Writing a blog on a weekly basis isn’t as easy as it may outwardly appear (or maybe it is and I’m just not that talented). Though I may struggle a bit with the content, by far the most difficult part is trying to come up with a witty, clever title. Sometimes I hit and sometimes I miss (I’d like to more of the former, but in reality it’s probably more of the latter). This week was no exception. I had no idea what to call this week’s post, and then it hit me; I think it is very reflective of the week I’ve had. Besides, if Dickens can create something so popular why can’t I do likewise?

Obviously it has been a very busy week once again…but what’s new. We are down to our final full week of classes before the start of exams and there is so much to do. I’m slowing chipping away at my backlog of marking and I hope to be cleared up by next Monday. My exams are in and the students have been given their exam reviews. Most of the teaching is now complete and we will be focussing on exam prep. Where has the semester gone?

Things have been extra hectic as this Friday some of our students will be travelling to our feeder school Pope John Paul II to speak to them about coming to St. Patrick. Normally we send a contingent of football players to plug the program and hopefully do some recruiting. I’ve always sent along a highlight video of the previous season to show; problem is that it is not ready yet. I was supposed to work on it over the break, but as I mentioned it took a backseat to my Leeblain article. I’ve only got a few days to finish putting everything together! I should be working on it right now, but you know…

So, what’s been going on with the railway? Well, there are quite a number of things on the go. Last week I mentioned that my Leeblain article may have earned me another speaking gig, this time at the Thunder Bay Museum. There is nothing confirmed right now, but I may have the privilege to kick-off the 2013-2014 lecture season this coming September. I’ve never had the opportunity to speak at the museum, so I am really hoping that this goes through. It will certainly go a long way to promoting my work on the railway and our efforts to preserve the remains at Leeblain.

On the topic of lectures, I need to get cracking on preparations for my February 9^th presentation at Gunflint Lodge. I am looking forward to this event, as the lodge is a beautiful place and it’s located in one of my favourite areas. I have not visited Gunflint Lake in the winter, and so it should be a great experience. Hopefully we get more snow; this past week has been another wild temperature ride. On Friday it was +3C with rain, and Monday dawned at a crisp -19C. We lost a lot of snow with the rain and it would be nice to get more before my visit.

Alright, so what’s with the locomotive thing? Well, it has actually been an ongoing situation for quite a while now; I even wrote about it last June (ironically in that post I was complaining about how hot it was). The story involves the most famous locomotive on the PAD&W, affectionately known as the “Black Auntie.” Her nickname stemmed from the fact that there was reputedly the image of a woman on her firebox door which apparently resembled a local Madame by the name of Julia Ann Roy.

So the issue lies with the fact that accounts of the type and appearance of the Black Auntie do not jive with historic information. Traditionally the Black Auntie was describe as a 0-4-0 locomotive; however documents suggest that rather it was a 4-4-0 “Rogers” type engine. There is a photo that purportedly shows the Black Auntie on an excursion in 1890-1891. However it lacks the necessary detail to make a thorough analysis. So I sent for an image of PAD&W #1 from Library and Archives Canada and what I received completely baffled me (unfortunately I cannot post the image as it is property of LAC).

Black Auntie, 1890/1891.

The engine in the photo is appears to fit the historic description of a 4-4-0. There are some similarities with the excursion photo, but the archives engine looks longer and newer. The Black Auntie was heavily damaged in a January 14, 1891 engine house fire and needed extensive repairs. Could this account for the differences between the two? A plausible explanation. Compounding the whole issue is that there is another photo floating around that may also be the Black Auntie, but it looks nothing like the other two (and the front of the engine is not visible to see if there are leading trucks-the small wheels at the front).

Unknown PAD&W engine, unknown date.

I have ordered some additional images from the Archives that will hopefully aid in this investigation. This mystery has been absolutely frustrating; the more I dig, the more confusing it gets. I can certainly appreciate how challenging it can be for others who are doing similar types of research. I hope that I will discover some information that will help solve the curious saga of the enigmatic iron horse.

Anyway, time to run. More enlightening news and facts next week. Until then…