Very thoughtful of Classic Trains to post a pic of The Canadian leaving Toronto to honour our Canada Day. Thanks to the staff.
Couple of thoughts about the picture 1) its a time period were the CNR became simply CN and the Black/Orange nose with white Wet Noodle logo has already been introduced. The classy Green/Black/Gold and the Maple Leaf were history. There are 2 or 3 CN locomotives visible with the new colours. The CPR meanwhile has a ways to go yet in introducing the multimark, and during this period stayed with the traditional Maroon/Grey and the Spans the World Beaver. For a brief period of time these existed side by side and this is an example of that.
- That coachyard is full packed with lots of passenger equipment for very soon to be discontinued passenger trains. This is a picture that shows the very very end of an era. Gotta love that huge Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lettering on top of the grain elevators along the harbourfront.
Just about all that land and trackage seen is all redeveloped well away from anything railroad. Retail, Condos, Blue Jays you name it.
A glimpse of the way things were right at the end.
The Canadian departing Toronto
An FP7 and F7B depart Toronto wit
I have got to add my appreciation for the Canada Day photo.
So much to see, even though I know nothing about Toronto.
You can see the rooflines of two of the Ulysses class sleepers I mentioned in the other thread last week, just ahead of the Skyline Dome.
On the “A” unit there are Ice Breakers, and the Spotlight. That spotlight generated all kinds of posts on another forum years ago as to their purpose, but I learned long ago it was a failed attempt to light up the passing mountains at night for the passengers. For all the good it did, the train crews might just as well held lit matches out of the cab windows, but the National Parks people might have taken a dim view of that. It must be late, the puns are coming too easy.
Those Ice Breakers still had a real job to do in 1964. The Spiral Tunnels had not yet been lined with concrete, and passengers in the Domes could not ride through them in case a timber broke and was hanging down. Freight train crews had never been allowed in the cupolas of cabooses while they were inside the tunnels. That didn’t change until 1966 or so, after we had moved to Calgary. It was a big deal in the Spanner Magazine and other publications my Dad brought home.
Thanks to Classic Trains for the Canada Day photo.
Bruce