SUMMER WALK

        This week I decided to take a walk and find some of my favorite flowers. It was hotter than I thought so the walk was slower than I thought. Part of the trail consists of about 150 steps where you go up or down the escarpment. The steps have never been a problem before but this week I had to take a few breaks. 

      This small city has many trails. There are about 100 km of upgraded paved trails for easy walking and cycling. There are trails improved with shale or grave. And then thee are unimproved trails.

     So I enjoyed my walk. I found the wild flowers I was looking for but there were many butterflies around. 

A WELL LOVED BRIDGE

   In the days of railroads everything came and went on the railroad so the railway went through the center of town. It was handy for passengers to catch a train or get off. Freight was loaded and unloaded. Towns grew up around the railroad.

    Slowly the moving of freight changed. Roads were improved and so trucks began hauling freight. Trucking was more flexible as the truck could pick up and unload closer to the source of the freight.

   So there came a time when rail roads were taken out of the downtown or in our case the railroad was taken right out of town. I wonder if any freight is received or sent out of our town. The grain terminals are about 20 km away.

   So since the movement of freight changed the railroads had to change. Railroads became a nuisance in town because of all the crossings. The large amount of land railways had became a valuable asset for other development. 

   Railroads were torn up and the land set up for redevelopment. This process was costly even though the land was valuable. 

    This is where my bridge comes into the story. If the railway didn't have to take a bridge out it saved them money. So find a use for the bridge in the community and sell it for a dollar  and the railway is free of a costly asset.

   Now people have a bridge . This bridge was refurbished for lots of money and incorporated into the large trail system we have. 

   This bridge give an excellent connection to both sides of the city. The morning I took this photo many people were riding or walking to work.

   When I took the photos I could imagine that huge steamer slowly crossing the bridge. How many trains have crossed that bridge? How many times have I crossed the bridge?