Holiday: Canadian Pacific Holiday Train 2010

The CN Tower was also decorated in holiday colors in the background as the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train arrived for its performance in Toronto, Ontario on 29-November-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Toward the beginning of the holiday season, communities across the northern United States and southern Canada receive a special visit. The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rolls along its home rails, stopping in communities large and small to introduce Santa Claus, provide some musical entertainment, and raise money for local food banks.


The smoke cleared after the stage door opened for the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's performance in Toronto, Ontario on 29-November-2010

For the third straight year, the Toronto performance of the train took place at the West Toronto Yard in The Junction neighborhood. The train was again decorated along its entire length with Light Emitting Diodes of shifting holiday scenes, with an emphasis on this "Canadian" train (a second train mostly visits communities in the United States) on packages and sleds, along with the famous four boxcars writing out "Canadian Pacific Holiday Train" in large lettering.


The locomotive of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train was decorated with packages and bells as seen at West Toronto Yard in Toronto, Ontario on 29-November-2010

The main entertainment this year came from The Odds. They opened their performance with their most popular hit, "Someone Who's Cool," so it was instantly clear what band was playing. I found their performance especially amusing this year, as they intentionally mixed up Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman and otherwise tweaked holiday traditions. At one point, they brought a Canadian Pacific employee on-stage to play the harmonica with them, which was a nice way to connect with the audience, heavy on railroad employees.


The Canadian Pacific's Scott Nelson played the Harmonica with The Odds during the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's performance in Toronto, Ontario on 29-November-2010

Of course, the main purpose of the train was raise money for local food banks. In Toronto, that means the Daily Bread Food Bank, and executive director Gail Nyberg was on hand to collect an oversized check from Canadian Pacific. Outgoing city councilperson Bill Saundercook was also part of the presentation in what may prove his last public appearance as an elected official; he talked about continuing the event next year as if he were not leaving office.


City councillor Bill Saundercook and Daily Bread Food Bank executive director Gail Nyberg held an oversized check from the Canadian Pacific on 29-November-2010

For the first time in recent years, the Holiday Train did not have to rush off for another performance in Vaughn, Ontario, the same night; the train instead backed up to overnight at Toronto Yard in the Agincourt neighborhood. Still, the performance was only about a half hour, and that actually felt way too short to me, though it's tough to complain about free, quality entertainment.


The rear of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train was quiet as the train sat in Toronto, Ontario on 29-November-2010

The Holiday Train continues west, stopping for more performances every day, until it finishes in Port Moody, British Columbia on 17-December-2010. See the Canadian Pacific web site for schedule information.

Holiday: Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train parked at Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario for a performance on 1-December-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - The annual visit of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train took place in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto today. The train rolled in to the Lambton Yard site exactly on time for a half-hour performance at 18:30, with a noticeably larger crowd than last year, which was the first year at the present location.


The stage door opened on the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train to start the performance on 1-December-2009

The Canadian Pacific folks know how to put on a good show. The stage for show is the side of a boxcar, and it dramatically opens with a plume of smoke. Santa Claus emerges to start singing the opening act. After the dignitaries speak, in this case local councilperson Bill Saundercook and representatives of the Daily Bread Food Bank and "Trick or Eat" campaigns, the rest of the musical performances begin.


"The Odds" performed during the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train stop in Toronto, Ontario on 1-December-2009

The headline act this year was "The Odds," a band usually described as an "alternative" group with roots dating back to the 1970's. While their style is fun and engaging--quite similar to BNL--I have always found it odd that rock-based groups have taken an increasing role in the Holiday Train performances, which are fundamentally family events. Rock is truly mainstream.


One of the boxcars with new decorations was noted on the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train at its stop in Toronto, Ontario on 1-December-2009

Always an impressive sight, the Holiday Train had mostly new decorations this year, a style described as "whimsical" by some and "child-like" by others. It certainly was an impressive sight as it pulled in for the event, a fundraiser for the Daily Bread food bank in Toronto. Each of the Holiday Train's stops supports local food banks; over the past decade, the train has led to the donation of more than two million pounds of food and $4 million to local groups.


The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train pulled out of West Toronto, Ontario on 1-December-2009

The performance could only be a half-hour as the train needed to continue to its next stop at Vaughn, Ontario. The Holiday Train has several dozen more stops as it continues its journey west to Port Moody, British Columbia. For a schedule, see the Holiday Train web site.

Transport: Out of Gas

The CN Tower, five rail miles away, had the best view as Canadian Pacific locomotives awaited fuel at Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario on 24-September-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - I happened to overhear an interesting conversation between a Canadian Pacific Rail Traffic Controller (RTC, that's what dispatchers are called up here) and Binghamton, New York to Toronto, Ontario train #255 today. The train crew had gone on duty at 03:30 in the morning, and it had taken them seven hours to reach Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario, a distance often covered in half that time.

With Lambton Yard closed since April, it was rare for train #255 to stop there, but on this day their orders included pulling some stored cars out of the yard for transport to the main Toronto yard at Agincourt. So, about 10:30, they started that maneuver. The problem reported by the crew was that their locomotives were about to run out of fuel.

The original plan was for the train to be left at Lambton and the locomotives would run alone to Toronto Yard, as that would take less fuel than pulling the train. However, upper management decided it would be better to refuel the locomotives at Lambton, and a fuel truck was called in to meet the diesel locomotives there. ("We don't have to pay cash for the fuel, do we?" the crew ribbed.) Meanwhile, the second of the two locomotives shut down as it ran out of fuel, and the train crew decided to not even try to get to the originally-designated meeting place at the Lambton Yard office and instead stopped in the yard not far from the Rona Lumber near Keele and St. Clair.


A fuel truck tended to the Canadian Pacific and leased Capital Finance locomotives near Keele Street in Toronto, Ontario on 24-September-2009

Of course, the fuel truck did not go to the locomotive's actual location, even though it had been reported to the RTC. Having arrived on-scene, I decided to head toward the Lambton Yard office to see if maybe I could guide the truck in, but fortunately a Canadian Pacific maintainer was already there, and he piloted the fuel truck over to the locomotives' actual location.

A half hour later, both locomotives' tanks had been refilled, and their engines were restarted by the crew. They called the RTC to gain permission to move again, joking "we're all refueled, and our windows are washed." The locomotives returned to their train, and at 13:30, train #255 finally departed Lambton Yard for its destination of Toronto Yard, more than three hours after their arrival.


Train #255 pulled eastbound out of Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario after refueling on 24-September-2009

The train presumably made it to Toronto Yard before their hours of service expired at 15:30, but it may have been the longest fair-weather run for the crew in recent memory.

Transport: Lambton Yard Closed

In a scene probably not to be seen again, a long string of power for local trains rested for the Good Friday holiday at Lambton Yard in Toronto, Ontario on 10-April-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - I didn't realize when I selected my current residence that I was moving walking distance from an active railroad yard, but it turns out that Canadian Pacific's Lambton Yard was located not far to the north. The base for a series of local trains and a common set-out and pick-up location for local traffic taking heat off the more modern Toronto (Agincourt) Yard to the east, Lambton has provided a nice bit of entertainment to this railfan.

All that changed on Saturday. Because of the economic downturn, Canadian Pacific has decided to close Lambton Yard. All of the local trains formerly based at Lambton have been moved to Toronto Yard, there will be no yard switch crew, and many trains that formerly worked at Lambton will just pass by on the mainline. The last run of the Lambton Transfer job pulled all of the locomotives used for local runs out of the yard on Saturday.


No longer an active office, the Canadian Pacific Lambton Yard Office stood with only inactive company vehicles around on 27-April-2009. Previously, this view would have normally been blocked by rail cars in the yard.

I headed out to see what had changed on Monday. Perhaps a transition is not complete yet, but while the yard office is definitely closed and there are no locomotives sitting nearby, the yard tracks themselves are not completely empty. Over the course of the day, the trains that normally had work at Lambton did stop to make set-outs or pick-ups. Even the local jobs came out from Toronto Yard and stopped to work at Lambton Yard before continuing on to their normal work. Had I not heard what was going on, I would not have noticed that the local trains were originating at Toronto Yard instead of Lambton.

Canadian Pacific has tried to shut down Lambton Yard before and failed. However, in the current economy and traffic downturn, they just might manage to move all its work to Toronto and also Obico Yard, to the west. The yard jobs, both the switch crews and yardmaster shifts as well as the crews of the Lambton transfer trains, may be gone forever.

All this drives home the old railfanning adage--shoot what's there, because tomorrow it might not be. In the case of Lambton Yard, what I took pictures of as recently as Easter weekend may now be impossible to see again.

Holiday: Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

People lined up to tour the cab of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's locomotive during its performance in Toronto, Ontario on 2-December-2008

TORONTO, ONTARIO - Of the eight remaining class I railroads in North America, only the Canadian Pacific runs a Holiday Train over its entire system. In fact, the Canadian Pacific system is so large, running from Quebec and New York in the east to British Columbia in the west, that it actually takes two trains to maintain the ten-year holiday tradition. The so-called "United States" train ran through Toronto yesterday enroute from New York to Illinois, and the "Canada" train performed in the "Junction" neighborhood tonight.


City councilperson Bill Saundercook spoke before the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train's performance in Toronto, Ontario on 2-December-2008

The primary purpose of the "Holiday Trains" is to raise money for local charities. In the Toronto area, the Daily Bread Food Bank is the major beneficiary of the performance, and their volunteers were prominent in the crowd during the performance. City councilperson Bill Saundercook, who introduced the event, made a point of highlighting their presence. In the first nine years of their operation, the trains have raised C$3.56 million and more than 1.8 million pounds of food for local communities.


Santa Claus joined Johnny Reid and Tracey Brown onstage during the Holiday Train performance in Toronto on 2-December-2008

The attraction of the events besides seeing the holiday lighting displays on the trains themselves are the performers on the trains. This year, the Canadian train featured Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Tracey Brown and Canadian Country Music Awards winner Johnny Reid, who put on a concert that was almost devoid of country music during the Toronto show. The half-hour concert was instead full of holiday music and upbeat pop music classics. Free concerts usually aren't as good as those associated with the Holiday Train.

Canadian Pacific should be commended for having the class to put on the Holiday Trains each year and raise money for local charities. While the turnout was modest for a free event in Toronto, perhaps three hundred people, a similar amount are known to turn out in the smallest of rural towns when the trains perform across the continent.


The classic Canadian Pacific observation car "Van Horne" brought up the rear of the train at Osler Street in Toronto on 2-December-2008

The Holiday Trains still have several dozen performances to go in Canada from western Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia and throughout the United States' midwestern region. For detailed schedule information, refer to the Holiday Train web site.

Transport: Canadian Pacific Spirit Train

As the Spirit Train Band performed on the train stage in the background, Olympic mascots Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga danced in front of the crowd

TORONTO, ONTARIO - On Thanksgiving Day, the residents of Mississauga, Ontario had a little something extra to be thankful for as the Canadian Pacific Spirit Train visited town.

The CP Spirit Train was designed to promote awareness of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, of which CP is a major sponsor (never mind that the tracks between Vancouver and the other major venue at Whistler are owned by rival Canadian National). As the train travels the nation, it stops for a day to provide a free, family-oriented event.

These CP Spirit Train stops really are great for families. Trains always draw children, and besides the full-size train that sits on the tracks nearby, there's a model of the environmentally-clean locomotive from General Electric powering the train. In addition to providing an introduction to the Winter Olympics and Canadian participation, the Village has lots of fun activities like the chance to start in a luge and test goalie skills. Olympic athletes tend to be on hand to meet toward the beginning of the event (I missed them), and there's also a nutrition display. Wandering the Village are people-sized versions of Olympic mascots Quatchi, Sumi and Miga.

The centerpiece of the event, though are the music performances on the train itself, in a boxcar that transforms into a stage. The Spirit Train Band provides a good show with Olympic-themed songs, but the real headliners are Sierra Noble and the Colin James Band. How often can one see those two acts for free?

Remember to bone up on Canadian Olympic trivia before the event, as prizes are awarded to audience members for their knowledge.


The Spirit Train Village took over the parking lot at the Streetsville GO station in Mississauga, Ontario on 13-October-2008

Throughout its trip across the country, the Spirit Train has periodically been delayed by protests from aboriginal groups upset about the Vancouver Olympics. One such protest in Woodbridge, Ontario delayed the train for several hours on Sunday, placing its arrival in the Greater Toronto Area on Sunday after dark.

The Spirit Train still has performances in Smith Falls, Ontario on Thursday and in Montreal on Saturday--and rumor has it that it may be on tour again next year. For more information, visit the official CP Spirit Train site.

Transport: Royal Canadian Pacific

The Royal Canadian Pacific passed through the Weston neighborhood of Toronto on 13-October-2008

TORONTO, ONTARIO - One of the delightful things about living near the Canadian Pacific Railway is the fleet of special trains that the company runs over its system for a variety of public relations purposes. Two of those trains were in the Toronto area today. The first, the Spirit Train to celebrate the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, went to Mississauga for its free event that will be covered later.

The other was the Royal Canadian Pacific. Normally running only in western Canada through the Fraser River Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, this classic train features streamlined diesel locomotives from the 1950's and heavyweight passenger cars mostly from the 1920's. It may be the most luxurious train in North America.

On some trips, the public can purchase a seat on the train--assuming a lot of disposable income. This rare trip into Toronto was a private charter being run for owners of Canadian Tire stores. So, there was little publicity and almost no word that the train was coming except for some obscure Internet lists.

The tip was that the train would arrive in Toronto at 14:30--but that didn't say where. One would assume Toronto Union Station, but assumptions are often quite dangerous on the railroad, and hanging out at Union Station would have meant seeing nothing if the train terminated at Agincourt Yard in eastern Toronto--or worse, my neighborhood Lambton Yard. Instead, I headed up to Weston, where the train would have to pass through no matter where it was going, and set up on the sidewalk of the Jane Street bridge over the Canadian Pacific Mactier Sub.

Even special trains are rarely on time, so I was not surprised that I heard nothing of the train until after 15:00, when a radio conversation indicated that it was out of Bolton. Just before 15:30, it came into sight in the distance, slowing for a meet with some locomotives running alone to Vaughn Yard that I had just photographed.

This was my first chance to see the Royal Canadian Pacific, and it lived up to expectations. The two locomotives and ten cars were nearly immaculate despite their trip from Calgary and certainly were an unusual sight in Ontario. Passengers on the rear platform were enjoying the warm fall day, waving to the lone photographer up on the bridge.

I still don't know where the train went in Toronto--rather than trying to follow it, I chose to head for Mississauga to see the Spirit Train.


The CN Tower loomed in the distance as the Royal Canadian Pacific approached Toronto on 13-October-2008