RAIL CANADIEN -441 138 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
fK _ …. UTE -(c()Mi-~Y, _(rITAW~~ __
Scotia. The proposed new five was to show this
photo in the centre, flanked by portraits
of
Governor General Earl Grey and Lady Grey.
Since 1878
it had been customary to have
pictures
of Governors General on the notes; the
only one missed between 1878 and 1916 was
Lord Stanley
of Preston. Since in 1906 there
was little
demand for small-denomination
Dominion notes above $2, the plan for the new
$5 was shelved. In 1911 there was a financial
crisis, which we will not detail here, which
created a sudden temporary demand for Dominion
notes. There was not time to complete the new
five, so the plates for the four were hastily put
back in service and large numbers
of $4s
printed. Within a fairly short time most of these
had been cashed in and destroyed; this marked
the end
of the famous old fourdollardenomination
which had been so long
in use in Canada. The
government now decided to go ahead with the
five, and the design was completed early
in
1912. Since Earl Grey had left office in 1911,
and the Greys portraits had been used on the
$1
of that date, they did not appear on the new note.
Engravings had not yet been made
of the new
Governor General, the Duke
of Connaught, and
there was no time to wait for them
to be done
(the Connaughts would eventually appear on
the
$2 of 1914). Therefore the 1912 $5 was
produced with two large ornaments bearing the
word FIVE, and had no portraits at all. This
was the only Dominion note ever issued that did
not have some sort
of portrait. However hurriedly
One of the most famous engravings on a Canadian banknote was the view of the Head
Office with a Montreal Street Railway Scotch car passing. The engraver got his
proportions wrong and made the street cal much too small. This may have been done on
purpose
to emphasize the size of the building! This view is from a proof of a $100 of 1912,
but the same engraving appeared on all
B. ofM. $5s, $20s and $1 00 sfrom 1904 to 1945.
It was also used on travellers cheques until the 1960s.
issued by banks, but there
was nothing to prevent the
Dominion government from
issuing
$5s as well if it
wanted.
By 1900 the old $4
denomination was getting
obsolete; nevertheless the
goverrunent did make two
further issues
of $4 s, one in
1900 and the other in 1902.
After a printing
of $4s in
1903, there was a hiatus
of
eight years during which time
the
government seriously
considered a $5, and designs
were prepared in 1906.
Meanwhile, in 1904, the
Intercolonial Railway had
inaugurated its new train the
Ocean Limited, and a
publicity
photo had been
taken
of this train, hauled
by locomotive 69,
in the
Wentworth Valley
of Nova
ABOVE: A $5 of the Eastern Townships Bank. dated January 2nd, 1906, shows a train passing a farm.
OPPOSITE PAGE: The Dominion
of Canada $5 of May 1, 1912. This note, depicting the Ocean Limited
in the Wentworth Valley of No va Scotia, was first issued in 1912 and saw considerable circulation during alld
jusl
after World War
1. During the 1920s the $5s issued by the banks were more able to supply the needs of
commerce and the Dominion $5s were not as often seen. However some were printed as late as 1931 when
they were finally superseded, and only foul years later the lise
of large-sized notes ceased. Compare this
pictllre with the photograph on the cover.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
the five was produced, the
result was a masterpiece.
The
1904 photo of the Ocean
Limited occupied the place
of honour in the centre of the
note, and the whole effect
was extremely good. It bore
the date May
I, 1912, and
was in circulation in the
summer
of that year. Between
1912 and 1924 there were
11,000,000
of these notes
printed, with several different
varieties
of seals, signatures
etc. The issue then ceased,
bu t, for some reason, a further
19,000 were printed seven years later, in 1931. These last 1912
$5s are extremely rare, so far only one is known to exist, however
the regular issue
of 1912 -1924 are sufficiently common to make
it fairly easy
to acquire one.
Another classic note issue in this period was the Royal
Bank $20 dated January
2,1913. This note is also blue, and bears
in the centre a large engraving of an articulated locomotive on the
prairies, with steam traction engines
in the background. It is said
that the locomotive
is one of the type which was planned for the
Canadian Northern Railway but never built; thus
it represents a
what might have been in Canadian raiboading. This Royal Bank
$20 was issued from 1913 to 1927 and
is now worth about $100 in
reasonable condition, about the same as the 1912 five.
The last new railroad design
in the 1897 to 1935 period
appeared on the proposed notes
of the Eastern Bank of Canada in
1929. This bank, headquartered in Saint John New Brunswick, was
139 CANADIAN RAIL -441
organized and $5 and $10 notes, dated May 15,1929, were printed.
They had very fine views
of ships and trains but, alas, they never
saw circulation. Before the bank could open the great Depression
began, and the whole plan was cancelled. The notes were destroyed,
although a few proofs exist
to provide another glimpse of a What
might have been; this time a note rather than a locomotive.
By 1929 the United States had reduced the size
of its paper
money and Canada was planning
to follow suit. Early in the 1930s
the idea
of a central bank was much discussed and, in 1934, the
Bank
of Canada was founded. It was planned that the notes of this
bank would be
of the smaller size, and the notes of the chartered
banks would also be reduced
in size to conform. Also, the plan was
for the Bank
of Canada to take over, during a period often to fifteen
years, all the issue
of Canadian paper money. Thus the year 1935
marks the end
of the large-size notes and the beginning of the end
of all Canadian paper money other than that of the Bank of Canada.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
THE LAST NOTES
SHOWING RAIL WAYS.
1935 TO 1954
With the organiz­
ation of the Bank
of Canada
came a full range
of notes
ranging from
$1 to $1000.
There was even a $25 bill to
commemorate the 25th
jubilee of the reign of George
V and Queen Mary. They
would
bear on the front
pictures
of the Royal family
as well as former Canadian
politicians. On the backs
would be allegorical scenes
representing various indus­
tries. Unlike previous issues, which were mostly
in English
only, there would be two varieties
of each, one all in English,
the other all in French. Both major Banknote companies,
Canadian and British American, submitted designs for the
new notes.
The only note of the series destined to bear a
transportation design was the $2, and both companies prepared
appropriate designs. That
of the Canadian Bank Note Company
used elements
of a design they had previously used for the
stock certificates
of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The
design consisted
of a seated goddess flanked by the ocean
liner Empress
of Britain and a CPR unstreamlined Hudson
locomotive
of the 2800-class.
It was soon pointed out that it was impolitic that both
ship and locomotive be those
of the CPR, accordingly the
2800 disappeared and was replaced by CNR 5700 hauling a
passenger train. As it turned out, the whole effort was for
naught since the Bank
of Canada ended in awarding the
contract for the
$2s, $5s and $lOs to British American,
and all others
to Canadian. British Americans design was,
if anything, even more attractive than Canadians. The god of
transportation stood in the centre, flanked on the left by a busy
harbour scene, and on the right by a scene in which a CNR diesel­
electric car passed under a bridge over which passed a 6100-class
Northern type locomotive. Above this was a flying boat representing
aviation. This design, with small modifications, was approved and
went into production as the $2 note
of Bank of Canadas series of
1935. On the front it bore a portrait of Queen Mary, and on the back
was the transportation allegory described above. Unlike previous
twos, it was printed in blue, a fact that was
to cause confusion later.
The 1935 issue had a short life for two reasons. Firstly, the
death
of George V and subsequent abdication of Edward vrn in
140 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
1936 made new portraits necessary. Secondly, the method of all­
English and all-French notes was very awkward. It was decided
to
produce a new series, dated January 2, 1937, which would be
bilingual. In the new issue, the
$25s and $500s were dropped and
all values up
to the $50 bore a portrait of the new king, George VI.
The back designs used the same allegorical scenes, but some
switched denominations, the transportation scene being transferred
from the $2
to the $10. The new two became brownish red, closer
to that used on the old Dominion notes, and the five reverted
to the
pre-1935 blue. The new issue went into circulation on July 21,
1937, by coincidence almost 100 years to the day since the
Champlain
& St. Lawrence notes. The new five caused immediate
THIS PAGE, TOP: The
$5 of La Banque Provinciale du Canada of 1907 displayed a beautiful engraving of a train stopped at a station. Notice
that this note is almost entirely in French.
THIS PAGE, BELOW: A detail from a Molsons Bank $10
of 1912 depicts a more modern locomotive of a type much used in the early 20th
century.
OPPOSITE PAGE: A truly classic banknote
is the Royal Bank $20 of January 2,1913. This note, which was issuedfrom 1913 to 1927, depicts
an articulated locomotive hauling a train across the prairies. Such locomotives had been plannedfor the Canadian Northern, but the outbreak
of war in 1914, and the subsequent bankruptcy of the Canadian Northern, ended all plans for such large locomotives.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
confusion with the 1935 two,
so
it was decided towithdraw
the latter from circulation.
Although there had been
27,640,000 blue twos
printed (22,340,000English
and 5,300,000 French),
itis
scarce today since about
3,900,000 were destroyed
without ever having been
issued, and most
of the others
were soon called in and
likewise destroyed. The
transportation scene was
continued, however, for the
1937 $10. This note, printed
in purple, was destined
to
be in use for 17 years.
The other banks
were still permilted to issue
their own notes but in ever
decreasing amounts. All
adopted the new small size,
but most retained the old
designs. They also dis­
continued
issuing $50s and
$100s, and concentrated
on
$5s, $1Os and $20s.
By 1937 the onJy notes in
use showing rail way
subjects were the Bank of
Canada $10, the Bank of
Toronto $10s and $20s
and the Bank of Montreal
$5s and $20s, both of
which still showed the street
car passing the head office.
In 1940 the permitted note
issue
of the banks was
further red uced, and they
di
scontinued $10s and
$20s, continuing only with
$5s. Gone now were the
venerable designs
of the Bank of Toronto $10s and $20s which
had been in use since 1855 and 1887 respectively. Besides the 1937
Bank
of Canada $10, the only railway scene left was the old
Scotch car on the Bank
of Montreal $5, still passing the head
office as it had been doing since 1904.
Then, in 1945, the issue
of notes by the banks came to an
end, and the Bank
of Canada had a monopoly of all Canadian paper
money. Railways now only appeared on the 1937 $10, but this very
useful denomination was being printed in ever increasing quantities
as the wartime, and immediate postwar, economy boomed after so
many years
of depression. In many ways it was like a grand
finale
to the era of trains on Canadian paper money. Year after
year these attractive purple notes went into circulation, and they
were used
in every imaginable type of transaction. The beginning
141 CANADIAN RAIL -441
of the end for the 1937 notes came on February 6, 1952 with the
death
of King George VI. It was, of course, necessary to design a
new series
of notes bearing Queen ELizabeth II, and work soon
began on this project. Designing the new notes, making plates and
printing a sufficient stock
of them took more than two years, and
in the meantime the 1937 series continued to be issued. The new
series, dated 1954, bore various Canadian scenes
on the back, but
none showed any trains. Finally,
in September 1954, the new notes
were released
to the public and issue of those of 1937 ceased. There
had been about 289,316,500
of the 1937 $1Os printed, a number
far greater than that
of any other Canadian note showing trains. The
last one printed was number
M(f 2960000, and it probably went
into circulation
in the summer of 1954. It was the last of a very long
and historic line.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
RAILWAYS DISAPPEAR FROM
CANADAS PAPER MONEY . 1954TO
1994
142 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
The 1954 notes rapidly replaced
those
of 1937. The $1 s were the first to go,
as their average life was less than the higher
denominations which are usually treated
with more tender loving care. Gradually
more and more
of the new $lOs were seen,
and soon they outnumbered the 1937s. By
late 1956 the old type was getting scarce,
and
by the end of the 1950s one hardly ever
saw a 1937 $10.
If one did show up in
change it was usually very badly worn from
years
of circulation. For aU practical purposes
the old
$lOs were gone, yet occasionally
some would appear, probably as the result
of the finding of an old hoard. The author
remembers getting one in change at the
bank, without comment, as late as 1982,
and
undoubtedly many still exist in
mattresses, books and other hiding places,
as well as those prized by collectors.
Since 1954 there have been several
The end of an era
l
This is the engraving, representating Transportation, that first appeared
on the Blue
2 of 1935, and later on the $10 of 1937. When the latter note was superseded in
September, 1954 railway subjects disappeared from Canadas paper money after 117 years.
issues of paper money but, unlike stamps
and coins, none has had a railway theme. Today the common motif
is birds, but who can say what the future will bring. It
is hoped that
someday trains will again appear on at least one
of Canadas notes
but, in the meantime, we can look back on a long period when
engravings
of railways were found in the pockets of most of the
people
of Canada.
FORMING A COLLECTION
It is still possible to form a fairly representative collection
of Canadian paper money depicting railway scenes. Paper money
is suprisingly durable. Unlike some kinds of paper, good banknote
paper does not tum yellow and deteriorate with age;
if well looked
after it will last 500 years or more.
If one is willing to forego the
1866 -1900 period, a collection can be made
of notes that are
common or, at worst, slightly scarce. A basic, but significant,
collection could consist
of as few as five notes; this could be added
to
as time, opportunity and money permitted. The five notes which
should be sought first are as follow:
One
of the original notes of the Champlain & St. Lawrence
Rail Road, printed
in 1837. These are common in unsigned form.
A $5 note
of the Bank of Clifton, dated 1859, showing the
Niagara engraving as well as the approaching passenger train.
These notes are fairly common. A note
of the Zimmerman Bank,
bearing the same engravings, would be better but
is much scarcer.
The Dominion
of Canada $5 note of 1912. Possibly the
most significant
of all, it can still be obtained fairly easily.
Any Bank
of Montreal $5 dated between 1904 and 1942;
the design showing the street car. These notes are still common; in
the large size, the issues
of 1914 and 1923 are the easiest to find.
The Bank
of Canada $10 of 1937. The commonest of the
lot, but still very significant, being the last. Perhaps one might look
for a number near the last printed
(Mrr 2960000).
If financial resources permit, try for a Westmorland $2.
The issue of 1861 can still be found fairly easily, although getting
scarce, and this interesting note
is also a fine representative of the
Maritime provinces. The 1913 Royal Bank $20, with its articulated
locomotive, should also be secured if possible. One can still be
obtained,
in tolerable condition, for a bit over $100 which
is much
less
in buying power than its face value of $20 was in 1913. A Bank
of Toronto $10, of any age, would be a good addition to a
collection,
as it has such a nice 1850s train engraving, and was in
use for the amazingly long period of 85 years (1855 -1940). For
the period
of 1866 -1900, one can cheat a bit and get a Bank of
Toronto $20, of any issue up to 1935; this design is almost identical
to the rare 1887. One could look for a Dominion of Canada $4 of
1882, but it is quite expensive, and the view of Victoria Bridge in
the numeral 4 is a bit hard to see at first. Of course one could be
lucky and find another note
of this period at a good price, but I
would not hold
my breath waiting for it. Other scarce, and even
rare, notes are seen from time
to time in flea markets and
elsewhere, but less and less often. One might find a 1935 blue
two, and some others
of the failed banks of the 1850s. Notes of
the 1897 . 1935 period showing trains are scarcer, but they do show
up. What
to collect is very much up to the enthusiast.
The collecting
of paper money is a fairly new hobby,
compared to stamps and coins. This accounts for the rarity
of older
issues which. were·.once seen
in everyday circulation; no one
thought
to save any. The finest collection of Canadian notes is that
of the Bank of Canada which is striving to secWe one of every
known variety. The bank has a very fine museum
in Ottawa where
some
of these rarities are on display.
Now, collectors and enthusiasts will ensure the preservation
of these historic pieces of money, which illustrate the importance
of railways in Canadas history, for centuries to come.
JULY -AUGUST 1994 143 CANADIAN RAIL -441
Public Transportation in Toronto
By Ivor G. Samuel
The following history of public transportation in Toronto is a summary of a talk given by the author at a meeting of the Toronto and York
Division
of the CRHA in December 1992. Members will also remember Mr. Samuels excellent article Toronto Railway Tales which
appeared
in Canadian Rail No. 427, March-April 1992.
The first record Ive been able to find of any public .;…
transportation in Toronto was in 1834, the year of its
incorporation. A young black, by the name
of Thornton
Blackburn ran its first taxi-cab, a bright red
& yellow
vehicle-drawn
by one horse. It was called The City, and
held four passengers, who entered from the rear while the
driver sat
in a box at the front. He didnt have the
monopoly very long before other but smaller vehicles got
into the act, bearing such grand names as
Chief Justice
Robinson, The Queen, Princess Royal. Soon the cabs
were so numerous that regulations were drawn up; such as,
No driver may wantonly snap or flourish his whip, nor use
any abusive, or obscene or impertinent language while
in
charge of his vehicle.. At night, unless it was moonlight,
he had
to have two well-lighted lamps with glass fronts and
sides.
Nothing further happened
in public transportation
until 1849 when H.B. Williams started
to nm four, six­
passenger omnibuses from the Red Lion Inn,
in Yorkville,
to the St. Lawrence Market, via Y onge & King Sts. He ran
a ten minute service and charged sixpence fare. He was a
cabinet-maker and built his first omnibus in his shop at 140
Y onge St.
In spite of rough weather and poor road conditions
the service was so popular that the following year he added
Probably
the earliest street car photo in Canada, this view was taken on Yonge
Street. looking north
10 Yorkville lawn hall. on September 11, 1861 ,just before
the inaugural parade. Note
Ihe two street cars, the second of which is serving
as a bandstand. The bandsmen are already seated all the roofl
four, ten-passenger omnibuses. The Yorkville Omnibus Room
was at 195 Yonge St. where Loews Theatre is now.
In between
1850 and 1861 there were advertisements for services
to various
parts
of the city. When horse-cars started to run, he had the gear
of his buses narrowed to fit and run on the street-car track and
continued in opposition
to the railway, but in 1862 he finally sold
out
to the street railway.
On March 26, 1861 a thirty year franchise was granted to
Mr. Alexander Easton of the village of Yorkville to operate a
horse-drawn street-railway and in May
1861 the Toronto Street
Railway was formed, Alexander Easton, President. The agreement
was for service Yonge St. King to Bloor, Queen St., Yonge
to the
Asylum, King St., from the Don River
to Bathurst St. no more than
30 minutes between cars and cars not
to exceed 6 mile per hour.
They were
to operate 16 hours per day in summer and 14 hours per
day
in winter, fare to be 5 cents each route. This was the first street
railway in Canada. Even though the Montreal system was incorporated
first, the Toronto company employed Mr. Easton first. The Yonge St. line was opened on September 11th, 1861
with a big celebration.
The ceremonies began with a dinner in
Yorkville village. The horses were hitched
to the first car at
Yorkville and at 4:00p.m. it started down Yonge St. packed with
civic dignitaries and with the Artillery Band sitting on the
roof
playing lively airs.
Twice during the trip, it ran
off the track but there were lots
of willing youngsters running beside to push it back on the rails.
When it arrived at St. Lawrence Hall
on King St., a grand ball was
held which lasted all night. The first five cars built for this run had
16 foot bodies, with open platforms at each end and were built by
a company in Philadelphia,
in which Easton had an interest.
Seven days after the opening
of the Toronto system Mr.
Easton left for Montreal
to start construction of their system and
it was ready for operation on November 26, 1861.
Two months after the opening of the Yonge line, the Queen
St. line was opened and shortly after that the King St. route.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
In December 1861 the Company had 6 miles
of track, 11 cars, 70 horses, several wagons and
sleighs and carried 6,000 passengers a day. The cars
had no stoves
in them but had pea-straw on the floor
to keep the passengers feet warm and the driver at the
front had a box
of pea-straw to stand in. One-horse
cars had a driver only and had a fare-box
just inside
the front door for the people
to put their fares in.
(They were honest in those days). The two-horse
cars had a driver and a conductor. The conductor
collected the fares from the passengers when seated.
Uniforms were not thought necessary at this time.
The gauge of the track was 4ft. 10 7/8in. the width
of
an English wagon track. This was recommended by
Mr. Easton, as
it was expected that during the muddy
season on the roads, other vehicles would likely use
the rails and
if they were 4ft. 8 J/2in. gauge it would
make a rut on the outside
of one rail. Another rule
was, in case
of fire, the cars were jerked off the track
to let the fire-reels go by. During the winter, the
Company frequently had
to resort to sleighs to keep
operational, which reminds me
of a story, told to me
by an old machinist at the C.N. shops, when I started
working there
in 1945. One winter night on his way
back home the sleighs were being used and on
arriving at Shaw
& Queen, the driver knowing where
he lived, detoured up Shaw
to Argyle, dropped him
at his house and continued on
to Ossington and
thence back
to his route on Queen. St.
By 1884 the Company had grown
to 30 mile
of track and had lines on Yonge, Queen, King,
College, Spadina, Church, Front, Sherbollme, Carlton
and Parliament Streets.
By March 1891 when the thirty year old
franchise
had expired, the city had grown to 170,000
population and an area
of 17 square miles. It ran
from Greenwood A venue west
to High Park and
144 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
JULY -AUGUST 1994 145 CANADIAN RAIL -441
This composite drawing, by Alan MacLean of
the Toronto Telegram Ilewspaper, shows the
great variety
of types of street cars that rail in
Toronto from
/86/ until the first subway traills
in 1954. Notice the two car trains, the horse
drawn sleigh alld the double-decker car used on
the Lakeshore line
ill the /890s.
RAIL CANADIEN -441 146
One of the first four omnibuses established by HB. Williams in 1849.
from the lake to the C.P.R. tracks to the north. The
Company had
68 miles of single track, 264 cars, 99 buses,
100 sleighs, 1,372 horses and carried 60,000 passengers a
day. I might digress a moment. In my research on
Torontos Street Cars I found a description
of the first open
horse-car.
It was No. 39, built as a work car, converted to
passenger use by placing two longitudinal benches back
to
back, Lady passengers complained that people on the
street could see their ankles so low curtains were placed on
each side
of the car. Later a canvas roof was added, and still
later
it was rebuilt to the conventional type. It was nicknamed
the Chicora after a popular lake steamer
of that time.
JUILLET -AOUT 1994
carriages off these streets, decrease property values and
increase danger
to life. Also some felt it would affect
telephone lines.
A line said
to be the first commercial electric
railway
in America was constructed by the Toronto Industrial
Exhibition (now C.N
.E.) from Strachan Ave to the Exhibition
about a half mile. This was
in 1883, and it was composed
of a motor car pulling two or more flat cars with cross
benches. Electricity was supplied
by placing a bare copper
wire on a plank between the rails and having a pick-up
tongue hanging under the motor.
It was an instant success until there was a
thunderstorm which
wet the plank. That ended the
experiment. Incidently the men involved were
J.J. Wright
and Mr. Charles Van de Poele.
Tn 1891 the city notified the company of its intention
to take it over when the franchise expired, and for four
months the city ran the system under its old name. However
the public was not ready for public ownership and
in
September 1891, the system was sold to Messers. McKenzie
& Mann, owners of the Canadian Northem Rly. On April
14,1892, the Toronto Railway Co. was incorporated. The
franchise was for 30 years after which the city could take
The second type of Williams omnibus was considerably more elabouate.
it over again. Electric power had to be introduced within one year
and completed within three years. They were to make any
extensions and additions required by the city and
if they failed to
do so, others would be allowed to do so.
Fares were 5 cents, tickets, 6 for 25 cents,
16 for $1.00 and
special fares for children. Free transfers were introduced at this
time, although at first they were verbal with a man stationed at each
point
to convey the people across. No cars were to run on Sunday,
until citizens approved
by a vote and this was not decided for
another six years by a small majority.
As mentioned, the agreement called for electrification and
most were in favour
of it, but opposition was raised by horse
fanciers and buyers and one local paper, the Telegram said in 1891,
The Trolley is coming. It is a mistake
to accept it, and it will be
a curse when it does come. Also
what will be the result of the
Trolleys application
to King, Queen and Yonge Sts? It will drive In 1884 they came
up with a new idea, hang a wire over the
car and have some sort
of device pressing up from underneath. So
they got a piece
of 2×4, put a steel pulley on top, mounted it on a
pivot with a spring
to hold it up to the wire, ran a wire down the side
to the motor and presto the first trolley pole in the world!
On August IS, 1892 the first electric street car was placed
in service on Church St.
Ive found three versions of the route
taken.
(1) the Telegram, August 15, 1942 from the old Union
Station, east to Church. (2
& 3) the Telegram, March 31, 1954 and
the Star on August 15, 1982, starting at the old City Hall, Front and
Jarvis, west
to Church and (3) the Sun, August 15, 1982, starting
at St. Lawrence Hall, west
to Church. [m inclined to bet on the old
City Hall to Church version. The cars went up Church St. with
great fanfare, whizzing along at 8 miles per hour,
The telephone
poles passing by like a picket fence When it got
to Carlton St. it
picked up its first paying passenger, a lady whose horse-car had
JULY -AUGUST 1994
been jerked off the track to let the
Lightning Steed go by. When
the car reached Bloor St. it turned
east to Sherbourne
SI. then up to
Rosedale. After reversing the
trolley-pole the return journey
began. The inaugural trips were
not without incident, however.
Chas Z.Zwick
of Rochester, a
visitor was riding a horse-car on
Front St. and
in his eagerness to
see the trolley as it passed, leaned
out too far and fell in front
of it.
It struck him on the shoulder and
inflected an ugly gash
on his
head. He was taken to St.
Michaels Hospital.
147 CAIJADIAN RAIL -441
Electric power had come
to stay. The cars were all built
in
the Company shops at Front and
FrederickSts. They had 18bodies
with open platfOlms at each end
and for the first two years had
controls each end for reverse
direction. The bodies were
of
omnibus design in that the lower
panel
of the sides was con vexed
in.
A rare view of Toronto car 408 hauling trailer 82 (aformer horse car) on Yonge Street past the ruins
of the Simpsons store building just after the fire which destroyed the building in 1895. The following
year the new Simpsons store (now a heritage structure) was built. Notice the
roof of another street
car in the foreground.
National Archives
of Canada, Merrilees Collection, photo No. Pa-166082.
There were two men on each car, the Motorman a new
title to drive and a Conductor who collected fares in a hand-held
fare-box nicknamed a Coffee Pot.
In 1894 for safety, fenders were installed on the front
of the
cars now fixed for single end operation.
They were composed of
I pipe fonned in a square shape projecting 5 in front of the car.
There was also an upper frame on the front
of the car from which
hung a heavy fish-net connected to the front bar.
Other routes were quickly electrified, King and Yonge
being the early ones, by 1894 the whole system was electrified.
The last horse-cars were withdrawn from McCaul SI. on August
31, 1894.
In order to have enough cars until new ones could be built,
47 old horse-cars were equipped with motors and controllers, but
they were too light in construction and by the end
of the century,
most had been withdrawn, although a few lasted until 1921.
In 1894 the first double-.truck car
in Canada was built at the
T.R.C. shops. The Front
SI. shops turned out quite a variety of cars;
both open and closed types, single and double-truck type. They
even built cars for sale
to Montreal and Winnipeg, some for
Mexico City and Rio de Janerio where McKenzie
& Mann built
street railways. A lot
of the single trucks types, open and closed
were
just bodies, which were interchanged on a set of trucks for
summer or winter use. The winter
of 1891-92 saw the introduction
of small pot-bodied stoves in the centre of the cars which led to the
removal
of the pea-straw from the floor.
In 1904 a convertible type of car was developed to save the
interchange
of bod ies for summer or winter. These cars had panels
in the right-hand wall which could be removed in summer. The
longitudinal seats were changed to cross-bench back to back and
a long running board step was mounted on the side from front to
back and the windows on the left side were all left open.
In the
winter the process was reversed and the stove added.
To go back a bit, by 1897 considerable agitation had arisen
for Sunday service on the street cars and after a bitter fight among
the populace, it was adopted by a small majority. The churches led
the fight claiming it was the work
of the devil.
In 1904 it was decided to install air brakes on the double
truck cars, as it was more difficult
to bring them to a stop with the
hand brake. A long tank was hung between the trucks on the right­
hand side
of the car. These were filled from tanks set in the road
alongside the tracks at certain places along the route.
The
motorman would lift a steel trap-door in the road, couple a hose to
the tank and step on a pedal, you would hear the air hissing into the
tank.
If he had to use the brakes too much before reaching the next
filling tank, he might have to use his hand brake.
By 1910 the
Citys population had grown to 350,000 and
its area doubled from 1891, so the City asked the Company to
extend its services.
The Company refused, the City took it to the
RAIL CANADIEN -441
Privy Council, which decided that the Company could not be
compelled
to go beyond the boundaries of 1891.
One
of the clauses of the 1892 franchise gave the Company
pennission
to make arrangements with adjoining municipalities to
operate systems in outlying districts with separate fares, but these
did not operate
il) the newer sections of the city. In 1911 the City
commenced construction
of its own lines known as the Toronto
Civic Railways. These were on: Danforth from Boardview
to
Luttrel, Gerrard from Greenwood to Main St., St. Clair from
Yonge
to Caledonia Rd. Lansdowne south from St. Clair to the
C.P.R. Tracks, and Bloor from Runnymede
to Dundas St. The
fares were 2 cents for adults, 1 cent for chi ldren, adult tickets 6 for
10 cents.
The only transfers given were between the St. Clair and
Lansdowne routes.
In 1910 the Toronto Rly decided to introduce the Pay As
You Enter system. A pole was set
in the middle of the step on the
back platform
to separate entering and exiting passengers, and
farebox was on a stand
in the middle of the platform. On the
trailers, the front platform was closed off, so only the rear platform
was used. This meant that people had to enter single file and this
caused many delays. The public was furious, and many just rushed
the cars and refused
to pay any fare. A mass indignation meeting
was held at Massey Hall and the Company dropped the idea, until
1917; by this time, doors had been applied
to most of the larger
cars. The single truck cars were never changed.
In 1915 the Ontario Railway Board ordered all open cars
with running boards off the streets, in all cities and towns, as in rush
hours people would be clustered along the step like flies, and with
the number
of motor cars on the road, it was feared they might be
brushed off
by passing automobiles.
The two other street car systems in various parts of the city
were the Toronto Suburban and the Toronto
& York Radials. The
three divisions
of the T & Y R. were the Metropolitan, on Yonge
St. running from Woodlawn Ave.
to the city limits, and beyond; the
Kingston Rd. line running from Queen St.
to the city limits, and
beyond, and the Lakeshore Rd. line running from Roncesvalles
Ave.
to the Humber, and beyond.
The cash fare was 5 cents and no transfers to city lines. The
Toronto Suburban Rly. served West Toronto. Its focal point was
Keele and Dundas Sts. where a line ran to Runnymede Ave. and
beyond. A branch line from Dundas to Evelyn Cres. another line
ran north on Keele
to the city limits, and on to Weston. A fourth
line ran east on St. Clair
to Ford St. and down to Davenport Rd. and
east
to Bathurst St. and down to the C.P.R. tracks. The fares were
5 cents, 6 tickets for 25 cents.
In 1920 the city served notice on the Toronto Rly. Co. that
its franchise would not be renewed in Sept. 1921. The Company
was expecting this, and had let the maintenance
of the system
deteriorate very badly. So
in 1921 when the newly formed Toronto
Transportation Commission took over, there was much repair
work
to be done. Many of the cars were scrapped as unserviceable,
and many modem steel cars had been on order previously.
148 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
With the various companies in the city, it was possible to
pay as much as 9 separate fares to get from one part of the city to
another, so the T.T.C. took all portions that were in the city. A fare
was set for adults at 7 cents. 4 tickets for 25 cents, and 10 cents cash
from midnight
to 6 AM. Children under 6, 3 cents, tickets 10 for
25 cents.
I read somewhere that there was a race track in North
Toronto, and on Race Days sometimes they would be short
of cars
on the Metropolitan, that they would borrow cars and crews from
the Toronto Rly.
The cars would go up Yonge SI. to the end of track
at Price St. and were pushed off the track and hauled over the
c.P.R. level crossing and put on the Metropolitan tracks. On the
return, at the end
of the day, they would be left at the end of the
track till morning.
The last item of change to Toronto street cars before 1921
was in August 1920 when
25 of the newly designed Birney One­
man Cars arrived from Philadelphia for the Civic Rlys.
to augment
the cars on the Bloor West and Danforth lines. These were the first
one-man cars in Toronto. They arrived on flat-cars, covered with
tarpaUlins and I remember a picture
of them on the front of the Tely
under the headline One Mans Coffin.
When the T.T.C. took over on Sept.
1, 1921 the men went
out on their runs as usual. All personnel were retained by the new
management.
The only difference was riders had to pay a higher
fare. A certain Scotsman was delighted. He was heard
to say Now
I only have to walk four times to save a quarter.
The new Commission had a big upgrading job on its hands.
Of the 709 trolley cars received from the T.R.C. 294 were
considered unsafe and retired leaving 415 usable,
of which, many
were eventually extensively rebuilt.
Of the 70 cars received from
T.C.R. only one was scrapped.
Of the 121 trailers received from
the T.R.C. all were scrapped.
During the year pervious
to the takeover the T.T.C. had
ordered new steel cars
of the Peter Witt Safety Car design. These
had a novel arrangement. Enter
by the front door into the front half
of the car where you could search for your ticket at leisure or sit
down. The conductor was seated
just ahead of the centre exit
doors. You could pay your fare and exit or pass into the rear
section.
The motorman was in a closed compartment just inside
the front door. This had a sliding door for entrance
or exit. The
motormen did not like this arrangement as it was thought to be a
trap in case
of a collision. So it was not long before it was removed
and a railing installed. Also a number
of 2 door trailers were
ordered. These were
of steel, similar in design to the cars and had
a small door each side
of the conductor in the centre. These were
longer than the T.R.C. wooden cars and it was a strange sight to
sometimes see a small wooden car pulling a much longer steel
trailer. Later models were modified with 2 entrance doors, one
of
which could be changed to exit by swinging a gate over, by the
conductor.
By 1930 the transit operators
of Canada and the U.S.A
found out the trolleys were losing out
to the higher speeds of the
JULY -AUGUST 1994
private motor-car so the presidents formed a
conference
to design a light-weight high-speed
trolley. By this time all cars were operated by one
man. These cars came
to be called P.e.e. or
Presidents Conference Committee cars. Toronto
was one
of the first to order some and at one time
had the largest fleet of them in the world. One
night after they first arrived the police closed
off
Mt. Pleasant Ave. from Eglinton to St. Clair
Aves., after midnight,
to see how fast they could
go and the car on test exceeded 60 miles per hour.
Motorists soon found that after the lights turned
green the street car could beat them across the
intersections. The next step was when they adapted
them for mUltiple operation
in twos for rush hour
traffic.
149 CANADIAN RAIL -441
The next change was when it was time to
go underground. This was not a new idea because
in 1911, Horatio Hocken, Controller, lobbied
hard
to have A Tube Running UnderYonge St.,
to no avail, but was successful in getting provision
for a second level under the roadway
of the
viaduct, over the Don River, connecting Bloor St.
to the Danforth which was proposed at this time.
Some of Torontos old trailer cars as they appeared in 1921 just after the ITC took
over the Toronto Railway.
National Archives
of Canada, Merrilees Collection, photo No. PA-166556.
The viaduct began on January 17, 1915 and was opened for use on
December 15, 1918. I rode on one
of the free rides on the cars that
day.
The second level saved the T.T.e. milJions of dollars when
the Bloor-Danforth Subway was built
in later years.
On September
8, 1949 the Hon. Ray Lawson, Lieut­
Governor
of Ontario pushed the button that started the construction
of Canadas First Subway and the first subway cars started running
from The Union Station
to Eglinton Ave. on March 31, 1954. This
started a progression
of expansion that is continuing this day.
In the early 1970s there was considerable agitation
to get
rid
of the street cars by 1980 but a counter committee was formed
to Save The Street Cars; fortunately they persevered and won.
As the
P.e.C. fleet was now nearing the end of its usable
life, the T.
T.e. looked around for a suitable replacement and found
a likely one in a model that was being developed in Switzerland.
In late 1973 the Ontario Government established the
Urban Transportation Development Corporation to develop new
transit vehicles and systems for Canadian cities. The T.
T.e. asked
the U.
D.T.e. to build 200 cars of the Swiss type, after asking the
Swiss Company to build and test the first six cars for the U.D.T.e.
to use as prototypes.
The first of the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle or e.L.R.V.
arrived in early 1978, after a number
of bugs were ironed out
eventually found a solid place
in the system. Later the T.T.e.
asked the U.D.T.C. to develop an articulated type of car for use on
heavily travelled routes. The U.D.T.e. took the parts
of two of the
CLRVs to make the car, in 1982 the T.T.e. was asked to evaluate
the result.
In August of that year it was placed on the Queen route for training purposes. It was then placed on view
in the C.N.E.
After the C.N.E. closed, it was put in revenue service on the Queen
route until the end
of the year. It was then returned to the U.D.T.e.
I phoned the
T.T.e. to find out where it was housed and was
taking some picture
of it when an inspector came up. He told me
it was just going out on its run and where would I like it
to stop for
a good shot. I told him on a curve
if possible. He waved the
operator
to come ahead till I told him to stop. After I had taken the
picture he said how would you like to come for a ride?
So I got
on and the operator refused to take a fare, we headed for the east
end
of the run. As we arrived at the loop the inspector suggested
I get off and
he would stop the car for me to take a picture. When
I got on again the operator still refused my fare. I rode out
to the
western terminus. On the eastbound trip back I had the nerve
to ask
the operator for a transfer to the Yonge subway
to go back home.
At the same time as the
T.T.e. was developing its trolley
and subway systems it was also developing its bus fleet. The first
four buses started running on Hunberside Ave. on September 20,
1921 as feeders to the trolley system. They were
of the new Fifth
Avenue, double deck type, with hard rubber tires. I enjoyed riding
on the top looking out through the front windshield, until one day
there was a thunderstorm, which somewhat dampened myenthusiasm.
On June
19, 1922 Torontos first Trackless Trolley service was
started on Mt. Pleasant Rd. These buses were built
by the White
Truck Co., electrically driven and with two trolley-poles on the
roof. With the rough roadway one
of the problems was the trolleys
frequently bouncing
off the wires. These were replaced by street­
cars in 1925. I will not go into the steady progression
of bus
development at this time.
RAIL CANADIEN -441 150 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
Where Did All The Railway Go?
A Photo Essay
By Allan Graham
There is nothing as exciting as finding a railway structure
you thought was tom down not destroyed after all but sitting
in a
farmers yard!
You would not
believe how many
people one m
eets
and gets to know
as
one travels
station, one of the original j 873 stations, is now a Senior Citizens
Club at right angles to the roadbed and beside it. Emerald Jet. was
used for a while as
a
recreation centre and
canteen until a new
one was built. Now
the beautiful build-
.. ing owned by the
village just sits there
with missing win­
dows and a leaking
roof. Elmira station
and freight shed are
owned
by the P.E.I.
Museum and Herit­
age Foundation who
operate a railway
museum there in
summer. Alberton
3500 kilometres
of Prince Edward
Island roads
looking for the
elusive leftovers
of a railway
recently removed.
On July
8, 1992,
when my wife and
I began to trace
what was left
of a
once-proud
railway. the track
was still intact
from OLeary to
Linkletter, and
from Morell to
Souris. Galaxy
Company. of
Souris yard in July. 1992. At that time the tracks were still there.
Note: All photos are by the author.
station is a tourist
bureau Alberton
owns it. Kensington
and Alberton stat­
ions have plaques
declaring them to be
historic structures.
West Lincoln, Ontario, was busily removing rails, loading them on
trucks and shipping them away. The usable ties were stacked at
many communities all over the Island and most
stiU sit in neat
squares awaiting potential buyers.
Some
of the most interesting stations and freight sheds
have become public buildings. All except Emerald Jet. are
in great
shape and being used. Montague
is leased from C.N. by the Town
of Montague to be used as a Hospitality Centre. It is used as a
tourist bureau
in summer, a band practice room and a meeting
room year·round: Summers ide station was transformed by the
Rotary Club into a magnificent regional library with a meeting
room art gallery on the second floor.
The library floor itself also
has paintings by local artists on display all around the adult section.
Kensington station
is a tourist bureau, craft shop and railway
museum in the summer. The last diesel engine
on P.E.I. sits
outside along with a caboose, both on rails.
The Kensington freight
shed is a farmers market every Saturday
in summer. St. Peters
BUSINESSES
Several P.E.1. railway buildings became businesses after
C.N. had no further use for them. Hunter Rivers
enOllTIOUS station
/ freight shed
is now at Marco Polo Land Campground in Cavendish
as a gift shop and Marks Work Wearhouse outlet in summer. A
baggage wagon sits in front and the name board
is still in its place
of honor, proclaiming its origins. The Cardigan station, which was
the same design as Hunter River, has had its freight shed removed,
and now sits-close toits original site where it
is used as a seasonal
craft outlet and tea room. The
OLeary station is owned by the
Village and currently houses Lindas Lunch Bar, a lawyers office
and a hairdresser shop. It
is still on its original site. The Murray
River station
is now part of Bairds I.G.A. grocery store in Murray
River. Hazelbrook station is owned by Susan Partridge
of Milltown
Cross and used as a pottery and art studio. Upstairs is a meditation
centre and living area. Milton station
is now owned by Charles and
JULY -AUGUST 1994
Montague station as a hospility centre.
Alice Chandler who operate the Broccoli Beach Market and
Bakery in it at BrackJey Beach in summer. After vandals burned
the Souris station, part
of the freight shed was used for an agents
office. This freight shed is now a horse stable at the Souris
racetrack. Ironically, the Bridge and Building structure at Borden
was used by Galaxy Co. as they
dismantled the railway. The Fixed
Link project (from P.E.1.
to N.B.) has
awarded to Calgary-based Strait
Crossing mc., They have decided not
to use Charlottetown s magnificent stone
station as their headquarters. It would
require
mammoth renovations as it has
been empty for years.
HOUSES
151 CANADIAN RAIL -441
Blanchard. Portage station is Alvin
Raffertys home in Wood brook.
Clarence Milligans grandfather ran
the mills in McNeills Mills; now
Clarence lives
in the McNeills Mills
station. He has added a porch across
the entire front
of the building thus
obscuring the distinctive railway
building look. Royalty Jct. station was
converted into a 2-storey house owned
by Peter Holman and Isabel Kemp
in
Greenvale. No one is living in it at the
moment. The name board still adorns
the end toward Route 2. The Selkirk
station
is now a dwelling in Monticello
inhabited by Philip and Mary Ann
Gallant. Philip plans to change the
roof to bungalow style. Scotch fort
station
is a house in that community –
it is owned by Helen Trainor. The
Murray Harbour bunkhouse
is now a
house owned by Larry White
in MUITay
Harbour not far from its original site.
Gilbert
Dejong has the Sl. Teresas
station on his farm in Marshfield where it is occupied by his wifes
sister. Hermitage station
is owned by Leo Cannon of Pownal; he
has added a new roof and enlarged the building. North Wiltshire
is a beautiful home restored by Wayne and Linda Oakes of
Wiltshire. The second Kensington station (the one before the stone
Many
of the railway buildings
on P.E.I. have become houses. With
their hardwood floors, groove and tongue
boards, and their enormous beams,
they made ideal living quarters.
Brudenell station has been beautifully
restored as a year-round residence on
the
Montague River for Kevin
Stonefield. He has added a dormer and
planted cherry trees
in front. DeBlois
station has been hauled
to St. Louis
where Henry Bernard turned
it into a
house for his daughter, Brenda
Rarely photographed rear view oj Kensington station showing the freight shed and Jim Mullalys
blacksmith shop.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
CN caboose 78431 at McDonalds restaurant, Charlottetown.
one) was hauled up to School Street and turned into a house which
was for sale when last we visited. Leroy and Bonnie Sherren
of
Rusticoville dismantled the 1876 Islandstone Bridge and building
Carpenter Shop and Office from Water Street, Charlottetown, and
rebuilt it in 1976 as a splendid home in RusticoviUe. They took
it
apart, stone by stone, numbered the stones, then reassembled the
whole building with a different-style
roof.
The stones are fifteen inches
thick and weight hundreds
of pounds.
Its tremendous to see people save and
restore buildings like this one.
CABOOSES
152 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
caboose to Sl. Margarets where he has
a beautiful site on a cliff. The salt spray
is rusting the metal wheels and frame.
Stan took his 1942 caboose to Goose
River where it, too, sits on a cliff
overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
As aforementioned, there
is a caboose
at Kensington as part
of the railway
museum. There
is also one behind a
gravel pit in Rose Valley; it was once
lived
in but is now abandoned. Alyre
and Corinne Arsenault
of Wellington
Station placed a C.N. caboose on rails
near their home in 1992, situated beside
the railway bridge over the Ellis River.
They have turned it into a craft shop.
This caboose had sat for years
in Long
Creek. C.N. caboose 78431 is at the
Charlottetown McDonalds Restaurant
where it is used for childrens birthday
parties. There are likely other ones,
too, that I have not been fortunate
enough to locate.
OTHER ROLLING STOCK
Besides the already mentioned engine at Kensington, there
are four tank cars on the Island -the Borden Fire Department has
two
of them buried for water storage (one in Carleton Siding, one
in Borden). The other two are the blue tank cars that Marine
When the wooden cabooses were
sold
off by C.N., many Islanders and
summer residents bought them for
cottages and other uses. Each caboose
without its wheels weighed 22 tons, so
it was a big job moving cabooses from
rail-head to final resting site. Ed Schiller
and Stan Booth each bought one
in
Montreal in September, 1973, renovated
them there, and had them taken by train
from Montreal to St. Peters, P.E.I.
cost -50 cents per mile) where a crane
lifted each caboose minus wheels onto
a
f1oal. The rails and wheels had already
been assembled on site, and the caboose
was lowered by crane. Ed brought his
Colonist car 5050 now owned by Susan Partridge, Milltown Cross.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
RIGHT Elmira Station Railway Museum,
operated in the summer
by the P.E.I. Museum
and Heritage Foundation.
153 CANADIAN RAIL -441
LEFT: A heavyweight mail car at Elmira
Railway Museum.
LEFT: The former OLeGlY station,
formerly the Railway Cafe, now Lindas
Lunch Bar.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
RIGHT: Brudenell station, now the home of
Kevin Stonfield, Robertson Road.
154 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
LEFT: The former Milton station, now the
Broccoli Beach Market Bakery. The name
is a
pun on the famous Brackley Beach near which
the station is situated.
BELOW: The station at Charlottetown, largest
station
in Prince Edward Island.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
RIGHT: SI. Teresas station, now in Marshfield and
owned
by Gilbert Dejong.
155 CANADIAN RAIL -441
LEFT: M cNeills Mills station, now Clarence
Milligans home in McNeills Mills.
LEFT: The
1876 bridge and building
carpenter shop and office from
Charlottetown; rebuilt in 1976 as Leroy
and Bonnie She/Tens home in Rusticoville.
RAIL CANADIEN -441
Atlantic used in Borden for storing
fuel oil -now owned by Matheson and
MacMillan Construction Co., Sherwood.
Susan Partridge
of Milltown Cross has
a
colonist car on her farm; it was
originally brought to this province by
156 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
the P.E.I. Craftsmens Council for a
craft store.
When the Council gave up
on the idea, Susan had the car shipped
by rail to Melville, where a crane lifted
the car on to a swivel-bunk flatbed.
The original number
of this car was
colonist Car 5050. For years it was
used as a bunkhouse in New Brunswick
for rail repair crews. Horsehair was
the insulation and cedar strips the roof.
There are two badly-vandalized cars at
Elmira Railroad Museum -wooden
Baggage Car 11550
buiJ t in 1923 and a
metal mail car built
in J 949, one of the
last to move mail to P.E.I. The number
on it is illegible. These cars, along
with a passenger car, were given to the
P.E.I. heritage Foundation by C.N.
in
Remains of the Hillsborough Bridge piers at Charlottetown.
1973 as a P.E.I. Centennial Project, but they were badly vandalized
before they arrived
in Elmira. Our Heritage Foundation has never
considered them valuable enough to repair and secure.
The
passenger car was lent to a tourist railway in Cape Breton but it was
never returned; and now it couldt be. Stewart MacKay of
,:
Charlottetown has a boxcar sitting without wheels along Riverside
Drive in Parkdale -this he uses for storage. There are likely other
cars hidden back
in woods or on private cottage roads and thus
inaccessible at the moment.
BRIDGES
Most of the bridges that allowed
the railway to cross the many Island
tidal rivers are still
in place, including
the major ones at Morell, Midgell,
Brudenell, Melville, Wellington
Station, Kelvin Grove, Howlan,
Colemen, Huntley and Alma. Most
of the pillars that once carried the
Hillsborough Bridge, linking the
Murray Harbour Line with
Charlottetown, are still standing. Terns
now inhabit these remnants
of a once
mighty structure. The railway bridge
across the Hillsborough River at Mt.
Stewart
is now a paved, fenced bicycle
and pedestrian path. The Pisquid
trestle was set on fire
by vandals so,
for safety reasons, it was dismantled
and totally removed by Highfield
Construction
in July, 1991.
The bridge across the Hillsborough River at Mount Stewart. This railway right of way at this place
is now a biking and walking path.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
OVERPASSES
Besides bridges, there
are overpasses still remaining
over highways at Tignish,
Harpers, Five Houses, and
one unusual one at Clyde where
the overpass
is now in a yard
(was the road moved).
The
overpass at Kelvin Grove was
removed after the last truck
ran into il.
A DISPLAY
Amherst Cove
Elementary School in Borden
has an interesting display on
the P.E.I. Railway
and the
Northumberland Strait ferry
service. A large photo
of a
diesel engine faces you in one
hallway. A railway
switch
sits outside the school. Since
Bordens existence as a town
depended totally on the railway
157
TH[ ENO ,Of AN ERA
LA fiN DUNE [rOQUE
The monument to the railway at Wellington Station.
CANADIAN RAIL -441
and ferry services, it is an appropriate spot for such a display. large hole
in the Georgetown Town Hall, the hole having been
made,
in 1898, by a train being shunted too hard in the railway yard
across the streel. Bea Mair, Georgetown, still has
some of the
glass, as do
1. Many buildings in the east end of the Island have
A MONUMENT
OnJuly 1, 1992, the community
of Wellington Station unveiled an eleven­
ton monument to the mills and railway.
Barlows Mills were the reason the
railway was diverted through the upper
reaches
of the Ellis River. Then the
station was built in the valley
in order to
be close to the
mills so the whole
community was moved from
Goodwins
Comer to where it exists today. The
monument includes a sketch of the
station and a list
of the station agents as
well
as the date the last train went
through the area.
UNUSUAL ITEMS
The second Georgetown station
had gold-colored stained glass. This
station was tom down so a fish plant
could be buill. Raymond Solomon
of
Georgetwon has one of the stained glass
windows.
This stained glass was also used
in the window that was built to fill
in a
48 Road station, now in Riverton in poor condition.
RAIL CANADIEN -441 158 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
A stone railway building in Charlottetown yard.
Another view
of former railway buildings in Charlottetown yard.
JULY -AUGUST 1994
floors and walls made from the
many stations and freight sheds
torn down
in that area.
TORN DOWN
Stations known to have
been tom down are: Mt. Albion,
Wilmot, Loyalist, Connaught,
Grandview, Peakes, Brackley,
Fountain Head, Murray Harbour,
Wood Islands, Morell, Kinkora,
Wellington Station, Bloomfield,
Clermont, Kelvin Grove,
Breadalbane, Borden, Bedford,
Ashton, Bear River, New Zealand,
Harmony
Jet., Baltic, Auburn, Uigg
and Melville.
BURNED DOWN
159 CANADIAN RAIL -441
Several stations burned
down, namely Tignish, Freetown,
Tracadie, Dundee,
Lot 40, Five
Houses, Souris, Munns Road,
Vernon River, Glencoe, Iris and
New Annan.
A view of York station, still standing in a stale of disrepair.
NOT BEING USED
The 48 Road station gave us a great deal of work. The
MacDonald family who had lived in it had all died many years ago.
The Riverton area where they had hauled the station 1/2 mile
or so
back from the road had, over the years, all grown up; Mary and I
had to make our way through this higher-than-us growth
to walk
back to find the stations dilapidated remains.
The only way I
could find the exact location was to call everyone listed
as living
in Riverton -the last listing proved lucky. Other unused stations
are Village Green,
West Devon, Fredericton, Clyde, St. Charles
and Charlottetown.
MYSTERIES
We have been unable to find information about Midgell,
Marie, Robertson,
Roseneath, St. Eleanors and Emmerson stations.
FINALE
A person could indeed write a whole book on the remains of the
P.E.I. railway. Twenty-three years ago, Margaret Mallett and I
went all
over this province photographing then extant structures.
A comparison of the buildings
21 years ago and in 1992 is very
interesting. Some
havent changed but others have -like Mt.
Stewart Jet. station which is now Jack MacAndrews elegant cliff­
top summer home at Pt. Deroche. There is still an ongoing debate about what to
do with the
abandoned roadbeds -farmers want them returned to the landowners
for they fear vandalism from trespassers, while the energetic Rails
to Trails Association is trying to set up an Island-wide network
of
hiking, biking, snowmobiling trails. The province is still attempting
to purchase the roadbed from Canadian National.
Its safe to say
that no one on P.E.
I. is very far away from the railway, even if the
track
is gone.
Special Thanks to
my wife Mary who drove me 3500
kilometres looking for bits and pieces of the railway when she
herself is not a railway fan. Talk about devotion!
Then, the final
straw … she typed the article that you are now reading, thus reliving
this month-long excursion into Island railway history.
Thanks also to all these people who gave freely
of their
time to help with this research: Noel Wilson, Bea
Mair, Sonny
Johnstone, Willena and Randy Angus, Antoinette Keough, Stirling
Moase, Susan Partridge, Finley Martin, Lloyd Dalziel, Charles
Fraser,
Bob Jenson, Stephen Hardy, Stan Booth, Ed Schiller,
Corrine Arsenault, Leroy and Bonnie Sherren, Jennifer Taylor,
Leonard McNeill, Spurgeon Dyment, Ian MacQuarrie,
Wayne and
Linda Oakes, Jimmy MacEachern, Pearl MacLennan,
Randolph
Stevenson, AlfPaynter, Ivan Paynter, Orville Dawson, LeoCannon,
Roger Gaudet, Leonard Handrahan, Wilfred Arsenault, Donald
Platts, Clarence Milligan, Anthony Pelry, Eric Watts, Alice Chandler,
Lloyd Vessey, Robel1 Larry White,
Hem,), Maynard, Mrs. Donald
MacDonald, Mrs. Jimmy Jennings, Roland Penny, John Murphy,
Thelma Smallwood, and dozens
of others who offered assistance
with the project.
RAIL CANADIEN -441 160 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
Location of Other Former Railway Buildings in Prince Edward Island
RAILWAY BUILDING
Tignish tool shed
Tignish trolley house
Tignish bunkhouse
Tignish temporary station
between No.2 and No.3
Harpers station
Alma station
Elmsdale station
Piusville station
Bloomfield Station, agents
house
Duvar station
Howlan station
Coleman station
West Devon station
Conway station
Ellerslies last station
Port Hill (small metal station)
Northam station
Richmond station
St. Nicholas station
Travellers Rest station
Albany station
Carleton Stding station
Elliotts station
Fredericton station
Clyde station
Colville station
Charlottetown station, engine
shed and other buildings
Union Road station
York station
PRESENT LOCATION
Tignish
TignisJi
Tignish
Tignish
Harpers Road
Alma
Elmsdale
Piusville
Bloomfield Station
Duvar
Howlan
Coleman
West Devon
Unionvale
Wellington
Montrose
Northam
Richmond
St. Nicholas
Irishtown Road
Albany
Carleton Siding
Pleasant Valley
Fredericton
Hazel Grove
Springvale
on location
York
York
PRESENT OWNER
Catherine McAlduff
Roger Gaudet
Edith Perry
Leonard Handrahan
Howard Doucette
Hi Construction
Wilfred Griffin
Herman Corcoran
Jordan Mackay
Wilfred Arsenault
Donald Platts
Lome MacKay
Sellick family
Ramsay Washed Gravel Co.
Justin MacLellan
? Martin
Spurgeon Dyment
Leonard McNeill
Anthony Perry
Tom Murphy
Unknown
Randolph Stevenson
Eric Weeks
Marie Weeks
Unknown
Eric Watts
Charlottetown Area Develop­
ment Corporation
Sharon McInnis
Lloyd Vessey
PRESENT USE
Storage
Storage
Storage
Storage (palt
of a new building)
Lumber mill storage
Storage at paving plant
Storage.
Two sheds built on
Farm building
Home
Storage shed
Workshop and tractor garage
Winter garage
Not used
Storage for machinery
Storage
Cottage by Kildare River
Straw storage
Garage
Farm machine shed
Storage
Garage
Workshop
Storage
Unused
Abandoned
Granary
None. Negotiation with CN about
land under them
Storage
Farm storage
JULY -AUGUST 1994 161 CANADIAN RAIL -441
St. Andrews station Savage Harbour Charlotte Shepherd Summer cottage
Douglas station Douglas Robert Johnstone Storage
St. Charles station St. Charles Unknown Abandoned
Pisquid station Pisquid Roger Mitchell Storage
Watervale station Parkdale Frank Dew Dog pound
Lake Verde Junction station Lake Verde Marie Mackay Farm building
Village Green station (originally Village Green Delbert Munn Not used
Clarkin station)
Hazelbrook freight shed Mount Herbert Carl Bagnell Storage
Mount Herbert station Mount Herbert Harley lngs Hay
bam
Bunbury station Southport Jennifer Taylor Storage
Vernon second station Bethel Charles Fraser Workshop
Millview station Scentia Road John Murphy Granary
Vernon River freight shed Vernon River Clinton Richards
Falm building
Fodhla station
lona Irene McKenna S tra w storage
Surrey station
lona L1loy Dalziel Storage
Melville freight shed Flat River Stewart Ross Farm building
Belle River station Flat River Stewart Ross Garage
Wood Islands freight shed Flat River Bill Bell Farm building
Hopefield station Hopefield Alden Blue Farm building
Murray River freight shed Murray River Ferguson family Storing lobster traps
Perth station New Perth CYlus Martin Farm building
48 Road station Riverton Unknown Abandoned
(palto£) Georgetown engine shed Georgetown Sonny Johnstone Storage
Cardigan agents house Cardigan Noel Wilson
Home
Borden sleeping quarters Carleton Siding Orville Dawson, Ivan Paynter, Two parts are storage, one part
Alf Paynter is a garage
Yellow trolley shed from Borden Carleton Siding Wilfred and Conn Wood Being renovated
Small unidentifiable station from Georgetown For sale None
short line
Harmony Junction tool shed Souris Line Road Donald Macdonald Storage
Small station from short line Dunstaffnage Ray MacCallum Storage
(possibly Auburn)
Small railway station (possibly East Suffolk Road MacLaren family Storage
Suffolk)
RAIL CANADIEN -441 162 JUILLET -AOUT 1994
Bugs (Or Bug Repellant) in the System
Or, 6-12 and 720s Dont Mix
By Fred F. Angus
The Canadian Pacific Railway was a pioneer, in Canada,
in the use of computers for data processing. As early as 1957 the
company had set up a new department, known
as Integrated Data
Processing (lOP), and purchased an
IBM 705 computer, then one
of the most modern in the field. The machine was used to process
records relating
to freight shipments, payroll, dividends and other
transaction
s. Although this system was physically very large,
occupying two large rooms in the then new Accounting building
at Montreals Windsor station, it was, by todays standards, not
very powerful, total memory being only 40,000 positions
of
memory. However, by the standards of 1957, this was a huge
technological breakthrough which meant that the machine could
make calculations far faster, and far more accurately, than a
roomful
of clerks with adding machines.
The 705 remained in use until 1961 when it was superseded
by a 7080, which was somewhat similar, but very much faster and
with double the memory.
The 7080 was in use until 1973.
Of course to operate the machine, programs, specially
designed for CPR requirements, were needed, and these were
written and maintained by the
Companys programmers. All
programs, when being developed, contain errors and defects,
known in computer parlance as bugs, and one
of the major duties
of the programmers was (and is) to get rid of these bugs (i.e. to
debug the program) before it goes into production with live data.
However, even when all precautions are taken, and all programs
are working perfectly, the unexpected can happen and upset a
seemingly faultless system. Thus we
come to a day in 1960, three
years after the computer first went into service, when the term
bug, and more particularly
bug repellant took on a new
meaning
in theetemal war between computer systems and unexpected
problem
s.
News of the problem reached IDP in the fonn of a letter
from the Office
of the General Paymaster dated August 19, 1960.
This letter had been written for the Paymaster
by an employee of
that office whose initials appear on the letter as OSAL, and was
addressed to the Manager
of lDP. The complete text follows,
exactly as written:
Your letter July 27th, advising that you are using
a new stock
of oil-fast ribbons.
Though / presume that the oil-fast ribbons are
being used
in processing wages cheques as well as pension cheques, / have now had afurther case
of this kind involving a July
A
/960 Calgary-domiciled wages cheque brought to my attention.
The cheque is in the envelope attached, and you will note that the
name and employee and payroll numbers are partially obliterated,
while the net amount, in both script and block areas, is completely
eradicated.
This condition
was brought about by the employee
placing his cheque
in a valise which also contained a bottle of 6-
12 insect lotion, which was later accidentally broken, partially
impregnating the cheque, with
the result which you see. As in the
case of the pension cheque, the signatures and dates placed on the
cheque by our signature machine were not affected, nor was the
cheque watermark affected.
You will undoubtedly wish
to have this investigated
and advise me
in due course, returning the cheque, No. A302299
when
it has served your purpose.
One can easily imagine the consternation that this unexpected
bug caused in the IDP department. Even though the computer
had been in operation for three years, there was still a certain
amount
of distrust of the system among some senior officers.
Obviously it would not do to have the word get around that the
amounts
on wages cheques could be erased by 6-12 insect repellant!
A quick investigation found the problem which was explained in
a brief note hastily written on the back
of the letter:
Write paymaster wages cheques are printed on
720 high speed printer, not the 407 which has oil-fast ribbons. Will
take up with IBM
to get similar product on 720.
There the matter ended, and within a very short time all
cheques,
in fact all computer printouts produced by IDP, were
done with oil-fast ribbons. There
is no record that such a case ever
happened again
in the many millions of wages cheques that have
been produced since that time.
The episode quickly became a
legend and was still being related many years later. However, as
is the case with most legends, dates and particulars became
distortedandblurred (much
as the original cheque had been), and
the stories that were told were second
or third hand,
Now, after the passage
of more than a third of a century, the
real story can at last be told. Thus we can read this (to
us) amusing
account, from the early days
of computers, of the time a bug
repellant helped find a bug
in a major system.
JULY -AUGUST 1994 163 CANADIAN RAIL -441
The Business Car
DEATH OF DR. ROBERT LEGGET
Canadian railway historians were: saddened 10 learn of the
death. on April 7. 994, of Dr. Robert C.c. Leggel a1 Ih~ age of
89. Born in Liverpool of Scouish parents. he came 10 Canada in
1929. In 1941 he was calktllO Onawa 10 SI:ln the Division of
Building Research of Ihe National Research Council. and he was
lhe Direc
O£ of that division unlil he retired in 1969.
Dr. Legge! wrote several historical books, Ihe best known
of which were Rideau Wmerway (the slory of lhe Ridt:au Canal)
and Railways of C;mooa, His knuwledge of Canadian railways
was very great, and he has wrinen scverJI articles for Canadian
Rail. Mem)crs of the CRHA will remember Ihat Dr. LeggC!
addressed the CO1C11liOll of the Association when il was held in
Montreal in 1986.
His contributions to the study of rdilway history in Canada
will long be remembered.
DEATH OF ALBERT MERCANTlNJ
The editor and producers of Canadillil Rail were saddened
to h
car of the death. on June 9, of Alben Mertwllini of Procel
Primin
g. For more than thi,1y ye:lrs Albert and his staff havo.:
printed every issue of our magazine and seen it grow from a small,
thin publicati
on 10 a large-formal 40-pagc magazino.:. For years
now, your
editor has gone over the details of each issue with Albert
to ensure Ihat thc layout and other items were as planned. This
cheerful cooperalion has play
t. tnc high technical standard of the magazine.
llle expertise of those a.t Procel has covertd such things as
grade
IUld finish of paper. prepardtion of derai led half-tone ncgative~
and solving all sorts of little problems that crop up. TIle task was
made more difficult by the fact thaI muny of our photos are very
old.
sometimes more Ihan 100 ye:lrs. :lnd often faded with age. II
is a real challenge to obtain a clear printed image from such old yet
hislOric photos. however Albert and his associates usu:dly came
Ihrough with remarkable results. Only recently hc was of great
help in arrnnging for the production of the colour covers for the
m
agazine.
We all otTer our deepe~t sympathy to his daughter Carmen.
who
now runs fhe business, and aU associated wifh Procel.
C
andi;m Rail has lost a good friend.
AN
ISSUED CHAMPLAIN & ST. LAWRENCE NOTE FOR
THE ASSOCIATION
111e Association has recently received the donation of a 15
pence lqua
nerdolhlr) nOle.daled 151. AuguS11837. of the Champlain
and SI. L.1WTCnce Rail Road. While such notes in unissued fonn arc
COIll!TlOll, those Ihal hae been acluall) signed and issued are
extremely rare (see page 129
of Ihis Omadian Rail for more infomlati
on). TIle present nOle has definilely bI,:en issued, and it
bears Ih~ signlllurcs of Hiram Peirce (c&StL Agent at Laprairie
from lK36 to 18]9)
and W.O. Lindsay (Gencr.ll Managcr of
C&SI.L).
Ii is not known whelhcr Mr. Peirce was relaled to Ihe
famous Ja
son C. Pdrce but. given lhe unusual spelling of me namc.
il is likely that he was. Although Ihe note is badly worn from much
circulation, there
a~ vel} few in existence. and Ihe CRHA is
fortunale to have been given one.
C
HAMPtAIN & ST. LAWRENU: RAIL ROAD FREIGHT
SHED DESTROYED
Canadas railway heritagc h;ls received 8 scrious blow
with the-dcstruction of whal was most likely the original teonina]
bu
ilding of the Champlain & SI. Lawrence: Rail Road at SI. Johns
Que. An article aboulthis vcnenible structure appeared in Canadian
Ra
il No. 395, November-December 1986. Although it was almost
c
enainly the oldesl railway Structure in Cuoad3. daling back to tile
very beginning in
1836, all efforts 10 preserve it failed. and il was
demolished in t
he interests of ··progress·. One can only wonder
what,
if :my. importance is given I() railway heritage by devcloper:;
and nusiness
in general. 1bc loss of this building poinls OUf how
importlUlf if is for hislOri:lIls to document all ~uch relics while they
are still
around.
CORRECTIONS AND ADDJTlONS
l.1r. Ray Corley has pointed oUlthc folluwing crrors and
cl
arifications in Ihe repon of lhe Collection oolllmiucc which
llppeared in I
he May-June 1994 issue of Canadian Rail:
Page 85 et.
seq.: Sub-heading shows hem before Road
Number etc.
Thi~ ~hould be deleted in all applicable sub-heading
Jines.
Page
86: CPR 5935 isalso the most powerfullype of ~team
locomotive in the British Commonwealth, as it is able !O develop
3200 horse power at 40 miles per hour.
Page 87: CNR
4100 is not the m~1 powerful type of steam
l
ocomotive in lhe British Commonwealth: it ha.~ Ihe greatest
tr
at:tivo;: effon. lbe Illost powerful is CPR 5935 (see above)
P
llge 89: Ul&SC 54 WADDON was modified in 1910
and 19]7 and is a hybfid Terrier.
Page 90: OSC 25. In the piece about this locomotive the
nam
e Sydney is spelled wrong.
Page 93: CNR 158245 date of building WIIS 1926, not
circa 1926.
Page 93: CPR 7077 Inay have been exhibited at Windsor
Sialion. bUI it was first and fon::most exhibiled at the Canadian
lntemalional Trade Fair in Torulllo.
Page 102:
What is shown as TSR 15702 should be CNR
5702, It was fomlerly TSR 24 and was built in 1913 (nOl 19(9).
BACK COVER: Th;$ phOTO, taken Of Hu~rdl:(lII. Qlle. ;11 1903 .. ~hOI<$ 0 spedal Irain of {he Mom/Or! Illd Gotil/ealt Colonizmion Rai/way.
This twa car train wt/.r C(lrrying officials of lilt Call(l(/i(1II Nor/hem Quelx-c Railway Compally. 0 ere examining {h~ property /xforl!
purdwsil/g il. TIle lillt od /xell buill ill tI 1890s mlil .wrlivtd. as a fXlII of {he CNR, umi! 1962. /II {he 1950s this II(/S tire sile of selem/
CRHA UfllrsiOlls.
NariOfw/ Ar,hiv(s of Cmwda, Muri/res Collection, photo No. PA-j49551.