214 ISSN 0008-4875 CANADIAN RAIL Postal Permit No. 40066621 PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE CANADIAN RAILROAD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION TABLE OF CONTENTS A Concise HistolY of the CRHA, Part 1, By Stephen Wray ............. .. .. ....... .... .. ... .......... 215 Fairbanks Photo Gallery, By Stan J. Smaill .. .......... ..... ............ ............ .. .. .......... 230 A Movie Called Iron Road, By David LI Davies ....... ....... ... ..... ........ ............ ... ... 239 Business Car . .. ........ .. .......... .. .. ... ..... .... .. .......... .. .. .. ..... .. .. ... 245 FRONT COVER: Riding high! CPR TJ'ainmaster 8917 is on a LaSalle transfel; delivering cars to the compact yard at Lasalle, Quebec back in June 1970. The 8917 was ordered from the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario, on November 29, 1955 and was delivered to CPR as part oforder C-638 between September and October 1956. StanJ. Smail!. BELOW: The earliest Imown photo of a group of CRHA excursionists taken in 1932 by DonaldAnf51-lS, from left to right are Victor Morin, unlmown, unlmown, M,: Renaud, John Loye and Robel1 R. Brown . For your membership in the CRHA, which Canadian Rail is continually in need of news, stories, INTERIM CO-EDITORS: includes a subscription to Canadian Rail, historical data, photos, maps and other material. Peter Murphy, Douglas N.W. Smith write to: Please send all contributions to Peter Murphy, ASSOCIATE EDITOR (Motive Power) : CRHA, 110 Rue St-Pierre, St. Constant, X1-870 Lakeshore Road , Dorval, QC H9S 5X7, Hugues W. Bonin Que. J5A 1G7 email : [email protected]. No payment can LAYOUT: Gary McMinn Membership Dues for 2007: be made for contributions, but the contributor will be given credit for material submitted. Material will be PRINTING : Impression Paragraph In Canada: $45 .00 (including all taxes) returned to the. contributor if requested . Remember United States: $43.00 in U.S. funds. "Knowledge is of little value unless it is shared with DISTRIBUTION : Joncas Postexperts Other Countries: $80.00 Canadian funds. others". Inc. The CRHA may be reached at its web site: www.exporail.org or by telephone at (450) 638-1522 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2007 215 CANADIAN RAIL • 521 A Concise History Un aper~u de of the CRHA I'histoire de I' ACHF Par: Stephen Wray By: Stephen Wray Traduit en fran~ais par: Denis Vallieres As our 75th. anniversary year draws to a close, we are C'est avec plaisir que nous vous pn!sentons un apen;;u pleased to present a concise history of the CRHA in de I'histoire de I' Association canadienne d'histoire three parts. ferroviaire (ACHF), en cette fin d'annee du 75e Part 1, The Formative Years anniversaire de I'Association. 1 ere partie, "Les Fondaments" The Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA) is a non-profit, federally incorporated ~ ACHF, un organisme sans but lucratif et organization, founded in 1932. The c.R.H.A. is the incorpore au niveau federal, a ete fondee en 1932. II oldest organization in Canada pledged to the s'agit du plus ancien organisme voue a la preservation et a preservation and interpretation of Canada's railroad I'interpretation de I'histoire du chemin de fer canadien. history. The inclusion of the word "Canadian" in the Le terme « canadien » indique bien la volonte qu'a eue name ofthe Association indicates a commitment from the l'Association, des ses debuts, de representer Ie Canada beginning to fully represent Canadian railroad history d'un ocean aI'autre. from coast to coast. ~ACHF compte pres de 1000 membres repartis The CRHA has 1000 members and 12 Divisions en 12 divisions a travers Ie Canada. Elle publie across Canada and publishes Canadian Rail, a bi-monthly Canadian Rail, un magazine bimensuel dedie a l'histoire magazine dedicated to Canadian railway histOlY. It owns ferroviaire canadienne. Elle posse de de plus Exporail, Ie and operates Exporail, formerly the Canadian Railway Musee canadien d'histoire ferroviaire, situe a Museum, in Delson I St. Constant, Quebec. Exporail, Delson/Saint-Constant au Quebec. Exporail, etabli en established in 1961, is Canada's largest railroad museum 1961, est Ie plus important musee ferroviaire canadien et and is considered by museum experts as one of the best in est considere, selon des experts museaux, parmi I'un des the world. premiers au monde. CRHA excursionists attempting the view the sunken wreck ofthe SS Vermont in 1938. CRHAArchives, Fond WG. Cole RAIL CANADIEN • 521 216 NOVEMBRE - DECEMBRE 2007 Designed to appeal to all ages, Exporail is Exporail est ouvert aux visiteurs de tous ages. II situated on 50 acres of land containing three display est situe sur un terrain d'une superficie de 50 acres ou sont buildings, with a total of 125,600 sq. ft. of exhibition space, eriges trois bfltiments d'exposition d'une superficie totale de 125 600 pieds canes (11 668,6 metres canes) en plus a 25,000 sq. ft. reserve building, an 1882 country station, a d'un batiment de reserve de 25 000 pieds canes (2322,6 restoration shop and a turntable. Exporail features rides metres carres), d'une gare rurale datant de 1882, d'un on a one-mile tramway line, a two-mile railroad line and atelier de restauration et d'une plaque tournante. an outdoor miniature railroad. It also has an extensive Exporail offre comme attractions un circuit de 1 mille (1,6 HO-gauge model railroad installation. The facility kilometre) de tramway, un circuit ferroviaire de 2 milles (3,2 kilometres) et un chemin de fer miniature exterieur. includes a library, an archive center, temporary exhibit En plus d'une collection de materiel roulant, on trouve a spaces, a multi-purpose hall, a theatre, and food and retail l'interieur du pavilion central un vaste reseau ferroviaire spaces. How did all this come to be? miniature a l'echelle HO, une bibliotheque, un centre HISTORY d'archives, un local pour les expositions temporaires, une salle polyvalente, une salle de projection, une cafeteria On the evening of March 15, 1932, at the ainsi qU'une boutique de souvenirs. Chateau de Ramezay in Montreal, seventeen members of Comment I'ACHF en est-elle anivee a une telle the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society met at the expansion? conclusion of an exhibition of railroadiana. The Histoire exhibition had been mounted to commemorate the 100th Le soir du 15 mars 1932, au Musee du Chateau anniversary of the granting of a charter for Canada's first Ramezay a Montreal, 17 membres de la Societe d'archeologie et de numismatique se reunirent dans Ie but public railway, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Rail d'organiser une exposition ferroviaire, afin de Road. commemorer Ie 100e anniversaire de l'etablissement de Victor Morin, President of the Antiquarian and la charte du premier chemin de fer public canadien, Ie Numismatic Society was in the chair and John Loye Champlain and St.Lawrence Rail Road. outlined the nature of a proposed society of railway Victor Morin, president de la Societe historians and enthusiasts. At the conclusion of the d'archeologie et de numismatique, anima ce soir-la I'assemblee et John Loye tra~a les grandes lignes d'une gathering, fourteen signified their intention to join such a proposition de societe composee d'historiens et de group. passionnes du chemin de fer. A la suite de cette premiere The Canadian Railroad Historical Association rencontre, 14 personnes manifesterent leur intention de was established forthwith with the following executive: se joindre au groupe. John Loye - President, Robert R. Brown - Secretary and Ainsi naquit la Canadian Railroad Historical Victor Morin - Chairman. These men would play Association (CRRA) ou ACHF. John Loye fut elu president, Robert R. Brown, secretaire et Victor Morin, outstanding roles in the affairs of the Association for president d'assemblee. Ces hommes joueront des roles many years. The term railroad was specifically chosen to importants au sein de I'Association pendant plusieurs comply with the North American custom rather than the annees. Le terme railroad fut choisi dans l'appellation British term railway. anglaise en reference a la terminologie nord-americaine plutot que Ie terme britannique railway. EX ECUTIVE HONO RA RY EX ECUTIVE PRES IO£ NT. JOHN Loy(; V I CE· PIl~ S . D O NALO F. ANGUS F' ~ E S IOENT, DR . V ,CTO R M ORIN. LL.D .. F.R .S .C. THcAsunr:: R, ARTHU R H VOO I:::Lt. VIC E · PRES., R . C. VA UG IIAN, O.B . E. COUNCIL. D. C. C O LEMAN R. G. H ,'RRI ES CHAS. E. FISHER C. L. TERRO U X C HAS . V ,AU ST. LAWREXCfi fi A'TLA..\{'fIC RD., SEC RETARY MON,'T' RP. AL EJ LAC:HJN,B RAILROAD Opined. Lon,lu, ull Ie) 8c1o ' il. S . S. W O RTHEN O p(ntd, 7I!(I ~·t mblT 19.n. 1841. firH S~ni o n . Mol Y, 18·0 . 3 PROS PEC T STR EET f.HI a~ i l wa,. info) MOII"",I C W 7 . W ESTt.l OU N T NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2007 217 CANADIAN RAIL • 521 Le Centenaire du Chemin de Fer Au Canada CANNEE 1932 a marque Ie centenaire d'un entreprises des plus curieuses qui aient jamais ete evenement important dans la vie commerc(ale, ten tees et conduites aDonne fin dans aucun pays: celie industrielle et sociale d'un pays: Ie chemin de fer. de la construction d'un chemin de fer sur la glace, Cacte de naissance de ce facteur puissant de notre vie destine a remplacer Ie se,rvice d'un traversier sur Ie nationale se trouve, en effet, dans I'ada.ption de I'acte fleuve Saint-Laurent, entre Montreal et Longueuil, d'incorporation de la Compagnie des Proprietaires pendant les mois d'hiver. du Chemin de Fer de Champlain et du St-Laurent, . Ceux d'entre no us dont les souvenirs qui remonte au 25 fevrier 1832.