These three pictures come courtesy of the Canadian National Railway. The first is the "Super Continental" in northern Ontario. The second shows the "Super Continental" approaching Japer Alberta. The third shows the "Super Continental" threading through the Fraser River Canyon. Too bad the airlines destoyed this form of travel. ------------------ Robin Maberly and Tayside
Yeah, the travel was pleasant, service was pure class, lots of room, you could sleep in a real bed, eat a full meal at a table, actually see the scenery, and relax in finest of comfort in the parlor car with the occasional drunk for entertainment. I remember well. There were no long lines, the Terminals had all the amenities, and with well maintained track in those days, you didn't wonder if you would ever see your home again, when you left. These trains sure didn't fall out of the sky because of some big shot's greed. Every kid wanted to be the engineer, but I haven't heard any kids lately say they wanted to fly a passenger plane! Money grubbers!! ------------------ Watash
Robin , great pictures . I am gonna move this to Passenger Service . Might get some wider exposure here
There is a 50% chance my grandfather was the engineer on the engine in the second down picture; the train close to Jasper. He drove that train, every other day for ten years or more until his retirenment in 65. The crews worked one day on, one day off. There is also a possibility I met that train when it arrived in Jasper. I used to wait at the station until my grandfather arrived, bringing the train in. I would then scamper up into the cab, and wait for him to climb down. Then we walked home to his place together. [ 12 February 2001: Message edited by: rsn48 ] [ 12 February 2001: Message edited by: rsn48 ]
More trivia: You can still ride the route of all three photos if you take the VIA. My family took it to Jasper last march and went through the bottom two pictures country. The Rocky Mountaineer is an excursion train that runs from Vancouver to Jasper or Banff, the train breaks in two, one going one way, the other going the other way. The reason the Rocky Mountaineer is popular is that the VIA schedule has changed and you go through the Fraser Canyon at night (if you take it, take it on a full moon - light from moon illuminates the canyon). This is where my son and I go for railfanning in the summer. Last summer I was roasting in the canyon (it can get really hot there - hottest place in Canada) and I was reading book under the shade of a tree. I heard a train going by, when I looked up there was a CP F7 painted in the maroon and grey, pulling old maroon CP passenger cars; it was the business train for CP. Who says you can't have fun in contemporary modeling.
