Inside Passage 1961 Dinner Menus

Posted on by April 2, 2022
Reply

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
1

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
2

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
Reply

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
Reply

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
Reply

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
Reply

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 →

Restigouche River Menu

Posted on by April 2, 2022
Reply

The back of this menu describes New Brunswick and mentions that “its streams — like the famous Restigouche, Miramachi and Matapedia — bring sportsmen from far away to fish for salmon.” Based on photos I’ve found on line, I suspect the cover photo shows the Restigouche River.

Click image to download an 1.3-MB PDF of this menu.

This is a typical CN menu with a la carte on one side and beverages on the other. Normally, a table d’hôte menu of the day would be inserted, and indeed in this case a menu is stapled inside. I didn’t want to harm the menu by removing the staple so I left the insert covering the beverage menu. The menu doesn’t say, but the items — things like beef stew, chicken pie, corned beef hash — look more like lunch than dinner. Continue reading →

Smart New Comfort

Posted on by April 2, 2022
1

In 1954, Canadian National advertised that it had made the largest order of new passenger cars in history, a total of 359 cars. These cars were streamlined, of course, and made significant improvements over the heavyweight cars that preceded them. This booklet introduces the new (for Canadian National) accommodations and features found in those cars.

Click image to download a 2.6-MB PDF of this 32-page booklet.

The booklet includes two pages each for coach, sections, duplex roomettes, roomettes, bedrooms, compartments, drawing rooms, parlor cars, buffet cars, dinettes, and diners. There are also two pages each for sleeper-grill (eight sections with a 16-seat diner) and parlor-grill (20 parlor seats and a 16-seat diner) cars. Continue reading →

Mount Athabaska 1953 Dinner Menu

Posted on by April 2, 2022
Reply

This menu cover is a lot more interesting than the ones shown here a couple of days ago. This menu specifically says it was for a cafe car, not a full diner, but like the dining car menus it consists of an a la carte menu with a table d’hôte insert. CN still used the “meals on wheels” slogan on the insert but not the menu itself.

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

The entrées for the table d’hôte meals include halibut, omelet, chicken pot pie, prime rib, and cold meats. Price range from $2.60 for the halibut and omelet to $3 for the prime rib. A second insert offers a sirloin steak dinner for $4.25; multiply prices by 8 to get today’s U.S. dollars. Except the omelet, none of these entrées were on the a la carte menu, so people wanting to order something less than a full meal would have to be content with various egg dishes, fish, or a salad. Continue reading →