Village Squire, 1976-06, Page 24took King George VI and Queen Elizabeth from Montreal to
Vancouver in 1939.
She went through 25 crews without breakdowns during the
3,100 -mile trip and earned the right for CPR Hudson
locomotives to carry the designation "royal".
No. 2860 plied the main CP lines until the mid -50's when
she was replaced by diesels.
She survived dangerously close to the scrap heap for years
until rescued by the British Columbia government and put
back in service for tourists.
In the 30s, this "steam locomotive fit for a king" was
considered the ultimate in power and beauty.
Many old railway men consider the Royal Hudson the best
steam locomotive ever built.
The Royal Hudson weighs 657,000 pounds with its tender
and it is driven by six 75 -inch driving wheels.
Its nine coaches, baggage car, observation car and club car
all bear names seen along the main line of BC Railways;
names like Sundance, Lone Butte, Brandywine Falls and
Lillooet.
The trip to Squamish is the second longest daily scheduled
steam passenger trip in North America and the longest in
Canada.
This summer, for the third year, thousands of passengers
will thrill once more to the echo of the Royal Hudson's shrill
whistle bouncing from mountain to mountain.
Vancouver is Canada's third largest city and the most
important seaport on the Pacific coast.
Its site is unique, between mountains and the sea, and the
city and area are popular with visitors from all over the world.
CAPE BRETON STEAM RAILWAY
Two steam locomotives, one built in England and the other
in the United States, take visitors on a 10 -mile run from the
mining town of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, to the little fishing
village of Port Morien.
The Repton No. 926 was built in Britain in 1934 and, in its
day, was considered the most powerful of its type in Europe.
It is an engine of the famous Schools Class and was built for
express trains. Today, it is the only mainline British steam
engine in service in North America.
Old 42, a Mogul Class locomotive built at Schenectady,
N.Y., in 1899, was close to the scrap heap when it was
rescued and restored in 1973, in the Glace Bay roundhouse.
It had seen many years of service on the Sydney and
Louisbourg Railway before its temporary retirement.
The vintage locomotives pull a coach built in 1881, one of
the oldest in operation in the world. It includes a kitchen with
a coal -burning range and a room with a brass bed.
Among the more interesting cars on the train are a former
Great Western corridor coach and two beautifully -decorated
vintage lounge cars complete with bars.
The train is operated by retired railwaymen of the former
Sydney and Louisbourg Railway. At Glace Bay, a city of
24,000, the Miners' Museum displays equipment of early
mining days. A tour of a colliery under the ocean floor is
available.
The museum is in an old railway station which also acts as
an information centre and houses an old-style company store
and gift shop.
Near the station, visitors can tour the roundhouse, foundry
and shops where locomotives are maintained.
At the little village of Port Morien, the other end of the line,
tourists may enter a mine slope that was first excavated by
the French in 1720. It is the site of the first coal mine in North
America. Transport from the station to the mine is by
double-decker bus.
THE WAKEFIELD EXCURSION Ottawa is the starting .
point of the Wakefield Steam Locomotive Excursion, a
25 -mile ride through Canada's capital city and along the
Gatineau River to Wakefield.
22, VILLAGE SQUIRE/ JUNE 1976
ainton
ORIGINAL
OLD MILL IN BLYTH
Since 1894
Telephone 523.9666
14
111
at the Railway Tracks
HOURS:
Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
WEDDING GIFTS
- sure to please
Pure Virgin Wool Glen Laine Blankets
all sizes, many colours
Genuine Sheepskin Rugs -
white, natural, and colours
Handbag Special:
GENUINE LEATHER HANDBAGS
- a Targe assortment of styles,
colours and sizes
$5.95 to $16.95
ANTIQUE CAR SHOW COMING TO BLYTH
June 13, 1976
Allan Bert Bainton - one of the founders of Bainton's Old Mill
at the wheel of his first car, a 1912 Overland.