Eric Doubt was a vice-president of a B2B marketing agency specializing in health care in the 1970's. Establishing a Toronto office from Montreal in 1980 was a challenge for the agency as clients and prospects departed down Highway 401 to Toronto. Looking for something to deploy that was dramatic and noticeable, a partner read about the club of private railway car owners in the U.S. Did CN have any passenger cars for sale they could ride into town on?
CN was selling for price of scrap, in good shape, the former library car on the 1939 Royal Train then Governor-General Georges Vanier's car Metis from CN. The price was not cheap, but was below what was expected. Refurbishing, paint job and basic repairs could be managed. The car boasted a lounge, dining room with glass dining table, fully-equipped stainless-steel kitchen, three private bedrooms and bathrooms and was used for meetings, socializing and travel. Metis was returned to service and put into action for launch in Toronto, while there was still no office nor staff in Toronto. GHM-1 was the only privately-owned car in Canada at the time.
Jacques Pelletier, the former Governor-General's valet and chef came to work on the car. He cooked five-course meals while rolling through towns and villages or on the car's spur beneath the CN Tower. The firm received notice of its Agency of Record status from its first Toronto client while aboard the car. GHM-1 give the firm a foothold and presence in Toronto. Press coverage of the private car unfurled, and the firm the soon transferred its operations to a brick-and-mortar office.
The decision to buy GHM-1 parallels the current situation to beamed-up advertising during the pandemic. One recruiting firm just bought a spacious RV in which to meet and stay safe on highways. Imaginative and attention-getting ways to get to one's destination allows firms to stand out from the competition while making a statement.
-From the podcast by Eric Doubt of CA14 Integrated Marketing & Communications in Georgetown. (Top photo from CA14 website.)
Owners subsequent to CN:
- 1978 Michael Harris (GHM-1)
- 1981 JH Green of Texas Tank Car Works
- 1989 Jeff Hanley of Clarksville, AR named Mercedes
- 2004-2010 American Rail Excursions' MRLX 800341 Metis
- Thereafter New Brunswick Southern Metis as profiled by fellow blogger Steve Boyko.
- March 22/79 tailing the Cavalier, VIA No 58
Lots o' links:
- PPCX 800341 Metis painted in CN green-black as of 2004.
- Metis was an attendee at AAPRCO conventions 2003+, and as GHM-1 in 1980 at White Sulphur Springs, VA.
Running extra...
CNN announced changes to its weekday morning and daytime, now taking effect:
Laura Jarrett and Christine Romans will continue to anchor Early Start from 5-6 am.
John Berman and Brianna Keilar will anchor New Day from 6-9 am, weekdays. Keilar most recently anchored CNN Right Now from 1-3pm weekdays. Prior to that, she was CNN’s White House correspondent during the Obama Administration. Berman has been co-anchor of New Day for the last two and a half years.
Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto will continue to anchor CNN Newsroom from 9-11 am.
Kate Bolduan will continue to anchor At this Hour from 11am-noon.
John King will continue to anchor Inside Politics with John King weekdays from noon-1pm. The network’s Chief National Correspondent, he will also continue to have a key role in all political coverage.
Ana Cabrera, who has anchored CNN’s weekend newscasts for the last four years, will now anchor CNN Newsroom weekdays from 1-2 pm.
Alisyn Camerota and Victor Blackwell will now anchor CNN’s afternoon Newsroom coverage from 2-4 pm. Camerota has anchored CNN’s morning program, New Day, for the last six years, the longest tenure of any weekday morning show anchor in recent CNN history, and, along with Berman, has led CNN to its largest audiences ever in the morning. Blackwell has anchored CNN’s Weekend New Day for the last nine years.
With the move of Cabrera and Blackwell to CNN’s weekday lineup, CNN also finalized its new weekend lineup:
Boris Sanchez will join Christi Paul as co-anchor of Weekend New Day on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sanchez previously served as a CNN White House correspondent.
Fredricka Whitfield will continue to anchor CNN Newsroom’s midday coverage on Saturdays and Sundays.
Jim Acosta will anchor CNN Newsroom on Saturdays and Sundays from 3-6pm. As previously announced, Acosta has also been named the network’s chief domestic correspondent. Prior to this new role, he covered the White House for CNN for the past seven years, having served as Chief White House Correspondent since 2018. That role is now filled by Kaitlan Collins.
As previously announced, Pamela Brown now anchors CNN Newsroom on Saturdays and Sundays from 6-9pm. She also serves as Senior Washington Correspondent for CNN.
[Was this announcement as long as the post it followed? Film at 11!]
