Not Speedy Gonzales, but Close!!

The picture on the front of this post card shows a group of Canadian National Railways (CN) "Speeders" lined up to await disposition in the early 1990s at CN's Transcona Shops in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.

The history of the "Speeder" below was taken from my favourite author and webiste about anything train-related.

https://www.american-rails.com/speeders.html By Adam Burns "The classic railroad speeders dates back to around 1893 when the Sheffield Velocipede Company developed a primitive gasoline engine motor car (the company, founded by George Sheffield, had originally been in the business of building velocipedes). Just a few years after Sheffield developed its early motor car the company was purchased by Fairbanks-Morse (FM), most famous for its line of diesel locomotives years later. Of all the manufacturers which built speeders over the years unquestionably the Fairmont Gas Engine and Railway Motor Car Company was the most successful and well-known. For 80 years between 1911 and 1991 Fairmont built speeders, around 73,000 of them and even today these they can be seen in use, particularly by hobbyists which prefer them over other models. Fairmont's early railroad speeders were similar to FM's in that they offered little in the way of amenities. However, almost all of Fairmont's models featured cabs to keep crews out of the elements and their easy maintenance made them favorites among both crews and railroads. Early Fairmont models featured a standard two-stroke gas engine, fixed transmission (although later models corrected this by featuring a belt drive). Interestingly, the design was so basic that to put it in reverse one simply had to adjust the on-board sparkplug (although their simplicity endeared them to crews, some of which preferred the older models over newer ones). Because crews enjoyed the older designs Fairmont continued to produce them, such as the M-9 model, which was one of the oldest designs the company manufactured for years. Later models featured a four-stroke engine and varied in size to accommodate needed crew space, some of which held anywhere between 4 to 6 individuals. One of Fairmont's unique models was the FT, which featured an air-cooled (instead of the traditional water-cooled models), opposed-piston engine and featured amenities like heat, cushioned seats and a totally enclosed cab. Overall, Fairmont's models did not change much over the years and stayed mostly the same save for their crew size and amenities with most models able to cruise down the tracks between 25 and 40 mph. When railroad speeders became a stable of a railroad's maintenance department they were ideal for crews to inspect track while rolling along or transport them to a desired location (and in some cases spot for a trailing train if the line was poorly maintained or prone to rock/mudslides). However, as highways, roads, and automobiles became better constructed railroads now had the versatility to use utility trucks and cars (which could carry much more equipment and tools than a speeder) to not only drive to a location but also come equipped with rail wheels (known as Hyrails) to inspect the line."

The post card was published through the efforts of a team. The photographer was Morgan B. Turney; the distributor was Railfan Canada (their post card number 20) and the publisher was North Kildonan Publications. They are still around. Here is their website: http://www.cdnrwymod.com/body.htm

The Rockies by Daylight

I was combing through my oversized post card album today and was inspired to post these cards into my blog; along with some

information:
Visiting the Canadian Rockies by train has been popular almost since the Canadian Transcontinental Road was completed. Sir William Van Horne, the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) said,"If we can't bring the mountains to the tourists, we will bring the tourists to the mountains". The tourists traveled by train from across Canada and the United States to see the beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

However, with the price of air flight becoming less expensive, many chose to fly to Canada and take the scenic part of the train route to and from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. This caused the CPR "Canadian" and the Canadian National Railway's "Super Continental" to sell out west of Calgary and Edmonton in the summer months. Travel agencies and tour operators started to book

blocks of sleeping car accommodation a year in advance. Even so, much potential business was turned away due to sold out long distance trains. Via Rail - the new Canadian passenger service was receiving complaints both from its regular customers who couldn't get on the trains in the summer months due to tourist travel, and from the tour operators who couldn't get space

for their organized tours. Another complaint about the long distance trains was that on either the CPR or CNR route, much spectacular scenery went by during the night. For the railways, this was a dilemma because in order to serve the prairie cities and the end points in eastern Canada during daylight hours, trains had

to cross British Columbia and Alberta in the evening. In 1988, Via decided to experiment with a seasonal daylight train from Vancouver to Calgary and from Vancouver to Jasper. This train was marketed through the travel industry, who also arranged overnight accommodations in Kamloops. Cars from the former "Blue Fleet" of ex-CNR coaches and "day-niter" coaches were used, with galleys to serve chilled breakfasts and lunches airline style.

For four summers in a row I attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana from my home in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In 1988 and 1989 I flew from Chicago to Vancouver instead of to Edmonton. In 1988 I caught a train from Vancouver to Calgary and in '89 from Vancouver to Jasper, Alberta. Each train was part of a tourist train called "The Rockies by Daylight". I was under the impression that the trains were operated by VIA Rail Canada. My post cards are telling me that they were actually operated by a private company.

The Via train 101/102 Vancouver/Banff/Calgary and 103/104 Vancouver/Jasper were a success in the 1988 season, and the operation was extended into the 1989 season with more cars available and with a new name "Rocky Mountaineer". In the summer of 1989, the Canadian Government announced massive cuts to the Via Rail passenger train network. The "Rocky Mountaineer" was one of the services slated for discontinuance. Peter Armstrong, a travel agent and tour operator offered to operate the "Rocky Mountaineer" as a private enterprise and was granted the opportunity to do so. He set up a private corporation to operate the "Rocky Mountaineer" and persuaded several friends to invest their life savings. They very nearly lost everything, as the train did not turn a profit for three years. Then this happened:

The following is taken from their official website: https://www.rockymountaineer.com/about-us/history
Since its inception in 1990, Rocky Mountaineer, the British Columbia based, family owned business, has grown to become the largest privately owned luxury tourist train company in the world and has welcomed nearly 2 million guests onboard. While Armstrong Group, owners and operators of the award-winning Rocky Mountaineer, has a rich history rooted in success, the goal from day one remains the same: provide the most spectacular and unforgettable travel experiences in the world.

1990 All aboooard! The Rocky Mountaineer departs on the inaugural trip.
1991 Named one of the “World’s 20 Best Rail Experiences” by The International Railway Traveler magazine (same honour in 1998).
1995 Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service is launched.
1996 Sets the record for longest passenger train in Canadian history (37 cars).
1999 Sets new record for longest passenger train in Canadian history (41 cars).
2002 Welcomes our 500,000th guest and is recognized again by The International Railway Traveler magazine’s “10 Best Rail Experiences in the World”.
2003 Featured on BBC Television, “50 Things To Do Before You Die”.
2005 Wins the prestigious “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” at 2005 World Travel Awards (earns the same honour in 2006 and 2007).
Named as “One of the Great Train Rides in the World”, by Outside magazine.
Named one of “The World’s Top 25 Trains” by The Society of International Railway Traveler (earns the same honour in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009).
2006 Launches two new routes: Whistler Sea to Sky Climb (Vancouver to Whistler) and Rainforest to Gold Rush (Whistler to Jasper).
2007 Wins Tourism British Columbia’s “Foresight Sustainability Award” for leadership and advocacy of sustainable tourism.
Named one of the “World’s Greatest Trips” by National Geographic.
2008 Welcomes aboard our one millionth guest!
2009 ABC’s hit reality TV series, The Bachelorette, showcased the Rocky Mountaineer on a four-day journey.
Voted #1 on the Society of American Travel Writers Top Ten List of the most scenic and exciting train experiences in the world.
Rocky Mountaineer has been honoured with a World Travel Award in the category of “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” for the fourth year.
2010 Launches its iconic brand with a completely new look. From the logo, website and route names to a sleek new paint job for the rail cars, this fresh new look continues across the entire company.
Proudly accepts the World Travel Award’s “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” for the fifth time ,and new honour, “World’s Leading Luxury Travel Product of the Year.”
Receives two prestigious marketing awards: Marketer of the Year Award from the BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association and British Columbia’s Tourism Award for Best Tourism Marketing Campaign.
Ranks #5 on Reader’s Digest’s list of “World’s 10 Best Train Journeys.”
Listed as one of the “Top 10 North American Train Trips” by National Geographic.
2011 Rocky Mountaineer proudly accepts its sixth World Travel Award as "World's Leading Travel Experience by Train" and is listed as one of the "Top 5 trains in the world," by Conde Nast Traveler and by Travel + Leisure magazine Western Living as one of the "Best Life-Changing Trips" and among the "Top 5 Trains in the World."
Recieves Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards for "Best Rail Vacation" and UK Travel Agents Choice Awards for "Long-haul Rail Operator of the Year."
2012 Launches its newest and third level of service, SilverLeaf Service on the First Passage to the West route. Also begins running its bi-level dome cars on the Whistler Sea to Sky Climb for a limited time in the 2012 season.
2013 Launches its new Coastal Passage route, connecting Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, BC to the Canadian Rockies. After successfully launching SilverLeaf Service on the First Passage to the West route in 2012, Rocky Mountaineer adds this new level of service to its Journey through the Clouds route.
New destination, Lake Louise, AB is offered on Rocky Mountaineer's First Passage to the West route.
New annual corporate giving program, Life-Changing Train for Heroes is launched. The program celebrates wounded soldiers/veterans.
2014 Coastal Passage, Rocky Mountaineer's newest route offer 24 departures.
SilverLeaf Service is offerd on three routes, First Passage to the West, Journey through the Clouds and Coastal Passage.
2015 Rocky Mountaineer celebrates its 25th Anniversary. The company has grown to be the largest privately owned luxury tourism train company in the world.
2016 The Rainforest to Gold Rush route becomes a three day journey, with overnight stops in Whistler, Quesnel and Jasper.

Preserving History

These two post cards show what the diesel engine number 9000 looks like today.

The photo here is by Laaysell Studios and the post card was made by Dexter Colour out of Cornwall, Ontario.

This post card came from STEAMSCENES in West Vancouver, Canada. They used a photo by Nils Huxtable.


Number 9000 is worthy of preservation because it was the first production road freight locomotive built for a Canadian railway. The Canadian National Railway (CNR) had used diesels for about 20 years before they ordered this one; but, these other diesels were always used in yards for shunting around cars. This locomotive was intended to be used for regular road freight service. During World War II it was loaned to the Canadian government. It was clad in armour and used along the West Coast of Canada. Once the war was over it was returned to the CNR which reconditioned the locomotive so that it could be used in regular passenger service. Several of these post cards are pictures of the locomotive pulling "The Super Continental" passenger train through the Rockies, no doubt.

The locomotive has had a bit of an identity crisis over its years. It was built in May of 1948 as an F3A class, V-1-a by EMD.
It was later reclassified as a V-1-A-a in January of 1950 and once again reclassified in September of 1954 as a GFA-15a. This post card, showing the 9000 as in freight service, was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario.


After seeing 33 years of service on the CN mainlines, it was retired on October 8, 1971 after traveling over 4.1 million kilometers (2.6 million miles). It was donated by CNR to the Alberta Pioneer Railway Association in November of 1971.

It is currently being kept and used at the Alberta Pioneer Railway Museum in the northeast of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. The association of volunteers restored the locomotive (there were some major challenges). It was ready for service, after being painted in the CNR freight colours, in 1996, just in time to "star" in the move "In Cold Blood". No one has taken credit for the photo or printing of this post card above or the one just below, but they both do say,"Made in Canada".

This post card was prduced from Natural Color transparency. Published and copyrighted by Smith Lithograph Co. Limited, Vancouver, Canada. It was distributed by Harry Rowed, O'Neill and Associates Ltd, out of Jasper, Alberta in Canada. The printed date on it is 1958.

Not Quite Twins

The two trains pictured on these post cards are both part of Canadian National Railways’ (CNR) flagship the Super Continental.

It was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated by the CNR from 1955 until 1977. Via Rail took over the train in 1977 and operated it until the train was cancelled in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990. The original CNR train had a Montreal–Ottawa–Toronto-Winnipeg–Saskatoon–Edmonton–Jasper–Vancouver routing with daily service.

CNR waited until April 24, 1955, to introduce its new transcontinental flagship to replace its former flagship, the Continental Limited; this was the same date that competitor Canadian Pacific Railway introduced its new streamlined transcontinental train The Canadian. The two routes competed with each other until 1990 when Via Rail cancelled the Continental Limited. The Super Continental route was advertised as the longest single run of a diesel locomotive powered train in North America without changing locomotives. Even though Canadian National Railways had not yet completely switched from steam to diesel power, the Super Continental was always hauled by a variety of diesel locomotives, including Montreal Locomotive Works FP-2s and FP-4s. I have written about the AFP-4s in the last few posts.

On the backs of the post cards it mentions that these trains are part of Canadian National Railways’ “Super Continental”. Notice that they say Canadian National Railways (possessive). That was the official name of CNR until they dropped the final “s” in 1960. CNR started because the Canadian government amalgamated several struggling regional railways into one large corporation back in the early twentieth century. That is why it was called the Canadian National Railways with and “s” at the end. This fact tells me that both of these post cards were published in the 1950s. The bottom post card was printed and published by Smith Lithograph Company, Ltd. out of Vancouver. It was distributed by Harry Rowed, O’Neill and Associates out of Jasper, Alberta. This post card has a date of 1958 in the bottom right hand corner. The first post card simply informs us that this is the “Super Continental” in the Fraser Valley, near Hope, British Columbia and that it was printed in Canada. Even though they do look so similar, I am not sure that they are the same photograph.

The train in the second picture is shorter than the first. However, the snow in the mountains in both pictures is the same. It is possible that the top one is the original and someone removed the spectator in the white shirt and took off a couple of cars before reprinting it. If that is the case, the second publisher copyrighted the picture. There is no indication of a copyright on the top one. On the other hand, I could be completely wrong. The back of the top card still reminds us that the message goes on the left side and the address goes on the right-hand side of the post card. This could be left over from when they started to allow both items on the same side of the card. Although, that did happen back in 1907.

Another Unique Locomotive (sort of)

The train on the front of this post card shows the “Rapido” passing through Dorian, Quebec on October 15, 1972. On the open track the “Rapido” will speed along at 90 miles per hour. This is Canadian National Railway’s train number 61. It is being pulled by a sister locomotive to the one that I wrote about last week. It is another FPA-4. The following was taken from this website; it is a series of newletters published by: Canadian Rail_no171_1965 - Exporail.org On the Montreal - Toronto line, the abolition of the "pool" was the signal for CN to take up the speed war where it was left off in 1932. Spearheaded by re-geared GM diesel units, instead of high-wheeled Hudsons, the "Rapido" was inaugurated by the Mayors of its terminal cities over closed-circuit TV with high CN officials in attendance. Champagne bottles were broken over the locomotive fronts (what a waste) and corsages were given to the passengers, along with other souvenirs, free photographs, menus, etc. The first "Rapido" trains consisted of three diesel units, three coaches, one dining car and two parlor cars, the latter having 2-and-l reclining seats. First and last cars carried the word "Rapido" in black on the white lower panel. The trains are scheduled in 4 hours, 59 minutes, with two brief stops to change engine crews at Brockville & Belleville Yard.

The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs out of Earlton, New York. The photo credit goes to Carl H Sturner.

Talk About Different!

The locomotive on the front of this post card is extremely unique. It is an FPA-4. What makes it unique is that this is a Canadian National Railway (CNR) locomotive and the FPA-4s were built exclusively for the CNR. It is pulling a train on a route that no longer operates.

This was part of a weekend service between Toronto and North Bay, Ontario. The route is 350 miles long. Today, VIA Rail operates passenger services in Canada and they no longer make this run. One must to to Sudbury and hope to make some sort of connection using other transportation to get to North Bay. A part of this train is a bullet-end observation car built in 1937 for Reading Railroad’s “Crusader”. It was then given to the CNR for their luxurious “Champlain” route between Montreal and Quebec City. This picture was taken in August of 1977. The information below was taken from this website: https://www.pwrs.ca/view_product.php?ProductID=157278 In 1940, General Electric (GE) and American Locomotive Co. (Alco) concluded a sales and marketing agreement to manufacture diesel locomotives under the Alco-GE label. While World War Two prevented immediate building, the Alco-GE planning efforts continued. In the 1940s, EMD's (General Motors’ locomotive division) success with their "FT" freight diesels drove Alco to develop their own streamlined freight locomotives. These diesels were developed around Alco's new turbo-charged "244" prime mover, GE electrical systems and AAR type B trucks. As a result, the first FA/FB set was delivered to the Gulf Mobile &Ohio Railroad in 1946. The 1500-h.p. FA1s and FB1s sold quickly, and were succeeded in 1950 by the up-powered FA2s and FB2s. Also in 1946, Alco delivered their first streamlined passenger diesels to the Santa Fe. These 2000 h.p. units in cab/booster configuration were later designated the PA/PB-1 type. Upgrades in 1950 resulted in the PA/PB-2 type. Some units were later rebuilt and popularly called PA/PB-4s. In 1950, Alco upgraded their specifications to DL-212 (cab) and DL-213 (booster). Since these units were designed for dual freight/passenger service. To accommodate steam generators, both units were lengthened, cabs to 53'6" and boosters to 52'8". These units were rated at 1500 h.p. The cab units were 51'6" long and the boosters were 50'6" long, leaving no room for steam generator equipment. All DL-208/209 units went to the Gulf Mobile & Ohio. Units built to later specifications (DL-208A/209A, DL-208B/209B and DL-208C/209C) were more widely distributed. Units with steam generators installed were designated FPA-2 and FPB-2. In 1951 through 1953, the Montreal Locomotive Works produced FA-2s and FB-2s under Alco specifications ME1600FA and ME1600FB. These were produced for Canadian National Railways and Canadian Pacific Railway in 1951-1953. Alco FA-2s and FB-2s built with steam generators installed were designated FPA-2 and FPB-2. Only the Missouri Pacific and some Mexican railroads had FP models built at the Schenectady plant. All other FPs were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works produced FA-2s and FB-2s under Alco specifications ME1600FA and ME1600FB. These were produced for Canadian National Railways, Canadian Pacific Railway, and National de Mexico in 1953-1955. Montreal Locomotive Works also produced the FPA-4 and FPB-4, under Alco specifications DL218 and DL219. Not only were the engines uprated to 1600 h.p., car bodies were stretched to 54'0" (cab) and 53'2" (booster). The locomotive on the front of this post card is one of those locomotives. They were produced exclusively for the CNR.

The post card was published by JBC Visuals out of Totonto. The photo credit is given to Ted Wickson.

The Pagwa Cannonball

The very short train pictured on the front of this post card is part of the history of trains that served a very sparsely populated area of northern Ontario. The information below was taken directly from this website: http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/Pinetreeline/other/other29/other29ap.html In 1912, a bridge was built across the Pagwa River by the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), then under construction between Moncton, New Brunswick, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Pagwachuan River was 1,233.6 miles from Moncton. The railway selected a site 2.3 miles west of the river for Pagwa station. The station site consisted of a large, two-storey station, a section house and a tool shed.

Stations on the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) were located seven to 10 miles apart. All track maintenance in the early days of the 1900s was done by hand by section crews and short sections were the norm. Every fourth or fifth section also had a water tank for steam locomotive service. The nearest water tank to Pagwa was at Savoff, to the east. The NTR was Canada's third transcontinental railway. It developed out of political controversy and ultimately helped bring about the defeat of the Laurier Liberal government in 1911. The Borden Conservative government replaced the Liberals. The Conservatives opposed building of this railway, but allowed work to proceed to completion. The government did scrap the four-man commission that guided construction of the NTR and replaced it with a one-man commission, RW Leonard. It is significant that the year in which he became the commission, 1912, is also the date that is inscribed in concrete abutments of the Pagwa River bridge. Canadian Pacific, and later Canadian Northern, were the two transcontinental railways preceding the NTR. But only the NTR ran through Northern Quebec and Northern Ontario, and it was considered a development road. Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was general contractor for the NTR, with funding provided by the federal government. The NTR was to run from Moncton to Winnipeg. The Grand Trunk was to build the remainder of the railway from Winnipeg to the Pacific Ocean. It is significant that it cost $166 million to build the NTR from Moncton to Winnipeg, and only $144 million to build the railway from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, the Pacific terminus, which included crossing the Rockies. Muskeg in Quebec and Ontario was a bigger challenge than granite. Construction of the NTR started in 1906 and ended in 1913. But the Grand Trunk Pacific refused to take over the NTR section, scared off no doubt by the high cost of construction. It had to repay the federal government at the rate of three per cent per year of the total construction cost. The NTR languished as a contractor's railway until 1915 when Canadian Government Railways assumed operational control. Scheduled trains began to operate in that year. By 1923, Canadian National Railway Company was formed and it inherited the NTR, the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern as well as other small roads. Regarding the locomotive that is pictured on the post card, the following was taken directly from this website: https://www.american-rails.com/19486.html The EMD SW1200 began production in January, 1954.

The 12-cylinder engine could produce a hefty 1,200 horsepower, which apparently is something many very much liked as EMD's higher-horsepower small switchers tended to sell much better (similar higher horsepower models offered by Baldwin, the American Locomotive Company, and Fairbanks Morse also tended to sell much better). Using General Motors' newer model D37B traction motor the SW1200 could produce a respectable 36,000 pounds of continuous tractive effort (its starting tractive effort was the most offered of any EMD switcher up to that time, 74,000 pounds) and overall weighed just over 122-tons. Sales for the EMD SW1200 quickly took off and with the builder's reputation at the time for being the best manufacturer of diesel locomotives sales remained steady through the 1950s and into the 1960s. Just as with other SW series models, numerous Class Is, shortlines, and private industries purchased the switcher since they could be used in all types of applications from light branch line work to industrial duties. However, what allowed the model to sell so well was its 1,200 horsepower rating, giving many railroads the versatility to use it pulling heavier freight trains. Production on the switcher continued through May, 1966 and when the last unit was outshopped some 1,056 units in total had been produced, which included 287 models built by General Motors Diesel of London, Ontario. It was the most purchased EMD switcher for industries as its power and agility made it ideal in such settings.

The photo credit goes to Bill Linley; it was taken in July of 1983. The post card was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario.

Still "Chugging" Along after All These Years

The train featured on the front of this post card is called “Ocean Limited”.

At the time of this photograph it was being operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR). The route followed by the “Ocean Limited” was pioneered by the Intercolonial Railway Company. I wrote about this railway back in February of 2021. This route was created by the railway to add another train to the already popular “Maritime Express”. It started on July 3, 1904 as a summer run only service with a limited number of stops between Halifax and Montreal. However, the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway were sponsoring and bringing over immigrants to settle the western parts of Canada. As immigration to Canada increased (Halifax being a major port for receiving immigrants) the passenger service of the “Ocean Limited” also increased. During the two World Wars, this route was used to support troops and supplies as they were transported to Halifax for movement to Europe. By 1966, the “Ocean Limited” had been renamed to “The Ocean”, while maintaining the same schedule and train numbers. Today, this train is no longer operated by the CNR but by VIA Rail. It is the oldest continuously operating, named passenger train in North America. The route is 1,346 kilometers (800 miles) long and it takes one day and one night to complete. This is the description that VIA Rail printed in its brochure to market “The Ocean”: Imagine departing Montréal just as dusk is falling, shrouding the city skyline as you pull through the Montérégie Hills, distant lights marking the small towns you pass by on your journey east. As dawn breaks, the train descends the coast of Baie-des-Chaleurs, and soon you’ll be in Moncton and then Halifax, where your Maritime adventure continues. It adds, in the brochure, that during the Summer they have programming included in the trip like “Fascinating presentations on local history, culture and much more enliven and enrich your Maritime experience.” You can also “Stay connected [with their] Free Wi-Fi, power outlets and cell phone use at any time.” “The Ocean” also makes “Convenient connections …Take advantage of convenient ferry and bus connections to Saint John’s and Prince Edward Island.”

The post card was published by Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc. Mary Jayne is a wonderful person. I wrote to her and told her about my post card collection; I asked if it was possible to get a printed copy of the index to all of her post cards. I truly expected to have to pay something for the effort of her having to print and mail the list to me. I received a very kind letter in the mail with the list. She said that since I was asking (and not demanding like so many others did) she was sending it to me for free. I still have that list and refer to it whenever I get a new Mary Jaynes' Railroad Specialties, Inc. post card.

That list tells me that this post card was published on December 14, 1985. It is the number in the box that indicates where to add the postage stamp that leads me to the publishing details on her post cards. Thank you Mary Jayne, and God bless you.

Gone, but Not Forgotten (It is in my "backyard")

The picture on the front of this post card shows what the diesel engine number 9000 looks like with a similarly painted B unit as it hauls freight out of Oshawa, Ontario on April 3, 1953. The locomotive

has had a bit of an identity crisis over its years. It was built in May of 1948 as an F3A class, V-1-a by EMD. It was later reclassified as a V-1-A-a in January of 1950 and once again reclassified in September of 1954 as a GFA-15a. After seeing 33 years of service on the Canadian National Railway (CNR) mainlines, it was retired on October 8, 1971. The locomotive travelled over 4.1 million kilometers (2.6 million miles) during its time in service. The CNR had used diesels for about 20 years before they ordered this one; but, these other diesels were always used in yards for shunting around cars. This locomotive was intended to be used for regular road freight service. Number 9000 is worthy of preservation because it was the first production road freight locomotive built for a Canadian railway. It was donated by CNR to the Alberta Pioneer Railway Association in November of 1971. It is currently being kept and used at the Alberta Pioneer Railway Museum in the northeast of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. The association of volunteers restores train-related memorabilia (including Number 9000). It was ready for service, after being painted in the CNR freight colours, in 1996, just in time to "star" in the move "In Cold Blood".

The photo on the front is credited to J. Wm. Hood. It was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario. I can find nothing about the history of the JBC Visuals Company.

And You Thought that the Yukon Was Cold

The caption on the back of this post card tells us that these are railway workers clearing snow in February of 1869. They are doing this at the Grand Trunk Railway’s station located in Levis, Quebec, Canada. You can see that it was quite the snow fall!! The men in the background are much higher than those standing in front of the 4 engines. It looks like all four of the locomotives are what the Whyte Notation of engines calls the American. The wheel configuration is 4 – 4 – 0.

The railroad on which they are working was not always the Grand Trunk Railway. It started out as the Intercolonial Railway in 1872 (the first run was in November of this year). Its purpose was to connect Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Although the plans for the railway existed since the 1830s, it was not until the confederation of Canada in 1867 that it actually began in earnest. Sandford Fleming issued his report on the best intercolonial rail routes. He proposed three lines, but argued for what he called the Chaleur Bay route. He argued that it would be the most economically viable. It would join the manufacturing centres of Montréal, Kingston and Toronto to maritime towns and ports, pass through New Brunswick lumber and fishing towns, and Nova Scotia coal mining and shipbuilding communities. In July of 1876, the railway was declared to be completed. This completed the line from Québec, through the rail hub at Moncton, to the Bay of Fundy and then through Truro to Halifax. The 1,100 km line was a technical marvel that used the latest technology and construction methods to keep the rail lines straight and level and with nearly all bridges made not of wood, as was the custom of the day, but the far safer and more durable iron. In 1919, the Intercolonial Railway was included in the amalgamation that developed into the Canadian National Railways Company. The station, which is not pictured on this post card; it is behind the photographer, is a two-storey, stone railway station building located on the east (town) side of CN railway tracks that historically ran along the east bank of the St. Lawrence River. The Lévis Railway Station (Intercolonial) was commemorated in 1976 as the effective terminus of the Intercolonial Railway from Halifax. The heritage value of this site resides in its association with the historic Intercolonial Railway illustrated by its physical survival from the nineteenth century. The Intercolonial Railway, originally built between Halifax and Rivière-du-Loup (1867), extended its main line to end at Lévis in 1879 by the purchase of the Charny/Rivière-du-Loup line constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway between 1854 and 1860. In 1884 the Intercolonial Railway extensively remodelled the Lauzon town hall/market (1864) in Lévis to serve as its station. In the years that followed, the Grand Trunk Railway and the Québec Central Railway also used terminal facilities in the building. Key elements that contribute to the heritage character of the site include: the rectangular massing of the two-storey building under a hipped roof with hipped roof dormers on either side; regularly spaced, segmentally arched windows; the station’s simple classical details; the few details of the original town hall/market building still visible on the ground floor (footprint, openings and their alignment), craftsmanship and materials of the original stone exterior walls; the siting, immediately beside the former tracks and set back from the public road by an open space; the date stone ''1864", originally positioned on the façade, mounted in a commemorative monument.

The post card was copyrighted in 1999 by Kindred Canada. I went onto the internet to see what I could find about Kindred Canada today. What I found was either Kindred Sinkware, which I figured was not the correct website, or Kindred Canada, which was announcing a deal about distributing canabis. Neither of these two fit the parameters I was looking for. Kindred Canada, evidently, WAS a company in Brooks, Alberta back then; it no longer exists. The publisher of the post card must have wrapped up business. However, on the bright side, the back of the post card does tell us that the photographer was Alexander Henderson and that the photo was provided to the printer by the National Archives of Canada.

Crossing Canada by Railway

The image on the front of this postcard shows the Transcontinental Limited train on the Canadian National mainline at Lucerne, British Columbia.

Lucerne sits 1,158 meters (3,800 feet) above sea level in the Canadian Rockies. It is west of Jasper, Alberta near the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson.

I searched the internet to see what I could find about the Transcontinental Limited train, and all I could find was that it was replaced on April 24, 1955, by Canadian National's new transcontinental flagship Super Continental. It mentions that this was the same date that competitor Canadian Pacific Railway introduced its new streamlined transcontinental train The Canadian.

Gowen & Sutton, the name on the back of the post card, were publishers of

real photo and printed postcards of the Canadian West. Not only did they produce cards depicting large cities, they captured many hard to reach views within the Canadian Territories. Many of their cards were hand tinted in a simple manner striving for style rather than realism, which created cards in vastly differing quality. While the real photo cards were made in Canada their printed cards were made in England. They were in business from 1921 to 1960 in Vancouver.

Foreshadowing the Future

There is no train on this post card; at least, I can’t see one. But it is a picture of a gigantic celebration of an event involving a train. This is the inauguration of the first train coming into Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This was an event worthy of celebrating. Since 1891, Edmonton’s neighbouring city to the south, Strathcona, had had its own train station and the end of the train line. The Calgary & Edmonton Railway had been stopping in Strathcona, on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River for over 10 years.

It wasn’t until 1902 that a train actually entered into Edmonton. This train was owned by the Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific. It was simply a connecting railway between the C & E Railway and the city of Edmonton. The route went down what is now the Mill Creek Ravine's walking and bicycling path and went across the Low Level Bridge into Edmonton. My last blog had some information about the train and the Low Level Bridge.

Three years later, on November 24, 1905 the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) entered Edmonton from the east. That is what they are celebrating on the front of this post card. The entrance of the CNoR into Edmonton.

This post card is foreshadowing the future because the call letters they are using for the Canadian Northern Railway are CNR, of which the CNoR will eventually become a part.

The CNoR eventually owned a transcontinental line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Edmonton. It began as a consolidation of several branch lines around the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) in Manitoba. Two men purchased the shares of all of these lines and established the CNoR in 1899. CNoR's first step toward competing directly with CPR came at the start of the 20th century with the decision to build a line linking the Prairie Provinces with Lake Superior at the harbour in Port Arthur-Fort William (what we know today as Thunder Bay, Ontario) which would permit the shipping of western grain to European markets as well as the transport of eastern Canadian goods to the West. The last spike of the CNoR transcontinental railway was driven January 23, 1915, at Basque, British Columbia.

Unfortunately, along with several other railway lines, the CNoR came upon hard financial times. At first it was absorbed into the Canadian Government Railways (1918) and then into the railway, which is today called the Canadian National Railway in 1923.

This post card was mailed on May 22, 1907 – that makes the card over 106 years old - about a year and half after the celebration depicted on the front of the post card. It was published by the Edmonton Music Company and, like many cards of this time, it was printed in Germany. The message on the back is from a brother to his sister:
“Dear Sister, I guess you will be surprised to hear of me being up here. Will write in a day or so and give you all the news. As ever, your Loving Bro.”

Two Jasper Greats!

These two steam engines are both parked in the exact same location: they are on static display in Jasper, Alberta, Canada. The top post card is of the Canadian National Railway’s (CNR) 6060 and the bottom one is of the CNR’s 6015. They can both be in the same location because they were not there at the same time. The top post card, of the 6060, is older than the bottom post card. The 6060 was the very first of the U-1-f class locomotives. The wheel arrangement is 4-8-2. It was built in 1943. This was a time when iron and steel were at a premium because of the need during World War II. Therefore, this series of locomotives were built using less of those materials making them lighter (20 tons lighter than their predecessors). The result was a great performing class of steam engines that lasted longer between maintenance stops and could travel at higher speeds.

The 6060 was retired in 1959 and in 1962 set out on static display in Jasper, Alberta, an end point on the Edson Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway (Edmonton being at the other end 237.5 miles away).

But, that was not the end of the 6060’s life! It was a short ten years later that the CNR resurrected and restored the engine for passenger excursions around Toronto, Ontario. In 1980 the 6060 was presented as a gift to the people of Alberta to commemorate the province’s 75th anniversary. It is currently being cared for by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society. You can get to their website at www.6060.org

Some statistics of the 6060: Length with tender – 93 feet; Height – 15 feet 1½ inches; Diameter of drivers – 73 inches; Tractive effort – 52, 500 pounds with no booster. The cylinders are 24 inches in diameter with a stroke of 28 inches and the boiler pressure is 260 psi.

When the CNR removed the 6060 from Jasper, they replaced it with the 6015. It was built in1924 soon after the birth of the CNR by the Canadian Locomotive Company. It is classified as a U-1-a locomotive. It, too, has a wheel arrangement of 4-8-2; it is part of the first series of 16 Mountain type locomotives built to supply badly needed power. There were 21 locomotives built in 1924 – 25 as the second batch of motive power order by CNR. Five more were ordered in 1929 – 30 from the Canadian Locomotive Company and twelve were ordered from the Montreal Locomotive Works in the same time frame. The order for 20 more from the Montreal Locomotive Works was delivered in 1944. The 6060, above, was one of these.

Some statistics of the 6015: Length with tender – 90 feet 4 ¼ inches; Height – 15 feet 3 inches; Diameter of drivers – 73 inches; Tractive effort – 49, 590 pounds. The cylinders are 26 inches in diameter with a stroke of 30 inches and the boiler pressure is 210 psi.

Now about the publishers:

The top card was published by Harry Rowed, O’Neill and Associates, Ltd. Harry Rowed began his photographic career in Jasper in the late 1930's. Long leather bellows and a hood over the camera and his head; he captured the essence of what it is to be out in the mountains. He started a photography shop which flourished through the years. He took on a partner, Ray O'Neil, to handle the day to day "people" assignments so that he could continue his quest to capture the beauty of the mountains. For years, the team of Rowed and O'Neil produced the magnificent postcards and prints that drew tourists to the area. As the years wore on, Harry retired. The business passed to his partner, Ray O'Neil, and it continued under the name Rowed & O'Neil until the early eighties when the business of keeping alive the incredible work done by both of these men passed to Keith Allen. The card was printed in Canada by the Grant Mann Lithographers from Vancouver, British Columbia. The bottom card was published (distributed) by Alberta Color Productions, in Edmonton, Alberta. It was printed by Dexter Colour Canada. Thomas A. Dexter began Dexter Press, a one-man shop in Pearl River, New York, in 1920. With the production of the very first natural color post card in 1932, Tom Dexter established a tradition of innovation and craftsmanship that would be associated with the Dexter name for years to come. During that same time period, the Burney brothers, located in Aurora, Missouri, were quickly becoming one of the largest road map printers in the country. From their Midwest Map Company grew MWM Color Press. As with Dexter Press, MWM Color Press emphasized a commitment to excellence in printing. In 1980, the two companies combined forces to create MWM Dexter.

The Northern Alberta Railroad

The picture on the front of this post card was taken just over a year before the Northern Alberta Railway was purchased by the Canadian National Railway... ...and one month before the line was completely dieselized.

On June 6, 1919 the federal government of Canada incorporated several bankrupt or near bankrupt railroads into what is today known as the Canadian National Railway (CNR). As time passed more railroads were added to the CNR. One of those (in 1989) was the Northern Alberta Railways.

The Northern Alberta Railways (NAR) came into being in 1929. The NAR was an amalgamation of four railways, the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia (ED&BC). the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway (A&GW), the Canada Central Railway (CCR) and the Pembina Valley Railway (PVR) all having the proverbial financial challenges that faced so many of the early railroads.

In the 1920s, the lines ED&BC, A&GW, and CCR, along with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) and Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) had fallen victim to poor financial health inflicted by the financial strain of costs of World War I and falling traffic levels.

Following the federal example mentioned above, and in an attempt to preserve rail service to northern and northwestern Alberta, the provincial government leased the ED&BC and CCR in 1920 for five years. In 1921 the provincial government purchased the A&GW. It also entered into a five-year agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to operate the ED&BC and CCR.

The provincial government purchased the ED&BC and CCR in 1925, following the expiration of the five-year lease. Dissatisfied with the CPR's operation of the ED&BC and CCR, the provincial government allowed the operating contract for the these railways to expire in 1926, with operations subsequently taken over by the new provincial Department of Railways and Telecommunications, which was also tasked to operate the AG&W and the newly-built Pembina Valley Railway (PVR).

In 1928 the provincial government grouped the ED&BC, CCR, AG&W, and PVR under the collective name Northern Alberta Railways, which received a federal charter in March of 1929. The NAR was subsequently sold to both the CNR and CPR in equal portions with both companies agreeing to maintain the NAR as a joint subsidiary. At that time, the NAR was the third-largest railway in Canada. In 1937 the NAR began to show a profit for the first time.

In summer 1942, following the entry of the United States into the Second World War, the Alaska Highway civil defense project resulted in tremendous growth for the NAR, as the system was the only railway to service Alaska Highway mile 0 at Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

NAR's locomotive fleet was completely dieselized by October 1960 with GP9s, and GMD1s. NAR also purchased two Canadian National GMD1s in January 1962. A final locomotive purchase was made in December 1975 for SD38-2s.
On January 1, 1981, Canadian National Railways bought out CPR's share in the NAR system and incorporated these lines into the CN network, allowing CN to operate unhindered in northern Alberta.

This post card was printed by Dexter Colour Canada and published by JBC Visuals.

Thomas A. Dexter began Dexter Press, a one-man shop in Pearl River, New York, in 1920. With the production of the very first natural color post card in 1932, Tom Dexter established a tradition of innovation and craftsmanship that would be associated with the Dexter name for years to come. While all the photochromes printed by Dexter boor the words Genuine Natural Color they went through a variety of phases. Their early photochromes went under the name Dextone and tended to be flat and somewhat dull in appearance. As years went by their optical blending techniques improved producing richer and more varied colors. I do not know when they entered into business in Canada. I do know that their business contact is as follows: Dexter Colour Canada, 384 Neptune Crescent, London, Ontario N6M 1A1 Phone: (519) 457-2605

JBC Visuals: My guess is that they no longer exist. When I type into the web searcher their name and address (Box 5736, Station "A", Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P2) I come up empty.

What Goes Up, Must Come Down!

Finally!! A train that is not going up the Kicking Horse Canyon, but down! This is a Byron Harmon post card - the words at the bottom blend into the white foreground very well. But, I can read that he has written, "966. Lower Spiral Tunnel" onto the picture.

The engine that we are looking at is carrying a train about 3,000 feet long. The Lower Spiral Tunnel is just short of 1,000 yards long and this train is sticking out on both ends of the tunnel.(P.S. Notice that observation car at the back of train, again.) This is one strong steam engine. It is a Selkirk. It was built to do exactly what it is pictured here doing. They ran trains from Taft, British Columbia to Calgary, Alberta. I picked up the following information from the Wikipedia website.

The Selkirk locomotives were 36 steam locomotives of the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement built for Canadian Pacific Railway by Montreal Locomotive Works, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were named after the Selkirk range of mountains that they crossed.

The first of these was built in July 1929. Altogether, twenty were constructed before the end of this year bearing numbers 5900 to 5919. All of the Selkirk locomotives (5900 through 5935) were initially assigned to handle both freight as well as passenger trains between the major division points of Calgary and Revelstoke a distance of 262 miles. They were also used for 23 miles in pusher service from Revelstoke west (uphill) to the wye at Taft, assisting the road engines of both freight as well as passenger trains up the steep grade to this location. The Laggan Subdivision covered the Eastern portion of their assigned territory 137 miles and included the Field Hill and the famous Spiral Tunnels while the Western portion of their territory consisted of the Mountain Subdivision which covered the remaining 126 miles and included the famous Rogers Pass, the Connaught Tunnel and Stoney Creek Bridge. The grades encountered had a maximum of 2.2 per cent with curves of 12 degrees or 480 feet (150 m) radius. Rated at 78,000 pounds-force tractive effort, on the lesser grades they could haul 1,050 short tons unassisted and without the booster cut-in. The booster engine added an additional 12,000 pounds of tractive effort up to a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour. Due to their extreme weight, they could not proceed west of Taft to Vancouver.

The Canadian Pacific Railway's classification was T1a. Montreal Locomotive Works built another ten of these successful mountain locomotives during November and December 1938. The Canadian Pacific Railway assigned them T1b class. They were numbered from 5920 to 5929. Modifications led the T1b to be ten tons lighter while increasing steam pressure from 275 to 285 pounds per square inch. A further six Selkirks, classed T1c, were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works shop in 1949. They were the last standard gauge steam locomotives built in Canada for a Canadian railroad.

Staying with the Theme…

The theme is “Steam Engines Used by the Canadian Pacific Railway”. The engine pictured in this post card is known in Canada as a “Royal Hudson”. If you look carefully, you can see a crown on the front left of the engine, just above the steam cylinder attached to the running board. (You probably won’t be surprised to learn that these crowns became collectors’ items to the unscrupulous).

This post card belongs to the same series as the previous two. The picture of the engine was taken about 1957 while the engine was in Vancouver, British Columbia. Most of the information you will read below comes from the website: http://www.rrsites.com/royalhudson/ The term “Hudson” for a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement comes from the fact that the first steam engines to have the arrangement were made for the New York Central Railroad. Their main line in the state of New York travelled along the Hudson River; thus, the name Hudson for the engines. The New York Central had the largest fleet of 4-6-4s. The second largest fleet belonged to the Canadian Pacific Railway; they manufactured 65 of them in their Montreal Locomotive Works in Quebec beginning in 1929. The first few engines (Numbers 2800 to 2819) are referred to as “Standard Hudsons”; the rest (Number 2820 to 2864) are known as “Royal Hudsons”. The entire lot belongs to the H1 Class (from H1a to H1e) of steam locomotive. The cylinders are 22 by 30 inches; the Driving Wheels are 75 inches in diameter; the Boiler Pressure was capable of 275 pounds which was able to produce a Tractive Effort of 45,300 pounds.

All of the best features of North American locomotive design were incorporated into the Hudson. A real effort was made to give them really clean cut lines. The Hudson achieved great success as a high speed passenger locomotive, quickly making previous types obsolete. Her top speed was in excess of 90 mph! This cut down the time for cross country travel dramatically. The Canadian Pacific Railway used the Hudson for freight duties as well, making it a truly versatile locomotive. In 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (father and mother of the current Queen Elizabeth) crossed Canada by train, from Quebec to Vancouver. The train was provided jointly by the Canadian Pacific (CP) and Canadian National (CN) Railroads. Westbound it travelled over CP lines, while the return trip was over the CN. Hudson #2850 was given the honor of pulling the Royal Train to Vancouver. It was specially refinished in Royal Blue and aluminum, with a golden crown (the King's crown) at the front of each running board. CP Hudson #2851 was chosen to head the procession as a pilot train. It preceded the Royal train by exactly one hour, carrying the press and other officials. Both locomotives performed perfectly over the 3224 mile trip. After the trip, 2850 and 2851 were returned to their standard paint scheme. The CP applied for, and was granted, special permission to retain the crowns on the 2850, and to designate the Hudson as a "Royal" Hudson. Eventually, all of the Hudsons in the streamlined class (2820-2864) were fitted with crowns on their running boards and designated as Royal Hudsons.