This post includes about 385 years of family history. It'll be over before you know it.
Above: This is the only time in my life when I have visited the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (henceforth 'the Basilica').
It was August 1966 and we were all steaming in hot, sticky rainwear while LC Gagnon lined up his photo to include a CNR switchstand.
It did not cheer us up to visit the Cyclorama! The Cyclorama is not a fun amusement park ride, but a massive 360-degree painting showing the Crucifixion. Visitors are able to stand in the middle of this scene.
Because one of my postcard dealers was interested in the Basilica, and because I knew about its cultural significance, I bought quite a few cards from his collection. I hate to see a set broken up. You'll get to see them at some point, but not today.
In spite of our name and Montreal origin, 'our patrilineal branch' of the Gagnon family has been anglophone since circa 1864. This same particular line often maintained its Anglican traditions from the late 1800s (in fact, my great-grandfather was a bilingual Anglican minister) until the late 1900s.
In 1966, as I remember it, we just stuck our noses (respectfully) in the back of the Basilica briefly, perhaps obtaining some printed historical material.
On the other hand, my spouse has indicated that her mother and aunts often drove to this place as a destination. They were Roman Catholic. This shrine was extremely well-known and visited by Catholics from all over eastern North America.
* * *
A Montrealer of my age will probably remember or laugh at this 1960s joke:
Have you heard that Steinberg's wants to buy the church at St Anne de Beaupre?
They do! They want to turn it into a Miracle Mart!
* * *
Any conceivable religion-based political incorrectness did not intrude into the humour of this wordplay for someone not yet in their teens - or, back then, most adult anglo-Montrealers, for that matter.
The Basilica was famous for its miracle cures, with one of my collected postcards showing 'curated displays' of wooden crutches and canes which had been cast aside on the spot by pilgrims.
And Steinberg's was a popular supermarket chain (along with its contemporaries Dominion and A&P) where the low prices were presented as being miraculous. This was crafted into the trademarked name for their stores. We had a Steinberg Miracle Mart near to us in neighbouring Dorval.
... fine, but any joke you have to explain ...
Of course, but this historical joke crystallizes the zeitgeist back then.
 |
| Undated, unused postcard, no publisher indicated. |
* * *
OK, here's some trains! ...
 |
| clipping, probably from: Railroad Magazine, Mar 1971. |
It provided rails and rolling stock to take pilgrims to and from the Basilica.
The QRL&P also provided interurban-style commuter service for those living east of Quebec City.
 |
| from: Chemin de fer de la bonne Sainte Anne; Omer Lavallee; circa 1959; self-published. |
Circa 1959, Omer Lavallee self-published a 16-page booklet which went over the history and operations of the QRL&P with his typical passion and thoroughness. The map above is really interesting and comes from that publication. The booklet was completely bilingual, and incomplete fragments of that text meandered around this map (deleted from the image above).
A short spur departs the main line to reach the foot of Montmorency Falls. On this map there is no legend but the line is indeed double-tracked as far as the Falls as the symbols suggest. I believe a wye at the Falls was useful for excursions operated to see that landmark. More importantly, the double-tracked section was at the heart of the QRL&P's commuter operations, so it made sense to turn any consists there ... which could not be operated in both directions.
The Basilica is located near the map's North compass arrow. We'll also look at Chateau Richer, which is about half-way along the railway line shown on the map.
* * *
The following article appeared in Trains Magazine just at the moment in history when the Quebec Railway Light & Power was being folded into the Canadian National Railways system. As the article indicates, after considering the advantages of operating rubber-tired buses, the QRL&P had lost interest in its electric operations on rails.
It is probably no coincidence that this thorough, detailed article is written by another of the key members of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association group in Montreal - Tony Clegg. As you will have noticed, it pre-dates Lavallee's historical booklet by seven years.
 |
| from: Trains & Travel Magazine; Sep 1952; Kalmbach. |
I think this consist is reversing toward the north tail of the wye at the Falls.
The other leg can be seen as that grey disturbance in the distant snow.
* * *
The 'last chance to see' phenomenon affecting railway enthusiasts is evergreen. Electric interurbans and steam (in Canada) were on that list in the late 1950s. But old wooden switchstands and stub switches were absolute museum pieces at this point.
 |
| from: Steve Maguire's Transit Topics column; Railroad Magazine; Feb 1958. |
 |
| from: Chemin de fer de la bonne Sainte Anne; Omer Lavallee; circa 1959; self-published. |
'Typical stub switch at the Ste-Anne car house.'
Lavallee provides a nice anatomical view showing why these switches were anachronistic.
I intended Tony Clegg's article to be the centre-piece of this post.
However, here are a few other related items.
* * *
The Family Connection
In 1954, LC Gagnon took a trip to Quebec City with his father George Gagnon.
And they would have ridden on the CNR's version of the QRL&P.
This transfer is stapled inside Lavallee's booklet.
Although the photo books do not document the calendar date of the trip on the line, notice how a little (use the staple for scale) scrap of paper is expertly designed into a transfer which not only provides a time-limited voucher for transportation on a specific date ... it also documents who it was issued by - the particular punch mark assigned to a given conductor.
* * *
1952 at Macdonald Teachers College
 |
| from: Clan Macdonald, the Macdonald College student yearbook; 1952; self-published. |
Dialling back to 1952 - the date of Tony Clegg's article - we have this photograph from the McGill University Teachers College at Macdonald College at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. This is primarily for family members looking in (they'll recognize quite a few names) ...
As well as showing both of my parents, I believe this also shows the future spouse of Tony Clegg. I have no idea of the exact relationships between all of these four people in 1952. I was just curious about the origin of my mother's relationship with the future Mrs. Clegg and checked the yearbooks.
LC Gagnon was involved in many organized activities beyond teaching, but he was never a key person in the CRHA like Lavallee and Clegg. So, for us, it was a 'brush with railway greatness' which came about through the person who was my mother's dormitory friend, basketball teammate, etc.
While living in Lachine, we once went to visit the Cleggs. It was stunning for me to see Mont St Hilaire standing right there as their back yard. After we were married, Tony was visiting my parents and came over to see my brief effort at a layout. He operated a long Canadian consist and was extremely kind in sending me a copy of one of his out-of-print books gratis.
* * *
Meanwhile in 1954
To make a long story short, these two Anglo-Quebeckers are embracing this plaque at Chateau Richer because all Canadian Gagnons have descended from three brothers and a cousin who came over from Perche. George Gagnon paid the Drouin Institute to research his heritage through their access to extremely thorough church records, and it turns out our line is descended from Jean Gagnon.
If you consider how many parents you have ... and how many great-grandparents you have ... you can see that the 'original DNA' following a strictly patrilineal family name gets well-diluted once you descend to my own 12th generation!
... By the same token, we had lived in Quebec for 12 generations when we left in 1969. It was our traditional home.
... Another problem with the patrilineal family 'name' idea, is that it is kind of arbitrary that my grandfather's sisters' children (etc) are 'not Gagnons' !
Nonetheless, the example of my grandfather's enthusiasm for his Quebec heritage has resulted in many rewarding experiences for me over the years. The ticket in is the language, and the cultural enjoyment follows quite naturally after that.
 |
| Undated postcard of the Chateau Richer plaque, no publisher. |
* * *
Above and below: At some point, they visited the Basilica.
* * *
A photo taken during this trip shows George Gagnon contemplating a goélette du Saint-Laurent. Originally these were wind-powered schooners, but you can see the evolution of the foremast into a derrick on this motorized craft. Notice that the tide is out, as well.
Farming was a traditional focus of activity in Quebec's St Lawrence River valley. However, by definition, a significant amount of activity was also directed toward the river, tidewater and 'the sea'.
We encountered a couple of these boats at work during our 1966 vacation trip along the lower St Lawrence. However, only a few were preserved as museum pieces after their general retirement in the late 1970s.
