Pool trains, mixed trains, Dayliners, The Canadian, steam. It is hard to imagine a period of Canadian passenger train history which had more variety in its rolling stock. ... Claims like this can always be debated - so I said 'it is hard to imagine'.
And it is hard-er to imagine ... a passenger train smartphone application which could present all the data shown in these cheap little folders as concisely and effectively. Looking beyond the schedules, we've got train equipment listings and interior specifications for the particular cars normally in service on a train, Toronto Union Station's CPR arrival & departure board, taxi and ferry arrangements (SSM), international routes and the railroads providing the service beyond CPR rails.
This folder had to present all this information in a small space to avoid the expense of handing out system timetables for every potential passenger who had a multi-city travel plan from Toronto. It had to be complete, correct and clear enough in its design to allow as much passenger 'self-service' as possible - to forestall the need for lengthy explanations by ticket office staff.
A continuing criticism of North American time reckoning is that 'we' don't work well with a 24-hour clock system ... so the printer had to fiddle around with regular type for AM, and boldface type to denote PM hours.
The task of proofreading the final draft of this folder would have required considerable knowledge and certainty that the data was correct. There would have been exacting attention to detail. The extra cost resulting from a spoiled print run would probably be investigated by superiors.
* * *
 |
| from: Historical Topographic Map Digitization Project. https://ocul.on.ca/topomaps/collection/ |