UPDATES

Trains, Planes and Bicycles?

January 18, 2023

Spike

We’re planning a special event in Rivers for July 8-9, 2023. For the weekend, there will be many groups participating in various events across the community. This includes school reunions; a VIA Rail Ticket Raffle draw; the grand opening of the Rivers Game and Fish range and learning centre; A & L Cycle of Brandon, together with the Train Station Restoration Committee, will map out recreational bicycle rides and demonstrate e-bikes; giveaways; and much more!

Stay tuned for a schedule of events.

Planes

  • Did you know that Rivers had a British Commonwealth Air Training Base? That it was located here from 1940 until 1970.
  • That it trained pilots from all over the British Commonwealth.
  • That there were over 400 PMQ’s (private military quarters – homes) located on the Base.

Trains

  • Did you know that the rail line that runs through Rivers started out as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad in 1906?
  • That it then changed hands and became the Canadian National Railway..now known today as CN.
  • That Rivers is a divisional point on main line CN.
  • That we are the only VIA Rail passenger point west of Portage la Prairie and east of Melville, Saskatchewan.

Bicycles

Have you heard of a vintage bicycle called a Sekine?

They were first produced in Japan, and when an opportunity presented itself, Sekine came to Canada to produce bicycles. It was through a Federal Government Program that Sekine set up manufacturing in the old Number 1 Hangar at the former Rivers Air Base in 1973. Bicycle parts and completed bicycles were shipped on the train from Rivers. These bicycles were well made and had distinctive rhinestone embedded badges and special spoke protectors on them. At its height the plant in Rivers was producing 50,000 bicycles a year. The numbers that you find on the bicycles indicate whether the bicycle was produced in Japan or Rivers.

Rivers was the only other place in the world, other than Japan, that these bicycles were produced. The history of Sekine was documented and written by Ken and Bev Storie for the Manitoba Historic Resources Branch. A copy of the booklet is in the Rivers Library. There are various websites and articles online that provide information about Sekine bicycles.

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