Old piston-engined planes are the main subject of this post. Many railway enthusiasts have overlapping interests in other forms of transportation and the vehicles they used. Although this is an 'et cetera' post (see top banner) there is also a tenuous railway connection. Give yourself 100 bonus points if you already know what it is!
My grandfather completed his Master of Arts degree at Columbia University in 1947. As my grandfather was a school principal in Lachine, Quebec, he was only in New York during the summers. My father was a teenager in this era and occasionally travelled to see his father in New York via the Delaware and Hudson. It was during one of these trips that he picked up these artifacts.
If you search with Delaware (in the search box above) you'll find a couple of D&H-related posts. One looks at track gauges (the D&H once had a 4 foot 3 inch gravity operation); the other includes my father's contemporary system timetable and other older documents and maps.
All the postcards have the same information on the reverse side.
The Pan-American 'Clippers' and other similar flying boats were used to initiate the first trans-ocean commercial flight routes in the 1930s. They did not require runways so any expanse of water could be turned into an airport.
Some flying boats could sprout 'amphibian' wheels and use their engines to propel themselves up paved ramps from the water for major servicing. However, I think these large Clippers were pulled out using a special undercarriage.
During World War Two, Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt sometimes made use of this type of transportation for their various in-person 'Conferences' to discuss the war. The choice of using a flying boat for trans-ocean travel - as opposed to a fast warship - probably depended on factors like ... the time limitations of the leader ... and the potential vulnerability of the warship to Axis air surveillance and attack in constricted bodies of water.
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| from: World War Atlas; George Philip & Son Ltd; circa 1941; London Daily Mail. |
The atlas page above, presents some aspects of the trans-Atlantic activity from early World War Two. The German invasion of the USSR of June 1941 is not plotted on its pages. The white "sunk" box near Ireland refers to Germany's Bismarck.
The card-covered booklet itself was brought to Canada by a member of the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders. They arrived in Europe in July 1941. The booklet is folded in half and is quite worn ... and might have followed its owner over Juno Beach on D-Day, and beyond into the fighting in western Europe.
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The Trans-Canada Air Lines timetable below was acquired by my father.
Starting in 1928, Canada began to follow the lead of the United States in developing its own system of commercial passenger aviation. The Department of Transport began to survey air routes across Canada, and this included the linking of the first Canadian airports ... and major Canadian cities. Airfield lighting, radio equipment and meteorology services became key in the establishment of this system of airports.
Subsequently, airmail service began in Canada. Canadian mail initially flew on American wings between Detroit and Pembina, Manitoba - probably because there was little initial demand for Canadian passenger services over the Canadian Shield of northern Ontario.
The objective of CD Howe, federal Minister of Transport in 1937, was to establish a Canadian airline to operate via the newly developed Canadian airways. His plan included the repatriation of Canadian airmail carriage.
TCA began in 1938 with 5 Lockheed Electras and 71 employees. The airline was capitalized at $5 million (about $90 million in 2020 dollars). Canadian National Railways was the majority shareholder of this new crown corporation.
Executive and support services were provided by the CNR, with TCA setting up its own operating, engineering, maintenance, communication and traffic departments. The government of Canada was responsible for the 'airway' and its supporting facilities.
TCA was renamed Air Canada in 1965. Air Canada was privatized in 1988 with 43% of its shares being placed in the initial public offering. The Canada Transportation Act requires Canadian ownership for 75% of voting control in Canadian airlines (this is 2020 information).
Old investment joke: Millionaire (definition): A billionaire who owns an airline.
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When this timetable was published, World War 2 in Europe had been over for 3 months.
Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945 - about a month after the timetable came out.
It is possible that TCA was serving more cities and towns in Canada and Newfoundland then,
than Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiaries are today ...
with Air Canada's 2020 cuts in service caused, in part, by COVID-related demand destruction.
Back in 1945, however, those cities and towns generally had railway passenger service.
To calculate the cost of 'your trip' multiply the 1945 prices by 15 to convert to 2020 dollars.
Round Trip Fare
Toronto to Vancouver + 15% Transportation Tax was ($220 + 33) x 15 = $3795 in 2020 dollars.
Carpenters in Toronto in 1945 made $1.11 per hour.
( = $16.65 in 2020 dollars)
If you take Flight 5, you can leave Toronto at the end of the business day and reach Vancouver 15 or 16 hours later (if all goes well) in time to start the next business day there - given the time changes. Dinner is provided as you leave Toronto. Added bonus ... the airport won't be busy.
