CPR Colonist Car #1202 - Calgary, AB, Canada
N 50° 59.115 W 114° 06.593
11U E 702845 N 5652161
The Canadian Pacific Railway built over a thousand basic passenger cars to transport colonists to Western Canada. This is one of only two wooden colonist cars that survive.
Waymark Code: WM18W2G
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 10/05/2023
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The Canadian Pacific Railway built over a thousand basic passenger cars to transport colonists to Western Canada. This is one of only two wooden colonist cars that survive. Its careful restoration took nearly three years to complete, and involved traditional skilled crafts and modern CAD/CAM processes.
The first generation of colonist sleeping car was built for the CPR between 1884 and 1892. These cars had open end platforms. Colonist Car #1202, built in Montreal in 1905, was one of the prototypes of the second generation. These new cars were longer than the first generation (76 feet) and had enclosed vestibules at either end.
The wooden benches in the car folded down to become berths. Colonists supplied their own mattress pads, bedding, and bed curtains, or purchased them from the railway. There was a coal stove at the end of the car for preparing food; colonists had to supply their own food and cooking utensils. In exchange for this bare-bones setup, colonists got cheap fares for the 4- to 5-day journey to their destination.
The other surviving wooden colonist car is at the Railway Museum of British Columbia's Pacific Great Eastern Car Shop in Squamish, BC. (
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REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Heritage Rail: CP Colonists Cars And The Restoration Of #1202 [Detailed information on this car's history and its restoration, with photos] (
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CBC News Calgary: 'Once in a lifetime opportunity': Colonist rail car that drove western migration gets Heritage Park makeover (24 June 2017) (
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Calgary Herald: Heritage Park completes restoration of rare colonist car, workhorse of Western settlement (20 Sep 2018) (
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CBC News Calgary: Misnamed for 50 years, colonist rail car that carried settlers west is like new again (20 Sep 2018) (
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