Category Archives: railways

The Happy Wanderers: Findlater’s Elgar Choir – Updated

Posted on 03/17/2022 by mdm

Charles E. Findlater (1893-1975) founded and led the Elgar Junior Choir from 1924 until shortly before his death.¹ Until Findlater received permission from English composer Sir Edward Elgar’s daughter in 1932 (there is some disagreement as to the year; in some places, … Continue reading →

Posted in music, railways | Tagged Amy Findlater, bc, Charles E. Findlater, Crofton House School, Eldigar Singers, elgar junior choir, Elgar School of Music, Fairfield Building, history, Nancy (Haines) Nelson, Sir Edward Elgar, St. Andrew's-Wesley United, The Happy Wanderer, vancouver, Vancouver College, Wesley Methodist | 12 Comments

Crowd Welcomes Kilties at Union Depot/Thornton Park

Posted on 02/09/2020 by mdm

The photos above and below are identified by the City of Vancouver Archives as being a “large crowd gathered around automobile, men in military uniforms” and the date shown for the photos is “ca1915.” I had doubts about the attributed … Continue reading →

Posted in military, railways, stuart thomson | Tagged Brigadier-General R G E Leckie, CNR Depot, history, Lt-Gov. Francis Stillman Barnard, Mayor Harry Gale, pacific central station, seaforth highlanders (kilties), Thornton Park, union depot, vancouver | 2 Comments

Re-Inventing CPR/Waterfront Station

Posted on 03/29/2018 by mdm

Fastening a ‘historic site’ plaque to a building doesn’t ensure that everything about the site will be preserved as it was. It is vanity to assume that we, with our contemporary sophistication, are able to still the hands of time … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), railways, stuart thomson | Tagged 3rd CPR Station, bc, exteriors, history, interiors, platforms, Project 200/Granville Square, ramp, vancouver, waterfront station | 1 Comment

Bridge Tender’s Nightmare Made Worse?

Posted on 03/01/2018 by mdm

Bridge Tenders There were, once upon a time in early Vancouver, many bridge tenders. Who was a bridge tender? He (I’ve never heard of a female bridge tender in Greater Vancouver) was the person responsible for swinging the span on … Continue reading →

Posted in bridges/viaducts, railways, W J Moore, water scene | Tagged bc, bridge tender, Doris Baker, Frank Varrell, GNR Trestle, great northern railway, history, railway, The Province, vancouver, Vancouver World | 4 Comments