Cast your mind back to the time of mimeograph machines, typewriters, tailend crews, cabooses etc. The pages shown below come from this comb-binding reference book:
System Operating Procedures
Service Design Specifications
200 and 300 Series
Effective 26 October 1980
Office of Chief of Transportation
Montreal, Quebec
26 October, 1980
There are regional trains in this book with which I am actually familiar. However, this 'express speed train' is perhaps more interesting because it passed near some of your hometowns. Well, assuming you lived west of Montreal. This listing refers to a number of technologies, locations and routes which no longer exist.
I don't fully understand what advantage is conferred by adding 5 mph to the top speed of the train. It may be just part of the 'package' of procedures (including the train's number) which convey the idea to employees that this train is special ...
If this train is delayed ... "They'll hear about this in Montreal!" ... as they used to say on the CPR.
Perhaps each new generation of railway executives is destined, or condemned, to invent Precision Scheduled Railroading using the equipment at hand? And all workers must believe that this visionary approach has never been attempted before.
... But that 5 mph is really bothering me. Observing aggressive drivers, my aunt used to ask rhetorically: "What do you do with the time you save?" Broken rails, dragging equipment, hot bearings, frozen switches, CTC problems, delays in the yard, broken knuckles, snowstorms, problems with power, sticky brakes, kickers, unannointed non-express trains (drags) with problems stalled on the track ahead, derailments, winter slow orders, spring freshets, summer trackwork ... It would seem that many things could quickly defeat any speed and schedule advantage conferred on 201 when it operates as an express speed train.
However, thinking of conditions back then, if 201 was always assigned new, reliable power in sufficient abundance that it could accelerate quickly and consistently stay near speed limits through its entire run ... it would go a long way toward making this a special train - when compared to the others.
* * *
The first two images provide general policy and procedures about express speed trains.
Then 201's eight pages of detailed instructions follow.
After posting, my brother contacted me with these observations and documentation. It seems that CNR (then a Crown Corporation) went to the trouble of soliciting the interest of a magazine for the general public. Operating employees probably had some fun using "It's Super Train!" in their daily banter.
From Eric:
I have a copy of the April 1985 Reader's Digest article 'FREIGHT 201, It's Super Train!'
It portrays CN No 201 on Fri, Nov 2, 1984 from Turcot to Vancouver, 73 cars-5619 tons-5707 feet. Cargoes include furniture, steel sheeting, appliances, gasoline, bricks, aircraft parts, frozen food, PEI potatoes. Top speed is 60 mph. Super trains put were into service in 1968, it says. Departing Wpg 90 cars-5053 tons-6414 feet. In Edmonton, 18 fewer cars. Arriving Kamloops, 87 cars. Arriving Vancouver, 64 cars-6889 tons-4004 feet.
In car-tracing times, there was CN No 204 Winnipeg-Toronto which carried aircraft flatcars* with the large lift-off lids.
*Subject of an upcoming Trackside Treasure post. 204 used to move! CN No 149 routinely does 55-60 mph through here, while most freights are 50 and those handling oil are 30 mph.
