Canadian Railroads > F-Unit Friday - Last Windsor Canadians Meet at Renfrew

Two weeks ago I posted a photo of the last WB Canadian out of Windsor Station crossing the bridge at Almonte; the link is here:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,4218690
and followed it up three days later on MLW Monday with the last EB Canadian headed for Windsor Station, behind a solo RS10. Today I'm posting the photos from Renfrew, where trains #3 and #4 met, at about 1620, on Saturday, October 28, 1978.
1. Closest to the camera is the trio of 1412, 4478, and 1432, on #3, waiting for #4, behind RS10 8579, to clear, so the WB can stop at the station.
2. The sun broke through and was as strong as late afternoon light in the Fall can get. If only the train had stopped a few feet sooner, so the pilot didn't merge with the shadow. Still, picky, picky, picky. Even the box cars are nostalgic; I didn't see that coming at the time.
Fred

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Wow! Awesome Fred. Action Red never looked so good.
Thank you for the post.
Bill

Great photo, thank-you so much for posting all the pictures in your series, sure seems like yesterday when I rode the train. 

Gerry Gaugl
​Ottawa ON

​Photo 1: The view of Fred's meet from the Skyline dome.  Oct 28, 1978 Renfew, ON.

Photo 2: Our "Last Supper" on CP Rail's last edition of The Canadian.  The nice thing is, I still ride trains and eat in diners with my two long time friends, Doug Smith(left) and Doug Stoltz (right).

​Photo 3: The last CP Rail dining car crew.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/17 21:07 by moonliter.

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feclark Wrote:
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> Two weeks ago I posted a photo of the last WB
> Canadian out of Windsor Station crossing the
> bridge at Almonte; the link is here:
> http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,
> 4218690
> and followed it up three days later on MLW Monday
> with the last EB Canadian headed for Windsor
> Station, behind a solo RS10. Today I'm posting the
> photos from Renfrew, where trains #3 and #4 met,
> at about 1620, on Saturday, October 28, 1978.
> 1. Closest to the camera is the trio of 1412,
> 4478, and 1432, on #3, waiting for #4, behind RS10
> 8579, to clear, so the WB can stop at the
> station.
> 2. The sun broke through and was as strong as late
> afternoon light in the Fall can get. If only the
> train had stopped a few feet sooner, so the pilot
> didn't merge with the shadow. Still, picky, picky,
> picky. Even the box cars are nostalgic; I didn't
> see that coming at the time.
> Fred

Fred:
Your photo two is absolutely wonderful.  You should know it.  Self modesty is not necessary; you have a right to brag.
ALLEN

Great looking photo of train at the station.
Nice shot of a Canadian Classic Train.

611

Posted from iPhone

Thank you for posting the dining car photos. Although the CPR had simplified the food and service towards the end, it was still a classy dining car service. Although I wasn't on the last runs, I noticed that until VIA took possession of the equipment, the diners still had the classic CPR silverware, china tea-pots and at dinner, table-cloths and linen napkins.

At the time of the handover of the equipment to VIA, CP stripped the diners and Park cars of their linen, silver and glassware. One manager in Winnipeg told me that on the first day the Canadian ran as a VIA-owned train he was surprised to see there wasn't a single glass in the diner and Park car. VIA had to quickly get a lot of plastic cups. For several years, all drinks and wine were served in plastic cups. I think it was at the end of the 1980s when VIA finally purchased glassware for wine and drinks and also linen napkins.

The Canadian's dining car continues to be a classy operation with far better food than the CPR had in its later days (post-1972) and linen at all meals. If only they could afford silver cutlery it would be perfect, but I am grateful for what we have.

DrawingroomA Wrote:

> The Canadian's dining car continues to be a classy
> operation with far better food than the CPR had in
> its later days (post-1972) and linen at all meals.
> If only they could afford silver cutlery it would
> be perfect, but I am grateful for what we have.

In fairness, classic hotel-grade silver was one of the most swiped items from any dining car.  I have done reproductions with both Reed & Barton and International Silver and the cost is prohibitive, especially when a lot of it walks.

If I were going to do another project, I would look at the highly polished 18/10 stainless flatware.  It has the right weight and can be stamped with the railroad name or logo.  It costs about 1/4 of what the silver plate costs so it is budget friendly.

Tim

The dining car crew from Montreal worked only as far as Sudbury, and turned back to Montreal. Other on board staff worked through to Winnipeg. The Montreal dining car crew were high in seniority, and most had worked other CP passenger trains ex-Montreal.

​Very few if any are still with us, many had long lives in retirement and kept in touch with other CP retirees. The Montreal commissary stocked types of beer not available from the other CP commissaries.  You could enjoy an Olands Export from Saint John NB, and Labatts 50 or Molson Export were stocked rather than Labatts Blue or Molson Canadian.
A real rarity was Bryants Bullshead Ginger Ale from Sherbrooke QC and certain brands of cookies only sold in Quebec.

moonliter Wrote:
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> Great photo, thank-you so much for posting all the
> pictures in your series, sure seems like
> yesterday when I rode the train. 
>
> Gerry Gaugl
> ​Ottawa ON
>
> ​Photo 1: The view of Fred's meet from the
> Skyline dome.  Oct 28, 1978 Renfew, ON.
>
> Photo 2: Our "Last Supper" on CP Rail's last
> edition of The Canadian.  The nice thing is, I
> still ride trains and eat in diners with my two
> long time friends, Doug Smith(left) and Doug
> Stoltz (right).
>
> ​Photo 3: The last CP Rail dining car crew.

Gerry,
And thank you for posting these photos; they are fabulous! I will have to get around to scanning in a few more, but your shot from within the dome is taken at almost exactly the same moment as I shot #4 passing the baggage car. Bruce and a few others of us are looking back at you, essentially. You will enjoy, I'm sure. I did not know them well, but I certainly recognize Doug Smith and Doug Stoltz (he accompanied us on a Chalk River chase on one occasion I remember) from BRS days. I will also scan the departure shot of #3, Park car heading away, because there is a silhouette of a head in the Skyline - I might have photographed you!
Fred

njmidland Wrote:

> In fairness, classic hotel-grade silver was one of
> the most swiped items from any dining car.  I
> have done reproductions with both Reed & Barton
> and International Silver and the cost is
> prohibitive, especially when a lot of it walks.
>
> If I were going to do another project, I would
> look at the highly polished 18/10 stainless
> flatware.  It has the right weight and can be
> stamped with the railroad name or logo.  It costs
> about 1/4 of what the silver plate costs so it is
> budget friendly.
>
> Tim

Over the years we came to know a  manager from CPR's head office who travelled on The Canadian frequently. He told me once that "shrinkage" was not a big problem with the dining car silver. In the early 1970s CP sold off a significant amount of surplus silver and I was able to buy - at very reasonable prices - a full set of cutlery for six (including the no-longer-used fish knives and forks) and serving platters and sugar bowls, etc. One time when discussing my silver purchases with this man after dinner I said I was disappointed that I wasn't able to buy sugar tongs to go with the sugar bowl that was used for cubes. At the end of the trip he gave me something wrapped in tissue, saying it was a gift from the CPR to a loyal passenger. Yes, it was sugar tongs from the diner. So there was some "shrinkage."

When VIA improved the dining car service when Silver and Blue class was introduced in April 1992, the cheap stainless cutlery was replaced with large shiny pieces, each stamped/badged with "VIA". Since then a lot of it has been replaced with the same pattern, but lacking the badging. Perhaps a lot of the first batch has become souvenirs. The Cunard Line has introduced three splendid ships between 2004 and 2010. Each of them has a considerable quantity of silver, both cutlery and other pieces. Not one piece is badged with the Cunard logo, even on the bottom of the sugar bowls. Perhaps this cuts down on the temptation of souvenir-hunters.