The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster

 The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster • Public Betrayal, Justice Denied By: Bruce Campbell 216 pages - ISBN 978-1459413412 The July 6, 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster is a tragedy unparalleled in Canadian history. It resulted in major loss of life, massive environmental destruction and the evisceration of a small Quebec town. Blame

Profiles: Rob Smith

 Rob Smith is a fourth-generation railroader. Hailing from Perth, Ontario, he started as a brakeman (a position now called a trainman) with CP Rail in nearby Smiths Falls, where he spent much of his career. The legislation of safe working conditions for railway workers and the communities through which railways

Publisher’s Message

 It’s summer, and for many that means heading to the cottage, to the beach or to the local park to enjoy the sun, to read and to relax. This summer issue has something for everyone, whether it’s Lainie Towell’s sole-searching piece on Fluevog shoes or our Wood in Weird Places

Heal the Rail

 photo by Frederic Dekkal When rail charters were first extended in the 1800s, the great gift of expropriated land came with expectations— that far-flung communities would be well-served, that grain would get to ports quickly and affordably, that goods would be moved efficiently for the betterment of the economy, and

Rail Safety in our Community

 photo by Frederic Dekkal Trains are as much a part of the fabric of Canada as the maple leaf. The railways are the steel ribbon that has connected Canada economically and socially from the post-Confederation days to the present. The majority of Canadians have been on a passenger train at

Tragedy Touches Lac-Mégantic

 Just over a week ago, the picturesque Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic entered the public lexicon for all the wrong reasons. On Saturday, July 6, at 1:14 a.m., an unmanned runaway freight train belonging to the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA) Railway Ltd. derailed in the heart of the town. But