Canadian Railroads > Prime Minister Trudeau's train 1982

On August 10th,1982, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his two sons rode Via 2 across Canada. On the morning of the 11th, he made a rude gesture at protesters at Salmon Arm. They later pelted the train with vegetables near Glacier BC. Along the Kicking Horse River east of Golden, white water rafters mooned the PM.

I was locomotive fireman on Via 2 that day. On the head end, the only official presence was a road foreman of engines.

Note the crowns were not present on cars 1 & 2.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/22 18:24 by eminence_grise.

IIRC it was aka "The Ceasar Salad Special" after the finger in Salmon Arm. Also, Salmon Arm came out with a T-shirt that proclaimed that "Pierre thinks Salmon Arm is number 1".

Rick

In retrospect, the 1980's were far simpler times in terms of security, and this journey by Prime Minister Trudeau probably caused it to be heightened.

It was supposed to be a discreet trip for the PM and his sons with no public events planned. The media somehow got wind of the trip and the train departure was national news from Vancouver.

At Salmon Arm the next morning, a small group of protesters were waiting at the scheduled stop with placards, again with the local media. One of the newscasters for CHBC is abit of a railfan, and thought an early morning drive from Kelowna was worth it for the possibility of a glimpse of the Prime Minister.

Pierre made a "one finger salute" to a particularly vocal protester, and the TV station caught it on video tape. As Rick said, a local tee shirt shop made a shirt with the motto "Pierre thinks Salmon Arm is number 1", with the image of his raised digit.

The incident again caught national media attention. As the train exited the five mile long Connaught tunnel in Rogers Pass, it was pelted with produce.

Finally, by the time the train made the next scheduled stop at Golden, there was a police presence visible in the parking lot.

At Field, the crew change point, we arrived about ten minutes early, catching RCMP Constable Bob "L" (still in active service today) by surprise. He was having coffee in the crew beanery with the Calgary crew when the train showed up. Pierre and sons went for a "walk about" with no more than a railway official (visible in the second photo) for escort. Constable Bob quickly got into position.

No media or protesters at Field that day, just a few tourists.

I'm reminded of Pierre's famous "walk in the snow" which he did all by himself in the deserted streets of Ottawa late one night during a snowstorm when he decided to resign from politics. He simply decided to take a late night walk, told no one about it, and encountered nobody else during his several hour walk.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/11 10:09 by eminence_grise.

Thanks for the pictures and the "rest of the story". The 1980s were certainly a more simple era.

As a long time resident of Salmon Arm and someone acquainted with the protestors, my comment has always been that in that famous gesture Pierre Trudeau proved himself a remarkably good judge of character.

Jim Johnston
Salmon Arm B.C.

These look a bit like CC&F cars but with corrugated siding. What is the story? Is the siding merely attached to the car side? Did Budd license shot welding to somebody else?

John Gezelius
Tustin, CA

Hawker Siddeley was a British aerospace company that took over Canadian Car & Foundry's Thunder Bay ON. plant. CC&F set up the plant to make subway & transit cars in the 1960's. After making Toronto subways cars, the T.Bay plant built the GO Transit single deck commuter cars, the CN Tempo coaches now used on the Algoma Central, these Government of Canada cars, and a large order of coaches for the NdeM. All the cars are very boxy or square in cross section and feature aluminum siding.

Close examination of the Government of Canada cars in my images will reveal rows of rivets.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/11 19:02 by eminence_grise.

jsbach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a long time resident of Salmon Arm and someone
> acquainted with the protestors, my comment has
> always been that in that famous gesture Pierre
> Trudeau proved himself a remarkably good judge of
> character.
>
> Jim Johnston
> Salmon Arm B.C.


Funny. I hope your friends are not on Train Orders.

Rick

rschonfelder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jsbach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > As a long time resident of Salmon Arm and
> someone
> > acquainted with the protestors, my comment has
> > always been that in that famous gesture Pierre
> > Trudeau proved himself a remarkably good judge
> of
> > character.
> >
> > Jim Johnston
> > Salmon Arm B.C.
>
>
> Funny. I hope your friends are not on Train
> Orders.
>
> Rick

I don't think he said friends. W/O looking it up I suspect the nature of the protest and probably a case of not everyone there agreeing.

Bob

A Salmon Arm resident was exercising his "right to peaceful protest" by carrying a picket sign critical of Prime Minister Trudeau. Other people present were there simply to get a glimpse of the Prime Minister.

Unlike the present Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who avoids contact with people critical of his agenda, Pierre Trudeau interacted with the protester, albeit in a confrontational way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/11 08:22 by eminence_grise.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the pictures and the "rest of the
> story". The 1980s were certainly a more simple
> era.

His Eminence is the 'Paul Harvey of Canadian Railroads' . . . always interesting and informative posts!!

I don't have pictures, but I took a 1975 overnight trip from Toronto to Ottawa, and the Governor General of Canada's two private cars (complete with the Queen's arms) were on the rear of the train. They looked very similar to the Prime Minister's cars in your photo.

When we arrived at Ottawa the next morning, the Governor General was taking a jog around the Ottawa station (the new one) with one military escort in a tartan beret. Highly British.

I also remember a pair of high-heeled shoes propped in one of the windows. Presumably his wife (mistress?) was along.

They probably were the same two cars. The Governor General is the Queen's appointed representative, along with the Lieutenant Governor of each Province. They are usually men and women who are deemed to have done significant service to Canada and the Provinces. When doing "Royal Duty", these cars carried the crowns.

The GG and LG's take the place of the King or Queen in signing Acts of Parliament in Law (except in rare cases when the Royals are present to do it themselves.

When the Federal Government takes Canadians to court, it is still "Elizabeth Regina vs. -------".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/11 11:43 by eminence_grise.

eminence_grise Wrote:
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> When the Federal Government takes Canadians to
> court, it is still "Elizabeth Regina vs. -------".

My property is next to Crown (government) Land so my Deed shows the adjacent owner as “Lands of Her Majesty the Queen – In Right of the Province of Nova Scotia”

Before CN was privatized it was a “Crown” Corporation