In some ways it's a lonely job Jack Tessier has as operator at La Riviere, Manitoba, a Brandon Division station 110 miles (177 kilometres) southwest of Winnipeg. But, as Mr. Tessier is quick to point out, there are compensations when you are living in a small community, in this case, a picturesque valley and one of the few downhill ski resorts in Manitoba.

There's the scenery, the neighborliness, and as Mr. Tessier puts it, "you are your own boss. There's nobody looking over your shoulder." And, there's time for his hobby, flying.

The fact that La Riviere is a tourist centre as well as an agricultural community manifests itself in unusual ways at times. Some mornings the Tessiers are amused to find sightseers peering through the windows of their 85-year-old station.

There are busy times, too, at the La Riviere Station.

LEFT AND RIGHT

One of the busiest occurred in 1980, when construction crews were replacing a bridge near Morris, diverting traffic from its normal route into Winnipeg. For several weeks, the trains had to go west as far as Brandon and back east on the main line, travelling more than 200 miles (321 kilometres) out of their way.

"One night there were 141 cars in the yard," recalls Mr. Tessier. "The dispatcher told me we had more units than they had in Winnipeg."

It can be very quiet in the winter, but, says Mr. Tessier, "once the grain starts to move it's go, go, go. Once they start loading ships at Thunder Bay they start running trains left and right."

There are way trains routinely rolling through three times a week, and during the Thunder Bay shipping season, there are two or three grain trains a week, and sometimes more.

The life may be different, but it seems to agree with Mr. Tessier, he has been at La Riviere for 16 of his 34 years with the railroad.