   #copyright

The Canadian

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

   The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally
   operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is currently operated by
   VIA Rail Canada (as the Canadian) with service between Union Station in
   Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British
   Columbia. Before the current transcontinental service, the name "The
   Canadian" had been used on CPR's overnight Montreal / Chicago trains.
   Route map of The Canadian
   Enlarge
   Route map of The Canadian

Canadian Pacific

   In the years following World War II, passenger trains on the CPR
   consisted of a mixture of prewar heavyweight and pre- and post-war
   lightweight cars, even on their flagship transcontinental The Dominion
   and its eastern extension, The Atlantic Limited. While these cars were
   serviceable, American trains of the early 1950s, such as the California
   Zephyr, had already adopted streamlined all- stainless steel consists
   featuring domed observation cars. Following an evaluation in 1949 of
   the dome cars featured on the General Motors / Pullman Standard
   demonstrator Train of Tomorrow, CPR management, including then
   Vice-president Norris Crump resolved to upgrade their rolling stock. In
   1953 CPR placed an order for 155 stainless steel cars with the Budd
   Company of Philadelphia that included 18 rear-end dome cars (Park
   series), 18 Skyline mid-train dome cars, 30 coaches, 18 dining cars and
   71 sleeping cars (Manor and Chateau series). A subsequent order for 18
   baggage-crew dormitory cars brought the final to total to 173 cars,
   sufficient for establishing an entirely new transcontinental service
   and partially re-equippiping The Dominion. The interior design of these
   new cars was contracted to the Philadelphia architectural firm
   Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson (a company known for its
   industrial designs on other prominent passenger trains such as the
   Pioneer Zephyr), and the resulting furnishings and pastel-shaded colour
   schemes were widely acclaimed. After deciding to name the Park series
   dome cars after famous Canadian parks, leading Canadian artists,
   including members of the Group of Seven, were commissioned to paint
   suitable murals for these cars. When the decision was made to add
   budget sleeping cars, the Budd order was supplemented by 22 existing
   heavyweight sleepers that CPR refurbished in its own Angus Shops, each
   fitted out with Budd-style stainless steel cladding. To complement the
   new rolling stock, the CPR ordered General Motors Diesel FP9
   locomotives to supplement an existing fleet of FP7s. Although these
   F-units remained the preferred power for the train, it was occasionally
   pulled by a variety of motive power, including Montreal Locomotive
   Works FPA-2s, and, as late as 1959, Steam locomotives.

   CPR christened their new flagship train The Canadian and service began
   on April 24, 1955. Although CPR competitor Canadian National Railways
   began its own new transcontinental service, the Super Continental, on
   the same day, CPR was able to boast honestly that The Canadian was "The
   first and only all-stainless steel 'dome' stream-liner in Canada" — it
   was not until 1964 that the CNR acquired dome cars. CPR operated the
   train in two sections east of Sudbury, Ontario. The section operating
   between Montreal and Vancouver (also serving Ottawa) was known as train
   1 westbound and train 2 eastbound, with a connecting section to or from
   Toronto splitting or joining at Sudbury (this section was known as
   train 11 westbound, and train 12 eastbound). Matching its streamlined
   appearance, The Canadian's 71 hour westbound schedule was 16 hours
   faster than that of The Dominion.

   Although initially successful, passenger train ridership began to
   decline in Canada during the 1960s. Facing competition from airlines
   and increased automobile usage following construction of the
   Trans-Canada Highway, the CPR cancelled The Dominion in 1966, and
   petitioned the government to discontinue The Canadian in 1970. Although
   this petition was denied, CPR during the 1970s attempted to remove
   itself from the passenger service market. The Canadian was operated at
   reduced levels, with the government subsidising 80 percent of its
   losses.

VIA Rail

   The Canadian picking up a canoeist in central Ontario
   Enlarge
   The Canadian picking up a canoeist in central Ontario

   The federal Crown corporation VIA Rail Canada formally assumed
   responsibility for CPR's passenger services on October 29, 1978,
   although the VIA identity wasn't assumed by the trains themselves until
   the following summer. Following the takeover by VIA, the Canadian
   became the company's premier transcontinental train, and initially
   operated over its old CPR route. It was supplemented by the former CN
   Super Continental, which operated over the parallel, but more
   northerly, CN route. The Canadian continued to be operated in two
   sections east of Sudbury and provided daily service west to Vancouver
   and east to Toronto and Montreal.

   In the aftermath of the deep budget cuts made to VIA Rail on January
   15, 1990, the Super Continental service was abolished and the Canadian
   was moved from the CPR route to the Super Continental's CN route. This
   maintained transcontinental service and allowed VIA to operate its
   government-mandated service to small communities along the line. The CN
   route is widely acknowledged to be less scenic, particularly in the
   sections through the Rocky Mountains and north of Lake Superior.
   Service was also reduced to 3 days per week. Today, VIA Rail continues
   to operate the Canadian using the CN route with rebuilt ex-CPR Budd
   passenger equipment.

   While some rail travel and heritage purists no longer consider this to
   be the true Canadian, VIA retains the name, train numbers, and
   equipment of the original.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canadian"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
