Desire to purchase a portion of Canadian National (CN) rail lines may be picking up steam in Starland County.
    The county has sent off a letter to CN inquiring about the purchase of the Dinosaur Spur, a section of rail between Morrin and Munson.
    The hope is, by purchasing the section, the county could help farmers who have grain storage near the line and expand the county’s Public Works Shop, which is adjacent to the line.
    “We have some potential use from the property, but we haven’t heard back from CN yet,” said Ross Rawlusyk, CAO of Starland County. “The line is right next to our public works shop, so buying the land would allow us to expand the shop.”
    In the Council meeting, Rawlusyk also explained the rail could be useful for expanding rail tourism in the area. The county is a member of the East Central Alberta Heritage Society, which works with Alberta Prairie Steam Tours in Stettler.
    However, there would be some work required to have the rail serve a tourism function.
    “It’s pretty light rail and not in great shape,” said Rawlusyk.
    The desire to purchase the Dinosaur Spur section comes after CN offered to sell Starland and Wheatland Counties, and the Town of Drumheller their respective sections of the rail line that runs through the area.
    The cost was too high.
    “CN has taken the option to do donations, municipally, off of the table, so then it becomes a straight cash transaction. There’s no way the three municipalities left could afford it,” said Rawlusyk. “At one time, CN was giving us an indication they might take a large chunk of the cost of acquiring the line as a donation.”
    In a letter from Palliser Regional Municipal Services addressed to CN, Palliser’s intent to purchase the section was officially withdrawn. The letter also highlights how the closure process is flawed in that the municipal partners involved have little ability to have meaningful negotiations.
    “There are certainly issues there,” said Rawlusyk.
    Regardless, the county is hopeful in their request to purchase the Dinosaur Spur. However, no reply has been received from CN.

    A Drumheller family is heading on a voyage that includes dinosaurs, museums, gauchos and maybe a little bit of hockey.
    Tyler Eddy is a project and interpretive planner at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and his spouse Kelly Eddy is a director at the Atlas Coal Mine. This month the two are taking their two young sons Emery and Eli on an Argentinean adventure. According to Kelly it is an opportune time for the family to take on an extended (3 month) voyage before their children begin school.
     For Tyler a big part of the trip is to satisfy some of his own interest in dinosaurs, but as a planner, it is also for professional development.
    “It was inspired by wanting to do something travel based before our kids got into school, secondary was wanting to learn a new language and third, wanting to learn new skills,” said Eddy. “ Our oldest starts school in September and we want to expose them to a lot of new things as well.”

Tyler and Kelly Eddy and sons Eli and Emery will be heading south to Argentina to learn about some of their museums and also to play in a Chilean hockey tournament.

    He has made contacts through museum conferences and will be visiting a number of museums.
    “I want to see some of the palaeontology, they have some similar aged rocks there and in certain cases there is much older geology than we have around here, so more of a span, of more recent and much older rocks in closer proximity to each other,” said Tyler. “They have a lot of different species of dinosaurs that we don’t have here, more long necked dinosaurs down there.”
     He adds that one museum he will be visiting, its lead scientist, Professor Rodolfo Coria described Argentinosaurus.
    “That is going to be a big highlight to go to his museum which is called Museo Carmen Fune,” said Tyler.
    They will also see Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio in Patagonia, one of the premier palaeontology museums in South America.
    “It is a lot like the Tyrrell Museum. It is a big museum in an out of the way place. They don’t have a huge population either,” said Tyler. “ They are a significant site in a small town.”
    They hope to do some volunteer work at the museum while they are there, although the field season will be over by then.
    The Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio will also give him a chance to focus more on his profession rather that just getting his fix of cool dinosaur stuff.
    “Because I am going to be at that site a little longer, we hope to learn about their business and how they interpret,” said Tyler. “Another thing I am interested in is because my Spanish is at a beginner level, I want to look at and study how learners of a new language take in the interpretation at different sites. The Tyrrell Museum has many international visitors. They are obviously using visual cues to learn about the dinosaurs here, but I want to put myself in that situation and see what it is like.”
    He says the Tyrrell, staff and his supervisor are supportive of his trip and see it as a valuable opportunity. The Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society has also stepped forward to help support his experience financially.
    Beyond the world of dinosaurs and museums, there is another important all Canadian aspect to the trip, hockey.
    Tyler is an avid fan and also coaches FunTeam. Tyler has been in contact with a Facebook group called Ice Hockey Ushuaia, a group in the southern most reaches of Argentina.
    He also follows  the “Travelling Goalie,” who has travelled the world to play hockey, including Ushuaia. In fact, the Travelling Goalie is organizing a Canadian team for a tournament in July. Tyler is signing up to be on the team.
    “We are getting ready to play in a tournament in Punta Arenas Chile. The goal of the tournament is to raise awareness of ice hockey in the area. I don’t think it is well established… they have a three on three rink, but they want to build an Olympic-sized one down there.”
    He hopes to also be able to give something back to the community there. This could possibly be done by donating some equipment or teaching some sessions for youngsters.
    The family is heading out on April 28. To keep in touch with the Eddy's, click here for a link to their blog.