The ship pictured on this dining car menu cover would not go into service until almost a year after this menu was used for a “Through the Wonderland of the West” tour. This would be the second Canadian Pacific ship to be called Empress of Britain; the first one, which had been built in 1905, was renamed Montroyal in 1924 and taken out of service in 1929.
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At 760 feet in length, the 1930 ship was 190 longer than the 1905 one, and could also go faster — 24 knots as opposed to 18. It also carries the sad distinction of being the largest ship sunk by a U-boat during World War II, when it was in service as a troop carrier. Fortunately, there were few casualties.
The cover drawing is signed A. Cloutier, which represents Albert Edward Cloutier (1902-1965), a Canadian artist who painted for the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II and also did murals for one of the park (observation) cars on the Canadian. When not accepting commissions, he mostly painted scenes of life in rural Canada.