FEBRUARY 2015

WCRA NEWS

POLAR EXPRESS 2014

SETS NEW RECORDS

HELP RESTORE CN 6520

WCRA News, Page 2 GENERAL MEETING The January General Meeting of the WCRA will be held on Tuesday, January 27 at 1930 hours at Rainbow Creek Station, Willingdon at Penzance in Burnaby. Entertainment will be Royal Hudson the First Time—presented by Dan MacDougall. Dan was the first hourly employee hired to work on the 2860 in 1973, and his presentation follows the restoration of Royal Hudson #2860 when it was done in 1973-74 to enter service for the Provincial Government on the North Vancouver to Squamish excursion. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Just an advance note that due the change in fiscal year end to Dec, 31, the WCRA’s Annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. ON THE COVER The CN Super Continental in the 1950’s, depicted here in a railway publicity poster, showcases Canadian National FP9A #6504 in the lead of the latest streamliner CN fields across Canada. West Coast Railway brought sister locomotive #6520 across Canada last year and it is now in Squamish, BC. #6520 is a priority restoration project for 2015 and a new fundraiser is being launched to help complete the job. Wouldn’t you love to see #6520 restored to its CN 1950’s paint scheme and out there in service on our trains in future years? FEBRUARY CALENDAR • West Coast Railway Heritage Park open daily 1000 through 1600k • Thursday, February 5—Deadline for items for the March 2015 WCRA News • February 16 to 22—Heritage Week, free admission and special exhibits, heritage tea $7.50 • Tuesday, February 24—WCRA General Meeting at Rainbow Creek Station, 1930 hours

The West Coast Railway Association is an historical group dedicated to the preservation of British Columbia railway history. Membership is open to all people with an interest in railways past and present. We are a non-profit British Columbia society, registered as a Canadian charity. Membership prices are as follows, Please note that GST must be added to all fees: Senior $50 ($52.50), Individual $55 (57.75), Family $65 (68.25) E Members (electronic newsletter only) are $35 ($36.75) Senior, $40 ($42.00) individual and $50 ($52.50) family. Other categories are: - Junior Member (age 18 and under ) $ 30 ($31.50) - Sustaining Member $100 (tax receipt) plus membership type regular fee - Life Membership $700 ($735) individual life / $1,200 ($1,260) family life All memberships include the monthly newsletter, Heritage Park admission (except Special Events), mini rail rides and discounts on food and merchandise. The Association holds a monthly meeting on the last Tuesday of the month at 1930 hours in Burnaby at Rainbow Creek Station in Confederation Park. Apply through www.wcra.org or mail to WCRA, PO Box 2790 Stn. Term., Vancouver, B.C., V6B 3X2.

WCRA News, Page 3

EDITORIAL A CAPITAL 2015 As we head into 2015, plans are afoot to ramp up capital activities and move the West Coast Railway Heritage Park and our collection forward through a number of capital projects. This is an important strategy that will assist our organization at continued recovery from our funding efforts and will put a few major projects back on track. Naturally, you will also see these emerge as fundraising activities as the year progresses. Among the highest of priorities—the restoration of Canadian National FP9A #6520, the re-certification of Royal Hudson #2860’s boiler, and the schoolhouse building—to be the first building in the expansion of the Heritage Village. These new initiatives will be built from new sources of funding, and will not displace current fundraisers underway but not yet complete—such as the completion of driveway paving and the new Paul D Roy Mini Rail shop, both projects targeted to complete in the Spring when the weather gets better for this kind of work. But getting on with major capital work has always been a hallmark of our association, and we plan to get back to this in 2015. Happy New Year—we are very happy to have you aboard as part of our team.

Don

ASSOCIATION NEWS

FROM THE DECEMBER GENERAL MEETING Don Evans welcomed everyone to the annual dinner and awards evening, and acted as the MC for the event. This serves as the December General meeting of the WCRA Notice was given that nominations for position of one Director will be held at the January meeting. Ken Tanner gave a report on our recent Polar Express event. The Awards ceremony followed dinner at the Accent Inn in Burnaby. Note about this year’s award plaques – this year a framed photo by Russ Grycan taken from the Canron Upper Deck of the CN Roundhouse & Conference Centre.. Thanks to Paul Ohannesian for doing up this year’s awards.

WCRA News, Page 4 CORPORATE SUPPORT AWARD Winner – Canadian Western Bank This year’s winner is an organization that stepped up to help us cement our financial future. The restructuring of the society and the subsequent mortgage refinancing has stabilized our course going forward and we are back into a mode of stable growth once again. Concluding the new deal was not an easy task and required some out of the box thinking - and we saw that as we worked for a solution with several financial institutions. We are pleased that this year's award winner is our new banker - Canadian Western Bank. Accepting the award for Canadian Western Bank was Dean Chan. Past winners: Kinder Morgan Terminals, Nesters Market Squamish, G Van Catering, Cardinal Concrete / Coast Aggregates, Southern Railway of BC, BCR Properties, BNSF Railway, All Pro Services Ltd., Continental Power Services, Duro Construction Ltd., Mountain Retreat Hotel & Suites, Canadian National, Canada Post Corporation, Rocky Mountaineer Railtours, Tim Horton’s Squamish, Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Co., BC Tel Education, Dairyworld Foods, BC Rail, Amix Salvage, Canada Place Corporation. MEDIA AWARD Winner – Rick Mercer Reports This year’s media award winner spent a full day at the Heritage Park and produced a National show that has been seen by hundreds of thousands. In the production last January, the individual also endeared himself to staff and hundreds of on lookers as well with his personable approach and the time he took to meet everyone as he learned to "drive a train". The winner for 2014 is Rick Mercer (you can see the show anytime, Google Rick Mercer Reports Squamish). Rick isn't able to be here, we will see he gets his award. Past Winners: John Streit CKWX, Rob MacBeth, Malcolm Parry, The Chief, Marke Andrews - Vancouver Sun, SNAP Sea to Sky, Cable 10’s “My Squamish”, Vivian Moreau, The Province

WCRA News, Page 5 (Damian Inwood), Soul Image Communications, Art Jones & Co., BC-CTV, Squamish Chief, Global TV News, Seniors Scene, www.wcra.org, Squamish Chief, Bill Hughes, Squamish Chief, Mountain FM, Eleanor Godley. BEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEWSLETTER Winner – Mike McGaw I hope all of you are regular readers of WCRA News, and if so you will be familiar with the contributions of this year's Newsletter Award winner. While his real role is leading a restoration project, his regular monthly reports and photographs embody what keeping us up to date on project progress should look like. Indeed, also many comments back to the editor noting how enjoyable it is to have these "shop floor" type reports. Our winner this year is the leader of the BCER 960 project, Mike McGaw . Past Winners: Ryan Cruickshank, Russ Grycan, Craig McDowall, John Day, Patricia Treadwell, Jim McPherson, Bill Johnston, Craig McDowall, Grant Ferguson, Dave Emmington, Jim McPherson, Richard & Margaret Harvey, Paul Ohannesian, Allan B. Peden, Bill Yeats, Win Oliver, Art Hamilton, Randy Rand, Bill Yeats, Ryan Cruickshank, Patrick Hind VOLUNTEER AWARD Winner – Ernie & Lynn Ledgerwood. Our 2014 Volunteer Award goes to a couple who have been there for us at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park for many years, and in many roles. They are active at all our major events (as again recently during Polar Express) and hold a variety of skills. She can often be found in period dress at the Brightbill Heritage House, he regularly covers first aid or medical services at events or is helping in full

WCRA News, Page 6 conductor dress. He is also a talented woodworker and examples of his craftsmanship are all over the park. To Dr. Ernie and Lynn Ledgerwood, we say thank you for all you do. Past Winners: Roy Crowston, Barbara Stover, Jim Saunders, Howie Tichauer, John Jellis, John & Fay Lighthall, Jeremy Davy and Donna Simon, Chris Forget, Irena Erdos, Kevin Smith, Joe Kerr, Ken Mason, Glen Wideman, Percy Fairhurst, Nick Monkhouse, Dusty Rhodes, Devon Generous, Paul & Mary Roy (twice), Bill & Dorothy Lahr, Marcie Phillips MOST SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO RAIL PRESERVATION Winner: Tyler Kion Restoration projects come in all shapes and sizes, and this year's winner took on a job that badly needed doing to return a popular exhibit to the Heritage Park. Flatcars may not be all that sexy as railway rolling stock goes, however they are designed to handle loads of all shapes and sizes. Our Northern Pacific flatcar had a display of vintage tractors, however the wood deck was rotted and the display had to be taken down. Tyler Kion undertook removal of the old deck, sourcing new cedar, cutting, painting and installing it to allow this exhibit to return in 2015. Past Winners: The Monday Crew, Chris Forget, Randy Lucas, Robert Hunter, Chris Forget, Dave Emmington, The Troop Sleeper gang, The 6503 team of Greg Robertshaw, Michael Batten & Richard Courage, Peter Cox, Richard Courage, Bob Spencer, Paul Ohanessian, Fred Dannells, Ron Anstey, Kevin Pruden, Dave Simpson & Judy Lunn, Barbara Brown & Bruce Mackay, Devon Generous, Gerry & Jo Black, Ron Anstey, Ken Paget. NEW GENERATION AWARD Winner: Morgan Payette Our New Generation Award winner for 2014 is someone who has helped at the Heritage Park at many of our major events, and also at other times particularly during the summer. He recently appeared on the cover of WCRA News as he worked on polishing up our

WCRA News, Page 7 CPR FP7A #4069, and was there throughout the 2014 Polar Express event. Our 2014 New Generations winner is Morgan Payette. Past Winners: Devon Bailey, Travis Clark, Kayla Simon, Connor Park, Rob Misjak SPECIAL AWARD - COMMUNITY SUPPORT Lions Cub of Squamish This year a special award goes to an organization who has been present at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park for many years, and who have developed to become a partner in many ways with us. It all started back when BC Rail sold off their business car fleet before the CN sale, and this group purchased one of the cars. The next challenge, of course, was where it could go - and in the end the car ended up at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park. The relationship that has developed is exemplified by the happenings of this past year.....they have provided their grill and cooked at several events, they have built and installed our new children's play train, and recently a computer has been donated to help with our operating needs. They meet regularly in their railcar Lions Club, the base of their community work - of course, I am speaking of the Lions Club of Squamish. Lion Brad Hodge accepted the award. Following the awards presentation, the draws were held (organized by Bonnie & George Game). Craig McDowall was thanked for arranging the dinner. Meeting was adjourned. PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP If your address label reads 12 31, you need to renew now. If your label reads 09 30, this is your last issue. We need you as members—please renew. (J.D.) NEW MEMBERS / MEMBER NEWS We welcome to membership:

• The Andrews family of Vancouver; • Tom & Francina Carr of Maple Ridge; • Joseph Fodor and family of West Vancouver; • Jim Logue & Dawn Gareau and family of Squamish; • Paul Schmid and family of West Vancouver • Nick Whittingham of Burnaby; • Sean Zwagerman of West Vancouver. (J.D.)

We are sad to report on the passing on of long time member Helen Ross, of Nanaimo. Our sympathies are extended to her family.

WCRA News, Page 8 WCRA TRIVIA #314 - by Ryan Cruickshank What famous train journey began 131 years ago and is still going today? (find answer on page 26) ARCHIVES BOOK SALE AT JANUARY AND FEBRUARY MEETINGS We've recently received several book collections that included high-quality books, a number on Canadian subjects. These books are being offered to the members at the January and February Meetings, prior to the WCRA book sales at Western Rails. Titles include: British Columbia Railway (Garden), One Track Mind (Benson) Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada (Lavallee) Transit British Columbia (Kelly) Vancouver Island Railroads (1st ed), Steam on the Kettle Valley, Logging by Rail (Turner) Rites of Passage, CPR Stand Fast Craigallache, Passing Trains (McDonnell) (R.H.) VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS MINI TRAIN Canada Place was unavailable this year due to construction work being done to the Cruise Ship area – The area should be available again for 2015. An augmented Portable MiniRail Crew was once again enthusiastically back at the 374 Pavilion to operate the Christmas Train this year. The train was set up Nov 26th to 28th. The Pavilion and Engine 374 were decorated and ready for our visitors by the first week of December Operations started on December 5th and ran till Dec 23rd when the Roundhouse Community Centre closed for their Christmas Break. Operations resumed after New Year on an informal basis with rides being offered starting Jan 2nd. Traffic on the first few days the season was a little slow as a result of the wet weather but the pace picked up. Although the 374 Pavilion does not have the traffic experienced at Canada Place all in all it was a rewarding time. A total of 2,200 rides were taken which raised around $4,200 for WCRA. Again … Thanks Team!!!! As I write this the weather has not cooperated so we were unable to tackle the task of moving the various parts to their summer home. Hopefully the job will be complete by the middle of the month. On the plus side as long as the train is at the Pavilion rides will be given whenever there is a qualified engineer on duty. Thanks again to all the volunteers many of whom performed multiple roles over the period: Karl Anderson; Keith Anderson; Frank Barnhouse; Len Brown; Francina Carr; Tom

WCRA News, Page 9 Carr; Colin Dathan; Jeremy Davy; Don Evans; Bonnie Game; George Game; Gordon Hall; Bill Johnston; John Lighthall; Phil MacGregor ; Craig McDowall; Sam Montejo; D’Arcy Nelson; Colin Rae; Jim Saunders; Lance Simon; Ken Tanner; Howie Tichauer; Orin Webber and Evan Wickens. It was a pleasure to work with all of you. (J.D.) VOLUNTEER HOURS - Reporting WCRA relies heavily on the hours that our volunteers generously donate while carrying out the activities of the Association as part of the supporting information when seeking charitable funding and grants. Everything you do for WCRA counts - except attending General meetings … Volunteering at the Heritage Park or as Custodian at the 374 Pavilion, Serving on a committee or as a tour host, Attending board meetings, Helping in the office, — all hours are important and all hours count. NEW THIS YEAR Volunteer hours expended Annually at the Heritage Park are now required to be reported by WCRA to BC Safety and included in the Park’s Safety Management System statistics. As a minimum - Please separate your hours into PARK and OTHER when you report them. Please submit volunteer hours for 2014 as soon as you can. Please let Donna Simon know the time you have donated. You may do so by email at membership@wcra.org or by calling 604.815.0812 (604-484-2791 toll free from Vancouver calling area) – both phones have voicemail. If you prefer to send your information by snail mail you can address it to Donna at PO Box 2535 Garibaldi Highlands BC V0N 1T0. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES - Mileage Don’t forget that all mileage incurred while doing the Volunteer activities you reported above are eligible for a Tax Receipt. Unsure how to do this? For assistance contact Jeremy at membership@wcra.org, or calling either of the numbers above. (D.S.) Note Tax Receipt Changes for the 2014 Tax Year The CANADA REVENUE AGENCY has ruled that starting with 2014; Tax Receipts for donated mileage can no longer be issued without a Cheque Swap being done. A cheque swap is where a Volunteer submits a Mileage Claim to the Association and WCRA pays the expense, then the Volunteer donates the payment back to the Association. In practice, since WCRA does not reimburse a Volunteer for Mileage expenses, but only

WCRA News, Page 10 issues a Tax Receipt for the amount, a donation cheque (Payable to WCRA) equal to the amount the Claim must be included with the claim form. WCRA will then issue a Reimbursement Cheque to the volunteer for the amount of the claim and once that cheque is cashed your Donation Cheque will be deposited by the WCRA. WCRA closed its 2014 Books during the week of January 12, 2015. Canada Revenue Agency’s rules are that donations must be received by December 31, 2014 to qualify for 2014 tax receipts, so no further 2014 tax receipts can be issued. Mileage Donations turned in now will not be lost, however. All donated Mileage and Expenses received will receive a 2015 Tax Receipt. For the 2015 year donations will need to be completed by December 31, 2015.(J.D.)

COLLECTION HELP RESTORE CN 6520 The classic face of the streamliner era—that is the role that the Electromotive / General Motors Diesel E and F series units would play and become famous for. While E units tended to get the assignments in the east and on the Prairies, the F series units were more pervasive in the west due their 4 wheel B-B trucks (vs six wheel A—1 –A trucks under the larger E units. The F unit offered superior tractive effort, especially important in the western mountains. Here in Canada, the F unit prevailed—only two E’s were owned by CPR and none by CN. Both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific purchased large fleets of F units and used them in both freight and passenger services, until the utility of the GP series road switchers overtook the esthetics of the F units—probably the nicest streamliner face ever built (editor bias here!). Locally, F units were the regular face on the streamliners of both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, as well as on the Great Northern Internationals to Seattle—truly the regular face of passenger railroading in our area. F units were the poster child of the revolution in passenger railroading in the 1950’s , as both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific introduced brand new transcontinental trains in April 1955. CP’s new flagship was The Canadian, while CN’s was the Super Continental. Shiny F series units headed up both of these new trains. What is truly amazing is that much of the rolling stock remains in service today—the CP stainless fleet is still in transcontinental service on VIA, while much of the CN feet is in operation on various tourist railways throughout North America—including WCRA’s own fleet of baggage car and six coaches! CN’s FP9A locomotive #6520 was one of the later additions to the fleet, and was built by General Motors Diesel Division in London, Ontario in 1957. As built, she was rated at 1,750

WCRA News, Page 11 horsepower, and was equipped with a steam generator for passenger car heating, She was used continuously in passenger services throughout the CN era and was transferred over to VIA Rail Canada in 1978 when VIA took over passenger train operations from CN. Originally painted in CN’s classic green, gold and black scheme, she took on the red / white / black colours in the 1970’s, and then VIA Blue and yellow. (photo taken 1975 by Steven Kibort)

In 1984 VIA Rail did a major upgrade to some of its F unit fleet, and 6520 was selected and received major improvements including 645 power assemblies for the prime mover, up graded electrical system, a new braking system and more—essentially turning her into a new locomotive again. She was renumbered VIA 6306 at that time and continued to serve the railway. In 1997, after major cutbacks to VIA and the coming of their new locomotive fleet, she was sold and became one of two units on the new Waterloo & St. Jacobs tourist train where she was returned to a CN like paint scheme and renumbered back to 6520. She operated until the end of that operation and then was stored at VIA’s Toronto facility and put up for sale through an equipment broker and she was purchased in 2006. And this is where WCRA gets involved. Having moved into our first railway operations (following the sale of BC Rail) WCRA held its first operating event in 2004—Day Out With Thomas. The event was a great success and became the framework for operating events that would grow over subsequent years and become a major element of our group. But, we didn’t have enough coaches or motive power (we just had our CP F unit 4069 and three coaches). Discovering the Waterloo equipment in Toronto, we had the F units there inspected as well as

WCRA News, Page 12 coaches. On seeing their excellent condition, a private benefactor purchased the two FP9A units (6520 and 6508), and three coaches. These were then all donated to WCRA and efforts commenced to have them all moved west to Squamish. That turned out to be a lengthy adventure, and WCRA ultimately had to sell #6508 to fund the cost of the moves, however today all three coaches are in service and the 6520 is here. WCXX 6520 made her journey west in 2012, as part of a CN locomotive consist and arrived at Squamish on November 24, 2012. Mission accomplished. (photo, Nov. 24, 2014 by Don Evans)

Now it’s time for the next steps—to return 6520 to service. Since arrival at Squamish, she has been thoroughly dried out and stored indoors, while inspections and work have progressed towards getting her started up. With the help of CMO Rob MacBeth and Director Singh Biln efforts to accomplish this are now underway. The 6520 has been successfully barred over by hand several times now. The air box has been cleaned out and the process of battery reconnections has begun. We are currently waiting for some parts and materials to complete the preparation before start up. Special thanks also to Christian Vazzaz for his assistance on this project as well. Once started, a complete review of all operating systems will be conducted. We anticipate the work to be mostly cosmetic, with some body work needed and then a full repaint into the classic Canadian National scheme. The restored CN #6520 is intended to become a main stay of our operating locomotive fleet, and will add valuable backup to our other operating motive power. To date, we have relied exclusively on the former CPR FP7A #4069, which has provided yeoman service for us since its restoration in 1999. 6520’s more contemporary brake systems also make it a desired unit for events such as our Polar Express, so expect to find her in these roles for the future. What about WCRA’s other F units? Well, the two operating units will be CN 6520 and CPR 4069 (photo, back cover), giving WCRA both operational backup for each other as well as

WCRA News, Page 13 one authentic operating F unit from each of Canada's two major railways. WCRA’s other FP7A, Algoma Central (nee CPR) #1404, will be a static display as well as a parts source for 4069 / 6520. And our F7B unit, CPR 4459, is being fitted with a plexiglass side and will show how a diesel electric locomotive operates, with its main components labeled and interpretive signage all visible. Fundraiser getting underway Our first capital fundraiser for 2015 will be to get the work on 6520 started. The first things we need are the materials (new lube oil, miscellaneous parts and service items). Plan is to then get the loco started up and commence with the mechanical restoration. Major item here is the replacement of the rear axle and wheel sets, which can come from WCRA inventory. We also need to replace the bell and horns which were lost from the loco during transit west. Overall, we expect this project to cost between $50,000 and $60,000 and hope to have the unit running shortly, followed by the body restoration and finally painting. A bring CN 6520 back fund has been started. If you would like to contribute, please contact Don Evans at 604-988-3435. A full brochure on the project will be ready by end January. ALBERTA GETS READY TO OPERATE Thanks to the hard work of Lloyd Newman, Trevor Mills and David Walmsley, a replacement brake cylinder has been located within the park that will fit the business car Alberta. This unit has now been rebuilt and will be installed soon making the Alberta able to be used on a train and possible lease opportunities! This is a major step forward to full completion of the car for operation. (R. MacB.) NORTH VANCOUVER MUSEUM DONATES VINTAGE PGE BANNERS The North Vancouver Museum and Archives has been doing some purging of their collection, and among the items de-accessioned were four Pacific Great Eastern Railway banners. These were found in the attic of the North Vancouver PGE heritage railway station. and date to the 1920’s when the PGE operated between North Vancouver and Whytecliff. Each banner announces a special event to be held (and accessed) by train….for example, a white cotton and canvas banner with black and red hand painted lettering proclaims, “At Horseshoe Bay (Whytecliff) Dancing this evening, round trip fare 50 cents, covers all. A Train every half hour after 2PM, hourly service from 7:20AM to 1:20PM.” Our thanks to the North Vancouver Museum and Archives for thinking of us as a home for these historic artifacts from the early PGE days.

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WEST COAST RAILWAY HERITAGE PARK Home of the Royal Hudson POLAR EXPRESS Reports further to last month’s item……. CMO Rob MacBeth reports……”Polar Express was a great success both with guest experience and quality of the production. This year the North Pole received more lighting and curtains to black out the area to show off the great lighting designed and installed by Tyler Kion . The On Board train experience was boosted as well with New Characters on the train from the movie, not only did we have the Hobo, but also Hero Boy, Annoying Boy and Billy and of course “The Conductor” who is none other then Robert Payette. (photos) Mechanically the Polar Express train ran great! We experienced frigid temperature's that required the locomotive being started and monitored most of the night and heavy rains and flooding in Squamish that did not effect the train ride. Special thanks to Mike Lloyd for coming in early everyday to warm up the coaches. (PHOTOS BACK COVER) When the event was all done, we had carried over 7,500 guests on board the 26 runs over the three weekends setting new records all around for the popular event. Parking was off site at the MP2 shop, and wave after wave of guests arrived in anticipation as they

crossed the bridge onto the site. At the Mac Norris Station, our volunteers handled ticketing, and then boarding in advance of each departure. Capacity of each train was just over 300 seated in five coaches—three designated first class and two coach class. (First class

WCRA News, Page 15 received advance seat assignments, priority boarding, seating in facing fours with tables, a take home ceramic mug, and first off at the North Pole to see Santa. At the North Pole, there was live Christmas music from the grand piano, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, mini rail rides, gingerbread making, crafts, letters to Santa, Royal Hudson cab visits and Gordon Hall’s incredible model trains all decorated for Christmas. It was a grand event in every regard. Also available was a snack bar and candy shop, as well as Polar Express merchandise in the gift shop. Our sincere thanks to all who helped with the event—to our staff and volunteers, and to our major sponsors CN for accommodating the train operations and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference for supporting the operating crews who donated their time and helped us put on a superb Christmas experience. (K.T.) MAC NORRIS STATION REPAIRS AND UPGRADES Upgrade work is underway at the Mac Norris Station. Currently the lobby floor and operator bay floor are getting refinished and will be complete by mid February. FUNFACT. Did you know that the wood floors in the Mac Norris Station were milled from wood found on site right here at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park? In addition to the floor re- finishing in the Mac Norris Station a new hot water heater and ground floor heating system will be installed in early 2015. This work is necessitated due both age of the present units plus some flood damage to the current furnace from high water in December. Remember to keep an eye out for the new PGE exhibit that will be housed in the Mac Norris Station by early spring 2015. Work on this has been underway for some time and installation plans are the final element of the project. A grand opening will be held when the exhibition is ready. (G. B.) HERITAGE WEEK—FREE ADMISSION, SPECIAL DISPLAYS, HER ITAGE TEA Heritage Week is February 16 through 22, 2015 and during this week all exhibits in the CN roundhouse, garden tracks, Mac Norris Station and Brightbill Heritage House will be free of charge for all to enjoy. Tea will be served in the Mac Norris Station waiting room daily at 2pm. $7.50pp reservations required. The John Hardie Mitchell Gallery re-opens for 2015 during Heritage Week with the new collection of China and other new displays unveiled. GIFT SHOP BEING REVAMPED The gift shop at the Heritage Park entry in the CN Roundhouse & Conference Centre is receiving a new year make over. Utilizing some furniture from around the facility the gift

WCRA News, Page 16 shop is going retro with a more rustic railway feel. Some great new merchandise featuring vintage items, HO railway items and much more. Make sure to visit Danielle and her team in the gift shop in 2015 and check out the new set up. (G.B.) DAY OUT WITH THOMAS GOING ON SALE

Get ready everybody, Thomas is coming back for a visit. For the first time in recent history Thomas will be returning to the park for a May visit in 2015. Mark your calendars for May 15,16,17 and 23rd, 24th. Please contact Jeanene Nelson if you are interested in volunteering/

Our largest annual event keeps getting better and better. We are currently working to get the contracts in place and tickets will go on sale in January immediately this is complete. Watch www. wcra.org for details and to purchase your tickets.

DINOSAUR TRAIN RETURNS FOR 2015 SPRING BREAK Dinosaur Train returns to the West Coast Railway Heritage Park for it’s third year during Spring Break 2015. Watch www.wcra.org or call the gift shop at 604-898-9336 for dates and more details—dates expected to be March 3rd week. PIONEER EXPRESS—A NEW EVENT Work continues on the production and sales strategies for the West Coast Railway Heritage Park’s newest event, “The Pioneer Express”. Now slated for June 2015, this event is an educational, non- branded, event focusing on our core values of preserving railway heritage. After arriving at the Mac Norris Station by heritage train the children will participate in eight different interactive stations including making butter at the Brightbill Heritage House, experiencing life in a Chinese work camp, racing to sort letters in the railway post office car before reaching the next town, take a speeder ride out to the end of the rail where Children will feel the weight and difficulty of building a railroad. Other stations include the black smith, mini rail, pump car and a visit to the printing house where children can print a heritage newspaper. All along the way between stations the children will learn about West Coast Railway Heritage. This will be a highly experiential and interactive package that will be aimed specifically at school groups. (G.B.) TOMO’O—TRACK INSPECTOR We now have a certified track inspector on our staff—CONGRATULATIONS to Tomo’o Oshikawa for completing his Training to be a Track Inspector! Tomo’o successfully completed 12 Inspections under the Supervision of Robert Dhensaw and passed his written exam. As an active Heritage Railway we are required to perform a track inspection every month.

WCRA News, Page 17 This accomplishment was celebrated with Tomo’o with a cake appropriately iced with a section of track. Having our own certified inspector reduces our reliance on others and adds to our overall staff skills in railway operations. (R. MacB.)

SECRETS FROM THE ATTIC By Dave Thomson and Donna Fourchalk This week – A little IBM and Roosevelt In the Kitchen We all take comfort in the warmth of a living room, or parlour as discussed in our last column in November, but truly, the heart of the home is in the kitchen. The smell of fresh baked bread as you arrive home from school, or the sounds and chatter of a big family breakfast on a weekend. There is always something happening in the kitchen and the Brightbill Heritage House is no different from any other home along the railway. This month, we focus on a couple of items provided by Donna Fourchalk. Both of the items displayed today come from around the same era and carry both a wonderful personal story as well as a unique history: The Computing Scale Company of Dayton Ohio, Style No. 167 – circa 1903 Computing Scale Company of America The Computing Scale Company of America was a holding company, organized in 1901. In 1891, Edward Canby and Orange O. Ozias, two businessmen from Dayton, Ohio, purchased the patents for the newly invented computing scale and incorporated the Computing Scale Company for the production of commercial scales. When it was founded in 1911, IBM was originally called the Computing Tabulating Recording Company (C-T-R), and it formed from the merger of several companies with specialty technologies. One of the first outfits folded into C-T-R was the Dayton Scale Company. Computing scales could display both the weight and the proportionate price for an item – a handy timesaving and error-reducing device for any vendor. (from the pages of Wikipedia) The scale pictured on page 18 and currently on display inside the Brightbill Heritage House has been part of Donna’s private collection for over 35 years. The scale was originally purchased by her Aunt and Uncle from the Kamloops area, as there were many small communities in the Kootenay region that had a local General Store. When Canada switched to

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metric measurement items like the weigh scale became obsolete. Perfect for those of us who like older items, it will go in the WCRHP General store one day. This specific model was used for measuring candy. The White House Cook Book - circa 1901: The White House Cookbook History The White House Cookbook is one of the most enduring Cookbooks in culinary history. It has been in print since 1887 written by Hugo Zieman and F.L. Gillette (who was the steward of the White House for a great many years). The very early editions are incredibly hard to find largely due to printing on poor quality paper. Most of the editions include a picture of the current first lady on the front piece of the book. -as borrowed from http://vintagecookbooksstore.wordpress.com - I had a difficult time figuring out the age of the cookbook pictured here as the opening few pages that contain the publishing date were missing. But when I read the excerpt above, I was able to locate the picture of Edith Carew Roosevelt, second wife to the 26th President of the

WCRA News, Page 19 United States, Theodore Roosevelt in the opening pages of Donna’s edition and I then knew the date had to be around 1901. Another gift from Donna’s Aunt, this cookbook originally belonged to Donna’s Grandmother, Donna Horne Jones Johnson. She was born in 1904. At birth they had put drops in her eyes and left her totally blind in one eye and with limited vision in the other. In the words of Donna, “now my Grandmother was a real card but a cook she was not. So upon receiving this book I was blown away and thrilled.” This cookbook is a real treasure, chock full of great turn of the century nostalgia as it related to food of the time. Recipes, table settings, illustrations and even etiquette and table manners are presented in its well worn pages. Here is an excerpt from the Etiquette section of the Book: “Delicacy of manner at table stamps both man and woman, for one can, at a glance, discern whether a person has been trained to eat well, to eat without the slightest sound of the lips, to drink quietly, to use the napkin rightly, and last, but not least, to eat slowly and masticate the food thoroughly. All these points should be carefully taught to children, and then they will always feel at their ease at the grandest tables in the land.” (Page 595)

FUNDRAISING . PLANNED GIVING—REMEMBER WCRA IN YOUR WILL Have you considered a gift to the WCRA in your will? This is an easy way to make sure that organizations you love and wish to have future success are looked after in the future. It generates a major tax savings for your estate and takes just a few minutes to put in place. WCRA has a Planned Giving package that we would be happy to send out or discuss at your request, as well as several independent advisors if you wish to discuss this with someone. Don Evans has the info and will be happy to send it to you. Call Don at 604-988-3435. DIRECT MAIL—RING OF SUPPORT Thanks to everyone who contributed to our annual Direct Mail fundraiser in 2014—your support is appreciated. Jennifer is now working to get all the 2014 charitable receipts out and they should all be done by the end of January. The Ring of Support fundraiser continues, details are at www.wcra,org. We expect to install the first area of engraved paver stones once the weather is recovering from winter—watch for

WCRA News, Page 20 an announcement in the near future. PAVING FUNDRAISER CONTINUES Thanks to James Pittendreigh for a donation of $2,500 towards the driveway paving around the roundhouse… very much appreciated. We still need donors to see this project completed, another two or a total of $5,000 more is needed. When we see the huge improvement that resulted from the paving of the west side we know what a difference this will make. If you can help with this, please let us know. YEAR END TALLY —Watch for an update next issue, 2014 was a very good year and we thank all who supported WCRA in so many ways.

374 PAVILION The 374 Pavilion ended 2014 with 44,250 Visitors. This was an increase of 3,188 over 2013. The Mini-Rail was operational from December 5th - 23rd. The Roundhouse then closed for the Christmas week, reopening on January 2. We had 2,200 riders and raised almost $4,200 for the park. A big thanks to Jeremy and his volunteers for a great event. The month of December had above average temperatures and this made running the Christmas Mini-Rail almost pleasant. It was still cold in the Pavilion. Thanks again to everyone who helped out. The 374 Pavilion looked very festive for the month of December thanks to some spare Christmas Decorations from the park. Thank you Ken for bringing them down. Also a thank you to the Roundhouse for supplying some great fencing complete with snow. As the new year starts we now have three new volunteers to help take care of the 374 Pavilion. This should make shift coverage much easier this year. The 374 Crew wishes everyone a Happy New Year! If you are downtown please stop in and visit. We are open 11 to 3 every day. (G.G.)

WEST COAST RAIL TOURS LOOKING AHEAD TO 2015 West Coast Rail Tours is looking for new members on the Tours Committee. Are you an avid train traveler? We need your expertise to help us shape the tours business for 2015. The next committee meeting is set for February 2 at the Hastings office at 2:00PM.

WCRA News, Page 21 INQUIRE NOW ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TOURS PLANNED FOR 2 015 Our 2015 program is shaping up, with some great favourites and some new adventures…call 604-524-1011 for a copy of our new brochure or visit www.westcoastrailtours.com Magic & Totems of Haida Gwaii

Our most popular tour,! Take VIA Rail’s the Canadian through the Rockies to Jasper, then the Skeena to Prince Rupert and ferry to Skidegate. Spend 4 more days touring museums, quaint villages, secluded inlets, rainforests and beaches. Includes authentic native dancing and a first nations feast. This tours is selling quickly—book early and don’t be disappointed. May 12 and July 14 departures, 10 days from $2,699 Kootenay Hot Springs & Rail Heritage This coach tour lets you relax in 3 invigorating Hot Springs of BC and take in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Tour the new Kimberley underground mine tour and visit the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook. June 7- 12, 6 days from $1,425 White Pass & Yukon Steam Spectacular Steam & vintage diesel all in one trip! Fly to Whitehorse and coach to Skagway to board the Fraser Meadows Steam train through the White Pass Summit to Fraser. Then also ride the train to Carcross and Bennett and back. Includes tour of the Copperbelt Railway & Mining Museum and the famous Beringia Centre. July 9 departure, 5 days from $1,799 West Coast Vancouver Island: Alberni Inlet & Pacific Rim National Park In this guided coach tour, take a scenic boat tour from Port Alberni along the West Coast, through the Broken Islands to Ucluelet on the MV Francis Barclay. They by coach, explore Pacific Rim Nat’l Park, the cedar giants of MacMillan Cathedral Grove and the famous Coombs Country Market. July 21-23, 3 days, from $725 Historic Trains & Scenic Parks of the Colorado Rockies Fly to Denver then tour Silverton and board the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Journey from Manitou Springs aboard the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway, the world’s highest cog railroad over 14,000 feet high. Visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Arches National Park, Dead Horse Provincial Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Rim Rock, and Grand Junction. August 14 departure, 9 days from $3,149

WCRA News, Page 22 Cactus Blossoms of the Desert (in Palm Springs & Las Vegas) Warm up after the chills of the winter and take in the desert heat of California and Nevada. This well-guided coach tour takes you from the relaxing desert of Palm Springs and all the local national parks, to the casinos and excitement of Las Vegas! April 3-16, 14 days from $2,275 Peaks & Rail of the Cascade Mountains: This unique coach takes in the four major mountain peaks of the Cascades: the tallest mountain in Oregon, Mt. Hood, the most active volcano in the Cascades, Mt. St. Helens, the majestic Mt. Rainier and the snowy, Mt. Baker. Ride the rails on the restored steam locomotive on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway and visit their extensive collection of locomotives. July 8-12, 5 days from $935 Belugas & Hudson Bay Heritage (with Churchill Rail Tour)* From Winnipeg, travel by rail overnight to Churchill and visit heritage tours of the town and area, Beluga whale watching and visit Fort Prince Wales and the Port of Churchill and restored train station Interpretive Centre, Cape Merry Historic Site and Eskimo Museum. 7 days, call for dates and pricing Hudson Bay, Buggies & Bears* From Winnipeg, travel by rail overnight to Churchill to take part in the annual Polar Bear Migration. Travel on the famous Tundra Buggy along the shores of Hudson Bay and visit local attractions, heritage & cultural presentations. 7 days, call for dates and pricing How about some European rails……..? The Heart of London & Paris (with Eurostar Train) Fly to London and tour Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Windsor Castle. Take the Eurostar High-Speed Train through the Chunnel to France. Once in Paris visit the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, Place Vendome. September 17 departure, 8 days from $4,439 Alpine Lakes & Scenic Trains (featuring cruises on Lake Zurich and Lake Como and scenic trains of Switzerland and Italy) Fly to Zurich, take a dinner cruise on Lake Zurich and then the Golden Pass train to

WCRA News, Page 23 Montreux and Zermatt, base of the Matterhorn. Take the Glacier Express through the Swiss Alps to St. Moritz and journey through the Bernina Pass to Tirano Italy. Explore Lake Como and tour, Lucerne, Switzerland. September 18 departure, 10 days from $5,139 each France Magnifique (featuring a Wine Tasting and Train Journey) Fly to Paris and enjoy a dinner cruise along the River Seine. Tour the Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Place de la Concorde, Place Vendome, and the Champs-Élysées. Then head to the Normandy coast and visit the Memorial Peace Museum and the Omaha Beach Cemetery. Visit the Sainte Mére Eglise and Airborne Museum. Journey to Chateau du Close Luce, Amboise and winery in Vouvray before boarding the high speed TGV Train to Avignon, then explore the sights of Monaco, and Nice. October 1, 12 days from $4,769 Bella Italia (featuring Venice, high speed train to Florence and Rome tour) Fly into Venice and explore St.Mark’s Square and the Clock Tower then take the high-speed train to Florence and tour the Piazza Del Duomoe, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistry and Pizazza della Signoria. Enjoy wine tasting in the Tuscan countryside of Florence and Deruta, Umbria. Journey to Rome and tour the Piazza Venezia, the Roman Forum, the Circus Maximus and Arch of Constantine. October 17, 9 days from $4,759

Call Jennifer Mitchell at 604-524-1011 or email tours@wcra.org

for individual itineraries pricing on ANY of these tours West Coast Rail Tours, Your expert in train travel www.westcoasrailtours.com

RAILWAY NEWS MOTIVE POWER NOTES GTW 5951 arrived Thornton Yard on a rail train O 40951 08 Jan. 8th late afternoon…..CP SD30C-ECO #5000 arrived Thornton Yard on CN train C 73151 09 early A.M. Jan. 10 headed for North Vancouver. 731 is a train that takes Teck’s SE Kootenay coal from CP at Kamloops and delivers it to Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver. (J.M.)

WCRA News, Page 24 Retired Illinois Central E9Ar’s 100 (nee CB&Q E8A 9938A) and 101 (nee CB&Q E8A 9977) have been purchased by Iowa Pacific Holdings (TJ) - CN’s other two E units, 102-103—remain on the roster…….CN’s ES44AC roster continues to grow, the latest order of 30 units (2910 to 2939) are currently entering service (TJ) OREGON OBSERVATIONS

A recent trip by your editor to Washington and Oregon netted many spotting of grain and manifest trains with combinations of Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific power. Trains of Canadian grain were observed at ports of Kalama WA, Tacoma WA and Portland, OR headed by both BNSF and UP / CP power. The double track BNSF line between Tacoma and Vancouver, WA, used also by Union Pacific, was very busy with both freight and Amtrak traffic during my travels in early Jan. SD90MAC’s TO BE UPGRADED CP will institute a program to overhaul the electrical systems on the remaining stored 9100 series SD90MACs and return them to service. The units will receive updated electrical packages, work is expected to be done by Progress Rail in Mexico. END CAB SWITCHERS DOWN TO ONE Once a common locomotive style, the end cab switcher era is all but over on CP. The last five MP15DC units 1440 to 1444 were sold to GATX Rail Locomotive Group in August and have all now headed east from Coquitlam. The last remaining locomotive of this style on CP is SW900 #6711. (TJ) HOLIDAY TRAINS HAVE ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Trains have had another successful run. The two trains follow different CP routes across Canada and the US, making stops to entertain and raise funds for food banks along the CP lines. This year both trains were pulled by shiny new GP20C-ECO units—the honours went to #2246 (Canadian route) and #2249 (American route). Here in BC, the Canadian train made 15 stops along the main line at Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Notch Hill, Chase, Kamloops, Savona, Ashcroft, Lytton, Agassiz, Haney, Pitt Meadows, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam.

WCRA News, Page 25 TRACKS DISAPPEARING CP has been removing rail on the abandoned 31 miles of the Okanagan Subdivision between Armstrong and Sicamous, BC. All rail had been removed by end November 2015. Also gone are the last remains of the Slocan Subdivision. A very short piece of track had remained on the former 31.3 mile subdivision between South Slocan and Slocan City—a line that goes back to 1897 and was famous for its barge slip and operation on thwe waters of Slocan lake to Roseberry. (SDHSE) MOTIVE POWER In addition to the five GMD-1’s sold to J & L Consulting, SD38-2 #383 was also sold. The 383 had been out of service for some time with a blown prime mover. (SDHSE) LOCKOUT A labour dispute has led to a lockout at SRY effective the start of 2015. This has caused disruptions for the line and also has resulted in the return of BNSF empty coal trains back to the BNSF route through White Rock, BC. The empty coal trains had been routing from Roberts Bank port via the joint line to Langley and then SRY to Huntingdon where the train crossed the border and then continued south on the ex NP line to Marysville. One of these trains suffered a derailment in Abbotsford after a car collided with a stopped train derailing a wheel set which subsequently caused a three ear derailment when the train started up.

WCRA News, Page 26 CREDIT LINES ISSN 1204-072X Vol. 55 Issue 2 Editor Don Evans Distribution Jeremy Davy & Donna Simon Contributors: G. B. Gordon Bell J.D. Jeremy Davy G. G. George Game R. H. Robert Hunter J. Mi. Jennifer Mitchell J.M. Jim McPherson R. MacB. Robert Macbeth D.S. Donna Simon SDHSE Sandhouse TJ Tempo Jr.

Send contributions to the WCRA PO Box, direct to the editor at #28 - 2133 St. Georges Ave., North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 3K5, on the Internet to <news@wcra.org>, phone news to

(604)988-3435(res) or fax to (604) 986-7660. Check us out on the Internet at <www.wcra.org>

Contact us: Tours 604-524-1011 / 800-722-1233 Heritage Park 604-898-9336 Office 604-681-4403 CN Roundhouse & Conference Centre 604-898-1082 www.wcra.org REAR COVER Top—Polar Express chefs serve the goodies to a full coach—photo by Keith Anderson Bottom - A dramatically lit shot of Polar Express 2014 passing northbound by the CN station in Squamish, BC. Taken on December 6, 2014 by Trevor Mills . TRIVIA ANSWER The Orient Express was started by Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits in 1883 (later other train trips included The Blue Train, North Express and The Golden Arrow) with the original endpoints in Paris and Istanbul. By the turn of the century the TGVs had taken away ridership and the service was stopped on 14Dec2009. However a new private venture, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd, took over the use of the original equipment and started service as the Ven-ice-Simplon Orient Express travelling from London to Venice.

WCRA News acknowledges the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia

CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR RAILWAY HERITAGE

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Published monthly by West Coast Railway Association ISSN 1204-072X PO Box 2790 Stn. Term., Vancouver, B.C., V6B 3X2 Vol. 55 Issue 2 www.wcra.org Canada Post, Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #40007853

POLAR EXPRESS 2014 We Believe!