Canadian Railroads > CP 2 at Morants Curve, 1977

CP train 2, the eastbound "Canadian" on February 21st, 1977 with a typical winter consist going around Morants Curve, a couple of miles east of Lake Louise.

Note the pole line, which bothered photographers at the time, however the telecommunication crews ensured the brush beneath the pole was well trimmed at least twenty feet each side of the tracks. 

What a nice, compact, streamliner that would have been to ride. How were service standards on the CP by then? Thanks for sharing this gem.

Very nice..!!

Yes, ROW was cleaner with pole lines, a plus in many ways.

Bob

King_Coal Wrote:
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> What a nice, compact, streamliner that would have
> been to ride. How were service standards on the CP
> by then? Thanks for sharing this gem.

Truth be known, it was a rather sad time, change was coming in the form of Via Rail . However, just what changes were going to take place was unclear.

Later in 1977, I worked as a trainman on the "Canadian" for the summer and got to know many of the on board staff.  They didn't know if they would have jobs after Via took over.
As it turned out, Via "dovetailed" CN and CP seniority and the former CN on board staff had more service time. Many of the CP on boards were furloughed.

Did the uncertainty reflect in the service standards? Perhaps. 

 

I like how the multi-mark comes together between the A and B units

Very scenic photo. The matched engine set and consist makes it even better.
ALLEN

King_Coal Wrote:
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> What a nice, compact, streamliner that would have
> been to ride. How were service standards on the CP
> by then? Thanks for sharing this gem.

I don’t mean this to sound totally negative, but the CPR reduced standards on The Canadian starting after the summer season in 1972.  It continued, a little at a time, until VIA assumed the service. This was not a case of the crew lowering standards; most continued to provide excellent service. As someone who had enjoyed several journeys starting in 1968 this was sad to see.
 
The food in the dining car was simplified, although it was still good. At breakfast and lunch, the tablecloths were plastic-topped and the napkins replaced with paper. Dinner was more traditional with linen tablecloths and napkins. To its credit, right to the end, the CPR continued using the traditional silver sugar bowls and heavy silver cutlery, every piece badged with “CPR”.  I became well-acquainted with some dining car stewards on the Toronto-Winnipeg portion. They were sad to see the service standards fall, but they were still proud of the service provided by the crew.
 
From 1972 the Toronto-Sudbury Park car was operated only in the three-month summer season and for about a fortnight in the Christmas season. For most of the year there was only one sleeper to/from Toronto (usually a Châteaux) and one (usually a Manor) plus Park car to/from Montreal.  The number of passengers dropped significantly, especially in the winter season. On one of the trips my wife and I took in February in 1975 there were only four of us in the sleeper ex-Toronto and fewer than  a dozen after the Montreal and Toronto sections were merged in Sudbury.
 
The interiors of the sleepers became threadbare. Fortunately everything worked on my trips: air conditioning or heating, electricity, lights, toilets. As a bonus - most of the time the trains ran on time.
 
As an aside: in the early days of VIA operation  the interiors were refurbished in attractive colours and fabrics. In the slow season the dining car was eliminated and the coach seats in the Skyline car were replaced with tables and this became the diner.  VIA did not acquire any CPR silver with the equipment. Tables had only paper place-mats for the first two meals of the day and, until the vastly improved Silver and Blue service started in 1992, much of the food was served on paper plates and most beverages served in plastic cups. Passenger loads in the winter were still quite low. On several of our winter trips from 1984 to 2001 there were only 15 sleeper passengers.  The sleeper loads have increased somewhat since then.
 

eminence_grise Wrote:
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> CP train 2, the eastbound "Canadian" on February
> 21st, 1977 with a typical winter consist going
> around Morants Curve, a couple of miles east of
> Lake Louise.
>
> 
Eminence:
I rode the Canadian out of Vancouver in late May of 1977 and we had exactly the same consist -- 2 sleepers and 1 coach
WP17

WP17 Wrote:
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> eminence_grise Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > CP train 2, the eastbound "Canadian" on
> February
> > 21st, 1977 with a typical winter consist going
> > around Morants Curve, a couple of miles east of
> > Lake Louise.
> >
> > 
> Eminence:
> I rode the Canadian out of Vancouver in late May
> of 1977 and we had exactly the same consist -- 2
> sleepers and 1 coach
> WP17

CN fares , depending on the day of travel (Red,White and Blue fares) were much cheaper, and there was greater availability and the CN passenger sales department was more helpful.

In those days when much of the sales of long distance travel were handled by travel agents, those factors alone resulted in CN having many more riders. 

eminence_grise Wrote:

>
> CN fares , depending on the day of travel
> (Red,White and Blue fares) were much cheaper, and
> there was greater availability and the CN
> passenger sales department was more helpful.
>
> In those days when much of the sales of long
> distance travel were handled by travel agents,
> those factors alone resulted in CN having many
> more riders. 

Indeed, CN did a good job at marketing. Although the Super Continental often had only one sleeper in winter ex-Toronto, as did The Canadian, it was usually full according to my friends at CN. By the  early to mid-1970s both CN and CP stopped providing complimentary meals to sleeper passengers. I was surprised that more passengers didn't take The Canadian, despite it being more expensive. The Park car was fabulous compared to the horrid mid-train lounge on CN. The garish neon lighting, purple and red chairs and "splotches"  masquerading as art work caused my wife and me to ride that train no more than one night at a time. Also, CN had no drawing rooms in the off-peak season. I suppose price means more than anything to many people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/19 06:39 by DrawingroomA.

Beautiful shot !
Gary