Canadian National April 1969 Timetable

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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The nine photos on the cover of this menu depict such sights as the S.S. Prince George cruising to Alaska, Niagara Falls, and Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, all of which were accessible from CN trains (and steamships). At 52 pages, the timetable is thicker than almost any U.S. railroad timetable would have been in 1969.

Click image to download a 25.0-MB PDF of this 52-page timetable.

A few days ago I presented a 1960 brochure advertising CN’s two transcontinental trains, the Super Continental and Continental. I noted that the Continental would have disappointed any long-distance traveler as it didn’t have much in the way of food services and only intermittently had sleeping car accommodations. Continue reading →

CN Alaska Cruise Information

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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This 1966 booklet is an evolution of the Midnight Sun booklets describing the facilities on board CN’s steamships and views along the way to Skagway, Alaska. In the 1960s, CN evidently decided to replace the totem pole shown on the covers of the 1937-1951 or so versions with a different color photo each year showing a beautiful couple on board the ship. The totem pole theme, however, was continued on the back with a modernistic painting of two faces of a pole.

Click image to download a 7.6-MB PDF of this 32-page booklet.

Inside, the text has been updated but still follows the same outline and even uses much of the same text as was found in the 1928 edition. “Three sharp blasts of the whistle,” the descriptive notes began in both 1928 and 1966. “The order is given to ‘let go’ the lines. The steamer backs majestically into Vancouver harbor.” Continue reading →

Jasper Park Dining Car Menu

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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Here’s a 1964 menu showing a collage of eleven photos of Jasper Park and Jasper Lodge on the front cover. Inside, the menu itself is printed on a separate piece of paper that was attached to the cover with paperclips. The inside front cover has a caption reading, “Cover: Jasper Park Lodge, all-day, all-way summer fun in the Canadian Rockies.”

Click image to download an 1.6-MB PDF of this menu.

The size of this menu is similar to this 1963 menu. The cover collage is similar to this 1965 menu, which featured Alaska instead of Jasper, and this 1965 menu, which featured scenes from the Atlantic provinces. Continue reading →

Inside Passage 1961 Dinner Menus

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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Here’s a Canadian National menu we haven’t seen before and one we have, both of which were used on a steamship to Alaska in June, 1961. The first menu shows the S.S. Prince George leaving the city of Vancouver on its way north to Skagway. The back shows people camping in a sloppily pitched tent in Jasper National Park.

Click image to download a 800-KB PDF of this menu.

Dated June 29, the inside describes the six-course menus typical of CN Alaska steamships: appetizer, soup, fish, meat and vegetables, dessert, and cheese. Entrées include a mushroom omelette, curried chicken, ham, prime rib, turkey, or a cold meat buffet. There was only one fish option, poached filet of cod. Continue reading →

See La Province de Quebec

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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Despite the title, this brochure is in English and unfolds to the equivalent of a 12-page booklet. Filled with 22 color photos, it is a significant advance on the dreary Ontario booklet shown here a couple of days ago, which exclusively used black-and-white photos. That booklet was from the late 1950s; this one is from 1961, just before CN replaced its boring green color scheme with even more boring black-and-white and its maple leaf logo with the worms that are celebrated for having stood the test of time but that are non-evocative of anything to do with railroading or Canada.

Click image to download a 5.2-MB PDF of this brochure.

The front of the brochure has a curious layout in which introductory text in the lower right panel is continued on the lower left panel, which makes sense only when the brochure is folded up. In-between, the lower center panel has a photo of a nuclear Canadian family pouring over Canadian National travel booklets and brochures, with a helpful list of CN agents to the right of the photo. Continue reading →

SuperContinental and Continental

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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This brochure advertises Canadian National’s “two great transcontinental trains,” which were in reality one pretty good train and one not-so-great train. In addition to coaches, the Super Continental had both “standard” sleepers (roomettes, double bedrooms, and sections) and “tourist” sleepers (roomettes and sections) that were somehow less expensive than standard. Both kinds of sleepers had their own lounge car.

Click image to download a 3.0-MB PDF of this brochure.

The Super Continental also had a complete array of dining facilities. A full diner went from Toronto to Vancouver while a went dinette from Montreal to Vancouver. The two trains joined in Capreol, Ontario. To accommodate budgets, a parlor-grill car went from Montreal to Capreol and a coffee shop-lounge car from Toronto to Capreol. In short, the train had several levels of accommodations and plenty of dining and lounge facilities for the entire journey. All it was missing was the dome cars featured on its competitor, the Canadian. Continue reading →

Ontario Vacationland

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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Ontario, this booklet points out, is more than 400,000 square miles, which is more than 50 percent larger than Texas. The province, the booklet adds, has an urban south and a wild, lake-filled north. Most of the booklet is about the south but there are a couple of pages about hunting and fishing in the north.

Click image to download a 17.6-MB PDF of this 20-page booklet.

The booklet is undated, but it does mention 1955 in the past tense so it was probably issued soon after that year. As such, it is surprising that it doesn’t have a color photograph on the cover, as found on the 1957 maritimes booklet presented here a couple of days ago. Continue reading →

Jasper Lodge Rates in 1959

Posted on by April 9, 2022
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Most of Canadian National’s Jasper Lodge booklets, such as the one presented here a couple of days ago, are in two parts: the first half is mainly photos while the second half is mainly a list of Jasper Park activities and the rates for many of those activities. This booklet is, in essence, the second half only: basic room rates as well as rates for sightseeing motor drives, golf, outfitters, chalets, saddle trips, and more.

Click image to download a 7.9-MB PDF of this 16-page booklet.

As such, the entire booklet has only three black-and-white photos. In addition to the cover, the inside front cover shows a woman painting Mount Edith Cavell from Cavell lake, while the back cover shows the Super Continental passing near Jasper Park. The inside back cover is blank, which was a missed opportunity for more photos. Continue reading →

Provinces by the Sea in 1957

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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We’ve seen a 1952 booklet by this name before. At that time, CN passenger trains were still hauled by steam locomotives and used heavyweight equipment. By 1957, Diesels had replaced most steam and streamlined passenger cars had replaced some CN heavyweight trains. This booklet underscores this transition by devoting pages 4 and 5 to the new streamlined equipment.

Click image to download a 10.7-MB PDF of this 24-page booklet.

At the time, Canadian National offered three daily trains from Montreal to Halifax. This booklet doesn’t say so, but only one of them was streamlined. That one, the Ocean Limited, was also an all-Pullman train, mostly roomettes and double bedrooms that many people couldn’t afford. Continue reading →

Canadian National 1957 Jasper Booklet

Posted on by April 2, 2022
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We’ve seen this booklet in 1956 and 1958 editions, and this one isn’t too much different. In addition to the cover photo, this one has four interior photos that differ from the ones used in 1956, and the same number of photos were changed in 1958.

Click image to download a 14.8-MB PDF of this 36-page booklet.

The other big change was the room rates. Not all of the room prices increased, but many were about 4 percent more expensive in 1957 than in 1956. Prices in 1958 were the same as in 1957. On the other hand, meal prices declined slightly in 1957, but then went back up to 1956 rates in 1958. Continue reading →