La majorité des documents conservés par le Centre d'archives et de documentation de l'ACHF sont disponibles pour consultation.
Most of the documents kept by the ACHF Archives and Documentation Center are available for consultation.
rush superimposed on the everyday rush, which has
become routine in wartime.
In the years since this war
began, mail and baggage have more than doubled, almost
tripled in volume, as compared with peacetime traffic.
With the increased activity
at Yuletide, it is more im
portant than ever to keep them rolling. Both James
Gill, 34 years with the company, the last dozen of which
he has been baggage agent
at Windsor Station, and Joe
Lewis,
33 years with the company and now assistant
baggage agent, Windsor Station, will tell you
that keep
ing them
rolling is the secret of success in efficient hand
ling of baggage.
Keep them rolling is a well-known railroad slogan.
Insofar as it is alJplied to baggage handling
it means simply to get the
stuff cleared
through or out of the baggage-rooms as quickly as possible.
0 the rwlse therell
be a traffic
jam extraordinary.
As Mr. Lewis puts it:
If you get
behind, the baggage piles up on
you,
YOll b I 0 c k yourself and have
A large commercial
trunk about to be
helted into a bag-
gage car.
no place left to put new stuff as it comes in. Get it out on the first train possible
is the watchword around here. Keep it rolling. keep
it moving.
It is remarkable the way it is done, too. You can walk into a baggage-room
at some hours of the day, and there seems hardly mom for the motor trucks to thread their way through the staekedup suitcases, trunks, boxes, packages, milk
ca.ns, duffie-bags, skis, navy hammocks
a.nd all the varied impedimenta that comes under broad heading of baggage.
The overflow from the jam-packed baggage-room may be piled row on
row, truck after truck outside on the station platform.
Return a few hours later after certain trains have departed, and the baggage-room is relatively
empty
a few scattered pieces of luggage and boxes here and there. Th~
place is ready for the next deluge of baggage which may run the full scale from a ladys
dainty overnight bag to a caged gorilla.
Typical 01 System-wide Job
It requires intense activity backed by experience and prepa.raLion
Lo cope wiLh these periods of exceptionally heavy influx of baggage. And what goes on in Windsor
Station in Lhis respect may be regarded as characteristic of the
job done in varying degrees in all the baggage-rooms of terminals and stations throughout the entire system.
This department is under the direction of W. E. Allison, Manager, Mail and Baggage Traffic,
at Montreal, with local jurisdiction centred
at Winnipeg in G. W. Carter, General Mail aud Baggage Agent for the
Prairie Provinces, and in H. J. Maguire, General Mail and Baggage Agent
at Vancouver, for the British Columbia District and
the British Columbia Coast Steamship service.
It is estimated that, perhaps, 5,000-7,000 pieces of baggage are handled as a daily average in Windsor Station in these wartime years.
The Christmas rush increases Lhis volume by some 1,000
to 1,500 pieces every day during the holiday season.
An approximate 5,000 pieces handled on a normal day are broken down as follows: regular baggage cars loaded, unloaded
or transshipped,
3,000 pieces; piled-solid cars, 700 pieces; milk, 400 cans; ~tore8
(company supplies), 470 pieces, and company stationery, 200 piece!. Comparative statistics, supplied by Mr. Gill, of number of pieces handled
in Windsor Station baggage-room in November, 1942, and November,
1943, reveal not only the volume dealt with but also the trend of increase in
the space of one year. The figures follow·
1942 1943
Baggage ……………. . 119,404 164,604
Milk ………………. . 11,431 11,928
Papers …………….. . 23,639 22,520
Totals 154,474 199,052
Pieces is a term that covers a multi
Lude of articles: trunks, suitcases, boxe6, crates, packages, parcels, bicycles, skis, golf clubs, caskets, special diplomatic
case;;,
navy hammocks, military kit-bags and innumerable
other objects. Skis and bicycles are the most difficult to handle, with bicycles the worse of the two. Skis are unwieldy to lift and load,
but
they can be stacked into a minimum of space; bicycles cant be.
They take up a.
great deal of valuable room, and C>l.nuot
be piled one upon another.
Prominent in any baggage-room these days are
quantities of army, air force and navy duffie-bags. Baggage trucks stacked high with these kit-bags and the long, white canvas rolls
that are the sailors hammocks are a common sight.
The three different services require different amounts of space for
their duffie. The navy takes most space: only
300 to 400 naval bags and hammocks can be stowed in a 40-foot car;
som~
500 air force kit-bags can be carried in a similar car, while
army kit-bags, smallest of the three, will go
700 to a 4O-foot car.
A corner 01 Windsor Station baggage-room with a variety 01 baggage -trunks,
milltlJY dulfle-bags and skis.
This type of equipment is, of course, connected with troop movements and for tho.t reason occasions more trouble
than rouLine
Reprinted, with permission, from Canadian Pacific Staff Bulletin, January 1944.
baggage. The explanation is simply that military movements are secret and if an unheralded
draft of 300 men goes through Windaor Station
then an equally-unheralded 300 kit-bags are likely to
descend on the baggage-room, which is thus unprepared. Whenever possible
the passenger traffic department will acquaint the baggage
department beforehand of such a movement; to give the
latter at least time enough to get ready. At other times it is not possible.
Then it is difficult. For instance, recently one such movement of
280 pieces came into the baggage-room and had to be handled in a hurry.
The baggage-men knew nothing about it
until the trucks backed up to the windows.
Forewarned is Fotearmed
That sort of thing complicates the baggage-mans task. Normally, he has a fairly clear idea of what to expect and can arrange accord-
Truckload 01 Naval IuImmocks and kit
bags, fypical 01 wartime baggage.
ingly for handling it.
The old adage
about forewarned
is forearmed i~
definitely part of the baggage-mans credo.
In pea c e time, a
par t from the holiday rushes and ski traffic, the most crowded moments for Windsor Station baggage-m;en o c
cur red subsequent to the arrivals of steamships. Then there would be a
rush for a day or so. Arrivals during
the wm
mer, of a Mont
boat or a Duchess. would mean perha
ps 350 pieces of baggage.
The boattrains from Quebec when the Empress of Britain w
.:>uld
dock there meant
more. But in the fall when the tourists returned from summers in then peaceful Europe, a steamship arrival was a real baggage job:
1,000 pieces of luggage from a
Mont boat or a Duchess and 2,000 from the Britain. But always,. the baggage-men knew in advance and were ready. Telegrams would advise them of the destination of the baggage,
how much for Toronto, Chicago, Winnipeg or Vancouver and so on, and how much was to
go on to the
Empresses for the Orient. Those were brief spurts of heavy work. They are
out for the duration; instead it
is large volume to be handled in a steady stream in wartime.
As another example of the difference wartime has made, there
is the bond room
in Windsor Station baggage-room. In prewar days,
it was scarcely big enough to accommodate the vast
amount of luggage a
nd packages from the United States. Now, it looks almost deserted. Only a
few lonely pieces of baggage are
to be seen in it these days.
Christmas mail though handled by the Post
Office is a problem because it virtually doubles its normal maximum volume and overflows into the regular baggage cars Ordinarily,
No.7 to Vancouver carries one mail car, and the overflow into the regular baggage car may run from seven to
15
linear feet of car space. Seven linear feet repre
seot space for close to 150 mail-bags. During
the Yuletide season, overflow ep&cp
required on No. 7 in a regular baggage
car may go as high as 30 linear feet.
203
A string 01 baggage trucks alongside a train, ready to load.
equal parts. The longer part of the car is devoted to mail sortation; the short end to company supplies aod express.
At Christmas time, the mail requires both ends of the
stub-eod car and a GO-foot
working car for funhEr excess mail. That alone may run to GOO
or 700 bags.
Overseas Mail
Overseas mail to the men in the senices, of course, hit its peak
in November. 00 November 20, 17 mail cars all told left Montreal over company lines for eastern ports. One special mllil train consisted of
13 mail cars; three more mail cars went out 00 No. 42
that day and another one 00 No, 40. Above and beyond that again was the mail handled by other carriers.
The Windsor Station staff is particulary proud of the fact that
during the 1942 Christmas season, they did not miss a single piece
of baggage despite the adverse circumstances. The unparaUelerl weather around Christmas
1942, which was so viciously bad that.
it was a miracle trains ran at all, had its effect on the baggagemen.
As Mr. Lewis explained, With the wires down, we never knew when trams were coming in. And another thing, with the yards blocked,
it WIlB hard to get the head ends down to us.
That is, usually they back the baggage and mail cars into the station long before train time,
we load them and they are shunted
out again to be made up into a train which perhaps .wont ICllve
for another couple of hours. Often, a year ago, we never .vere able to get to work until the whole
train was made up and backed
in-and say, for instance, if No. 21 had 18 cars wed have to truck the stuff almost out to Guy
street over snow and ice to
get to the baggage cars.
Mr. Lewis added,
You know the company always is particular about
the baggage it carries. II anything, it is doubly particular
No.1 to Vancouver has what
is known
as a stub-end post office mail car; that i.!,
it is divided by a partition into two un-
Boxes, crates and parcels being moved around the baggage-room.
204
about Christmas stufT. Because, one piece of baggage missed
might be a parcel
of gifts for some youngster. And how would
some little boy
or girl feel if Santa Claus didnt get to his house?
With baggagemen, its the unforgiveable sin to miss a piece of
Christmas baggage.
The little red tractors, gas and electric powered, which prowl
around the train sheds drawing trucks, handle mail and express;
the baggage-men use motor-trucks, and one electric power
truck, which they call the
jitney, and which hauls strings of
baggage trucks behind it. There are six motor trucks and 35
ordinary trucks, which have no power
of their own. There is, of
course, an art to stowing baggage in a car, so as to obtain
maximum accommodation with everything properly sorted and
classified as
to destination. Windsor Stations baggage-room is
open from 6.30 a.m. until 11.45 p.m. daily, and sometimes,
Mr. Gill pointed out, work continues into the wee, small hours
when trains are late.
The baggage-men, who in time get to know where a person
comes from by the type
of baggage he owns, handle luggage big
and small, but the largest single piece they have
to move is
limited to a 250-pound maximum. These are usually the big
commercial trunks
of samples for the travelling salesmen.
Heaviest
of these are those containing hardware, jewellry and
furs.
The baggage-man also sees some strange articles checked
through; especially in the form
of what might be termed live
baggage.
Once, Mr. Lewis recalled, a trunk came into the
baggage-room and was not called for a week. A bad odor began
to emanate from it, and it was investigated.
The trunk was not
locked, and as soon as the lid was raised there came the deadly
dry whirr that once heard
is never forgotten. The trunk contained
fi ve live snakes, three of them diamond -back rattlers. Fortunately
a screen covered the top
of the trunk under the lid. The trunk was
claimed soon after, to the relief
of the staff.
Another time, a caged gorilla appeared on the baggage-room
scene.
The beast became angry at something, grabbed the bars
of the cage and started jumping in the cage, which caused it to go
bouncing around the baggage-room. They had to anchor the
cage by tying it to the wall.
The oddest incident of all in Mr. Lewis recollection was the
time an alligator arrived
at the station in a trunk destined for
somewhere
in the United States. Mr. Lewis went on, That
was the time of prohibition in the States and we had an old
Customs man who was reputed to be able to smell hard liquor,
even bottled, a mile away.
He came along and looked at the
alligator, went away, got his
cane and returned. He poked the
cane under the
gator-and, sure enough, he hooked out three
bottles
of Scotch.
St. Hilaire East No More
by John D. Godfrey
Commuter service to St. Hilaire East along Canadian
Nationals St. Hyacinthe Subdivision came to an end with the
departure
of train 900 from track 22 of Montreals Central
Station at 1710 on September 9, 1988.
The termination, though not entirely a surprise, did come
suddenly.
The Quebec Transport Ministry gave CN the O. K. to
end the service on the afternoon
of September 8th, after
municipalities served
by the one inbound and one outbound train
each weekday declined once again to pay a share
of the trains
$ I million-plus annual operating deficit.
A dozen or so Montreal area railfans were aboard the last
departure of train 900 on September 9th. Before departure,
passengers had to make their way through a small crowd
of
media people covering the event. As the hour of reckoning
approached, one
of our group affixed a banner to the engine
proclaiming that this was
CNs last passenger train.
With the last passengers aboard, the train (consisting
ofG P-9
4422 and coaches 4960, 4974, 4966) made an on-time exit
from Central Station. On board, the mood seemed to be one
of
resignation. Regular passengers reminisced about days passed;
many wondering aloud whether or not the service would be
revived at some later date.
As passengers disembarked at their stops, many produced
autograph books for the crew to sign, or presented them with
parting gifts.
At 1752, St. Hilaire East was reached and the last
passengers got
ofT. By prior arrangement with CN, our group
stayed aboard for the return to Montreal.
After crossing over to the westbound track further east at
Ribeco at 1758, the train backed almost three miles to Beloeil,
where the engine ran around the cars, After the passage
of Via
train 25 from Quebec, we continued on to Montreal, passing
three
eastbound trains: Via train
26, train 14 the Ocean , and
a
CN freight, along the way,
In each direction, a.
11 windows and doors were closed, and
train speed reduced to 20 miles per hour for the passage through
St. Basile-Ie-Grand in deference to a recent warehouse fire
involving
PCBs adjacent to the line.
The train came to a stop on track 22 at Central Station at
1907, after having run through Pte St. Charles yard and backed
up along the Montreal Subdivision from the vicinity
of Hibernia,
ending rail commuter service between Montreal and the South
Shore.
The trains arrival back in Central Station also marked
the end
of the career of engineman Behrer, who retired from CN
that evening.
205
This photo, taken in June 1988, shows train 900 at Otterburn Park, and is typical of the three-car consist during the final year of service.
Photo by Doug Smith.
The First Train to St. Hyacinthe
From The Montreal Gazette, December 29, 1848.
OPENING OF THE ST. LAWRENCE AND ATLANTIC
RAILROAD TO ST. HYACINTHE
This event of such paramount importance to Lower Canada
generally, and the City of Montreal especially, took place on
Tuesday last, the 26th instant. The great difficulty in crossing
the river owing to the ice deterred most parties from availing
themselves
of the invitation of the directors to be present at the
ceremony, and the Hon. A. N. Morin the President, and Thos.
Steers
Esq. the Secretary were the only representatives of the
company which were present from Montreal. At Longueuil,
however, a considerable number
of stockholders and others interested in the undertaking
came from different quarters to the
number of about two hundred persons …
The depot is a large and handsome structure two hundred and
thirty feet
in length by sixty feet in width …. The engine house is
of the same character as the depot, handsome and substantial, it
is eighty-four feet long by fifty-six feet wide and contains a
turning table which to those to whom railways are not familiar
is
well worth inspection, as a most ingenious and extraordinary
mechanical contrivance. It is forty-five feet in diameter, and the
mechanism
is so perfectly adjusted that the immense weight of
the locomotive and tender (about thirty tons) can be moved
round by a force not exceeding the strength
of a boy.
206
Shortly after eleven the cars which were well filled with
visitors were put
in motion, en route for St. Hyacinthe. The line
after leaving Longueuil stretches to the south
of the Montarville
mountain, a distance
of about ten miles through a level country
with an occasional shallow cUlling, but no obstacle
of any
consequence.
At this point a slight curve is made to the north,
and then a straight line of about five miles and a half brings us to
the banks
of the River Richelieu. Here the great engineering
difficulty
of the route is got rid of, by a stupendous bridge or
viaduct twelve hundred feet in length with an elevation of
upwards of fifty feet from the river. The engine which had
hitherto proceded at the rate
of about thirty miles an hour,
somewhat slackened its speed
in crossing the bridge. To those
who plead guilty to nerves, the effect of this temporary
suspension
in mid air may be somewhat startling, but from
carefully noticing the effects
of the passage of the cars, we are
satisfied that there does not exist the slightest ground for
apprehension; we could not detect any perceptable deflection
or
vibration, and the entire structure seemed as firm as a rock. The
bridge was erected at a cost of £22,000, and is considered to be
one
of the best, if not the very best, constructed bridges on this
continent. A
short distance from the bridge is the St. Hilaire
station where a stoppage
of eleven minutes, to take in water,
gave time to admire the beauty of the surrounding landscape. In
truth it
is a lovely spot; the road passes around the north side of
the Beloeil Mountain at a very considerable elevation, and from
the station just mentioned quite a birds eye view
of the country
is obtained ….
On leaving St. Hilaire the cars proceded without any further
stoppage to St. Hyacinthe, to which place the road
is a straight
line ….
At St. Hyacinthe, which was reached in one hour and
twenty-two minutes (including the stoppage
in St. Hilaire), the
arrival
of the cars was marked by a general enthusiasm on the
part of the inhabitants; the depot was decked out with evergreens
and flags and streamers
of all descriptions, a temporary battery
of three pieces of artillary was erected and the cars entered the
depot to the sound
of cannon and the enlivening strains of Vive
la Canadienne which was struck up in good style by the College
band which was stationed at the entrance. The inhabitants seem
to have turned out en masse, the professors
of the College and
students were present, and
everyone manifested the liveliest
interest
in the proceedings and seemed fully aware of the
importance to St. Hyacinthe
of the quick and expeditious
communication with Montreal. . . .
The depot here is a
handsome well-proportioned building, one hundred feet long by
sixty-seven feet wide with comfortably fitted-up offices and
waiting rooms.
The engine house is eighty-eight feet long by
forty-one feet wide, and contains a turning table similar to
that
at Longueuil, but which is not yet quite complete …. The
visitors from Montreal were most hospitibly entertained by
several gentlemen
of St. Hyacinthe, and at three oclock set out
for Longueuil where they arrived without any obstruction in an
hour and twenty-five minutes including a stoppage
of seven
minutes at St. Hilaire.
The new locomotive the A. N. Morin is a fine powerful
engine and will doubtless give satisfaction to the company.
The
first-class carriages deserve more than a passing notice; they are
the work
of Messrs McLean and Wright of this city, we noticed
4,i! .J..A~ E-iENC~ a ArA~T;·C. :~.,
L9N(,4Ui;UII. SYAr:l0 …. 855
The Longueuil slation OJ we St. L. & A. as described in the 1848
Gazelle article.
Collection
oj Orner Lavallee.
them at the time they were built and we are glad to find that they
fully realize all that was said in their favour.
They are suberbly
filled
up, and their comfort and convenience were the theme of
admiration. They are hal anced upon air springs which imparts a
pecular smoothness and ease
of motion, the seats are also fitted
up with spring cushions, and a handsome stove
in each carriage
leaves nothing
in the way of comfort to be desired. There is also
in each carriage an elegantly fitted up apartment for ladies,
should they choose to be invisible, and a sop
is thrown out to
those lovers.
of the fragrant weed who cannot bear an hours
divorce from their customary gratification, by the establishment
of a smoking room in each train. Altogether it is not too much to
say that these carriages are replete with every possible
convenience, and we sincerely hope that when for the future any
thing
of the kind is required either for this or any other Railroad
in the vicinity, our own manufacturers will not be passed over,
especially as,
in the instance before us, they have shown they
cannot be surpassed.
For the ultimate success of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic
Railroad we augur most favourably
…. Notwithstanding that,
on the 30th
of November, a previous difficulty with the resident
engineer led to the abandonment
of the road in an unfinished
state by himself and those acting under him, yet the operations
of
the company were not suspended for a single day, the Directors
obtained the services
of Mr. Miller, the superintendant of
locomotive power on the Lachine Railway, by the consent of the
Directors of that company, and, under his efficient management,
that department has been placed
in a highly satisfactory state.
Mr. Gzowski also, we have been informed, has been retained as
consulting engineer, and, from his well known high attainments,
there
is no doubt that any duties entrusted to him will be
discharged
in a manner satisfactory to the company and
creditable to himself. As it now stands, the road will bear
favourable comparison with any road constructed either on this
continent or
in Great Britain.
We understand that,
for the present, the Rail-road cars will
leave Longueuil for St. Hyacinthe each morning at eleven,
arriving at the latter place at half-past twelve, and leaving again
at half-past one, so as to reach Longueuil at three
P.M. This
arrangement
will enable parties residing in Montreal who may
desire to visit the road to
go to St. Hyacinthe and return the same
day.
207
The Day Santa Came to Ottawa
December 24, 1898.
A queer looking individual of the brownie style of chap
rode up to the office door
of the Free Press today, on a fiery
rein deer and left the following letter which the children
of the
city will no doubt be pleased to read:
Editor
Free Press: Will you please tell the youngsters that
I am getting along as rapidly as possible under the
circumstances.
My brownies have not been away from home
before and are so
much interested in all the strange sights of
the many lands through which we pass that I have no end of
trouble with them. They are quite anxious however to see the
sweet little girls and manley little boys
of Ottawa, and
promise every night that
we shall make greater speed the next
day. They are anticipating great fun in riding on the roof
of
the electric car upon the afternoon and night before
Christmas.
We shall cross over the Laurentian mountains on
Friday night and take a nap under the
clifT at RockclifTe Park
until Saturday afternoon when, all being well, we shall
suddenly appear on Sparks St. and ride through Sparks,
Rideau, Nicholas, Theodore, Albert and Bank St. Our exact
time will be published before Saturday. I hope that all the
grown up people will allow the little ones
to have the front
places
on the streets so that they and my brownies may see
each other.
SANTA CLAUS
P. S. -Two brownie policemen will be with us to keep order,
one twenty-seven inches high and the other twenty
eight.
St. Nicholas
Camp, Dec. 10 1898.
Ottawa Electric Ry. -The illustration shows a car which
gladdened the hearts
of thousands of children in Ottawa on
Christmas eve. The idea
of the Santa Claus car originated with
W. Y. Soper, of Ahearn & Soper, who, under the nom de plume
of Santa Claus, had letters in the local daily papers for several
days before Christmas. These letters were dated from various
points between the
North Pole & Ottawa, & announced that on
the afternoon
& evening of the day before Christmas Santa
Claus, attended by a suite
of brownies, would go through the
streets
of the city upon the top of an electric car, & would
distribute oranges to the children as he passed. The last letter
gave a time table
of the hours at which the car would reach
various points on its route. The jolly saint, blowing a tally-ho
hom, & surrounded by brownies, passed through the streets on
the afternoon
& evening of Dec . 24, & very large crowds turned
out to see him. The
car was decorated on each side with
appropriate Christmas mottoes, framed
in evergreens &
incandescent lights; on the front dashboard was the date, 1898,
& on the rear 1899; the windows were filled up with toys &
boxes in bright colored wrappings. During the trip about five
thousand oranges were thrown
out to the children. The car was
in no sense an advertisement, but was solely for the purpose of
giving an afternoons amusement to the youngsters of Ottawa . It
was a most liberal & commendable treat.
From Railway and Shipping World,
February 1899.
208
Fiftieth Anniversary of the pee ear
by Douglas N. W. Smith
1988 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the construction of the
first
PCC streetcar in Canada. The car was designed by under
the auspices
of the Presidents Conference Committee. The
committee had been formed by the American Electric Railway
Association
in 1929 to develop a universal street car which
would help to stem the loss
of ridership being experienced by
most street railway systems. By agreeing
to a standard design,
the streetcar operators hoped
to reduce the purchase costs.
While the committee was renamed the Electric Railway
Presidents Conference Committee
in 1931, the familar
acroymn identifying the cars
is based upon the earlier title.
The first production PCC entered service in Brooklyn in
October 1936. By March 1938, a total of 54 5 PCC cars were in
operation in American cities. The Toronto Transit Commission
use
of the design would eclipse all other cities as it eventually
owned the worlds largest fleet
of these cars.
Torontos first order for 140 cars was the largest single order
placed for the new car
up to that time. Toronto was not the first
Canadian city to order the
PCC; it was beat out by Vancouver
which had placed an order for a single. demonstrator
car in
January 1938. The orders were placed with Canadian Car &
Foundry Company
(CC&F), the Canadian licensee of the
American builder, the St.
10uis Car Company. In order to
avoid paying customs duties, the basic car body and trucks were
provided by the American firm while the finishing was done
at
CC&Fs Turcot plant in Montreal.
The first two cars were delivered to the Toronto Transit
Commissions Hillcrest Shops on August
20, 1938. These were
the first
PCC cars delivered in Canada; Vancouver did not gets
its single
car until December 1938. Torontonians had their first
view
of the new vehicles at the Canadian National Exhibition
five days later when cars 4001 and 4002 were placed on display.
Car
4000 missed the festivities as CC&F kept it back to serve as
a model for the production crews.
By September 8th, two
PCC s had been placed in service on
the St. Clair line.
On September 24th, this became the first route
to be operated exclusively with the new cars.
The final delivery of cars was made from CC&F on
November
23,1938. By the end of the month, all service on the
Bloor and
Dundas lines was provided by the PCC cars. Between
1940 and 1951, the
TTC received seven more deliveries of cars
from
CC&F. In all, CC&F turned out 540 PCCs for Toronto.
In contrast the fleets in Vancouver and Montreal, which the only
other Canadian cities where these cars were operated, were
small.
Thirty six cars ran in Vancouver and 18 in Montreal.
To supplement the Canadian-built fleet, the TTC secured
second hand cars from systems
in the United States which were
converting
to buses. During the 1950s, 205 cars were brought
to Toronto. Fifty two cars were purchased from Cincinnati
in
1950,75 from Cleveland and 48 from Birmingham in 1952, and
30 from Kansas City
in 1957.
Torontos first PCC, number 4000, as it appeared on August 23 1962. A few months
faler, in January 1963 it was withdrawn from passenger service and became an instruction car. Photo by Fred Angus.
In April 1963, the TTC became an all-PCC system
following the inaugural of the University Avenue subway. The
parallel streetcar line was shut down which permitted the
retirement
of the final Peter Witt cars.
The outlook for the PCCs became bleak in 1966. First, the
Bloor-Danforth subway opened which rendered redundant the
streetcars which had operated on the parallel Bloor-Jane
streetcar line. Second, the
TTC decided to eliminate all
streetcars by 1980. In addition to closure
of the Bloor-Jane
streetcar line, the
TTC shut down an additional four street
routes.
In October 1972, the Toronto City Council voted unani
mously to cancel the plan to phase
out the streetcar. In order to
maintain service until a new generation
of streetcar would be
ready for service, the decision was taken to rebuild the
PCCs.
Between 1972 and 1975, 173
of the cars were rebuiltto lengthen
their service life.
In 1979, the
TTC placed in service its first new streetcars in
28 years. The arrival of the Canadian Light Rail Vehicles
(CRLV) was to signal the end of the PCCs. By 1982, the fleet
was purged
of all second hand American cars as well as all the
CC &F cars built prior to 1947. From a total of 341 PCCs in
1980, the TTC now rosters less than 100 cars.
Thanks to an expansion
in the streetcar system, some of the
remaining cars will have a new lease on life. In 1986, the
TTC
completed rebuilding cars 4505 and 4512 which were built by
CC&F in 1951. Renumbered 4600 and 4601, the cars were
repainted into the new
CRL V red, white and black paint
scheme. Additional
PCCs will be rebuilt for use on the
Harbourfront line which
is slated for completion in late 1989.
To mark the anniversary, car 4000, was placed on display at
this years Canadian National Exhibition. The car and three
other
PCCs are now preserved at the Halton Country Radial
Railway Museum
in Rockwood, Ontario.
Toronto street car 4034, one o/the original lot 0/140 cars, as photographed at the Can-Car works at Montreal in November 1938. CRHA Archives. Can-Car Collection.
PCC car
4272 was one 0/ a group 0/15 wartime cars built in 1944 by Can-Car. Others o/this lot went to Montreal and Vancouver. This pholo
was laken in January 1944 as the car was about 10 leave lor Toronto.
CRHA Archives. Can-Car Collection.
209
210
By Douglas N. W. Smith
APPLICATION TO ABANDON DENIED
On June 20, 1988, the RTC denied CP penmSSlOn to
abandon the rail line between Robson
West and Midway,
British Columbia, a distance of96 miles, and two spur lines, one
in Midway and the other in Grand Forks. While the line is
currently operating at a loss, the President of the National
Transportation Agency, the Honourable Erik Nielsen decided
that the line should
be retai~ed. In 1987, CP handled 2,209
carloads at a loss of $1,106,310. Neilsens decision was based
upon future propects.
The lumber companies located on the line
at
Grand Forks have undertaken large expansions and secured
new orders which should significantly increase the volume
of
traffic and render the line economic.
The major shippers are located at Grand Forks, near the
western end
of the line. At the hearings, CP proposed that
customers in this area be served by Burlington Northern. CP
and the Burlington Northern had reached an agreement in
principle permitting the latter company to use
CP tracks. Grand
Forks is on the Burlington Northern branch line between
Spokane and Republic, Washington.
The idea did not receive
support
of intervenors who questioned whether Burlington
Northern intends to maintain its own line as well as the effect the
removal
of competition would have on freight rates.
The line from West Robson to Midway was built under the
charter of the Columbia & Western Railway (C&W). In 1898,
CP purchased the from Augustus Heinze the completed portion
of the C&W between Trail and West Robson. As part of the
deal,
Heinze insisted that CP purchase his smelter at Trail.
Ironically, CP agreed to do so reluctantly. The smelter formed
the basis for the profitable
CP subsidiary, Cominco. CP began
construction
of the line to Midway by August 1898. Thirteen
months later, trains were running into Grand Forks. The line
was completed to Midway
in March 1900.
This represented a tremendous feat
of engineering as the line
was built through very mountaineous topography.
Trains
operating between West Robson and Midway must surmount
2.2% grades, pass round 16 degree curves and traverse many
wooden trestles.
The line also has several tunnels, the longest
being the 2,991 foot long Bull Dog Tunnel.
The West Robson-Midway line formed the central part of the
route
of the famed Kettle Valley Express which CP operated
between Vancouver and Medicine Hat, Alberta. In 1978, CP
received permission to abandon the line between West Midway
and Penticton thereby severing the through route.
The C & W was built by CP to meet the incursion of James J .
Hills Great Northern Railway into this territory. In the late
1890s, Hill had started to build a line across southern British
Columbia and
Northern Washington State from Spokane to
Vancouver. In 1902, the
Great Northerns Canadian subsidiary,
the Vancouver, Victoria &
Eastern (VV &E) pushed through
Grand Forks. While much of the VV &E has been abandoned,
the
14 miles paralleling CP between Laurier and Carson
remains.
The 2 mile Carson Spur which links the Burlington Northern
and CP in Grand Forks was built by the Kettle River Valley
Railway in 1901 as
part of a route from Grand Forks to
Republic, Washington. In 1919, when the Kettle River Valley
was abandoned,
CP acquired two miles of the line to maintain
the link with
Hills railway.
The 2 mile Carmi Spur between Midway and West Midway
was built
in 1910 by the Kettle Valley Railway as partofits main
line between Midway and hope, British Columbia.
TRUCKS REPLACE TRAINS
On September 20, 1986, the Hudson Bay Mining and
Smelting Company diverted its ore concentrate traffic from
CN
to trucks between its mines at Flin Flon and concentrator at Stall
Lake, Manitoba. This decision effectively removed all traffic
from the Chisel Lake Subdivision between Optic Lake and
Osborne
Lake, a distance of 71 miles.
The rail line between Optic Lake and Chisel Lake had built in
three sections by CN under agreement with the Hudson Bay
Mining and Smelting
Company. The first section between Optic
Lake and Chisel, a distance
of51.4 miles was completed in 1959
and formally opened for traffic in
August 1960. The line was
extended an additional eight miles from Chisel Lake to Stall
Lake and opened for service
in March 1964. The final section
from Stall Lake to Osborne Lake was opened
in July 1966.
Due to the isolated nature of the region, passenger train
service was inaugurated over the line in
order to move workers to
the various mining sites. In April
1960, passenger service
started making four round trips
per week between Optic Lake
and Chisel Lake. A year later, in April 1961, the service was
extended to operate from Flin
Flon to Chisel Lake. The
following year, the frequency was increased to five round trips
per week. As the rail line reached
eastwards, so was the
passenger service which was extended to Stall Lake in
October
1964 and Osborne Lake in October 1968.
Engineers on westbound trains had to slog up a 20.6 mile 2.2% grade Jrom Farran to reach the station at Cascade, British
Columbia. The stations along the line between West Robson
and Midway were constructed to a similar design. The views oj
the Cascade and Grand Forks structures illustrate the similarities. The station at Grand Forks contains three gables along
the trackside while the smaller Jacility at Cascade has but two. Ornamental woodwork was applied
to the eves oj the Grand
Forks station but excluded on the smaller Jacility. Photograph taken on
May 30, 190/.
Photo Credit: CP Rail Corporate Archives
Photographer
J. W. Heckman.
The depot at Grand Forks saw its first passenger train on September
18, 1899. Two years later, company photographer
J.
W. Heckman recorded this view oJthe station area on June 3, 1901. The last passenger train stopped here on January
17, 1964. RDCs replaced the conventional train equipment in 1958. During its last years, trains operated on a bi-weekly
passenger schedule between Nelson and Penticton. The building, however, continues
to serve CPo
Photo Credit: CP Rail Corporate Archives.
211
212
Over the next decade, a road was built into the area. The
mining company commenced to move its workers by bus which
largely eliminated the need for passenger train service.
In May
1979, the RTC granted CN permission to discontinue its
passenger carrying service on the mixed trains between
Flin
Flon and Osborne Lake. The frequency of freight train service
was reduced from five to three rounds trips a week at this
time.
In
1978, the mining company completed a new concentrator
at Stall Lake which eliminated the ore haul from the mines
at
Osborne Lake, Stall Lake and Chisel Lake to Flin Flon for
refining. Traffic between Osborne Lake and Stall Lake was
shifted to trucks at this time.
Due to declining volume of traffic, the line had operated at a
deficit for a number
of years. As the decision to cease using rail
service by the mining company removed the only source
of
traffic from this branch, the RTC granted CN permission to
abandon the line on August
16, 1988.
MORE DISMANTLING OF BRUCE PENNINSULA
TRACKAGE
On July 22,1988, the RTC approved an application by CN
to abandon its line between Harriston Junction and Douglas
Point, Ontario, a distance
of60 miles. Except for the remaining
6 miles
ofline between Harriston Junction and Palmerston, this
will mark the complete abandonment
of the original main line of
the Wellington Grey & Bruce Railway (WG&B) which
ex tended from Guelph to Southampton.
In the last issue
of Canadian Rail, the corporate history of
the WG&B was reviewed in the coverage ofCNs abandonment
of the former WG&B trackage between Guelph and Elora.
The WG&B was open for regular service between Guelph
and
Alma, a small community 27 miles to the east of Harriston,
in December 1870. During 1871, construction was pushed
towards Lake Huron.
The rails were laid to Harriston on
September 22nd and reached Clifford on
October 6th. Five
weeks later,
the Huron Expositor recorded that the first
shipment
of grain from Clifford had arrived at Guelph
November 10th.
The members of the County Council of Bruce and friends
were treated to a special excursion foHowing the completion
of
the line to Walkerton on December 8,1871. The special train,
consisting
of the locomotive W. Hendrie and a single first
class passenger coach, ran from Walkerton to Harriston where
the usual banquet and dinner speeches were held at the
Market
Hotel. The Huron Expositor noted that the 21 mile trip back
to Walkerton took one hour and twenty four minutes. Regular
service operated only as far as Clifford until August 1872 when
the
15 miles of line between Clifford and Walkerton were
deemed to be safe for regular operations.
Progress on construction
in 1872 was impeded by the lack of
rails. The terms of the bonus voted by the County of Bruce
required that the
WG&B rails be laid to Paisley by June 7,
1872. While enroute from England to Montreal in November
1871, the ship
Momento encountered difficulties which
forced it to put
in to Chatham, New Brunswick. By the time the ship reached
Montreal, navigation had ceased on the Great
Lakes. Given its tight financial situation, the company could not
afford to pay the higher costs to have the Grand Trunk move the
rails. So the
230 tons of rails necessary to complete the final two
and one third miles
of line to Paisley spent the winter in
Montreal.
It was not until June 4, 1872 that these rails arrived by ship in
Hamilton. The contractor for the line just barely met the
deadline for the
WG&B to qualify for the payment of the bonus.
The Huron Expositor states that in a five hour period, one
and one eighth miles
of track were spiked down. A special train
bearing
WG&Bs relieved officials and the President of the
Great Western Railway, Sir Thomas Dakin, departed Hamilton
on the
7th arriving in Paisley over rails which had been laid only
a
few hours earlier. Regular service was not inaugurated to
Paisley until August
28th.
The rail reached Southampton on November 12,1872. The
locomotive Colonel McGivern, named for the WG&B
president, puffed into town that day with the construction train.
On November 26th, an inspection train left Hamilton for
Southampton bearing W. K.
Muir, the General Superintendant
of the Great Western Railway, W. Hendrie, the contractor, and
members
ofWG &B board of directors. The first scheduled train
operated into Southampton on November
30th bring passengers
and a
few cars of freight to that community. The finaJ piece of
construction was a spur down to the wharf on Lake Huron which
was completed on
December 7, 1872.
The WG&B was the first railway to lay rails into the Bruce
Penninsula. Its arrival proved to be a boom to the farming and
lumber interests
in this region. The newspaper article in
Appendix I illustrates the large volume of traffic which
immediately started using the rail line.
Almost 100 years later,
CN undertook to construct a major
extension near Southampton.
CN signed an agreement with
Atomic Energy
of Canada to build an 1 1.4 mile branch line from
Port Elgin to Douglas Point on October 5, 1970. As part of the
agreement,
CN undertook to operate the line for a period of not
less than
15 years after the movement of the first carload of
revenue traffic over the line. This was the last major length of rail
line to be constructed in southwestern Ontario.
Shortly before the contract with Atomic Energy
of Canada
was signed, CN received permission to abandon the passenger
train service operated
over the line. During the final years, CN
used RDCs on its routes in the Bruce Penninsula. The RDC,
which operated between Southampton and Palmerston, ran
through to Toronto
in the consist of the Owen Sound-Toronto
train.
The last passenger train arrived at Southampton on
November 1, 1970.
Thirteen years later, on August
29, 1983, CN received
permission to abandon the line from Port Elgin into Southampton.
In 1984, train operation on the remainder
of the line was reduced
to an
as and when required basis. Service was reduced to
once per month effective
January 1, 1987. Freight traffic
averaged Jess than
60 carloads a year since 1984. The actual
loss
for the line in 1986 was $522,680.
213
In the Bruce Penninsula, CN supplemented its daily passenger train with mixed train service. On the Southampton
Palmers
/on run, M 330 is seen approaching Clifford in August 1958. Locomotive 1576 was one oj 25 built Jor the
Canadian Northern
by the Mon/real Locomotive Works in 19/3. Between 1913 and 1956, it carried the number 1390.
Photo Credit: Paterson George Collection. .
Appendix I
Large Trade of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway
A correspondent of the Guelph Mercury says: The
11: 45 train from Guelph on which I travelled, brought 105
paying passengers and 14 carloads
of merchandise, 3 of
which were delivered at Fergus, 3 at Drayton, 5 at
Harriston, and 3 at Clifford. At each of these points there
was
abundant evidence that large quantities of produce are
stored awaiting shipment, although from each there
is an
average daily shipment
of carloads as follows: Fergus 5,
Drayton 3, Harriston 5, and Clifford 6. Eight car loads left
Clifford
on Monday, the 8th instant, and 10 were ready to do
so
on Wednesday the 10th. Seven also, are waiting at
Moorefield, and 3 at Drayton, while here, at Harriston the
average shipment already mentioned and the fact
of the
present
demand for freight cars being much larger than the
supply, shows that this thriving and wondrously prosperous
village is by no means behind its neighbours.
An immense
business,
too, is being done in Clifford. I learn from Mr.
Dulmage, the energetic station master, that no less than six
thousand bushels were purchased there on the 9th instant
…
Verily Harriston and Clifford seem destined to become the
Toronto and Hamilton
of the North West, and if the
Wellington,
Grey and Bruce Railway Company desire, as no
doubt
they do, to see this end attained, they would much
facilitate it by providing a mixed through train daily instead
of
alternately [triweekly service]. It would not be in the least too
much. Source:
The Huron Expositor
Seaforth, Ontario
January 10, 1872.
OTTAWA VALLEY LINE ABANDONED
On August 15, 1988, the RTC approved CNs application to
abandon the Grenville
Spur between Grenmont and St.
Andrews,
Quebec, a distance of 18 miles. No traffic has been
handled over the line since 1985 when 2 carloads were received.
The loss on the line in 1986 was $26,980. The final major
shipper on the line is located in
St. Andrews. Since 1984, the
firm has taken delivery
of carloads destined to St. Andrews at
Val-Royal.
The line was built by the Canadian Northern Ontario
Railway as
part of its main line between Montreal and Capreol.
In
191 I, the Canadian Northern Ontario had purchased the old
portage line, the Carillon
& Grenville Railway. The Carillon &
Grenville was the last remaining railway built to the old 5 foot 6
inch gauge.
It had been completed in 1854 inorder to circumvent
major rapids
on the Ottawa River. With the decline in river boat
traffic, the railway which linked the steamers had become
outmoded.
It ceased operations in 1910. The Canadian
Northern located its line on two portions of the old Carillon &
Grenville.
The Canadian Northern completed the line between Mount
Royal and Grenville in July 1916. Operation of passenger
service between Montreal and
Ottawa, however, did not begin
until October
21, 1918 when the Mount Royal Tunnel was
opened.
The portion of the line between Montreal and Ottawa
was not destined to remain a trunk line for long. Following its
financial collapse, the Canadian Northern was taken over by the
govemment and incorporated into the new
CNR. In 1923, CN
found itself with two lines between Montreal and Ottawa when
the
Grand Trunk was added to its holdings. The former Grand
Trunk line became the preferred main line between these two
cities. In 1939,
CN abandoned the Canadian Northern line
between Hawkesbury and
Ottawa.
214
Pere.Marquelte Railway Mikado 1031 is shown running over New York Central subsidiary the Michigan
Central into Niagara Falls
in this November 1947 view. As part of its through freight service between
Chicago and Niagara Falls, the Pere Marquette operated over the Michigan Central between St. Thomas
and Niagara Falls. The Pere Marquelle
was taken over by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in June 1947.
The New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad
to form the ill-fated Penn Central
Transportation Company
in 1968. Conrail elected not 10 take over the Penn Central trackage, across
southern Ontario. After extensive public hearings, the Canadian Transport Commission split the trackage
between
CN and CP in 1984. Subsequently, CN extended the C&O nmning rights from St. Thomas to
Windsor making the parallel C&O line largely redundant.
Photo Credit: Paterson-George Collection.
In 1953, it abandoned the spur to the waterfront in Grenville.
This was followed by the abandonment of the bridge linking
Hawkesbury and Grenville on
January 31 , 1962. The construc
tion
of a large dam south of Hawkesbury flooded out the railway
bridge.
The low level of traffic did not warrant replacing the
structure.
Passenger service between Deux Montagnes and Grenville
terminated
in January 1976. In 1969 the frequency had been
trimmed to the irreduceable minimum
of one round trip per
week.
The train departed Montreal on Friday evenings and
returned
on Monday mornings. Deadhead moves were made to
bring the equipment back to Montreal for the weekend. By
extending one
of the Montreal-Deux Montagnes commuter
trains to Grenville, through service was provided.
Rather than
incur switching costs at
Deux Montagnes, the entire consist was
hauled to Grenville.
The train had no difficulty accommodating
the 2 passengers who travelled from Montreal to points between
Deux Montagnes and Grenville.
In 1981 , CN received permission to abandon the portion of
the line between Grenville and St. Andrews, a distance of 13
miles. The remaining portion of the line between Grenmont and
Montreal includes the busy commuter service between Deux
Montagnes and Montreal.
SHORT TURNS
The purpose of the Short Turns section is to note the
abandonment
of segments of line of less than ten miles in length.
As well, it will report the
abandonment of longer sections of
track which are contiguous to sections already covered. Under
the provisions of the new National Transportation Act, the
railways no longer need to secure regulatory permission to
abandon spurs.
Hence it would be appreciated if readers of
Canadian Rail would forward to the editors any news of such
abandonments in your
area so we may pass the news on to the
other members
of the Association.
The 6 mile spur off the Chester Subdivision between Mahone
Bay and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia was shut down by CN in late
June 1988 due to the below-standard condition of the
right-of-way.
CN received permission to abandon 1.8 miles of the
Cudworth Subdivision in the vicinity
of St. Louis, Saskatchewan
from the
RTC on July 6, 1988.
CP received permission to abandon the 1.4 miles of the St.
Marys Subdivision within the Town of St. Marys, Ontario on
July 14, 1988.
215
St. Marys, Ontario is served by both CN and CPo While most travellers used the frequent CN passenger
trains, CP did provide a daily except
Sunday mixed train. By the time this view was taken in 1958, CP had
discontinued the passenger service. Freight service, however, continued to be provided on a regular basis. One
year before its retirement, D 10
891 is shown switching the St. Marys in Ihe yard prepalory to returning to
Woodstock. The 4-6-0 was buill in CPs Angus Shops in January 1910 as number 2691. /t was renumbered in
July 1913.
Pholo Credit: James A.
Brownfrom Paterson George Oollection.
In July 1988, the RTC approved an application by the
Chesapeake & Ohio
(C&O) to abandon its line between West
Lome and St. Thomas, Ontario, a distance of 21 miles. This
fonnerly was the part of the main line of the Windsor, Lake Erie
&
Essex Railway. An application has been made to abandon the
remainder
of the C&O main line between St. Thomas and
Pelton, on the outskirts
of Windsor. The line became redundant
when
C&O acquired trackage rights from CN over the fonner
Conrail main line between Windsor and St. Thomas.
Pursuant to a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on
June 14, 1988, the
RTC on August 8,1988 authorized CP to
abandon the Langdon Subdivision between Rosedale and
East
Coulee, Alberta, a distance of 8.8 miles.
On March 30, 1988, the RTC stayed its order permitting the
abandonment
of the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Dundas
Branch pending the disposition of an application by Ontario
Hydro for a review of the decision. The history of this line was
covered
in the May-June 1988 issue of Canadian Rail. Upon
reviewing the material submitted by Ontario
Hydro, the RTC
concluded that there was no grounds for such a review.
Therefore, on
June 17, 1988, the restraint upon the TH&B
abandonments of the line was removed.
CORRECTION
A line was omitted in The Rail Canada News Section in
the September-October 1988 Issue. The missing text,
should have appeared at the beginning
of the second
paragraph
in the first column on page 180.
For many years the Coteau-LaColle line served as an
overflow route for the
Grand Trunk and CN traffic destined
to the United States from
Ontario. Traffic handled over the
line started to
fall in the 1930s as lumber shipments from the
Ottawa Valley declined. With the upgrading of freight yards
in Montreal in the ]960s, the line lost much of its value as a
bypass route.
The section of the line between Barrington and
Aymess was abandoned in June 1986.
216
eRHA COIDIDunications
NEW BRUNSWICK DIVISION
It has been a busy year for the N. B. Division and its
operating branch, the Salem & Hillsborough Railroad Inc.
On May 21, seventy people attending the NMRA North
eastern Region and Maritime Federation of Model Railroaders
convention rode a special steam excursion featuring two runbys.
Two days later the following CN rolling stock was brought to
Hillsborough:
58976 ex-business car Violet built 1896,
56471 flanger snowplow built 1952, 52147 ex-Vanderbilt
tender (from engine 617 3) built 1940, 51040 Jordan spreader
(serial number
409) built 1920, 104095 side drop / centre drop
Ha
rt gondola. The first three were donated by CN Rail while the
other two were purchased by the Division.
The summer season was uneventful until July 20th when CN
1009 threw a tire and bent a side rod as it passed through a
switch.
For the next month, the daily excursion featured a push
pull operation using
CP 29 and S &H RS-18208. The return to
service
of 1009 was celebrated on August 21 st by double
heading with 29.
The third annual CRHA conference was held in Hillsborough
on the Labour
Day weekend. Fridays activities included
seminars, tours
of Moncton Museum and CN Rails Gordon
Yard diesel shop, plus a visit to the VIA station. Saturdays
highlight was dining on board S&Hs Sunset dinner train
which operated between Hillsborough and Baltimore.
29 and
1009 headed the train between Hillsborough and Salem
in both
directions.
On Sunday, the coach Crescent was dedicated.
This
car was formerly CN (and later VIA) 5297, built in 1942.
Its interior has been completely refurbished, and its exterior has
been repainted
in CNs 1954 colour scheme. Two excursion
trains were run that day using this car
in a train hauled by 29 and
1009.
With the closure ofCNs main shops in Moncton, the S&H
was able to purchase some valuable shop tools and equipment,
the most significant
of which were a milling machine and a lathe.
The Division has also issued a commemorative medal in
honour of the 100th birthday, which took place in September
1987,
of locomotive 29. The front of this 1.3 inch nickel medal
features a front view
of the engine, while the back depicts the
S&H emblem. It is packaged, along with an information card, in
a clear plastic holder. It sells for $5.00 plus 75¢ postage and
handling. Mail orders should
be addressed to:
CRHA -N.B. Division
P.O. Box 70
Hillsborough,
N.B.
EOA lXO
Double-header train, using locomotives 29 and 1009, at Hills
borough N.B.
on Sunday, September 4, 1988.
Photo by Fred Angus.
INFORMATION WANTED
Brendan Dicks of Corner Brook Newfoundland is looking for
a photo
of his father who was a locomotive engineer on the
Newfoundland railway and who died aboard his engine
in 1970.
Anyone having a pre-1970 photo
of a Newfoundland locomotive
showing the engineer who might be
Mr. Dicks senior is asked to
contact:
Brendan Dicks
4 Larch
Street
Maple Valley
Corner Brook Newfoundland
A2H 2S8
Mr. William Prescott is interested in obtaining photos of
Canadian Pacific F-7s used in 1950s passenger service. His
address is:
William Prescott
62J3 Lyman
Downers Grove IL
605J6
U.S.A.
Steven Dettmers is looking for photos of steam operation on
the former New York Central line
in Southern Quebec,
especially near Woodland station. He may be reached at:
Stev
e
Dettmers
1118 Lake Street
Upper
Woodland
Lery Que.
J6N lA8
217
This photo, from the Richard Binns collection, depicts the corner of St. Catherine Street and Victoria
Avenue
in Westmount on February 9, 1904. Car 710 is a Scotch car built in 1901, while 412 is a
single-truck closed car built
in 1899. Photos like this give a good idea of the Montreal street car operation
in the early part of the cenlllry.
CRHA Archives. Binns Collection.
THE RICHARD M. BINNS COLLECTION
In our March-April 1988 issue we reported the death ofMr.
Richard M. Binns who had been a member of the CRHA for
almost forty years. Recently Mrs. Ian
MacCready, daughter of
Mr. Binns donated her fathers entire collection of tramway
photos, books and articles to the Association. This includes a
library
of more than fifty books and pamphlets relating to street
car systems, mostly
Canadian, but including some material on
U. S. and overseas systems.
The real prize is, however, the collection of about 650
photographs of Montreal street cars covering the entire electric
car era from the Rocket
in 1892 to the last run of car 3517 in
1959. Unlike many collections which concentrate on the later
era, the Binns collection has a good representation
of all periods,
from the
1890s to the 1950s, giving a view of the development
of Montreal
s street cars equalled by few if any other collections.
These photos are mounted
in 23 albums arranged by car type,
and have captions and notes prepared by Mr. Binns.
In addition there are several manuscripts, some previously
published but others unpublished, as well as rosters, charts and
descriptive material which help to simplify the often complicated
and confusing system under which many
of Montreals trams,
especially the early ones, were numbered.
Your editor
is presently working on a means by which parts of
the Binns collection will be shared by the members through
Canadian Rail.
First will be to prepare the manuscripts for
publication, and we may expect to see the first, on the Montreal
Park & Island Railway, early
in 1989. Others will follow from
time to time.
We are also considering producing a special
publication containing a selection
of the best of the photos. Thus
the byline
of Richard M. Binns will continue to appear in
Canadian Rail and the research which he did will also continue
to benefit those interested
in the history of tramways.
NEWFOUNDLAND VIDEO TAPE
The CRHA is preparing a VHS video tape of the
railway
in Newfoundland. This tape, running about one
hour and twenty minutes, features the mixed train
between Bishops Falls and
Corner Brook, as well as
freight switching
in St. Johns. This tape will be offered to
members
in the near future and will cost about $29.00
postpaid. More details will be sent to the members when
the tape
is available, likely in January 1989.
.: .
Our member Dave Davies of Kamloops B. C. sends us this very
interesting post card showing the incline railway at Hamilton,
Ontario.
As the card is postmarked May 12, 1908, the photo was
obviously taken before that date. Mr. Davies has also sent a
feature article which will appear
in Canadian Rail early in 1989.
218
NEW ZEALAND PUBLICATION
Released in New Zealand recently was a book entitled
Pictorial Railways of New Zealand. It is a publication of 144
pages on A 1 gloss
art paper, containing 94 full-page photos and
50 pages with two photos per page. It is an all-colour production
containing photos
of all the main line diesel locomotive classes
and railcars
in action, plus those classes of steam locomotives
operating in the late 1960
s and early 1970 s. Another facet of
the book is that it portrays the scenery through which the New
Zealand Railway passes. Local opinion in New Zealand is that
it is The book of the decade.
Its size
is 21 X 26 centimetres (approximately 8 X 10 inches)
and costs
$54.00 plus $7.00 postage (sea) and packaging, both
amounts
in New Zealand dollars. At the time of writing a New
Zealand dollar is worth about 7411: in Canadian money, thus the
approximate
Canadian price of the book is $40.00 plus $5.00
postage and packing. Bankcard and VISA cards are accepted.
Pictorial Railways of New Zealand may be obtained
from:
Cass Publications
P.O. Box
79044
Royal Heights
Auckland 8
New Zealand
BOOK SALE
Heritage Books, in association with Sindell and Company,
866 Palmerston Avenue, Toronto, Canada M6G 2S2
Tel: (416) 533-6816, is offering for sale the following
Railway Items.
* Broadsides: Unrecorded broadsides promoting railway lands
and settlement
in Illinois (1856) and Manitoba and Minnesota
(1880), and Grand Trunk Railway tariffs for 1876.
* Manuscripts: Construction drawings for pre-Confederation
Canadian railways, plus patent drawings and related
documents for an 1842 device to reduce sparks from railway
engines.
* Pamphlets: Rare and unrecorded pamphlets dealing with the
New York & Erie, Housatonic, European and North
American, Great Western, Grand Trunk and Canadian
Pacific -including the CPRs exceptionally rare 1882
prospectus.
* Ephemera: Nineteenth century railway passes, time tables,
waybills, advertising brochures, and other printed ephemera
from various Western American and
Canadian lines.
* Maps: Maps of the Canadian Pacific Railway, railways in
Ohio and British Columbia, plans of the city of Sudbury and
the Moose River terminus
of the Temiskaming and Northern
Ontario Railway.
* Photographs: A fascinating a]bum depicting Field Marshal
Earl
Haigs 1923 cross-Canada rail tour, plus the illustrated
record
of a 1927 assessment of North American lines by a
group
of executives from Britains Great Western Railway.
PLEASE SEND FOR CATALOGUE EHl.
The 1987 CRHA Annual Awards
The results of the 1987 Annual Awards were announced on
September
4, 1988 at Hillsborough, New Brunswick, to those
persons attending the Association
s Annual Conference.
A wards will be presented to the winners by the President
of the
CRHA Division nearest to the residence of the recipient at a
time convenient to the participants.
The ACHIEVEMENT AWARD goes to Mr. Omer
Lavallee. As noted by the Panel of Judges -His contribution
over a period
of years is very significant for the railway museum
and for the railway history fields.
He was prominent in both of
these
areas many years before his accomplishments as Archivist
for C. P. Rail. His many articles and books are only a
few of the
ways that he has advanced
our understanding of Canadian
railway
History.. Other nominees for the ACHIEVEMENT
A WARD were Garry Anderson, Cranbrook Railway Museum;
Abel Basterache,
New Brunswick Division; and Michael
Westren, Calgary & South Western Divison.
There were co-winners of the Article Award in a CRHA
Publication. They were Mrs. Ena Schneider for THE PEANUT
ROAD in the May-June Issue of Canadian Rail, and Mr.
Douglas N.
W. Smith for LAYING THE FOUNDATION in
the September-October issue of Canadian Rail. THE PEANUT
ROAD made a unique, original contribution to railway
history. In particular use
of oral history provides information
that must be captured while people are still
alive. LAYING
THE FOUNDATION, in the comments of one of the judges
won my vote for its comprehensive and detailed account of the
early days
of the C.P.R. Other nominees in this category
were;
–
Dr. Hugues Bonin for Railfanning in La Belle Province,
in Kingston Rail.
-Mr. Paul Bowen for
The Railfan s Guide to the Niagara
Peninsula in Niagara Rail.
–
Mr. Paul Chapman for Rail News in Niagara Rail.
–
Mr. Norman Conway for the Grimsby Sub -1903 in
Niagara Rail.
–
Mr. Ray Farand for Pontiac Pilgrimage in Canadian
Rail.
The ARTICLE A WARD will be presented to Dr. Fritz
Lehmann for A
THOROUGH MAN OF BUSINESS which
appeared
in the 1987 spring issue of Railway History. As noted
This article addresses an
area not commonly covered. The
article does make a significant contribution to the whole field of
Canadian railway history. Lehmann has done a fine job of
researching some of the very early history of Canadian
railways. Another nomination
for the ARTICLE AWARD
was SELKIRK TO CONN AUGHT by F.H. Howard which
appeared
in Trains Magazine 1987 June issue.
The BOOK A WARD goes to Robert D. Turner for WEST
OF THE GREAT DIVIDE, published by Sono Nis Press of
Victoria B.C. in 1987. Comments by the judges include The
work has been presented in such a manner that it does not seem
to repeat a lot
of information found in numerous other works
written on railways
in B. C. He has presented some new areas
such as detailed maps
of yards which do offer some new insight
into rail operations, and deals with traffic issues rarely discussed
in other works. Also nominated in this category was THE
WHITE PASS: GATEWAY TO THE KLONDIKE by Roy
Minter.
Mr. J.E. Lanigan will be presented the PRESERVATION
AWARD for his work of preserving the CPR caboose 437358 at
Heritage Park, Calgary Alberta, as noted, the research of the
caboose was very intensively carried
out. Other nominations for
the award were Napierville Junction caboose
34 restored by
Odilon Perrault,
at the Canadian Railway Museum, St.
Constant/Delson, Quebec; and CP locomotive 29 restored by
Richard Viberg
at the Salem & Hillsborough Railway, Hills
borough, New Brunswick.
ANNOUNCING
CANADIAN RAILROAD HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION ANNUAL AWARDS FOR 1988
Because of the outstanding success of the Annual Awards
program for 1987, it is with great pleasure that the Association
has authorized a second program for 1988.
The results of the
first years
Awards are given elsewhere in this issue of Canadian
Rail.
The purpose of the Awards program is to recognize and
honour individuals whose endeavours have contributed during
1988 to the recording
and/or preserving the artifacts of
historical value of Canadas railways. One exception will be the
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD which will be
presented to a person for a significant contribution over a period
of years.
The categories of the Awards authorized for 1988 are as
follows: –
1. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:-
to a person for a significant contribution over a period of
years.
2.
ARTICLE AWARD:-
A. for an article published in Canadian Rail or a CRHA
division periodical.
B. for an article published
in any other periodical or
magazine.
3.
BOOK AWARD:-
for a book published in the Award year.
219
4. PRESERVATION AWARD:-
to a person or a group of people, for an outstanding
preservation activity in the
Award year.
The recipient of an Award will receive a certificate bearing
the
Associations name, its corporate seal, the name of the
recipient, and the signatures
of the Associations president and
the
Chainnan of the Awards Committee.
Nominations will be accepted from members and other
persons interested
in Canadian railway history. Submissions
should bear the name
of the nominee and the reasons for that
persons nomination, with concise
statements as to the accom
plishments
of the nominee, which will be helpful to the Panel of
Judges -this is most important as in some cases this information
is all that the Judges might have in selecting the winner. A copy
of the nominated work should be submitted with the nomination
where possible.
Nominations should
be submitted as early in 1989 as
possible, but not later than
31 March 1989. The names of the
recipients
of Awards will be announced as soon as the decisions
of the Panel of Judges are known, and will be published in
Canadian Rail. Awards will be presented to all recipients at an
official function
of the Association.
Members
of the Annual A wards committee would welcome
any enquiries you may have,
or any suggestions you may wish to
make regarding the Awards program.
Awards committee: –
Mr. Walter Bedbrook -Chairman, Compartment 132,
R.R. 2 Picton,
Ontario, KOK 2TO.
Tel. (613) 476-7678.
Dr. R.V.V. Nicholls, Merrickville, Ontario.
Mr. Michael Westren, Calgary, Alberta.
Mr. R. Dyson Thomas, Saint John, New Brunswick.
Many excellent articles about Canadas railways have
appeared
in many publications in 1988. Several new books were
published and interesting preservation activities were under
taken.
It has been a very exciting year for Canadian railway
activity and one that the
Canadian Railroad Historical Asso
ciation, with the help of your nominations, wishes to ack
nowledge by the presentation
of these Annual Awards.
Nominations should be submitted to Walter Bedbrook using
the form herewith
or facsimile thereof: –
To: CANADIAN RAILROAD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL AWARDS,
Compartment 132, R.R. 2, Picton, Ontario, KOK 2TO.
My nomination for the following Award (s) is/are:
Lifetime Achievement Award ( )
Preservation Award
( )
ARTICLE AWARD
for
name or periodical or magazine
BOOK AWARD
title or article
title or book month
The attached documents support my nomination (s).
Submitted by
Address
The attached documents suport
my nomination (s)
published in
1988
published
in 1988
THE CANADIAN ATLANTIC RAILWAY
Effective September I, 1988, Canadian Pacific created a
new corporate division, called Canadian Atlantic Railway,
which now operates all
CP Rail lines east of Megan tic , Quebec.
This includes all
CP lines in New Brunswick, the Dominion
Atlantic Railway
in Nova Scotia as well as the International of
Maine division running for almost 200 miles across the state of
Maine.
For sometime speculation had been that such a move was in
the making, but as late as mid-August CP Rail was typically
non-committal and would not either confirm
or deny the
rumours. Traffic on
CPs main line between Montreal and Saint
John has dropped drastically since three container lines left the
Saint
John port for Halifax more than a year ago. The new
company will adopt a more aggressive marketing strategy for
freight in an effort to turn things around.
The bad side to this development
is that the new company, as
part of its attempt to turn a profit, could abandon its five feeder
lines
in New Brunswick. Under the National Transportation
Act, the railway need only show the lines to be operating
uneconomically for abandonment to be approved. However, the
province will be fighting any attempt to reduce rail service while
CP customers and at least one union are also fighting the
companys plans.
Robert Ritchie, executive vice president
ofCP Rail, said that
the new company will have more freedom to make local
decisions and will try
its best to boost sagging business. If we
can properly address our problems, we can get another 100
years
of service here said Ritchie. We want to turn this
around.
We dont want to wait for our future to unfold for
us,
Saint John mayor Elsie Wayne hoped the division would help
the local port.
I do hope youll give the division flexibility to
bring back contracts to the port
of Saint John she said. City
officials have long complained that
CN Rails charges between
Halifax and Montreal are equal to
CPs from Saint John to
Montreal despite the much shorter distance
of the latter line.
We should be less expensive. Weve got to address that said
Ritchie.
The reorganization of CPs eastern lines comes just as the
main line prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
It was
8:00
a.m. on December 10, 1888 that the last rail on the
International
of Maine section was laid at Packard Brook, 12
miles East of Brownville Junction Maine, and through passenger
service was begun between Montreal and Saint John on June 2
1889.
PlootuRlKk
~.~ ~
N
QUEBEC M
AINE
lIt
: :,7Cii~~UWaY
Map courtesy ojep Rail News.
OMISSION
The article on Country Depots in Saskatchewan, by
Charles W. Bohi and Leslie S. Kozma, which appeared in
the September-October 1988 issue of Canadian Rail, was
reprinted
from Folklore, the magazine of the Saskat
chewan History and Folklore Society. This information
was
inadvertantly omitted from the credit for the article.
The editor regrets any misunderstanding
that this may
have caused.
HIGH-SPEED VIA SERVICE SEEN
LURING INVESTORS
High-speed train service between Toronto and Montreal
could be profitable enough to attract private investment
in ajoint
partnership with Via Rail Canada Inc., chairman Lawrence
Hanigan says.
A full-scale study
of Via Rails operations now being
conducted indicates that the Crown corporation could attract
private interest
in setting up a high-speed train along the 500-
kilometre line, Mr. Hanigan said during a panel discussion at the
American Public Transit Association convention.
He noted that only five years ago, a study found that such a
line,
in the well-travelled Windsor-Quebec corridor, wouldnt
be profitable enough to lure investors.
The new study wont be ready until next summer, and it is too
early to give details on a possible joint venture, he said during a
break
in the discussion.
Since 1982, Ottawa has pumped more than $3-billion into
Via Rail, which has
seen its ridership steadily decline over the
years.
While there
has been a wave of renewal in rail transporta
tion in countries such as France, Japan and the United States,
Canada is just catching up, Mr. Hanigan told his audience.
He criticized the federal government for not making the
necessary long-tenn
commitment that is needed to make the
renaissance a full reality
here. Canada needs a comprehensive
transportation policy, he
added, but the government has not put
one together.
Via had requested
$400-million for a new fleet of trans
continental passenger cars,
but then federal transport minister
John Crosbie turned it down last year and the corporation has
had to make do with a
$200-million modernization program.
Everyone understands that we cannot remain in this holding
pattern for much
longer, Mr. Hanigan said in his speech.
The great majority of our equipment is more than 30 years
old. In some
cases, such as our service through the Rocky
Mountains, our distinctive equipment is a great tourist draw. But
there are certain
other parts of our fleet that would be a much
greater attraction as
part of the Canadian railway museum.
This year, Via is aiming to increase its ridership by 10 per
cent, Mr. Hanigan said.
Sources:
The Globe and Mail.
Thursday, October 6, 1988.
PORT STANLEY EXCURSION TRAIN
KEEPS CANADAS RAIL PAST ALIVE
By Paula Adamick
PORT STANLEY -Six years ago, three local train buffs
stepped in to save
part of the old London & Port Stanley
Railway, which
had fallen on hard times since the gas-guzzling
50s rendered it obsolete.
Their efforts paid off: In 1987, the Port Stanley Telminal
Railway became the first railroad to be incorporated
in Canada
since 1927.
The original line had linked London to Port Stanley since
1853, transporting well over 28 million passengers
in search of a
day at the
beach, as well as bringing agricultural produce,
lumber and coal to the busy Lake. Erie port.
By 1915, after the ownership
of the line had changed several
times, the city
of London took control and placed it under the
management
of Sir Adam Beck, who promptly converted it to an
electric railway.
From 1915 to 1957, droves of land-locked Londoners
travelled the
L&PS -affectionately nick-named the Late and
Poor
Service -for a cooling dip in Lake Erie and to see the big
bands perform during the 1930s and
40s at Port Stanleys Stork
Club.
In
1982, 25 years after the service had been discontinued,
Brad Jodliffe and his friend Al Howlett saw their opportunity to
graduate from model railroads to the real thing
by buying the
line.
A group of our volunteers wanted to salvage this line when it
was being abandoned by
CN in the early 1980s, said Brad
221
Joliffes father Max, one of the founders of the privately owned
and volunteer-operated railway.
The group purchased a section of rails between St. Thomas
and Port Stanley from the city of St. Thomas, which had
obtained the property from the city
of London in exchange for a
parcel
of land London officials wanted, Max Joliffe said.
We were interested in restoring and preserving the line, but
since these guys were trying to do something
that had never been
done before, they had a
few difficulties, he said.
These included getting the necessary approval from the
Ontario Legislature.
Despite a lot of red tape, the line was reopened in September,
1983, and two-to four-car trains now run along it from May
until
December, pulled by one of two little diesel engines saved
from a gravel pit in
Paris, Ont.
The trains chug along the 4.8-kilometre (3-mile) line to the
hamlet
of Union, where passengers can disembark, pick
flowers, listen to bullfrogs and inspect the historic photos inside
68-year-old Union Station, the oldest remaining station on the
L&PS line.
The little train runs daily during the summer months and
every weekend until
December, and the fare is $4.50 for adults
and
$2.25 for children.
Every season, the trains travel the equivalent distance from
Quebec city to Vancouver, said Howlett, who works as a
volunteer on the line every weekend.
Sources:
Toronto Star.
AMTRAK HAS PLANS TO RESUME SERVICE
ON MONTREAL RUN
By Howard S. Abramson
WASHINGTON -Amtrak is planning to resume its long
popular Montrealer passenger train between here and
Canada in
mid-January.
Amtrak condemned some 50 miles of track that was owned
by Guilford
Transportation Industries Inc. for $2.37 million in
August and embarked on a $ 3.1 million overhaul of the tracks
since then to accommodate the Montrealer.
Amtrak suspended operation of the Montrealer early last
year, citing the poor condition of the Guilford-owned track that
forced the train to travel extremely slowly.
Amtrak, with approval from the Interstate Commerce
Commission, condemned the track and began its program of
replacing ties, renewing ballast and aligning the rails.
Under Amtraks new plan, it was learned, the entire Guilford
system will be avoided through the use
of a roundabout route that
will add about an hour to the
trains schedule.
The Montrealer will come up Amtraks Northeast Corridor
to
New Haven, Conn., as in the past, where it will traverse
Conrails Inland Route to Springfield, Mass.
Then, instead of continuing north on Guilfords Connecticut
River Line, the Montrealer will be pulled backward, east to
Palmer, Mass., over Conrails lines, where it will turn onto track
owned by the Central Vermont Railway, which now owns and
operates the track Amtrak condemned.
The Montrealer will run through most of Massachusetts on
the
CVs tracks, all the way to East Northfield, which is just
222
An Amtrak 1V0rk train, hauled by CV locomotive 4923, at Palmer, Mass. during the rehabilition oJtheJuture route oJthe Montrealer,
in September 1988.
Photo courte
sy oj Doug Smith.
south of the New Hampshire-Vennont border. At that point, the
train will enter the Connecticut River Line segment that
Amtrak
took away from Guilford.
As
in the past, the Montrealer will continue on that line to
White River
Junction, Vt., before turning ofT onto CV tracks for
its run to Montreal.
Amtrak
is expecting to operate one train a day in each
direction, as
in the past, with the first northbound train
tentatively due to
depart Washington on Saturday, Jan. 14. The
normal schedule would then begin the next day.
An Amtrak spokesman confirmed the plans for the
Montrealer. He said equipment for the Montrealer would come
from other trains that are now
in operation.
Amtrak wants to avo
id the Guilford track between Springfield
and
East Northfield because it is in just terrible condition, the
spokesman said.
The refusal of Guilford to upgrade the track between
Brattleboro and Windsor, Vt., led Amtrak to cancel the train
and begin the condemnation process.
Guilford resisted the taking, and has filed suit claiming that
the
$2.37 million price tag the ICC put on the line was too low.
Guilford officials accepted the check
for the line in early
September, but reserved the right to continue its legal challenge.
The CV agreed to maintain the rehabilitated track up to
Amtraks
standards, and will be paid fees for operating the
Montrealer
for Amtrak.
The rebuilding of the Connecticut River Line segments that
fonnerly belonged to Guilford
is expected to greatly benefit
CVs freight operations and make it a stronger competitor for
Guilfords railroad subsidiaries, the Maine Central and the
Boston
& Maine.
Sources:
The Journal of Commerce, October 6,1988.
GREATER SUMMERSIDE CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE CABOOSE DOLLAR
-AVAILABLE BY MAIL-
THE GREATER SUMMERSIDE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
267 WATER ST., SUMMERSIDE, P.E.!.
CAN ADA C 1 N 1
B5 PHONE: (902) 436-9651
PRIC
E: $2.75 POSTPAID.
The Railway Caboose has been an integral part of trains in
North America for as long as anyone living today can
remember.
The Caboose, as we know it, has been around for
more than 100 years.
The first record of the railroad providing
this office space for conductors dates back to the 1840s, when
boxcars were modified for crew comfort.
The introduction of the
Cupola
or lookout is credited to T. B. Watson, a freight
conductor on the Central and
Northwest Railway. He knocked a
hole
in the roof of such a boxcar in 1863 on a run through the
Iowa Countryside.
He convinced C & N W to incorporate a
lookout on several way cars then under construction, and by the
late 1800 s the Caboose was on its way.
The raiiwayon P.E.I. began its decline following the Second
World War, and today the sound of a train whistle is Tarely heard
in our Island province. Effective this summer, 1988, The
Canadian Transport Commission has approved the replacement
ofThe Caboose with a Black Box roounted at the rear of the
train. The Greater Summerside ChaJllber of Commerce. in
choosing the Caboose as the theme for OUT J988 dollar, is
hopeful thai it will serve as a flagship for our organization as we
struggle to hac the railway replaced with a viable tran~porlation
option for our Island Producers, to receive bulk materials such
as lime and Fertilizer and to move their goods to rnllfket.
RAIL MOVEMENT OF CATTLE
THE END OF AN ERA
The end of an era has been rcached. Transporting cattle by
rail from Western Canada to Eastern Canada for both feoding
and slaughter has
been an integral part of this industry back into
the lasl
century. Apan from a briefnurry or West to East truck
movement of cattle in the mid-1950s. Ihe railways handled
virtually
all of the West to East movement of liestock up to
1974. In 1987, railways moved approximately 10.000 head of
can Ie or about 3% of the total movement and to tbe end of June
in
1988, only about 1,500 head had moved east by rail.
The closing of the Winnipeg Stockyards in September. 1988
has meant that no fadlity now exists to offioad caule originating
west of
Winnipeg for feed, water and rest. To overcome this
pr
oblem. the CPR has constructed a facility consisting of two
pens (without a roof) at Ignace which is in Northern Ontario
between
Dryden and Thunder Bay, to omoad canle for feed,
water and rest. The CNR has reacted to the closing of Winnipeg
Stock
yards by publishing a rate only for a Winnipeg origin and it
appears will refuse 10 accept any canle for loading west of
Winnipeg.
Earlier this yem. the CNR put the torch to all of their double
deck sl
ockcars leaving them with only about 65 single deck
stock
cars in the fleet. The CPR still has a small fleet of double
d
eck stockcars and will originate loads west of Winnipeg.
It appears that rather than refusing to accept livestock, Ihc
rail
ways are essentially pricing themselves out of the market.
The new Transportation Act prevents a joint rail tariff and
cons
equently each railway must publish its own tariff schedule.
B
oth railways will publish tariffs for this fall showing a rate
in
crease of 10%.
It appears an era has ali but ended.
Sources: From Ontario Cattlemens Assoc. Magazine
Oct. 1988 -Breeder & Feeder.
DEMISE OF QUEENS HOTEL
Another link with the great days of passenger train travel has
gone with the final demoliti
on of Montreals once-great Queens
Hotel. Vacant since 1977, the building has been deteriorating.
slowly
at first, then ever faster until, in August 1988, much of the
interior
collapsed rendering the structure a virtual ruin. So bad
QUEENS HOTEL,
~
~~. e … ,1 T,~.k lUi} 0., .,.., .-1,1d _, C~..! .. ~
, …… 1>< 11.011 ... ,. I..,....
223
An adltrlisem.1!1 for 1M Que .. n s HaIr! from Q book publishtd in
1895. Acwally Ihe hQIII .. ,os muc:h smalftr a/ fhallimt; tXIll1SiQl1S
…. rt buill soon afttr 1900.
was the deterioration that even attempts to save the facade were
a
lleged by city officials to be prohibitively expensive, and Ihe
new development on the site will have to make do with a
Victorian style representation railier than the original
facadc.
Built in 1892 the Queens was directly belween Montreals
two
major railway stalions. Grand Trunks Bonaventure and
CPRs Windsor station. In later years. addilions were buill
whi
ch more than quadrupled the size of the original building and
the
hotel continued to compete well with other up-town hotels
such
as the slighlly older Windsor. With the construction of
newer hotels
after the mid-1950s, the Queens steadily lost
ground
and was dosed following the 1976 OlympiCS. A short
lived attempt 10 rwpen it under the name Chateau Renaissance
soon failed, :md the old building was then abandoned the
elements which
gradually destroyed it.
Many CRHA members will remember the Queens as the
site of the reg
ular meetings from the late 1930·s. when the
Association left the Chateau de Ramezay, until the earty 1950~
when lhe meetings wen: moved to the Transportation building.
Even in l
aler days such special evenL~ as the annual hanquet a~
well as directors meetings continued to be held in the Queens.
and other railroad-oriented activities also were held within iL~
wall§. The Queen~ Hotel played an important part in the
hi
story of our Association, and il is fitting that we should lament
its demise.
B
ACK COVER
A slighl misl gies a $omtwhat imprtssiorralislic look 10 Ihi:; Ii, ofmix(d IfailllO), head(d hy InromrRi,·t 937. as il poSUS Iht
su
mm!l. 1551 fUI obo1 JOO level, ill the barr·tll lands of centfal Ntwjoui/d/,md. Only a fll wtlh lUlU ruil servi~ O/dN/ /1/ Cal//Jdos
loSlemmOSI proinr.
Photo
b) FrN/ Angus.