Ex-CP Smooth-Side Cars Transferred to VIA

TRANSFERRED TO VIA IN 1978

A number of ex-CP coaches and head-end cars were transferred to VIA at the end of September, 1978. While some saw VIA service, most languished in coach yards, many in Montreal's CP Glen Yard. Cynics suggest that CP was cleaning out its yards while getting money from VIA Rail, knowing that these cars were not ever likely to see VIA service due to their age and condition. Some never turned a wheel for VIA.

CP's SMOOTH-SIDE FLEET

Built as a response to post-war passenger traffic and the generally downtrodden state of many passenger cars following the busy wartime period, two groups of 'curved-side' coaches were commissioned by CP:

• CP 2220-2234 built by National Steel Car, Hamilton 1947-48, fitted out by CP's Angus Shops.
• CP 2235-2298 built by Canadian Car & Foundry, Montreal 1949-50.

While there are many references to the unique, curved-side design of these welded steel cars, I use the term smooth-side to differentiate them from the Budd 'Canadian' stainless-steel 100-series coaches. Since none of the NSC cars went to VIA, I'm referring to the CC&F cars throughout this post. (The 2200's are not to be confused with CPs earlier 2100-series cars built in the 1930's and their smaller windows.)

Both classes were very similar, at a length over sills of 77' 11 1/2", overall length of 83' 10 1/2", with 68 seats - 52 in the main room and 16 in a smoking section. Trucks were four-wheel Commonwealth design by General Steel Castings Corp. of Eddystone, PA. Both builders delivered the cars in overall tuscan red, with yellow-gold CANADIAN PACIFIC lettering near the black roofline. The CC&F cars were equipped with mechanical refrigeration and a modified truck design.

IN CP SERVICE

The cars saw varied service, such as on the Atlantic Limited, and overflow service (top photo - Calgary) on the Canadian between Calgary and Vancouver. An online auction site photo of No 2 (above) taken at Field in 1978 shows a 2200-series coach behind the baggage-dorm. During holiday travel periods, the cars could be added to the Atlantic Limited, or replaced Dayliners on Calgary-Edmonton trains. They were also used on short-haul trains that still existed before the advent of VIA, such as Montreal-Ottawa*. There are many accounts of the 2200-series cars giving passengers a smooth, comfortable ride. 

Thirteen of the cars were later repainted to overall aluminum with yellow-gold CANADIAN PACIFIC lettering on a tuscan red letterboard. In the CP Rail era, the letterboard was painted Action Red, with CP Rail lettering and small multimark. (CP's heavyweight fleet had previously passed into other services by 1972, such as rules cars or Service cars.)

DISPOSITION AFTER CP

In light of declining passenger traffic, 19 cars were leased to CN for their busy Expo 67 period from June, 1966 to November, 1967. CP lent 2210, 2236, 2258, 2266, 2285 and 2298 to the Government of Canada for use on the Confederation Train. Twenty-one cars were sold to Hawker-Siddeley in 1967-68, refurbished for NdeM in Mexico. Other cars were sold to Ontario Northland in 1968 (2), Algoma Central thence Wisconsin Central in 1972-73 (13), the Government of British Columbia for museum service in 1973 (4), BC Rail in 1973-74 for tourist train service (12), and the Quebec Cartier Railway in 1972 and 1976 (4).

IN VIA SERVICE

As for the remaining coaches that went to VIA - some reports state that these ex-CP smooth-side cars were all retired by November, 1978 although photos show that some must have been reactivated, since coaches were still in use in 1979. It would appear that time frame was actually two years, not two months! There were concerns about compatibility and no doubt streamlining the polyglot fleet that VIA inherited from CP, and mostly CN. Photos of the ex-CP head-end cars in service are rare**, likely because if there was one thing that VIA never seemed short of, it was baggage cars. At various times, ex-CN baggages were leased to Amtrak, stored, and usually the last ex-CN car type to receive VIA blue & yellow paint.

Interestingly, the Budd 'Canadian' cars that VIA obtained from CP as part of the same transfer continue to be the backbone of VIA's intercity and long-distance fleet some 45 years hence. Most photos of the smooth-side cars in service are no later than 1979 and I don't recall any seeing Montreal-Toronto Corridor service. 

Eric May kindly shared a photo taken by his brother Bruce in July, 1979 showing VIA No 2 arriving Calgary. Behind VIA 1416, two CP Rail Geeps, an ex-CN baggage and I-series 24-roomette is a CP 2200 followed by a VIA-painted stainless steel coach and Action Red Skyline:

The ex-CP smooth-side cars were eventually scrapped or sold to other railways. Ex-CP Rail baggage 2720, showing remnants of at least two paint schemes, languishes in Winnipeg at the bumper of an East Yard coach track, with ex-CN Sceneramic Fraser (Brian Schuff photo):

DISPOSITION AFTER VIA

I've summarized all the information I could find on the ex-CP smooth-side cars in their transition from CP to VIA, as well as their eventual disposition, in the table below. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a table is worth ten times that! The table includes colour of stripe, sold status, storage status and scrap dates. It also lists a few known CP baggage cars that were not sold to VIA, as well as a few odd head-end cars that were transferred but rarely if ever photographed:

Bruce Chapman made a trip to the CP Glen Yard in Westmount to photograph languishing ex-CP cars that had been sold to VIA. In a variety of CPR/CP Rail colours, these cars were resting and rusting, seemingly forgotten, and most decidedly not in VIA service. Bruce's photos are from 1983:

Ex-CP 2734 its CANADIAN PACIFIC lettering seemingly removed (above) and CP Rail-lettered 2732 (below) coupled to CP Rail Motive Power Test car:

Ex-CP 2424, still with maroon stripe. The central position of the doors meant a very long distance between CANADIAN an PACIFIC. CP Spans the World and spans the letterboard, too:

Unreadable-numbered car in CP Rail colours:

Lots o' links:

• A Montreal-Labelle fall foliage excursion in September, 1975
• railpictures.net photo of VIA No 2 with a red-striped smooth-side coach at North Bay in September, 1979.
• Eric May sent this link showing two 2200's near Washago also in 1979.
• CP 2245 in overall aluminum.
  
• A rather bedraggled CP 2247 with a multimarked companion.
• What appears to be CP 2256 in CP Rail colours, perhaps early 1970's, actually.
  
• CP 2260 in CP Rail colours at Vancouver, 1977 along with CP 2293.
• Rapido Trains Inc. had not taken on production of the round-side cars. I do have a second-hand HO scale 2200-series car in the tuscan scheme, based on the CN/VIA CC&F prototype (above) produced about 10 years ago..
• CP 2424 in in 1976 still with tuscan letterboard, and 2722 in CP Rail colours.

In print:

• * A Robert Sandusky photo in Chris Greenlaw's excellent MBI book on VIA Rail shows VIA 1432 still in CP Rail paint pulling three similarly-painted 2200's at Lachute, QC. The caption states that No 132 on the North Shore route was normally a Dayliner, but this smooth-side equipment was protecting the service when photographed on March 24, 1979.
• ** Tom Nelligan's VIA Rail Canada: The first five years includes a photo of VIA No 1 captioned April 1981, with an ex-CP baggage in the consist.

Photos in this post kindly shared by Bruce Chapman unless otherwise indicated. Top photo taken by D.L. Zeutschel, kindly shared by Brian Schuff.

Running extra...

 

On display: months after I was born, CPR 5433 was put on display in Chapleau. This photo set portrays some of the day's events for posterity.

On the block: speaking of CP relics, crane 414222 is in Milwaukee, offered for sale by the company. The crane still has its inspection certificate from Pankratz Engineering in Winnipeg:

On the cowcatcher: our grandson took in a lunch downtown with us, plus a visit to the Pumphouse Museum's 'On The Move' exhibit and a trip to the toy store. Though we did not walk out with his choice, a $155 dumptruck/float trailer/backhoe set, he did choose two smaller trucks for himself and two for his brother, at a third of the price!

FiVIA's at Kingston, August 2022

Memo to CN: This Trackside Treasure humble blogger would like to register a complaint. A little disappointed that you did not see fit to send a single freight along the Kingston Sub past Kingston in 3.5 hours in what is known to be a 'busy morning time-slot'. One train heard at home before setting out, and another while in the Tim Hortons drive-thru on the way to the station don't count. Not to mention 305 and 369 that happened by after I headed home. The consists in my notebook for Thursday, August 25 filled a disappointing half-page.

So, what to do? Get creative with VIA photography, that's what! I've endeavoured to show all the trains, but not just wedge shots. It's a crutch, I know. A go-to, I get it. But with look-alike trains on tangent track, I gave it that old collage try!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

The players. As always, D='D&H' paint scheme; F=Future wrap (*3476 only Business Class car in this scheme); F-40=Future wrap with 40th anniversary red circle logo; L=Love the way wrap; R=Renaissance scheme.

0917 EB No 60/50: 6428-3463-3476F*-3314R-3360F-3367-3326R-912L-4003D-4107-4119-4117.

0932 WB No 61: 6433-3472-3311R-3362R-3364F-40.

1035 WB No 51: 6420L-3458-4001D-3324R-3335-3332R.

1113 EB No 62/52: 903L-4000D-4004D-4113D-4122-4108-4115D-911L-4007-4109-8123-4106-8104.

1157 WB No 63: 919L-3469-3464-3338F-3345R-3353 F-40.

PHOTOS OF THE FiVIA'S

No 60/50 was its usual J-train self. But with the cornucopia of paint schemes sometimes seen, it's about finding the needle in the stack of pins. To wit, VIA 3476: the unique grey-slash, centred-VIA logo and double-numbered Business Class Car that is a VIAunicorn, a one-off (above). Though I was parked on the backlit side, there was no way I could achieve my assignment without going to the south side. I mustered the energy, relished the results, and was able to catch up to all the trains over there. 

On my way, I crunched some new old ballast. During the September, 2020 rail and tie renewal, the grubbed-out ballast was deposited on the south side bordering the swampland. I decided to take advantage of it to widen out any wedge shots, careful to shoot around this Kingston karacteristic hockey-stick platform lights (top photo, arrival of 60/50).

The platforms and trains were filled, with passengers positioned on platforms long before each train arrived. The panoply of paint schemes (above) and bus-bombed by a blue Kingston Express atop the Princess Street overpass. A new old baggage cart, seemingly repainted and just east of the station (below). Since there is currently no checked baggage in the Corridor, I was treated to two battery-charger runs of the checked-baggage truck, still parked in the station lot, from east to west through the parking lot and new roundabout!

Can you spot the point-and-shoot as well as the pointer-and-shooter in this Track 2 station building Departures board?

Platform-ant view of VIA 3364 trailing VIA No 51. This coach wears the 'Future' and 40th anniversary markings. A foreman at Ernestown was desperately trying to get track time, though the Edmonton RTC reminded him that the VIA's were less than 40 minutes apart and, oh, try after 1230! 

Someone in marketing decided this weather shelter on track two needed some scenery. Tonquin Valley, Alberta did the trick:

Made it up to the head-end of No 51 before departure. The platform ants&arts club helped with this one. The F40 is a boringly boxy beast but I just can't help myself sometimes. I noticed two examples of evidence of damage, possibly birdstrikes, on the high, rear surfaces of trailing units, prevalent during the current minimal-wyeing era at VIA, with locomotives on both ends of many consists. Here's the Youtube video of the departure. Sorry about the wind noise. Really sorry about the e-bell!

After an hour-long lull punctuated by ten Timbits and at least as many pages of Rick Mercer's Talking to Canadians it was time for VIA No 61 to trundle in with a polyglot consist. Nothing led by a 'love the way' wrap can be all wrong, though. VIA 6420 is one of only two units not to have worn this wrap but not the earlier CANADA 150 and VIA40 wraps. The other is 6427, both damaged in a wreck on the way to Churchill.

There I go again with the slab-side photos. Oh well, justified by showing the French language wrap. Several sides of the expansive station roof are missing shingles after winter storms:

Bus-bombed encore!

Vestiges of CN's first fibre-optic installation circa 1985. Other light standards wear Rideau Trail markers. This way to the swamp, and Ottawa, where I don't think they'll ever drain-the-swamp.

Recalling the platform-filler consists of the early VIA years. In this case, it's VIA 62/52 as I hot-dogged over to the south side safely after its arrival. You can just see the end of the north side platform on this side of 8104. Of course, when the true platform-fillers were here, not these two-train combination-passenger-platters, that poplar tree at right was just a sapling!

I am a fan of the far side, both the sunbathed side and the Gary Larson cartoon. It's quite a hike to the head-end, maybe 1200 feet on these two feet, and I almost made it!

The grubbed-out ballast in foreground gave me a better angle as I wantonly wangled just one wedge:

The only way to rescue yet another P42 shot, in this case 9-1-1, was to angle the camera. Real emergencies continued to occur. No fewer than three ambulance artistes worked their sirens through the Sydenham Road/Princess Street intersection and up the overpass on their way to Kingston Health Sciences Centre. Godspeed.

With memories of Schreiber, Sintaluta and Salmon Arm, ex-CP 8123 accompanied its Budd, 8104 on this train.

The ties and ballast were replaced in 2020, but this rail was installed  in 2022. I paced it off and noted that it must have been made of 85-foot lengths that arrived from another hemisphere via the Port of Halifax, get welded in Transcona, then trundled back here.

This foreman was doing something down at Queens West during my visit. This is max zoom with max shimmer:

This wrap was a wrap - the last train. VIA 919:

Track 2 station photography session:

Clouds oblige as VIA No 63 prepares to noblesse-oblige its way down the line. The vintage fence-topper pipes were damaged during the 2020 renewal and never repaired:

There are much worse ways to spend your day than trainwatching under Kingston's sunny but humid sky. In two years, this boxy little station set in a swamp will celebrate its golden anniversary!

Running extra...

Kingston`s health care is making me sick. To my stomach. You might not get in the door. If you do, you'll wait hours. If you're admitted, you may not get the care you need. Why?

Because people love tax breaks. When the biggest portion of the provincial budget goes to health care, where do budgets get cut? Headlines like PSW salaries, homelessness and food insecurity actually start with governments cutting social programs while dangling tax breaks to get elected, and only then are exacerbated by a global pandemic.

Health care is one of the last fields where staff are not allowed to speak out publicly. Instead, it's left to unions and professional organizations who inherently have a bias that's perceived by the public. And dismissed. It's not a real problem. Our Kingston health care is just fine. Isn't it?

When there are no ambulances to come and get us, when there are seven patients per nurse, when there are six hour waits to get our next waiting area in Emergency or our hallway stretcher, maybe then we'll think about who we voted for, at every political level.

Summertime at the Station, August 2022

I enjoyed two railfanning visits to the Kingston VIA station on August 8 and 9, 2022. The afternoon and midday visits were uplifting as were the two loads on CN No 305 shown in the top photo! I parked in the 'cell phone' lot to the west of the station, though I did make one trip to the 'long term' lot to the east. Both are as spacious as they are capacious. An earlier visitor was the CN weed-spray train, apparently CN's replacement for bushwhacking sectionmen (long gone) or the brushcutter track machine (hidden somewhere). Most trackside weeds have turned brown, and sumac have been put into positively premature autumn colours. The results to the west with Mi 177 Kingston Subdivision up the hill:           

 

Observed trains are shown by time, direction and details:

1530 EB: One of a new pair of intermodal/auto rack trains, CN No 122 with 2282-2202 has export double-stack containers like UASC and HL, plus 50 loaded autoracks:

VIA wraps are denoted as R=Renaissance; L=Love the Way; F=The Future is on board or F/40 if still bedecked with VIA 40th anniversary circular red logo. The refurbished stainess steel cars with the green/yellow or Business Class grey/yellow are denoted as "D&H" or D for reasons known only unto me (oh, and the Delaware & Hudson's blue and yellow broad stripes).

1620 WB: VIA No 67: 6413-3326R-3340-3347R-3370-3360-3470-6427L. Passenger loads were healthy, and mask-wearing on board was intended to keep it that way:

Almost as many VIA P42's are unwrapped as VIA F40's are wrapped.

An eastbound is lined to the south at Queens East, with the signals just visible under the newish John Counter Boulevard overpass. Crossing gates are activated for the old, unused Counter Street crossing:

VIA No 44 was the one lined on the north track 1632 EB: 918L-3471-3355F-3350F-3371. After its station stop, it was engaged in a winnable race with the dumpster dumper. This was my last train of the day, but I would return the next day.

August 9 - 1110 EB VIA No 62/52: 903L-4000"D&H"-4004D-4114D-4122-4108-4115D-915-4008D-4116-8102D-4104-8108D (no photos).

1143 WB VIA No 63: 910L-3469-3464-3338F-3345R-3353F/VIA40 stopping just west of the station on the north track. New taxi area in foreground:

An 80 km/h and 100km/h winter windstorm were likely the cause of this case of shingles:

1222 WB VIA No 45: 918L-3471-3355F-3350F/40-3371 (no photos).

1253 EB No 40: 911L-4003D-4112D-4119-4117-4111D:

1300 WB CN No 369 with 2974-exCitirail 3924 running wrong main behind the above VIA, so no photos. I decided to get my subsequent treasure right at trackside. I deployed the Mark I Lawnchair.

1325 WB CN No 305 approaches:

CN 2999 in the lead, running on the south track:

AIMX scrap gons 19172-19193-19134-20172:

DPU 3061 is bracketed by IC and ATW gons with bagged loads of nickel.

Belgium-built Sarens cranes on HTTX 93443 and 92913 had arrived through the Port of Halifax, a frequent path of heavy equipment passing through Ontario from Europe destined Western Canada.

If it's 305, there has to be Irving lumber on board. Pun intended.

Decelerating while ascending the hill to Mi 177:

1330 EB CN No 372 just a couple of minutes later, led by CN 3136 but two minutes too late for a meet at the station. :

TCMX 12417, formerly JAIX 96115 aluminum Johnstown America Grainporter:

DPU 2997 followed by about 60 loaded auto racks. The microprocessor chips must have come in!

Can opener conclusion:

Fellow Kingston railfan, photographer and aerial image-maker Andre Gerow kindly shared this fresh drone view of the station. You'll note the broad expanse of marshland in which the station was built, surrounding the Little Cataraqui Creek on its way to Lake Ontario. Princess Street overpass is at top of photo. The former Cataraqui level crossing, replaced by the overpass in 1968 was where the grove of trees is. The Ambassador Hotel is at top centre. The expansive concrete pad around the station and the renewed, enlarged parking lot (with lots of medians!) are also visible.

Running extra...

As Trackside Treasure begins its quindecennial year, roofers are pounding on our roof like a squadron of caffeinated woodpeckers. While railfans and railways may think they're the only ones about cool paint schemes, this Roofmart delivery truck literally wrapped itself in the flag, and I don't see a shingle thing wrong with that!

My much younger (not quite four years old) but also more active other blog concerns Kingston's Hanley Spur. This post on modelling the 1895 addition to the Kingston Outer Station inevitably leads readers to lament the current state of the prototype. Alone, unused, dejected and undergoing demolition by apathy, it lives on in HO scale.

I've spent much of the summer doing urban planning on one 2x8-foot stretch of that layout, and much of that time has been spent under a roof, be it a sunroom roof or even an umbrella or front porch. But I'm technically outside! A slight re-jig of the track made room for the I.Cohen scrapyard and CP spur extension, Davis tannery and CN spur, an ex-industry, the CN telegraph repeater station, CN Express shed and spur and the above-mentioned CN Outer Station. Though some august experts say modelling season begins in September, I don't fall for that one!