The elephant in the room

I grew up with a view of the United States from my bedroom window. At night, you could see the hydro towers and radio towers in Michigan pulsating red in the darkness. I grew up listening to rock radio from Detroit. My parents lived in Windsor and took with them a lifelong love of the Detroit Tigers, a love I too share. My mother, an immigrant from Italy following the Second World War, learned some of the finer points of the English language by listening to the radio broadcasts of Tigers games. 

In my hometown, an American railway was the main attraction for me, a young railfan that became fascinated with the giant machines because his family all worked for the Canadian Pacific. Heck, even now, that railway is technically CPKC, the KC standing for the old Kansas City Southern Railway.

For the first 18 years of my life, I could tell you the temperature in Fahrenheit more easily than in Celsius. To this day, I can translate C to F fairly quickly.

My point is, a good portion of my formative years were spent with the United States of America being a part of my existence.

So it is with mixed emotions that I watch the drama between my country and the U.S. unfold in real time. I won't get into the politics, other than to say I do not appreciate my country being targeted. Whether you feel these economic sanctions are fair or not, I feel there is too much history between my country and the U.S. for all of it to unravel like this. We fought together in two world wars, in Korea, and in Afghanistan. Those are just the most obvious examples of our shared histories.

I would like to think I have a unique take on this situation, given how much I understand about the U.S., having grown up on the border.

But to get into a long diatribe about what's happening is pointless. This is not a politics blog. It's a blog about railways and I want to assure everyone, wherever you are, that you are welcome here. I do not dislike Americans. In fact, I have friends and family in the U.S. I have many great memories of time spent in the U.S. There are many aspects of American culture that I think we can learn from as Canadians. 

I suppose my problem is with the one person creating this mess and those who are enabling him. I don't necessarily think this is even about left wing/right wing anymore. I see aspects of cognitive decline and mental health issues at play here. I say that dispassionately as someone who has experience in witnessing this illness for the better part of my life.

Like just about everyone involved, I just want us all to be friends. We don't have to agree all the time and we don't have to think the same way. In fact, it's better if we all just be who we are and respect the fact that these differences actually make life better.

The tracks ahead look rough. But here on this blog, there is just us railfans sharing our passion. Let's keep it that way.

The long, slow, strange journey of an antique passenger coach to Smiths Falls

The pandemic was cruel to so many people and many organizations, needless to say. I don't mean to minimize the impact it had on those who were sick or lost loved ones. But from a business standpoint, it was especially cruel to organizations like the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls. This museum is a tenacious operation that is the product of the success of its volunteer efforts. I love this place. The people who work here or lend their time are second to none. They are dedicated and passionate. This place does not exist as it is now without its volunteers.

That was why it was cruel that the pandemic put a huge dent in the museum's plans to showcase its new piece of rolling stock in 2020, a turn-of-the-century dining car once belonging to the Intercolonial Railway and later the Canadian National.

The car is so long, it's almost impossible to get a good shot of it from up close. To get a proper shot of it in profile, I had to take a less-than-ideal shot from across the parking lot. And yes, that is my family's RAV4 blocking some of the shot. I should have thought ahead when parking!

This old dining car could be one of the oldest pieces in a railway museum in Canada. It was built in 1899 by the Wagner Palace Car Company of Buffalo. If that company name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps its purchaser is more familiar: Pullman Standard. Pullman bought Wagner just a year after this dining car was built.

The car was used on the Intercolonial Railway between Halifax and Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, where the ICR connected to the old Grand Trunk Railway. Even though the car now bears the Canadian National script, it clearly did not belong to the railway when it was first used, as CN didn't exist until June 6, 1919, when it was founded and was given control over several failing railways (GTR, Canadian Northern for example).

The car itself was beautifully cared for by the Bytown Railway Society for years before it was transferred to the Smiths Falls museum before the pandemic. The car, according to the museum website, has five tables on either side of the aisle in the dining area. 

Interestingly, the builder plate for the car can be seen in the dining area on the floor. Beneath that brass plate, there is a kingpin, which is part of the wheel (truck) assembly. It's interesting that the builder's plate is found on the floor above the kingpin. I can't say I have seen that before.

Many of these details I picked up from researching the car. The last time I was at the museum, this old dining car's interior was off limits, due to pandemic restrictions.

As you would expect, the car also had a kitchen and storage area for staff. Cooking was done with the aid of charcoal. To load the food and supplies, the car had a hatch where crews could slide the food and supplies directly into the kitchen and preparation area. 

Originally, the car was lit by hanging kerosene lanterns, as you might expect from a car built at the turn of the century. There was also an emergency cord strung up on the ceiling, for emergency stopping purposes.

There are a few bits to this car's recent story that you might not know. First, the car was brought to the museum with the goal of using it as a cafe of sorts to generate extra revenue for the operation. Sadly, that was not able to happen due to the lousy timing of the pandemic and the strict health measures that prevented the dining car's use for food service.

Second, as you might imagine, the process of getting this car to Smiths Falls was also a chore. You might think it would be easy enough to ship the car on a special move down the old CN Smiths Falls Subdivision, but this was not possible.

Why? Well, the Bytown Railway Society no longer has access to the rail system, as its rails at the Canada Science and Technology Museum are no longer connected to local tracks. This has been a topic of conversation among railfans in Ottawa for years. Ask the BRS officially and they will tell you that this is not in their plans, nor is it a priority for the museum, I would imagine.

I say this without any malice. But I know many people are frustrated that a group like the BRS has no way to host excursions as it once did. I have spoken quietly to a few members of the society in the past and they told me that they wished there was a way this connection could be re-established.

Also factor in the times we live in, where the liability and the changing priorities of railways make it much more difficult to facilitate third-party excursions. I can't imagine this would be an easy proposition, given how busy local rail lines are with Via Rail trains. It's true that CN doesn't own much trackage in Ottawa anymore, but I can't imagine the company would be thrilled with a third party making use of what little of the Beachburg Sub is left. And when you factor in the 10 mp/h speed restriction on the Nylene Canada-owned Renfrew Spur, you can see the potential legal and operating issues that would get in the way of excursion runs.

All that to say, the old dining car had to be brought to Smiths Falls in two pieces on special trucks that are sometimes used to move houses. It's a sad commentary on what has happened to the rail system in Ottawa that a rail car cannot be moved by rail to Smiths Falls, even though a rail connection is very much in place.

This brings me to a final, somewhat sombre, point. The Bytown Railway Society can only do so much with the limited trackage it has in place at the museum. Still, the group has done some great events and continues to be a beacon of preservation. It still has some great pieces that are safely stored in the new museum collections building. It's a much better setup for the group than what it had previously. But the reality is, without any way of being able to do excursions or generate revenue through events, its options are limited. That is my opinion, anyway. BRS still publishes Branchline Magazine and the annual Canadian Trackside Guide. It also hosts history presentations.

If you follow BRS on Facebook, you will have noticed that it was putting out feelers on this wrecker (above). I was lucky enough to see this car out on the tracks last year. It's a wonderful old relic of the days when railways had full-fledged work trains. I'd hate to see this piece of history go, but it appears as though there's only so much room for what the society has.

You might also recall that the society's old CN passenger car is now residing in a New England rail museum, where is is paired with coaches just like it. I remember following the BRS's Facebook updates on the restoration of this coach. Again, I was lucky to catch it out on the tracks behind the museum last year. I'm glad I got this image, because it was the only time I was able to see this car in person. I'm sure it will be put to good use in New England, but it's still sad that it had to go at all.

The next time I go to the Smiths Falls museum, I'm hoping to get a better look at the inside of the old dining car.

It makes me wonder if we can't do more for rail preservation and history in Ottawa. We do a great job honouring history in this city in so many other ways. Why not honour our rail transportation legacy, like we do our aviation history? Also, given the collection of cars the science and tech museum has in storage, possibly there's an opportunity here to look at a transportation museum connected to the aviation museum?

We've spent money on worse ideas!

Song for a winter's night

Being trackside or on a train on a cold winter's evening makes me a bit sentimental, I must admit. It makes me think of the ways Gordon Lightfoot was able to conjure the feeling one gets on a cold, dark Canadian winter evening. 

The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly falling
The air is still in the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling

Somehow, to me, you can't have a cold, dark winter's evening in this country without the lonely call of a train making its way through the snow, bringing people together and out from under the grip of the season's sometimes harsh and seemingly relentless grip.

I like that line about someone "softly calling." I can't properly describe the feeling I felt when I was young and I could hear the Chessie System freight trains motoring through my hometown at night, as their horns would nudge me awake. 

They were softly calling. 

It's not unlike when I heard the foghorns from the passing Great Lakes freighters on the St. Clair River. It's something that's always comforted me and made me feel as though all was right with the world. That feeling is hard to come by, as you get older.

Being sentimental doesn't obscure the fact that there are serious problems with our passenger rail system right now in this country, but I wanted to briefly try to describe what a cold, dark winter's night does to me, especially when it's combined with my love of railways.

Recently, I took my daughter to Montreal for a Habs game. I will get into all the railway moments from that day in a later post, but I will share these brief observations. On the way home, after our train arrived more than 20 minutes late at Montreal's Central Station, my daughter and I got into the cab control car of our Venture set as we set off for home in Ottawa.

Being at the very end of the cab control car, we could hear the train's horn continually, especially when it sped through Eastern Ontario villages like Casselman, Vankleek Hill and Vars. That had me wondering if people in these communities took any comfort in hearing our train speed by on a cold winter night.

Or were they annoyed? 

It seems more and more people are now inconvenienced by a train horn. That's just not me. The train, to me, is a powerful symbol of our vast nation, and it continues to play a role in keeping us together, despite our internal differences, regional cultures, languages, creeds and differing outlooks. Not all of us have the same affection for Via Rail, but I think we all have a certain appreciation for what trains do for us, even if much of this work is done out of sight and in general anonymity. The geography of our country is challenging to say the least.

Standing trackside, waiting for a loved one, bouncing on your toes to keep them from freezing, watching your breath get stripped away from you by the fierce winds . . . it's a feeling that transcends generations. It's no different than what people did 100 years ago, with the exception of the mode of transportation to and from the train station. My chariot no longer requires a horse, but I'm sure it shivers just the same in the wind. This mere act of waiting for someone connects me with our country's storied past.

There's another factor we don't often consider. What about those people operating the train? I often wonder what goes through their minds as they do their work to get their customers or their goods from place to place. I wonder on those winter nights, when people are under the covers, dreaming warm dreams, if the bleary eyed people keeping the country moving feel the same way Gordon Lightfoot felt when he wrote Song for a winter's night. 

Do they wish they were with loved ones, enjoying a quiet moment in front of a roaring fire? Or do they take pride in the thrill of movement, as their motorized charge pierces the darkness and sprints to its next stop? Or is it just a job? I find it hard to believe that anyone would work these hours and not feel some sort of duty or excitement in their vocation. I don't know that you just decide to be a railroader without feeling something for trains.

There is so much uncertainty in the world right now. Our country has problems, both internal and external. Yet, as uncertainty mounts and hockey games become geopolitical proxy wars, I sometimes just feel like we should appreciate the constants and the eternal truths. 

Trains are as much a part of our country's history, heritage and soundtrack as anything. Their presence makes me grateful for this big, beautiful country. They make me grateful because they bring good people together and remind us of what it means to be human, to want to be somewhere, to want to be with someone, to share a moment, to love. 

I say all this because there's so much vitriol and hatred in the world right now. I think sometimes we need to remind ourselves of how liberating it is to be grateful for what we have. Trains make me feel that way.