cleared of grain. On the topic of grain, the most recent addition to our collection encourages us to “Take an Alberta Break visit … Edmonton”. The grain car was shuffling back…