CPR Steam Snapshots - 4-6-4T, 4-4-0, Moosomin & McAdam

Oh, some interesting surprises always pop up during the course of research.

Some unknown collector acquired railway photos and glued the prints to 5x8-inch cards. Given the limited data available before the internet, the captions are sparse. I have included the original captions in quotation marks under the images.

To accurately obtain the equipment's building and scrapping dates, I consult Canadian Pacific Steam Locomotives; Omer Lavallee; 1985; Railfare. 

... It is necessary to go through all the concatenations of road numbers generated through the Canadian Pacific's three major numbering schemes for steam. Sometimes, the engines were even renumbered within one of those systems. 

And I always forget that the builder's serial number is the single best data point to use, to ensure that you haven't slid into the line of data for a completely different locomotive.

I can 'show my work', but I will not burden you with the intermediate road numbers used and their effective dates. 

*  *  *

First, we'll start with a couple of fast-in-both-directions tank engines. You should feel free to call them Forneys if you wish. 

"Montreal, 1896."

Built CPR New Shops, April 1893. Scrapped as 5990, September 1924.

"Shawbridge, Quebec, September 1921."

Built CPR Angus, February 1912. Scrapped February 1935.

"Field, British Columbia, 1886."

Built CPR New Shops, July 1886. Scrapped as 159, December 1929.

The display of the American flags is interesting.

Notice that wood was still in use as a fuel.

"Golden, British Columbia, 1936"

Built at CPR New Shops, June 1886. 

Above, you will recognize the number of the engine which pulled the first scheduled train into Vancouver on 23 May 1887. It was the 371 which led the first scheduled train coming from Montreal on its final leg into Port Moody on 4 July 1886. 

... As oil headlights were no longer being used in 1936, and the Randolph Scott movie Canadian Pacific was made in 1949 ... I did an image search in the hope that the 'event' in Golden would become apparent. 

Another CPR Movie

A movie was made in 1937 with the help of the CPR and the people of Revelstoke ... and at other locations. You can also witness a model train which sinks to the engine's running boards in 'muskeg'!

Like Canadian Pacific, the most someone could say is that the movie is 'based on actual events'. Silent Barriers is slightly closer to history, and being a British production, it is 'less Hollywood' in its approach. More CPR corporate history and lore was allowed to filter through into the final product. No doubt the 1949 movie producers referred to the 1937 film during their planning. 

'The Great Barrier' was the movie's original title ... pertaining to Major Rogers's last-minute [literally, the last 3 minutes] movie discovery of the pass through the Selkirks for $50,000!

... Perhaps pluralizing to Silent Barriers was intended to evoke both the mountain range PLUS some kind of melodramatic conflict ... labour versus management ... the national dream versus the obstacles to Canadian nation-building ... Van Horne versus Hill ... engineer versus conductor ... take your pick. 

Artistic Licence

The most fascinating triumph of story-telling over the vastness of Canada comes when Rogers Pass is discovered. At the exact moment when the pass is found, the railway will be saved: A telegram will be sent to Montreal and the pay car can finally be sent out to pay the striking, rioting, arsonist, murderous workers at End of Track - at the aptly-named 'Moodyville'. 

How is this miraculous discovery communicated? 

Simple: Rogers lights a fire at the pass, creating a pall of black smoke, it rises over the mountains and is seen at End of Track.  

The Making of ...

Through the miracle of the internet, I found an excellent presentation by the curator of the Revelstoke Museum and Archives which shows some of the treasury of photos taken at Revelstoke during the making of the movie. 

As someone who is interested in the preservation and interpretation of history (in this case, Revelstoke in the 1930s), I highly recommend the excellent presentation linked below. And there are many others to see via their YouTube account. If you choose to watch the movie, you'll see much more if you watch the museum presentation first. 

Silent Barriers, original title The Great Barrier (1937)

Silent Barriers, Revelstoke Museum & Archives presentation

Cathy English, Curator

Silent Barriers on YouTube

Cathy English mentions that 'they brought up another engine from Vancouver' (this was the 374). The image below is taken from a screen shot of her presentation. If you count the rivets, you'll see that the 522 is not the 374 renumbered. (To represent a whole railway roster, the CPR 136 was renumbered several times during The National Dream.)

from: Revelstoke Museum and Archives presentation.

Built by Manchester, New Hampshire, 1888. 

(CPR 522 - acquired from the New Brunswick Railway) 

Scrapped (officially as 143, Lavallee), October 1936 - after the movie's summer location work was finished.

Both engines are shown moving under steam power in the first few minutes of the film.

The last minute of the 1937 film features a contemporary motive power scene.

from: Revelstoke Museum and Archives presentation.

Worth their weight in publicity for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Another photo from the Revelstoke presentation.

from: Google Maps

The Revelstoke Museum and Archives in the former post office building.

*  *  *

"Vancouver, British Columbia, 1946."

Above, CPR 374 is probably decorated for the formal event of its presentation to the City. 

Below, as 374 originally appeared on display in the park at Kitsilano Beach.

You'll perhaps be interested in the locations of the air pump.

Originally, the pump for the 'new braking technology' was located on the engineer's side.

Later in history, it will find its permanent home on the fireman's side. 

No Caption.

*  *  *

"Moosomin, 1886, First scheduled run to Vancouver."

With the track curving behind the train, you can see a wind-driven pump for the water tower.

The large crowd on the station platform suggests a special event.

Lightening the photo reveals a man wearing a tie right beside the cab.

In a dress uniform, we see a member of a military unit or a member of the North-West Mounted Police.

*  *  * 

"McAdam, before 1904."

An image identical to the one above appears on the internet - it is printed as dark as my image was originally. However, my photo has an odd rectangular printing artifact at the third storey of the tower. 

The camera seems to be perched on a shop building. 

In the foreground, left to right, are spare wheels and a jacked up tender water tank. Another tender is having its wooden parts renewed. To its right is another tender for the 631 - loaded with wood and which might just have a link and pin coupler. A triangular locomotive pilot is tipped up in front of the fountain. 

In front of the unique caboose (I can't read the print) at the right margin is a car labelled 'CPR' and possibly 'post car'. This guess would be supported by its relatively small door and small windows intended to admit light for work and never people.

The building in the centre has 'railway character' and it may have belonged to a railway subsequently acquired by the CPR - perhaps the New Brunswick and Canada. Its tall guyed 'mast' is quite an interesting feature.

Initially, the Maine Central approached from the west ... and became the St John and Maine at the Canadian border and as it left McAdam on its way east to Saint John.

The New Brunswick and Canada Railway passed through McAdam on its north-south alignment.

I think the CPR had effective corporate control of these lines by 1890.

My guess is that the main east-west (or vice versa) line is seen at the left margin (i.e. part of the CPR 'Short Line' across Maine). However, I don't want to guess on the compass alignment of anything in the photo.

That is probably a four-storey heated water tower. Behind the coach and caboose to the tower's right is probably an interlocking tower and a station with perhaps a divisional headquarters. Or perhaps part of the complex is a hotel. The well-known McAdam station which survives today incorporated a hotel into its design. 

Main line passengers travelling to and from the CPR resort at St Andrews, New Brunswick might have justified a high-quality railway hotel being located at this junction.

*  *  *

from: Railway and Canal Maps of Canada; 1904; Government of Canada. archive.org

The map above shows the general arrangement of railways here circa 1900.

To add to the fun, I have included McAdam-related pages from an employee timetable from the same era.

source: archive.org

end

1936 Simeon Webb Remembers You Know Who

Many years ago, I read a humorous observation which probably appeared in Trains magazine. If only John Henry had had access to career counselling and skills retraining ... and Casey Jones had been actively engaged in a 'safety culture' which provided negative outcomes for exceeding speed limits ... things would have been very different.

My early knowledge of this legend came from inaccurate illustrations in childhood books and the 1957-58 Alan Hale Jr. series in reruns. Finding the account below was a welcome opportunity to review the events with the advantage of the on-line resources which only collectors might have owned in the past.

When we get down to the 1936 interview of Casey Jones's Fireman (re-published in 1953) you'll notice that descriptors of people who look different from George Washington have changed since then. If you read Jones's 1939 biography, you'll see even more 'typical' southern terminology used.

... People - if they want to identify themselves a particular way - should be the ones to choose the appropriate words for that purpose. 

Here is the photo of Sim Webb which appears in the 1939 biography of Casey Jones. 

There are several different accounts of the events which occurred at 0352hr, 30 April 1900 at Vaughan, Mississippi. There is not even agreement between the accounts on whether there was adequate rest time between trips, or whether Sim and Casey 'doubled out' with only one hour off duty that night. 

Memories may change over time. Inconvenient facts may be omitted. Or, as a person's circumstances change, they may be more free to talk about the experiences they had earlier in life. 

A cursory knowledge of recent railway rules would lead to the conclusion that a couple of safety practices were not rigorously employed to protect life and property, leading to the collision at Vaughan. 

from: Casey Jones, Epic of the American Railroad; Fred J Lee; 1939; Southern. archive.org

from: Casey Jones, Epic of the American Railroad; Fred J Lee; 1939; Southern. archive.org

The Biography written by a friend.

The biography of John Luther Jones (1864-1900) was written by a conductor - Fred J Lee - who had known him personally. When it occurred, 39 years earlier, Jones's accident was typical of hundreds or thousands just like it. Most of these accidents were prevented with the advent of electric block signals. However, the song created an enduring folk legend, back when popular culture didn't move with the volume and velocity of YouTube and TikTok.

The interview of Sim Webb about the collision was published in a widely-read railroad periodical three years before Fred J Lee's biography came out. It seems possible that Webb's account may have precipitated a more fact-based approach to the events and legend of Casey Jones than the song had offered. The book's reference data and source are shown in the the photo caption above if you want to read it.

Perhaps, being at or near the end of his career, Lee wished to revisit and document events which occurred earlier in his career - in the good old days. Perhaps he felt compelled to create this monument, which was done with the support and endorsement of Jones's widow. 

In his recounting of the accident at the end of the book, Lee provides no new insights on the possible rules or procedures violations which were responsible for the collision.

An Explanation for the Origin of 'Casey'

Jones's railroad career began as a telegrapher on the GM&O, but it was his life's goal (just like the rest of us) to become an engineer. 

The Welsh soldiers depicted at Rorke's Drift in the movie Zulu were given numbers to allow the British Army to differentiate between individuals with the very common family name 'Jones' ... and we can imagine to sort out all of the soldiers named 'John Jones' - one of a few very common Welsh names of the time.

According to Casey's biography, there were too many Jones to keep track of in railroad telegraphy as well, so John Luther Jones at Cayce was identified as 'Casee Jones'. As in: 'He's the Brockville Jones' or 'the Belleville Jones'. However, I don't know if anything in these paragraphs would survive a rigorous historical examination by a professional historian. 

*  *  *

from: 1928 Handy Railroad Atlas of the United States (reprint); 1928; Rand McNally.

On the night in question, Casey and Sim's southbound passenger train left Memphis (at the top centre of the map) and they would have gone off duty at Canton - just north of Jackson.

*  *  *

An earlier 1912 map (below) shows more detail of the Sardis to Canton segment (seen above). 

Below: Sardis is at the top, centre of the map. Canton is at the bottom, centre of the map. 

Vaughan is the third settlement north of Canton.

Another settlement 'Way' - south of Vaughan - is mentioned in Webb's account.

from: Industrial Review of New York (atlas); 1912; George F Cram.

The short account below appeared first in: Railroad Stories; Eldon Roark; March 1936; Frank A Munsey. 

Here it is reproduced from: A Treasury of Railroad Folklore; Botkin & Harlow; 1953; Bonanza.

The diagram below shows the general situation at Vaughan when the Fast Mail arrived.

Among the safety practices generally used to prevent a collision here would be:

• A long whistle at the mileboard for Vaughan - a warning of the Fast Mail's approach. 
• Using reasonable caution approaching a station where congested traffic (such as train orders suggested Jones might find at Vaughan) could have been expected.

• Flagging with an appropriate unobstructed view as seen by an approaching train. 
• Flagging a sufficient distance from the movement being protected to allow an approaching train to safely stop before reaching any equipment fouling the main track.
• Flagging signals would include torpedoes, fusees (if used), and a red flagging lantern. (In one resourceful case, a flagman concluded he had not been seen at night so he hurled his lantern into the passing cab - the sudden appearance of the broken red lantern globe alerted the engine crew of the danger his flagging was intended to communicate.)

The presence of a flagman was noted in the Superintendent's official report of the accident. This type of self-regulating operations review was usually the final verdict on minor accidents during this era. 

In Webb's account, you'll notice it was No 83's (unturned) marker lights which gave the first warning of main track fouling - not anyone's flagging efforts. No mention is made of torpedoes - although their use is prescribed in a 1900-dated maintenance of way rulebook for the Illinois Central at archive.org .

At the time, this was just another railroad accident with a relatively low toll taken on people and equipment. It has a significance to history because of the legend created by the song. In 1900, it was a relatively insignificant event ... except, probably, for any employees deemed to have violated rules. 

But ... if there was adequate flagging (as the survivors must have recounted) the only rules violation was speed. There was no one alive to discipline for excessive speed so no formal follow up was needed.

... RMS Titanic, LZ 129 Hindenburg, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 ...

With major unsolved transportation disasters which have faded into history, there always seems to be a nagging desire to really understand exactly how such disasters could have happened. At the time, any survivors gave their accounts and that was it. Without the necessary scientific tools, access to, or process to, examine the transportation vehicle at the time, people in the future are drawn into the mystery. 

We are a pretty small and specialized cohort - those interested in historical railroad disasters. 

Imagine having an investigative group to immediately attend the scene at Vaughan:

• Looking for evidence where the spent torpedoes had been placed.
• Checking the rails and driving wheels for metallurgical evidence that Jones's locomotive was thrown into reverse and where this occurred.
• Calculating the probable speed of the Fast Mail.
• Conducting skilled examination of the crews of the freight trains performing the saw-by moves to determine why a disabled freight train caused the main line to be fouled. Developing a timeline of what each employee was doing before the collision.
• Determining if it was an air hose or a broken coupler which immobilized one of the freights.

In the end, at least we have the RMS Carpathia's heroic efforts (and selfless acts by passengers of the Titanic) and Casey Jones remaining at his post until the end.

from: 3:52 AM April 30, 1900 (article in Trains); Robert B Shaw; May 1965: Kalmbach.

Here are a few more views of the historical environment back then ...

from: Casey Jones, Epic of the American Railroad; Fred J Lee; 1939; Southern. archive.org

The current on-line resources are very helpful in revising the childhood images of this event. One of the engineers on one of the trains at Vaughan (like Jones) knew telegraphy. The telegraph office at Vaughan was closed for the night. In spite of the significant presence of trains at the location, it was necessary for Gaffney to break in to the station to be able to notify officials of the accident so trains would be held ... and to receive their instructions on how operations should proceed.

from: History of the Illinois Central Railroad; 1900; Railroad Historical Company. archive.org

Casey Jones was in freight service for several years at Water Valley. This book is half history of the railroad and half biographies of past and current notable personages of the railroad circa 1900. This type of industrial documentation book anticipated brisk sales to the people profiled, with extra copies being purchased for family members. 

Now, or until recently, a Casey Jones museum has existed at Water Valley at or near the location of the main line - although there is no current railroad presence surviving there today.

*  *  *

from: History of the Illinois Central Railroad; 1900; Railroad Historical Company. archive.org

Also in this history is a photo of an engine similar to Casey Jones's own engine, the 382.

Unfortunately, the image is very dark and it was difficult to bring up much detail of the running gear.

*  *  *

from: History of the Illinois Central Railroad; 1900; Railroad Historical Company. archive.org

A typical caboose helps us imagine the one which suddenly appeared at Vaughan.

 

*  *  *

Above, a current Google Maps view looking timetable south.

The track may have been re-aligned since 1900, but today there is long stretch of tangent track before the line's long curve into Vaughan.

*  *  *

Looking timetable south toward the tangent section between Pickens and the long curve into Vaughan. 

A view of the current track structure. Pickens is shown on the 1912 map, above.

Seen in a Google Maps view from 2023. 

*  *  *

Current Google Maps view above Vaughan looking timetable north.

There are no village buildings visible at Vaughan

*  *  *

from: Casey Jones, Epic of the American Railroad; Fred J Lee; 1939; Southern. archive.org

end