CPR 1972 in the Official Guide. Includes from Algoma Central to White Pass & Yukon

In this post, many of the railways are illustrated with published photos from this era, or earlier. 

... Some of the large format 'trains of Canada' books which sold in bookstores (such as Coles or WH Smith) for $10-20 in the 1980s offer interesting views of some of the more obscure railways. 

... Known in our household as 'Books by the Pound' these 10 x 12 inch books were about an inch or more thick and often contained public relations department photos which must have been incredibly cheap to use. Photos were often enlarged to span the gutter ... to help pad the book up to the necessary one inch thickness. 

... Often they were printed in Hong Kong or other exotic locations. A little bit of text written by a generalist who knew something about railways was added. Thus you had an affordable book which was suitable as a gift to 'someone who likes trains'. Laypersons understandably believed that train books were train books. 

Not included: Single-railway books (which included rosters or timetables) and which were written by authors who had researched the history of a particular railway in depth would rise above this broad class. Mika, Railfare and Boston Mills-type books would definitely not be defined as 'Books by the Pound'.

To be unusually reasonable with this post, I stopped before illustrating ALL of the Canadian railways listed in the Official Guide pages. I did think that the inclusion of photos might make this post less dry. Hopefully some of the photos will make some readers curious about railway companies (and there are many) which they never saw in operation.

As an example of extinct operations, the Canadian Pacific entry lists many railway and transportation subsidiaries, and facilities, which have since been spun off or shut down. As in the case with the previous CNR 1972 Official Guide post, CPR lists their 10 hotels (and 2 'motor hotels'). 

from: Encyclopedia of North American Railroads; Aaron E Klein; 1985; Bison.

The Canadian at Morant's Curve, undated, but probably late-1950s.

Notice the three stop-gap coaches with clerestories.

from: Great Trains of the World; PB Whitehouse; 1975; Hamlyn.

Dominion Atlantic Railway at Kentville, Nova Scotia, September 1972.

from: Canadian Pacific Railway; Patrick C Dorin; 1974; Superior Publishing.

Undated photo of Esquimalt & Nanaimo Train 1 at Nanaimo.

from: Ribbons of Steel; Ena Schneider; 1989; Detselig Enterprises.

Undated view of Northern Alberta Railways Train 76 near Venice on the Lac la Biche Sub.

In the early days, I believe the NAR was essential in the delivery of the dimensional loads needed to begin bitumen sands mining and upgrading. I think three of those loads are visible in this consist. 

If you sometimes enjoy virtual visits to locations via Google maps, you will find that the Venice Heritage Park has a really interesting school photo from Halloween 1932. Their Heritage Park website (accessible from the map side panel) outlines the development of Venice and neighbouring Hylo.

Going along the tracks to Lac la Biche, you'll find their museum has a 1:48 model of the two-stack Empress of France on display.

from: Algoma Central Railway; OS Nock; 1975; A&C Black.

Undated view of the Algoma Central yard at Sault Ste Marie, with the steel mill in the background.

British professional engineer OS Nock (1905-1994) created quite a number of high-quality books on railway subjects.

He seemed to have a special interest in the railways of Canada.

from: Great Trains of the World; PB Whitehouse; 1975; Hamlyn.

Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo eastbound freight at Niagara Falls, September 1972.

(This photo has an 'odd presentation' in the book.)

[Page 431 displays US railroads.]

from: The Ontario Northland Railway; Patrick C Dorin; 1987; Superior.

Ontario Northland work extra departing south from Temagami, June 1980.

from: Illustrated Treasury of MLW-Alco to Bombardier Locomotives; James W Kerr; 1983; DPA-LTA.

Builder's photo, 1950, RS2.

from: 150 Years of Canadian Railroads; Bernard Fitzsimons; 1984; Royce.

Undated photo of Cartier Railway unit ore train for Port Cartier.

from: Railways of Canada; OS Nock; 1973; A&C Black.

PGE freight descending 2% grade in Fraser River canyon between Kelly Lake and Lillooet, undated.

[Mexican railways and various US shortlines occupy the intervening pages.]

from: Trains; November 1964; Kalmbach.

Undated photo at Skagway, Alaska.

Baldwin 660, 1000, 1500 HP Switcher/Road Switcher Operator's Manual 1948

The CPR had a few 1000 HP Baldwin switchers (11) and road switchers (13). The CPR Baldwins spent most of their lives on Vancouver Island and they were off the roster by the late 1970s. Light, efficient road-switching power suited the branch line nature of the trackage on the island.

After the end of World War Two, Canadian and US railways were clamouring for almost any type of diesel-electric locomotive they could buy - particularly switch engines. In switcher service, having extra power available for quick acceleration was key for certain switching moves such as kicking cars. 

In contrast to steam switchers, diesels were fuel efficient, they didn't require coaling towers or water tanks, and they needed comparatively little daily maintenance. So the same diesel could work through many consecutive eight-hour terminal shifts ... without requiring a substitute locomotive while the switcher was shopped - the latter was the case when steam was used.

If there was a lull of a few hours, the diesel could be left idling, while burning cheap diesel fuel, and it could be returned to work instantly. In contrast, a steam locomotive could either have its fire banked and require occasional checking ... or someone could shovel coal and monitor the boiler water level and steam pressure to stand by for immediate service - but these traditional options were obviously more cumbersome and labour-intensive.

Post-war order backlogs (especially at General Motors EMD) caused railways to purchase the early designs from firms well-known for their production of steam locomotives - such as Baldwin. Although the outcomes seem obvious today when we know the history - no one could really foresee what the future might hold for diesel locomotive technical development and for the companies manufacturing locomotives.

In the late 1940s, some men holding leadership positions ... with incumbent steam locomotive manufacturers and with some railways operating steam ... were certain there would always be a need for large, powerful steam locomotives.