The bridge and tunnel pictured on the cover of this menu are actually part of a series of five tunnels and connecting bridges that CP subsidiary Kettle Valley Railway went through on its route between Hope, British Columbia and Crows Nest Pass. CP built this railway to defend what it regarded as its territory from incursions by the Great Northern Railway, which had been attracted to silver mines just north of the Washington border (plus GN’s founder, James J. Hill, loved to annoy CP’s president, Cornelius Van Horne).
Click image to download a 1.5-MB PDF of this menu.
The railway offered a great scenic alternative to CP’s main line, but after the mines played out it wasn’t profitable and it was torn out beginning less than a decade after this menu was issued. Today, the tunnels and bridges are part of a rail trail.
This menu was used in Canadian Pacific’s Vancouver Station restaurant, one of about 30 restaurants CP operated in train stations across Canada. The a la carte menu doesn’t actually say what meal it is for, and since it includes cereal, eggs, and chops, it could be for any of them. It does note that the restaurant offered a “special dinner from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm — ask your waitress,” which could indicate a separate menu or just a special meal during that time.
Someone wrote on the back, “Your Uncle Ted used to travel this route daily for years, Aunt Kitt, May 20, 1953.” I envy Uncle Ted.