Canadian National Super Continental consists

[De Luxe]

 Hello everybody,

For quite a long time I´ve been searching through the internet for some consists of the Canadian National transcontinental premier train Super Continental, but I couldn´t find anything. I´m interested for the 1955 to 1961 version of the train still with the CN leaf sign, and the I´m also interested for a late 1960´s version with the CN noodle sign. 

Did the CN Super Continental ever had a proper observation car? I´ve never seen any pictures of it, but I think that Milwaukess Skytop Sleeper Lounge Observation cars served on the Super Continental for a short time in the 1960´s, as well as the Super Domes. But has there ever been any other type of observation car on that train between 1955 and the VIA takeover in 1977?

And what about CN´s premier heavyweight transcontineral train prior to the introduction of the Super Continetal on that route? Do you know something about it´s consist?

Daniel

[henry6]

The easiest places to find such information is in public timetables of the period...and the Official Guides.  They are plentiful, really, check the Classifieds of Trains and Classic Trains for timetable sellers, check rail shows and flea markets, ask around at rail hobby shops, rail museums and tourist train operations, maybe even you'll run across some in antique shops from time to time.   They are common and should be no problem to find.

[passengerfan]

De Luxe

 Hello everybody,

For quite a long time I´ve been searching through the internet for some consists of the Canadian National transcontinental premier train Super Continental, but I couldn´t find anything. I´m interested for the 1955 to 1961 version of the train still with the CN leaf sign, and the I´m also interested for a late 1960´s version with the CN noodle sign. 

Did the CN Super Continental ever had a proper observation car? I´ve never seen any pictures of it, but I think that Milwaukess Skytop Sleeper Lounge Observation cars served on the Super Continental for a short time in the 1960´s, as well as the Super Domes. But has there ever been any other type of observation car on that train between 1955 and the VIA takeover in 1977?

And what about CN´s premier heavyweight transcontineral train prior to the introduction of the Super Continetal on that route? Do you know something about it´s consist?

Daniel

Sorry to disappoint you but the CN never assigned the former Milwaukee Skytops to the Super Continental. Instead they were assigned to the Maritime trains Ocean, Scotian , and Chaleur.

The former Milwaukee Road Super Domes were divided between two trains the originally the Panorama the secondary transcontinental train and the Super Continental. The Panorama was actually two trains one east of Winnipeg to Toronto and Montreal and one west of Winnipeg to Vancouver. The western Panorama operated with the Super Domes from Winnipeg to Vancouver and the Super Continental operated with the Super Domes or Sceneramic domes as CN called them from Edmonton to Vancouver only. When the Panorama was discontinued the Super Continental then operated Sceneramic domes between Winnipeg and Vancouver. During some summer seasons it was not unusual to see a couple of the Super Continental consists operating with the streamlined open platform cars Burrard and Bedford bringing up there markers. The Burrard and Bedford were built new in 1954 or 1955 with 8 Compartments Lounge and open platform observation.

In the late 1960 and early 1970s it was not unusual to see the Super Continental and Panorama operating twenty car consists.

A typical consist of either train was coaches a Coach Bar Lounge Car, and Lunchcounter dininfg car comprising the coach section of the train the dome served both coach and sleeping car passengers and was usualy found behind the 48 seat dining car the rest of the train was a club lounge car for sleeping car passengers and sleeping cars.

CN became very aggressive seeking passenger's with red white and blue fares this was the reason they purchased a large number of surplus US cars that and Expo 67 in Montreal. In the late 1960's the CN was filling trains and went to the Black and white scheme with bright red or Orange lettering. CN was a;so remodeling interiors with bright colors as well and introduced coaches with reduced seating that reclined almost into a bed they were operated in most overnight trains the name for these cars escapes me for the minute. The interiors also had capeting up the car sides to the bottom of the windows which made them much quieter than regular coaches. The name came back to me they were called Day-Niters. Meanwhile rival CPR was down to operating the Atlantic Limited and Canadian with equipment that was beginning to show its age interior wise.

Al - in - Stockton

[Deggesty]

De Luxe

Did the CN Super Continental ever had a proper observation car? I´ve never seen any pictures of it, but I think that Milwaukess Skytop Sleeper Lounge Observation cars served on the Super Continental for a short time in the 1960´s, as well as the Super Domes. But has there ever been any other type of observation car on that train between 1955 and the VIA takeover in 1977?

Daniel, off hand, I can't give you exact information about the Maple Leaf Super Continental except from the June, 1955, Guide (all my others and my CN timetables are buried in boxes). The only lounge cars listed are a 4 double bedroom lounge that was operated between Toronto and Vancouver, and a diner-lounge that was operated between Montreal and Capreol. It is possible that an observation car was operated in later years, but I doubt it. I do have a copy of the May, 1968, Guide, and it does not show any observation car for either the winter or summer seasons, only Sceneramic lounges are shown. The only observation cars I could find in the June, 1955, issue are Mountain Observation cars (open sides, with a roof) that were operated on the Continental between Jasper and Kamloops Junction, so we may be safe in saying that the CN no longer had any other observation cars.

Johnny

 

[wanswheel]

http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=-1181402518&id=61

http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=99322304&id=77

[enr2099]

passengerfan

 Sorry to disappoint you but the CN never assigned the former Milwaukee Skytops to the Super Continental. Instead they were assigned to the Maritime trains Ocean, Scotian , and Chaleur.

 

 

They were however assigned to The Skeena for a while. The book "Trackside around British Columbia" has a picture of one at Jasper, AB.

[M636C]

Areally good source for pictures of CN passenger trains and cars is Arthur Dubin's "More Classic Trains" published originally by Kalmbach and later republished by Interurban Press.

Pages 412 to 455 cover the history of CN and its predecessors with an emphasis on the CN transcontinental.

CN rebuilt a number of standard cars to streamlined appearance and some of these lasted into the VIA blue era. There are a number of really good detail photos of individual new cars in the two tone green era and some steamlined cars in the preceding plain green.

There are a couple of large photos of the black and white super continental that might show enough to determine the full composition.

M636C