As the new passenger cars entered service, a new train, the
Super Continental Limited was born. Travel time was slashed
by 14 hours from the Continental's timetable and now made
the Montreal-Vancouver trip in 73 hours. (Remember that
trans-continental air service was still in its infancy during this
era.) Other name trains that would benefit from these new
passenger cars included:
Hudson Bay Explorer (Winnipeg - Churchill)
Ocean, Scotia, Choler (Montreal - Halifax)
Rapid, Cavalier, Bonaventure (Toronto - Montreal)
When delivered, these cars were painted in a handsome Black
and green accentuated with gold stripping. This paint scheme
is regarded as being one of the best color combinations to grace
passenger cars in North America!
During the 1960's CN introduced innovative fares complete with
new and refurbished equipment now painted black and white.
Between 1961 and 1968 this project succeeded in attracting large
numbers of people back to the train. Many travelers probably had
their first and only train ride during this last great era of Canadian
passenger trains. Yet it was impossible to operate passenger trains
in an environment where they were expected to recover 100% of
their cost while other transportation services recouped less than
30% of their direct operating cost.
Sadly, the huge investment by Canadian National Railways in their
campaign to lure passengers back to the trains never paid off due to
the increased funding of highways combined with airport infrastructure.
During the summer and holiday seasons all the trains were filled to
capacity but the story was different in the off-season.
The Twilight Years
Our Rolling Heritage
As you settle into your easy chair and savor the hospitality of the
Okanagan Valley Wine Train, look around and observe the tasteful
interior of the passenger car before you set your sights on the view
outside the large windows.
Our Okanagan Valley Wine Train represents the last of the great steel
fleet of passanger cars that was once used by Canadian National
Railways for famous name trains such as the Montreal / Toronto - Vancouver
Continental Limited and the Panorama.
In 1952, Canadian Car and Foundry was awarded a contract for 218 new
lightweight coaches while Pullman Standard received a contract for 141
parlor sleeping cars and dining cars.Total cost for the combined order
was
$59 million. This represents the largest single order that these respective
builders received to date.
Donald Gordon, then president of Canadian National Railway, wanted to
obtain the most modern equipment that he could so that it could be spread
throughout the system and maximize the number of travelers who would
benefit. If he only knew how they are currently being used, he would be
delighted!