Where did it go?

This is a real photo post card of something that no longer exists.

This website provides the most information I have found about what is on this post card: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=70443 The marker says, "Erected in honor of Sir James Hector K. C. M. C. Geologist and explorer to the Palliser Expedition of 1857 - 1860 by his friends in Canada, the United States & England. One of the earliest scientists to explore the Canadian Rocky Mountains. He discovered the Kicking Horse Pass through which the Canadian Pacific Railway now runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean." The marker is no longer there, but it was located near 51° 25.441′ N, 116° 10.748′ W. The Canadian Pacific Railway’s completion in 1885, along with the creation and promotion of Canada’s first national park, brought thousands of visitors to the Rockies and made it possible for mountaineers and explorers to venture out into the Great Divide area. Tales of their adventures spread far and wide, attracting attention to the area. By the end of the 19th century, the Canadian Pacific Railway responded to the growing interest in mountaineering in the Rockies by giving seasonal contracts to Swiss guides. They led mountaineers and tourists in explorations of the area. Meanwhile, to the north, tourism in the region was also gathering momentum with the establishment of Jasper National Park in 1907 and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway reaching Jasper in 1911. The post card was published by Gowan Sutton, Ltd in Vancouver, BC Canada. They were publisher 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 existed from 1921 to 1960. The marker was erected in 1926, so this makes sense to me.

A Tragedy with a Happy Ending!

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is a Pacific type (2-6-2 wheel arrangement) #1278. This website tells us about the history of the locomotive: https://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org/canadian-pacific-1278-4-6-2-the-unheralded-hero-of-modern-day-steam/ It was one of thirty, G-5d class engines built for Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) during 1948 at Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario (serial #2435). Their low-weight, 117-ton construction was perfect for light-rail and branch line duty on CP passenger and freight trains. These 4-6-2s had a perfect power-to-weight ratio and were known as “diggers” that dug in and ran as fast as engineers dared. The more you beat them, the hotter they got—800 degrees F steam heat going into the cylinders, so hot that sometimes their shiny piston rods turned blue! The balanced design of the G-5d had the advantage of a perfect ratio of crank position to small-ish, 70-inch driving wheels. That is important because of the increased number of power strokes per mile, compared with locos having larger drivers but less power. This G-5d steamer loved screaming uphill with 17-20 coaches and 1% grades. The #1278 was equipped with all modern devices of the day, including an Elesco 5-poppet front-end throttle, an Elesco feedwater heater and a mechanical stoker. Inside the firebox, new style button-head staybolts were used to affix the steel crown sheet. A big advantage was #1278’s small firebox with no large, expansive sheets, thus reducing thermal stresses because of limited strain due to less expansion and contraction. The G-5d locos had very strong fireboxes, but with generous grate areas and big ash pans. Like all of CP’s G-5d locos, #1278 had a slotted dry pipe and, therefore, needed no steam dome. They were easy to fire, easy to maintain, and strong as an ox! All G-5d Pacifics have all-weather aluminum cabs, but climb onto the engineer’s seat on a hot July day and you will soon learn that the poorly ventilated, hot, enclosed space is better suited to Canada’s cold winter weather. Along with CP 4-6-2 sisters #1246 and #1293, #1278 was purchased (in 1965) by F. Nelson Blount for use at his expanding Steamtown USA museum and Green Mountain tourist train operation in Bellows Falls, Vermont. This website tells us the history of Steamtown USA in Bellows Falls and its move to Pennsylvania. https://www.steamlocomotive.com/places/steamtownUSA/ Before there was Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA, there was Steamtown U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, VT. Steamtown U.S.A. was owned and operated by Nelson Blount and the Bellows Falls location was not the first. Mr. Blount bought the narrow gauge Edaville Railroad in South Carver, MA in 1955. His first standard gauge locomotive was the Boston & Maine 1455. As he began to collect other standard gauge steam locomotives, it became apparent that he would need a location serviced by standard gauge tracks. So, in 1960 Mr. Blount purchased a Boston & Maine rail yard in North Walpole, NH and moved all of his equipment there. In 1964 Nelson Blount obtained Rutland trackage rights between North Walpole, NH and Westmoreland, NH. Once again, Mr. Blount moved his steam collection from the Boston and Maine rail yard in North Walpole, NH to a new site roughly two miles north in Bellows Falls, VT. This latest location was at the former site of a proposed Rutland yard in Riverside, just north of North Walpole and Bellows Falls, VT. Tracks fanning out from a turntable provided an excellent place to display his collection of steam locomotives. Over the years, excursion trains were run out of four different locations: Sunapee, NH, Keene, NH, North Walpole, NH, and Bellows Valls, VT. Tragedy struck in 1967 when Nelson Blount was killed when his private plane crashed into a tree in Marlborough, NH. Nelson was only 49. This event took a lot of momentum out of Steamtown U.S.A. Most of the operational steam locomotives were either sold or fell into disrepair. Then, in 1970, Vermont passed air quality regulations which prohibited steam operations. Diesel locomotives were then used on Steamtown U.S.A. excursions and ridership fell dramatically. Despite the air quality regulations, the Steamtown Foundation again began operating with a steam locomotive. By 1983, Steamtown U.S.A. again had six operating steam locomotives. Despite the resurrection of steam locomotives, Steamtown U.S.A. was in financial trouble. It was determined that the main problem was its location -- isolated from any major population center. In 1984, Steamtown U.S.A. was moved to Scranton, PA. Still losing money, the Steamtown Foundation went bankrupt in 1986. Congress created the Steamtown National Historic Site and the National Park Service acquired the collection. If it were not for Mr. Nelson Blount amassing the incredible collection of steam locomotives he did, we would not have many of the operating locomotives and museums we do have today.

The post card was published by Forward's Color Productions out of Manchester, Vermont. The picture on the front of the post card was taken by Frank L. Forward, the president of this company. It was started in 1964. The internet search showed that in 2002 the registry was still open, but the company is no longer active.

Need a Refill...

The locomotive in this picture on the front of this post card is sitting at a coal dock in Broadview, Saskatchewan. Broadview is about 150 kilometers east of Regina, Saskatchewan,

the capital of the province. Their official website says this, “Broadview is an inexpensive and safe place to raise a family, retire, or start a new business venture. The Town's infrastructure can easily handle significant population growth. We are protected by a 13 member R.C.M.P. Detachment, and have a very well-run volunteer Fire Department. We also boast some of the best Health Care Services you'll find anywhere in rural Saskatchewan. There are many recreational facilities and activities to choose from for your enjoyment. We are a progressive community with a great history and lots of potential for the future. So, please browse through our website and visit our town to decide if this is the place for you. We think it is.” I can tell that the locomotive is just sitting at the dock because there is no one in the cab of the locomotive. Its road number is 389. The engine is a 4-6-0 type of locomotive commonly called (according to the Whyte Classification) a ten-wheeler. Here is some information about 4-6-0 locomotives from this website: https://www.american-rails.com/wheeler.html The 4-6-0 was developed as early as the late 1840s first appearing on the Philadelphia & Reading. Their creation came about because of a need to increase adhesion, which allowed a single locomotive to haul heavier loads. Essentially, it is an American design, and the Ten-wheeler’s extra axle allowed for this increase in tractive effort. For the first time in the railroad industry’s short history it now had a specialized locomotive that could be used for specific purposes, in this case hauling freight and passengers over steep grades. Today, you can find dozens and dozens of 4-6-0s preserved including several that are still operational. Before the 2-8-0 gained widespread use as a heavy-haul locomotive, many railroads turned to the 4-6-0 for that task; the first, true specialized model for freight service (the earlier 4-4-0 was really an all-around design used to pull both freight and passenger trains). As trains became heavier, the 4-6-0 ran into the same problem of all models which lacked a trailing axle or truck; without the added support for a larger firebox and a small frame of just three driving axles limiting boiler size the locomotive, eventually, could simply not keep up with the times. The 4-6-0 was well liked by short lines, logging railroads, and various privately-owned industrial operations due to its weight and nimble ability to operate on light trackage. By the time production of the 4-6-0 had ended an incredible 16,000+ had been built. With so many built the locomotive remained in service many decades after production had ended. Today, several 4-6-0s are preserved around the country, including several of which that are still in operation. Some of the more well-known operable ten-wheelers include: New Hope & Ivyland #1533, (originally built for the Canadian Northern, later Canadian National, in 1911); Sierra Railroad #3 in California; Alaska Railroad narrow-gauge #152 (now #2) at the Huckleberrry Railroad in Michigan; Tweestie narrow-gauge #12 in North Carolina; Virginia & Truckee #25 in Nevada; Nevada Northern #40 at East Ely; Southern Pacific #2248 in Texas; Texas & Pacific #316 (now #201) also in Texas.

The picture was taken by someone with the last name of Robinson. It is a Real Photo post card on Solio brand post card stock. Solio was one of many Real Photo post card papers that were sold by Kodak. The square where the stamp is to be placed tells us that,

not only is this on Solio paper, but, the picture was taken between 1908 and the 1920s. The diamonds in the corners provide that information. The post card was given to me by a very dear friend whose father grew up in Saskatchewan.

Not Prince Albert in a Can...

Albert Canyon is a railway point at Mile 105.8, Mountain Subdivision of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Adjacent to the west is Lauretta (Mile 109.5), and east is Downie (Mile 101.6). A hot box detector operates at Mile 105.0. Albert Canyon, one of the original CPR stations opened in 1886, was the Rogers Pass, then Connaught Tunnel, western slope base for pusher locomotives, which predominantly assisted eastbound freight trains up the steep 2.5% grade. The station name derives from the gorge, where the track crosses the south wall of the short box canyon on a narrow ledge. All passenger trains from the late 1880s until at least 1910 made a five-minute stop for passengers to alight and view the Illecillewaet River rushing through the 6-metre (20 ft.) wide gorge 91 metres (300 ft.) below. A stone parapet later replaced the wooden lookout - as seen on the front of this post card

on a rock outcrop. The final train to stop was in 1939. A dispatcher staffed the station telegraph office. A wye and water tank existed. To satisfy the anticipated mining boom, CPR added a long siding westward in 1898, and lengthened the wye southward. In 1910, a spark from a locomotive ignited leaves and timber near the tunnel 2 kilometres (1.25 mi.) west. The fire was initially controlled, but it later spread, almost reaching the section house. A 1916 CPR building program included a rooming and boarding house, cottages, and a five-stall engine house that replaced an earlier building. CPR erected a 91,000-litre; (24,000-US-gallon) oil fuelling tank in 1917, for oil-fired locomotives, and a mechanical coaling plant in 1921, for coal-fired locomotives. The engine house closed in 1940 when the pusher fleet relocated to Revelstoke. Prior to double tracking, a siding existed, which measured 73 cars long west and 77 east in the late 1890s, and 97 cars long in 1935. Still operational in 1948, it is unclear when the telegraph office closed. The final year passenger trains used the station was likely 1967. The section crew probably relocated about this time. In 1984, CPR constructed a 280-metre (930 ft.) test section of PaCT track (a reinforced, cast-in-place concrete foundation 23 cm thick with special clips, instead of spikes, holding the rails in place) at Albert Canyon to determine its suitability for laying in the Mount Macdonald Tunnel. The post card is the product of Byron Harmon's hard efforts.

The Old and the Older, but Which One is Which?

The locomotives pictured on the front of these two post cards are both “F-Units”. One is about 50 years older than the other.

The locomotive on this, the top post card, is an EMD that was part of a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) in the U.S.A. and General Motors-Diesel Division (GMDD) in Canada. While the parts came from many locations, the final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Grange, Illinois, and the GMDD plant in London, Ontario. The term “F-unit” refers to the model numbers given to each successive revision (i.e. F3, F7, etc.), all of which began with the letter F. The "F" originally meant Fourteen, as in 1,400 horsepower, not F as in Freight. Longer EMD “E-units” for passenger service had twin 900 horsepower diesel engines. The later "E" meant Eighteen as in 1,800 horsepower. The F-units were the most successful "first generation" road (main line) diesel locomotives in North America, and were largely responsible for superseding steam locomotives in road freight service.

The locomotive in this post card, the bottom post card, is an F40PH-2. The design of the F40PH was based on the EMD GP40-2 freight road-switcher and shared that locomotive's turbocharged EMD 645E3 V16 cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled diesel engine. The locomotive developed 3,000 horsepower at 893 RPM. Beginning with the EMD F40PH-2, introduced in 1985, the engine developed 3,200 horsepower. Many of the original F40PHs were updated to match that output. The locomotives were 56 feet 2 inches (17.1 m) long. A standard F40PH weighs 260,000 lb (117,934 kg). The designation "F40PH" stood for the following: "F" for the full-width cowl carbody, "40" as the locomotive is part of EMD's 40-series (based on the GP40-2 freight locomotive), "P" for passenger service and "H" for head-end power. Both trains are passing by the famous “Morant’s Curve”, a location made famous by the Canadian Pacific Railway’s official photographer Nicholas Morant. The above information was mostly gleaned from a couple of Wikipedia articles.

The reason that chose these two post cards to blog about is multi-faceted. 1) They are both pictures of Moran’t Curve in the winter, but taken about ten years apart. There aren’t a lot of differences between the two, when you compare the scenery. The trees on the inside of the curve, near the tracks, seem to have grown a bit, but not much. The Bow River flows in the same crooked pattern in both pictures. 2) They demonstrate the differences between the two different F-Units that were used by Via Rail. The top one is the earlier version; the bottom one the modern version.

3) The bottom picture is a photo of the very last Via Rail passenger train to travel on these tracks. Via took over the operation of all passenger rail services in Canada in in 1977. They stopped running two transcontinental trains (one through Edmonton and one through Calgary) in January of 1990. This is the last one that travelled east-bound through Calgary. 4) Although the top picture is older than the bottom one, the bottom post card seems to be older than the top one. The bottom post card includes a bar code on the back; it was printed in Australia and developed in Calgary, Alberta. The company, started in 1950, is still active (now in Cochrane, AB) with a website: http://www.hccolour.com/ The top card includes a only a post office box on the back; it was printed in Canada by Dexter Colour. DEXTER COLOR CANADA, LIMITED was founded on June 28, 1978 and has its registered office in Bramalea, Ontario. The organisation's status is listed as "Inactive - Amalgamated".

Edmonton to Calgary and Back

The information below is taken from this website: http://forthjunction.ca/passenger-rail.htm Regularly scheduled passenger trains served the area between Calgary and Edmonton on the Canadian Pacific line from 1891 to 1985. When the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway reached Fort Calgary in 1883, the Calgary-Edmonton Trail gained significance as a major transportation corridor and a crude stagecoach service began carrying mail, goods and passengers north and south along the trail. The trip between the two forts took 4 to 5 days requiring several stopping houses along the way. The one way fare between Calgary and Edmonton was $25 (at the time, a good wage was $2 per day). Almost immediately, there developed a demand for rail service. The Calgary & Edmonton Railway received its first charter in 1885 but nothing happened. A new charter was awarded in 1890. The new railway was built and it was completed by July 1891. The CPR leased the line and took over operations in August 1891 with regular passenger service beginning in 1892. The travel time was 12 hours with a one-way fare of $10 between Calgary and Strathcona (part of south Edmonton today). In 1936, Canadian Pacific introduced "high speed rail" with 'The Chinook', a specially-designed inter-city light passenger train between Calgary and Edmonton, reducing travel time to 5-1/4 hours at speeds up to 100 mi/hr. with up to 22 stops. From 1936 to 1955, four passenger trains a day ran the Calgary-Edmonton route including an overnight train, the 'Eskimo'/'Stampeder', a 'milk run', and the 'Chinook' using a 4-4-4 Jubilee F2a class locomotive no. 3001, one of only five of this class of locomotive ever built. Passenger service and rail infrastructure remained relatively stable for 60 years (1914-1954). But, with increased competition from airlines, new roadways, the new affordability of personal vehicles and cheap fuel, the desire for rail passenger service started to decline. In an attempt to maintain viable passenger service within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor, Canadian Pacific replaced 'the Chinook' Jubilee with a Budd 'Dayliner'

in 1955 cutting the travel time from Calgary to Edmonton to 3-1/2 hours. Budd Dayliners The CP Dayliners reached a peak of three trains a day in each direction in 1969 carrying almost 80,000 passengers that year. The following year, the number of trains was reduced to one in each direction per day resulting in only 31,400 passengers that year and only 23,400 passengers in 1971. At the order of the federal Railway Transport Committee, the frequency was increased to two trains per day in 1972. The CP Edmonton downtown station was closed to passengers in 1971 (and demolished in 1978), with Strathcona becoming the northern terminus of CPR corridor passenger rail service, further eroding the desire for travellers to use the train. Canadian Pacific corridor service was reviewed in 1976 and 1979 by the Railway Transport Committee after public hearings in response to continued CP requests to cancel passenger operations. Meanwhile, the government-owned VIA Rail took over all CP and CN passenger service in 1978. The federal Committee ordered improved service in 1981 citing the corridor had the best potential for rail passenger service outside of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. Ridership increased to 53,000 in 1982, the highest since 1969. One-way fare was $27. However, grade crossing collisions and railway errors caused the public to question the safety of Dayliner service. And poor integration with other transport modes and connectivity caused much frustration. The Dayliners continued on the CP Calgary-Edmonton corridor until September 6, 1985 when the service was cancelled due to financial losses and at-grade collisions after 94 years of continuous rail passenger service.

The post card was printed by Dexter Color Canada in Cornwall, Ontario. It was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario. The photo credit is given to Peter Jobe.

Byron Harmon, One More Time (No, Two More Times)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_(train) is the source of information below about the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) train known as "The Canadian".

The two trains seen on the fronts of these post cards are part of the transcontinental train service that used to be offered by the CPR. The company christened its new transcontinental flagship train “The Canadian” and service began on April 24, 1955. Running time between Montreal and Vancouver was reduced from about 85 to 71 hours, so that passengers spent only three, rather than four, nights en route. Although CPR competitor Canadian National Railways (CNR) began its own new transcontinental service, the Super Continental, on the same day, CPR was able to boast honestly that “The Canadian” was "The first and only all-stainless steel 'dome' stream-liner in Canada" — it was not until 1964 that the CNR acquired dome cars from the Milwaukee Road.

The train operated with Montreal and Toronto sections which ran combined west of Sudbury, Ontario. The Montreal section (also serving Ottawa) was known as train 1 westbound and train 2 eastbound, while the Toronto section was known as train 11 westbound and train 12 eastbound. Although initially successful, passenger train ridership began to decline in Canada during the 1960s. Facing competition from airlines and increased automobile usage following construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, the CPR cancelled “The Dominion” in 1966, and petitioned the government to discontinue “The Canadian” in 1970. Although this petition was denied, CPR during the 1970s attempted to remove itself from the passenger service market. “The Canadian” was operated at reduced levels, with the government subsidizing 80 percent of its losses. VIA Rail eventually took over “The Canadian” operations then dropped the service on January 15, 1990.

Both of these photos are attributed to Byron Harmon. The top one reflects a classic Byron Harmon point of view. I have several of his post cards that are taken from this position. But these cards show steam locomotives. The back of the post card also reflects a classic Byron Harmon look. “POST CARD” is printed across the top, middle with “Along the Line of the Canadian Pacific Railway” printed directly under these words. Following that, “Copyrighted by BYRON HARMON, BANFF, CANADA” is also printed in the usual script and position. These two post cards are pictures of diesel locomotives. Diesel took over this route long after Mr. Harmon died. I think that someone in his family took over the business upon his passing and tried to keep the Byron Harmon look active.

The bottom post card attributed the photo to “Photo by Byron Harmon Photos”. Byron Harmon Photos is also the copyright holder and publisher of the post card. It is a company in Banff, Alberta. The fact that the post card is a photo-chrome print also tells me that this is a modern card that cannot be directly attributed to Byron Harmon. A bit of background on Mr. Harmon: He arrived in Alberta in 1903 as an itinerant photographer after leaving his portrait studio in Tacoma, Washington. By 1906 He had become a founding member and official photographer of the Alpine Club of Canada. He took over 6,400 photographs while exploring the Canadian Rockies and the Selkirks. In 1907 Harmon began turning many of these photographs into real photo postcards, which became his principal life’s work. In 1924 he traveled into the Rockies with the photographer Lewis R. Freeman. Some of the real photo postcards produced under Harmon’s name from this trip may actually be the work of Freeman that he published for him. After this trip Harmon mostly produced scenes alongside railway lines. He also distributed printed color postcards made from his photos that were manufactured in the United States. He died in 1942. His Granddaughter was still running the family business in Banff the last time that I was there.

Gone, but Not Forgotten

The lead locomotive on this Canadian Pacific (CPR) train is CP 8621.

It is a GP9 model of locomotive, built in 1956 by General Motors Diesel (GMD). GMD was a railway diesel locomotive manufacturer located in London, Ontario. GMD was created in 1949 as the Canadian subsidiary of the Electro Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) of the United States. It is shown here in the original Maroon & Grey “Block” paint scheme. Over the years, CPR has changed the look of its locomotives and 8621 kept up with the times. It has had the CP Rail Large Multimark with 5" stripes, the CP Rail Large Multimark with 8" stripes and the CP Rail Small Multimark with 8" stripes over its life time. In October of 1988 it was rebuilt by CPR as a GP9u, chop-nosed and renumbered to #8215. It was finally declared to be surplus on February 19, 2015. So, while it is now gone from the roster of CPR it will not be forgotten because it has been immortalized on this post card.

It is hauling a load of freight along Kamloops Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The Lake is situated just after where the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers just west of Kamloops forms the Thompson River, which flows west into the Fraser River near Lytton, British Columbia. The lake is 1.6 km wide, 29 km long, and up to 152 m deep. This post card was published by the Audio Visual Designs Company. It was printed after 1965. I know this because the address has a zip code, which was introduced in 1963 and because the photo was taken in 1965.

Audience Participation

The train in the photograph on the front of this post card was so regularly run on its route that one could know exactly where it could be. It did this so often that one could see it in various locations over time. Coal is a major export from the area around the Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta and British Columbia. Sparwood, British Columbia hosts a huge coal mine and railcar loading system. That is probably where this train originated. The train was so regular that the publisher and distributer of this post card decided to take

advantage of it and make it an audience participation event. In the upper left hand corner of the back of the post card there is a little map of the train route. To the right, there is a list of locations at which you could see the train as it passes by. The afore mentioned Sparwood is the first name on the list. The post card was printed by Alex Wilson Publications out of Dryden, Ontario.

My search on the internet did not turn up any good news about the business, so I will leave it alone. I tried to find the publisher, Kenneth R. Bell; that was fruitless. But, when I tried to find the Trading Post that distributed the post card I hit the jackpot. I found a picture of it. I looked in the business yellow pages on line for The Golden Eagle Trading Post in Radium Hot Springs, but found nothing. At least you can enjoy what the trading post used to look like.

$8,000 Worth of Luxury

The train pictured on the front of this post card pictures one of the heights of luxury available in Canada. The Royal Canadian Pacific consists of 10 Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) 1920’s era business cars coupled to two 1950’s locomotives all of which have been restored to their original splendor. Period furniture, silver settings, brass accents, walnut paneling and open vestibules are the pinnacle of a bygone tradition of elegance. Subtly add modern amenities the discerning traveler would expect, complimented by gourmet cuisine, fine wines along with unsurpassed hospitality and you are presented with the Royal Canadian Pacific.

The Royal Canadian Pacific luxury train brings to life the nostalgia associated with the romance of rail travel. Life on board the Royal Canadian Pacific is relaxed, pampered…in short, fit for royalty. Stepping on board is akin to stepping back in time to an era of elegance, grace and classic luxury; a place where the view outside your window is unspoiled and timeless - oblivious to the rush of today’s world. Canadian Pacific’s passenger cars were custom built in Montreal at the CPR Angus Shops. This facility, initiated in 1902 by William Van Horne, then President of Canadian Pacific Railway, allowed CP to build their own rolling stock. The locomotive in the front (#1400) was built by General Motors Diesel, Ltd.[it is the Canadian arm of General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (GMD), which was established during the late 1940s] as FP7A #4099 (1953). It was sold to VIA (1978), became VIA #1400, and then renumbered by VIA to VIA #6550 (1981). Sold to Nebkota Railway (1994) and became #55. Acquired by CP (1998), repainted into the Maroon/Grey paint scheme and numbered CP #1400, used in "Royal Canadian Pacific” train service. It was retired on December 14, 2011 and replaced by FP9u units #4106-4107. After it was cosmetically restored (2018). It was put on display with CP #29 steam locomotive at Ogden Park, Ogden, and Calgary AB. The passenger cars that make up the Royal Canadian Pacific are beautifully re-finished and fully restored to their original splendour. The Mount Stephen car, named after CPR’s first president, was originally built as the CPR Director’s day car. This car was also used to host a number of Royalty and dignitaries for Canadian tours. The locomotives that took the place of 1400 and 1401 were also built by GMD as CN FP9A #6515 (1/1957). They were also sold to VIA (1978), became VIA #6515. After being remanufactured at Pointe St. Charles, Montreal QC (7/1984) they were renumbered to VIA #6307. Eventually they were sold to Ohio Central (4/2002). It was then acquired by CP for its Royal Canadian Pacific train service (2006). It was repainted in the Maroon/Grey "Script" paint scheme at NRE, Capreol, ON. (4/2007). Then it was used in Royal Canadian Pacific train excursions as well as special occasions. Today, as the tail-end lounge or “observation” car, the Mount Stephen is the hub of activity for Royal Canadian Pacific. The Craigellachie dining car, a refurbished 1931 sleeper, was named for the location of the driving of the last spike of the transcontinental railway. This beautifully finished car seats a maximum of thirty-two guests for meal service, and can be configured as a meeting room for corporate clients. The Strathcona, Van Horne and Royal Wentworth were all business cars built by Canadian Pacific expressly for its senior executives in 1926 and 1927. These cars feature a lounge area, a dining area, staterooms and open vestibules. The Banffshire (1926) and the N.R. Crump (1930) sleepers provide Royal Canadian Pacific guests with luxury accommodation in private staterooms. Royal Canadian Pacific has partnered with some of Canada's most elite tourism experiences at various destinations throughout our excursions. These off-train activities include golf at some of the world's most renowned championship courses, fly-fishing on Canada's pristine rivers and lakes, and interpretive tours that share Canada’s unique heritage. The average per person price of a Royal Canadian Pacific six day/five night luxury rail cruise is CAD $8,000 plus 5% GST. You can read more about this luxury train on their website: http://www.royalcanadianpacific.com/ The post card was published by Steamscenes. I don't know any more about them this week than I did last week.

Steam, On the Way Out

The two locomotives on the front of this post card are a very good

demonstration of the how the old steam locomotives worked right along side the new diesel locomotives until the latter completely took over. These two are both working Canadian Pacific Railway passenger routes. They were photographed by J. F. Orem at the Drake Street roundhouse in Vancouver, British Columbia. The steamer is number 2862, an Hle-class "Royal Hudson" 4-6-4. It, along with three other Hudsons, has just brought the "Dominion" train in from Revelstoke, B.C. The other engine is an FP7, number 1418. The FP7 is on display at a riverside park in Medicine Hat, Alberta today. Their paint is faded and rust is bubbling up here and there, but these fine old engines still impress. It was built in 1952 at the General Motors Diesel plant in London, Ontario. This picture was taken in May of 1956; the last steam locomotive used by the CPR (a Selkirk 4-10-4) was delivered to them in 1949. The last Selkirk was taken out of commission ten years later. Some information about the FP7 was taken from this website: https://www.bigdoer.com/19344/old-things/cpr-fp7s-1418-and-1424/b>

The post card was published by Steamscenes out of West Vancouver, British Columbia. They do seem to still exist. I can find all sorts of businesses selling the Steamscenes 2021 Calendars. But, I cannot find any corporate information on line. I am not sure if this is a parent company or another company in the U.K. with a similar name:http://www.steamscenes-cadeco.co.uk/index.htm

This Budd is for You!

The picture on the front of this post card is of a "Budd" car passing the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The O'Keefe Centre is a concert hall, so I hope that the Budd Card slips past quietly. The car is an RDC-2, built in 1956.

It is being used to shuttle Canadian Pacific Railway employees from the John Street Coach Yard to Agincourt Yard. The following information about Budd Cars was taken from this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Rail_Diesel_Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adopted for passenger service in rural areas with low traffic density or in short-haul commuter service, and were less expensive to operate in this context than a traditional diesel locomotive-drawn train with coaches. The cars could be used singly or coupled together in train sets and controlled from the cab of the front unit. The RDC was one of the few DMU trains to achieve commercial success in North America. RDC trains were an early example of self-contained diesel multiple unit trains, an arrangement now in common use by railways all over the world. Budd RDCs were sold to operators in North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. They saw extensive use in the Northeast United States, both on branch lines and in commuter service. As passenger service declined in the United States the RDC was often the last surviving conveyor of passengers on a particular route. Most RDCs were retired by the 1980s. In Canada, RDCs have remained in continuous use since their introduction in the 1950s. The RDC inspired several derivatives, including the unsuccessful Budd SPV-2000. The New York Central Railroad strapped two jet engines to an RDC in 1966 and set a United States speed record of 184 mph (296 km/h), although this experimental configuration was never used in regular service.

The Peter Dickinson-designed O'Keefe Centre at 1 Front Street East with the angled, bulb-filled canopy has seen a steady parade of musicals, ballets and symphonies since its movie palace-style doors first opened on October 1st, 1960. Back in the 1960s, when hockey fans actually saw the Leafs sipping out of Lord Stanley's mug, O'Keefe Ale was one of Canada's best-selling beers and a logical initial sponsor of this eventual landmark. From 1960 until 1996, it was known as the O'Keefe Centre, and a number of high-profile tours chose to make their Toronto stop there due to its superior architectural acoustics. To this day, the venue prides itself as being Canada's largest soft seat theatre.The venue seemed to possess a certain majesty that is rooted in its unique combination of downtown convenience, gorgeously striking architecture and a healthy dash of glitz, topped off by a deceptively rich music history created by a parade of entertainers who have a genuine respect for the legacy they have helped build. These are qualities that a great deal of other venues throughout Toronto would kill for. The information in the above section about the O'Keefe Centre was taken from this website: https://www.blogto.com/music/2012/10/that_time_when_the_okeefe_centre_was_the_place_to_play/ The post card was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario. The photo credit goes to Ted Wickson. The photo was taken on April 20th, 1968.

106 Year Old Post Card from the City in Which I Live.

This post card was given to me just this past week by a friend who respects history and its preservation. This post card was sent from one of his ancestoral relatives to another relative back in 1915. I want to respect that history and so I am entering it into my blog this week. There are several more to follow.

This post card shows a Canadian Pacific train crossing the newly constructed High Level Bridge in Edmonton, the capital city of the province of Alberta in Canada. The post card was sent on June 4, 1915, almost two years to the day since the bridge saw its first passenger train. Below is the story of the High Level Bridge. The High Level Bridge was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). It purchased an already existing railroad (the Calgary and Edmonton Railroad) which had begun the surveying for the bridge. The Calgary and Edmonton Railroad wanted to build a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River to join the cities of Strathcona and Edmonton together. Then the CPR negotiated rights of way, design and content of the bridge - among many other things. Finally, construction of the bridge began on August 14, 1910. There are 62 land piers and four river piers holding up the bridge. Construction of the piers was completed in 1911. The addition of the steel girders began on the south side of the river and slowly - and safely - the crew made its way to the north side, and in early 1913 the bridge made it to the side of the river where the Legislative Building is The bridge was to carry a train in the middle of the top of the bridge and street car lines on the outside of the top of the bridge. The bottom deck was built to carry automobiles The bridge is 755 meters long or 2,478 feet and 13 meters wide or 43 feet. It originally carried street cars, steam engines and cars. It rises 64 meters or 210 feet above the North Saskatchewan River. On June 2, 1913 the first CPR passenger train steamed into Edmonton over the newly completed structure. The first streetcar crossed the bridge on August 11, 1913. By that time, the cities of Strathcona and Edmonton became one city: Edmonton. Today, I drive a street car over the tracks that the train in this post card is traveling. It is part of my volunteer duties as a member of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society.

This is the back of the post card. There is a nice, chatty, newsy letter. It was sent from Ponoka, Alberta, but there is no sign of a stamp having been used. The left side of the post card tells us that the post card was published by Frasch Fotos of Edmonton. My searches on the internet do confirm that such a business did exist and there are other post cards to prove it. However, there is nothing about the history of the company, that I could find.

Is that a Crown that I See - The Royal Hudson

After 15 years of active service, the Royal Hudson 2860 – which you see on the front of this post card - was retired in April 1956.

The Vancouver Railway Museum Association wanted to preserve the locomotive so they acquired it in 1964 after it had been sitting outside the Weston Shops in Winnipeg. The Museum was not successful in this endeavour and gave the locomotive to the Province of British Columbia. It was completely restored (and a few external modifications made) so that it returned to service on June 20, 1974. It was used by the province to operate summer seasonal (May to October) steam excursions between North Vancouver and Squamish. In that first season of operation almost 50,000 passengers rode into history. The excursions ended in 1999. Currently the 2860 is still owned by the Province of British Columbia, but is on permanent loan to the West Coast Railway Association and is housed securely under cover at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish, B.C.

In the 1920s the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was using 4-6-2 Pacifics for many of their service routes. While the Pacifics were adequate in the 20s, the increase in load weight for their freight routes and the need for speed on their passenger routes led to the desire for a new locomotive that would be both lighter and have greater horse power. After considering several options, the CPR looked to the New York Central Railroad. The CPR ordered the first batch of Hudsons in 1929. The grate in the firebox was 25% larger (80 square feet) so the locomotive could develop 275 pounds of boiler pressure. To be efficient, the It used an efficient Elsco feed water heater; they utilized Type E superheaters for extra steam capacity. Their driver wheels were 75 inches for both speed and power; the locomotive weighed in at 194,000 pounds and delivered 45,000 pounds of tractive effort. The first set of 20 locomotives were ordered in 1929 and were coal burning, some of which were later converted to oil burners. The second set of 10 locomotives were modified to gain another 12,000 pounds of tractive effort. The third set of 30 locomotives included the one on the front of this post card.

These locomotives were so successful that one locomotive would take the train from Toronto to Fort William and turn the consist over to another Hudson. That locomotive would take the train to Calgary (1,250 miles) where the consist would be hitched to a Selkirk locomotive to get it through the tough part of the Rockies. At Revelstoke, the trains would again be hooked up to a Hudson for the final 380 mile trip to Vancouver.

ROYAL HUDSON
In 1939 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British Monarchs to visit Canada. They were given a 31-day tour of Canada by rail. A special 12-car train was assembled and the role of lead locomotive was given to the Hudson. The train went west via the CPR main line and came back east via the Canadian National line. The king, it turns out was a bit of a railroad buff and spent an amount of time in the locomotive with the crew. He said that he was impressed with its performance and by the fact that only one locomotive was used to travel to the west coast and back with no stoppage for mechanical problems. So, when the CPR applied for the status of adding "Royal" to the name Hudson, it was easily granted. Thus you see on the front of the engine on this post card, a little crown.

The post card does not tell us who the publisher is, but the picture comes from the Steamscenes collection of J. F. Orem.

Kaslo & Slocan Railway - Short but Important

Silver was discovered in the mountains above New Denver and Kaslo in 1891. Soon, the town of Slocan developed to support the mining operations. But, there was still a need to get the silver to market quickly. Kaslo was served by steam ships that plied the waters of Kootnay Lake; they connected the town with places like Nelson that already had rail service. It was natural to want to build a railway to bring the silver to these railway connections through the steamship service already in place. The Kaslo & Slocan Railway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Kaslo (on Lake Kootnay), Slocan (at the southern-most point on the Slocan Lake), and the mining community of Sandon

– the picture in this post card was taken at Sandon – (in the mountains between the two lakes). It operated 55 kilometers of track between 1895 and 1955. It was first operated by the Great Northern Railway. Later the operations were taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which changed it over to standard gauge track. With financial backing from the Great Northern Railway (GNR), construction on the line started in 1895. GNR had a line that ran to Spokane, Washington and getting the silver to market would provide traffic (and revenue) for the GNR. The railway proceeded up the Kaslo River toward the pass of Seaton Creek, and continued across the mountains to Sandon. There was a switchback at one point because the grade was so steep. The labourers built more than 30 bridges between Kaslo and Sandon on steep mountain sides (Payne Bluff

- where the picture in this post card was taken - had a steep drop of over 1,000 feet) that would make my heart stop. As was the standard operating procedure in those days, the only tools used by this brave crew were dynamite and the typical hand tools. The railway began service on November 20, 1895. In its first year of operations, the railway made more than 500 round trips carrying 23,734 tons of freight and 28,307 passengers. But, less than 20 years later the railway was starting to lose money. The silver had been depleted, the treacherous terrain and weather had taken their tolls so that repairs were costly, and the number of passengers was dwindling. In 1912, the CPR agreed to lease the K&S for 999 years. The CPR rebuilt it to standard gauge and connected it with its already existing Nakusp & Slocan line by abandoning the exposed section across Payne Bluff and building a 6-mile extension from Zincton to Parapet and thereby establishing a line from Nakusp through to Kaslo in November 1913. The CPR operated the line until it was abandoned. The final blow came in 1955 when torrential rains washed out a large section of track at Three Forks. Ore traffic had been dwindling for years and the CPR decided not to rebuild. Its right-of-way was used to build a new road to New Denver. Neither of these post cards were printed in that era. The pictures on their fronts are reproductions by the Pioneer Postcards Company from Kelowna, British Columbia. The were printed by Wayside Press, Ltd. out of Vernon and Kelowna.

Nicholas Morant

The picture on the front of this post card was taken by Nicholas Morant.

For those of us who are "foamers" along the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) right of way west of Calgary, Nicholas Morant is a sort of icon or hero. Although he photographed many aspects of Canadian life and he was a great nature photographer, we "foamers" know him for the pictures of the CPR in the Rockies and the curve that the CPR named after him near Lake Louise at milepost 113 on CPR’s Laggan Subdivision. This post card shows the actual Curve that Morant made famous:

On the main line, so that the engineers and conductors can see it, there is a sign that says: "Morant's Curve" straight down from where the photographer of this picture is standing. This is looking west from an observation point along Highway 1A (Bow Valley Parkway). The picture on the front of this post card, below, is facing east from the same vantage point:

I strongly suggest that you look up Nicholas Morant on line, or in the library, to see what wonderful Black & White as well as colour photographs he developed. There is one book of which I am aware that features his work: Nicholas Morant's Canadian Pacific by J. F. Garden.

At only 19 years old, Nicholas Morant from Kamloops, British Columbia, began his photographic efforts with the CPR in 1929. He was hired on as the “special photographer”. He worked with the CPR almost continuously (there were 2 "shifts" not with the CPR) until he retired in 1981. He died March 13, 1999, in Calgary, Alberta at the age of 88.

He spent many hours at the Stoney Creek Bridge in Rogers Pass atop a specially constructed scaffolding where he photographed the special passenger train in the first post card, above, in 1955. This train is a special edition with Princess Margaret aboard. It is following the tracks of the famous Canadian transcontinental service.

As you can imagine, photographing around a railway in the mountains can be hazardous. An example of this is the story of when Morant and a Swiss guide encountered and were attacked by a grizzly bear. It happened in 1939. The guide eventually died of his injuries while Morant spent three months recovering in a hospital. The incident happened near the Morant's Curve featured in the other two post cards.

The first post card was published by Vanishing Vistas. It is copyrighted by Lyman E. Cox out of Sacramento, California in 1974. The middle post card is published by Altitude Publishing - the photo is copyrighted by Douglas Leighton. The bottom post card is the result of the efforts of The Postcard Factory from Markham, Ontario, Canada.

Gone, but Still Around

The locomotive on the front of this post card is CP 8218 as pictured at

Revelstoke in British Columbia sometime between 1988 and 2015. This locomotive was built by General Motors Diesel (GMD) in 1957 as CP 8678. It was a class DRS-17 locomotive and the original paint scheme was that of the CPR Beaver. Here is some of its history as told by this website: http://www.cprdieselroster.com/Roster%20Archive/CP%208200B/CP%208218.htm It was built by GMD as GP9 #8678 in 1957. Then, it was rebuilt by CPR as a chop-nosed GP9u and renumbered to #8218 in 1988. On April 28, 2015 it was declared to be surplus. But, rather than scrap the locomotive, it was sold to Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad four months later on August 18, 2015 (my 63rd birthday!) where it became PN #8218. Then it was sold to the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad and it became NHRR #8218. It emerged from the shop in New Hope & Ivyland Railroad paint on September 27, 2017. It was after this date that 8218 officially began operating in revenue service for the Railroad. If you would like to see this locomotive today, contact the owner at this website to make arrangements for a sighting: www.newhoperailroad.com Special thanks to Paul Koprowski for some of the above information.

Revelstoke, British Columbia is a divisional point on the Canadian Pacific Railway. If one continues to head east out of the city one will enter the infamous Rogers Pass area. This is where the Connaught Tunnel was opened in 1916 to prevent loss of life from avalanches in the winter. The post card was published by Galena Publishing Company out of Nelson, B.C. Iknow that it was printed after 1974, because it has a bar code on it.

As I read the summary description on the back of the card I noticed a printing error: it says that Revelstoke is a CP Rainway divisional point; it should say CP Railway divisional point. I hope this makes it a collectors' valuable!!! Galena Publishing is out of Nelson, B.C. on this post card but, I have another post card that says that they operate out of Burnaby, B. C. Neither post card has a date on it to know which came first.

Build the Tunnel

The front of this post card shows a bit of history that no longer exists. You are looking at one of 31 snow sheds built by the Canadian Pacific Railway

in the Roger Pass. When Major Albert Rogers discovered the pass through the Selkirk Mountains, the owners of the Canadian Pacific Railway were happy that an "easy" route through the Canadian Rockies had been found. He was rewarded with $5,000 and the fact that he would be the namesake of the pass he discovered.

The railway was built through Rogers Pass in 1884. In a previous post, last year, I showcased a post card of the Stoney Creek Bridge, one of the largest bridges on the CPR right of way. This was only one of many bridges that had to be built. The tracks also followed a series of loops in order to maintain a safe grade for the locomotives. Despite all of their efforts to avoid steep hills and avalanche areas, danger lurked each winter. So much so that after the winter of 1885 31 different snow sheds were constructed over a total of six and a half kilometers of tracks. Despite their best efforts, avalanches continued to wreck havoc on the railway. Eight people lost their lives when, in 1899, an avalanche took out a train station in the pass. The worse loss of life occurred on March 4, 1910 when the crew clearing out one avalanche were killed by a second avalanche that came from the other side of the tracks. Sixty two people died that day.

This is when the railway decided that it was the safest option to build the Connaught Tunnel. It was completed in 1916. The rails you see in this post card were abandoned and removed.

The post card was published by the Canadian office for Valentine’s of Dundee, Scotland. From 1907 to 1923 they published souvenir books,

greeting cards and view-cards of Canadian scenery in sets numbered with a three digit prefix and a three digit suffix. These tinted halftone and collotype cards were printed in Great Britain. Valentine sold their Canadian branch in 1923. This particular card only shows (extremely faintly and covered with handwriting) that there were two offices in Canada: Montreal and Toronto. For a very short time they also had an office in Winnipeg.

OUCH!! Don't Do That...

The picture on this post card shows a train exiting from the lower of two spiral tunnels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to solve a problem of trains losing control on "The Big Hill" and killing people on board. This

happened because the grade of The Big Hill was 4.5%. The very expensive solution to this challenge was to bore two spiral tunnels through two different mountains along where trains entered onto The Big Hill as they traveled west. It is at the beginning of the Kicking Horse River Canyon.

From Wikipedia: The route decided upon called for two tunnels driven in three-quarter circles into the valley walls. The higher tunnel, "number one", is about 1,000 yards (0.91 km) in length and runs under Cathedral Mountain, to the south of the original track. When the new line emerges from this tunnel it has doubled back, running beneath itself and 50 feet (15 m) lower. It then descends the valley side in almost the opposite direction to its previous course before crossing the Kicking Horse River and entering Mount Ogden to the north. This lower tunnel, "number two", is a few yards shorter than "number one" and the descent is again about 50 feet. From the exit of this tunnel the line continues down the valley in the original direction, towards Field. The constructions and extra track effectively double the length of the climb and reduce the ruling gradient to 2.2%.

The reason the title of this post is "OUCH!!!" is because of what a stamp collector did to the post card. You can see in the upper right-hand corner that someone has removed the stamp, leaving an unsightly scar. This has reduced the monetary value of the post card to a collector to minimal. The post mark indicates that this post card is 97 years old (August 14, 1922); and, that it was mailed only 13 years after the Spiral Tunnels were completed. That makes it valuable. Having the stamp ripped off makes it almost valueless. OUCH!!!

The card was published by The Valentine and Sons United Publishing Co. The Canadian offices for Valentine’s of Dundee, Scotland were in Montreal, Toronto and, for a short time, Winnipeg.

This post card documents the short period in which they had an office in Winnipeg (another reason for this card to have been valuable to a collector). They published souvenir books, greeting cards and view-cards of Canadian scenery in sets numbered with a three digit prefix and a three digit suffix. These tinted halftone and collotype cards were printed in Great Britain. Valentine sold their Canadian branch in 1923.

Merry Christmas to you...

The picture on the front of this post card shows how the Canadian Pacific

Railway shops looked at the turn of the 20th Century. The post card was printed after 1908 (the publishing company was started in that year). The Canadian Pacific Railway was incorporated in 1881. If this picture is from 30 years later, that would mean the picture was taken in 1911. For sure, the picture was taken before the start of World War I (1914), because the post card printing from Germany for all the North American post card publishers came to a screeching halt when the war broke out.

Just as the picture on the front of the post card shows the CPR yards from a long time ago; the picture here is what I could find on line that shows the yards as close to today as I can get.

This publishing company, The Pacific Novelty Company was headquartered in San Francisco, California from 1908 to the 1960s. They printed many postcards that were duplicates of postcards published by Edward Mitchell. Mitchell was a partner with other photographers in this publishing company then at some point he bought the others out. A major publisher and printer of view-cards depicting California in halftone lithography. They produced cards in different styles, most of which were printed in Germany; this particular post card says it was printed in Saxony - which is in Germany today; in 1871 Saxony became one of the states of the newly founded German Empire. The Pacific Novelty Company eventually sold off their own printing department to Herman Vogel who renamed it Quadricolor Press. Pacific Novelty went on to produce photochromes that were manufactured in the United States.