Super Continental

Deliveries of the new cars were essentially completed by 1954, but CN waited until April 24, 1955,[1] to introduce its new transcontinental flagship Super Continental to replace its former flagship, the Continental Limited.[3] Not coincidentally, this was the same date that competitor Canadian Pacific Railway introduced its new streamlined transcontinental train The Canadian.[4][5] Before its introduction in regular service, the equipment that was to be used for the Super Continental was displayed at some of the stations on the train's route.[6][7] The Super Continental reduced the travel time between Montreal and Vancouver by up to 14 hours, removing the need for a fourth night aboard the train.[6][8] The journey was advertised as the longest single run of a diesel locomotive powered train in North America without changing locomotives.[9]

In 1960, CN and CP both introduced "transcontinental local" trains, which were really reconfigurations of existing services, that were intended to serve passengers on shorter trips that followed the same routes as the Super Continental and The Canadian. On CN, the Continental was used while on CP the Dominion was used.[10]

Despite the new and refurbished equipment and a new black-and-green, yellow-trim paint scheme, the Super Continental's mixture of equipment paled in comparison to CP's all stainless-steel consist, produced for them by the Budd Company. An additional important distinction was that The Canadian featured scenic dome cars, which the Super Continental did not use. CN chose not to purchase dome cars for reasons of economy, although it has also been claimed that dome cars might interfere with the electrified catenary used in Montreal's Central Station by commuter trains of the former Canadian Northern raillines. In 1964, CN purchased used dome cars that came from United States to use on the portion of the route between Edmonton and Vancouver from the Milwaukee Road.

Although the CN was not completely dieselized until 1960, the Super Continental was from the outset hauled by a variety of diesel locomotives, including Montreal Locomotive Works FP-2s and FP-4s, Canadian Locomotive Company C-liners in eastern Canada, and General Motors Diesel FP9 units in western Canada.

The Super Continental leaving Toronto for Vancouver 1970

By the 1960s, Canadian passenger trains were in serious decline, largely thanks to government subsidies for automobiles travelling the then-new Trans-Canada Highway and for airlines. The Continental Limited, the Super Continental's predecessor, was cut back to a Montreal to Saskatoon train in 1964 and then discontinued the following year. The CN nevertheless aggressively marketed its services, even while CP was losing interest in operating The Canadian. To help combat the perception that the CP route through the Rocky Mountains was more scenic, CN in 1964 acquired a set of six ex-Milwaukee Road "Super Dome" cars (rechristened "Sceneramics" by CN) that had formerly seen service on the Olympian Hiawatha. These were placed into service between Winnipeg and Vancouver. CN also refurbished the coaches that were used on the train, adding new luggage racks and lounge areas to some cars.[11] A new secondary train along the route, The Panorama, was placed into service in 1965. It was later discontinued in 1969. But despite CN's best efforts, ridership continued to decline throughout the 1970s, and the train operated at a loss. In 1969 it was estimated that the Super Continental operated at a loss of $14,058,030.[12]

A Super Continental timetable from 1975, while CN still operated the service

CN applied to the Canadian Transport Commission to discontinue the Super Continental in 1971, but the commission declined the application, forcing CN to continue service despite falling revenue.[12][13] With losses increasing to $55.9 million in 1975, CN again submitted an application to discontinue the service in 1976 and was again denied by the commission.[14]

On April 1, 1978, a new federal Crown corporation called Via Rail Canada formally assumed responsibility for the passenger services of CN. Via Rail also assumed responsibility for CP Rail's passenger services on October 29, 1978, giving it two transcontinental routes: the Canadian and the Super Continental. Via Rail reconfigured these routes, making the Canadian a Toronto–Vancouver train and the Super Continental a Montreal–Vancouver train.[15] Sleeping cars were exchanged in Winnipeg between the two trains.[15] The Canadian became the company's premier transcontinental train and the Super Continental was relegated to secondary status. Nevertheless, a confluence of astute marketing, high gasoline prices, and rampant inflation actually led to an increase in ridership during the early 1980s. However, the 1981 federal budget of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government led to fully 20% of Via's route miles being eliminated. The Super Continental was among the trains immediately cut. Its last service arrived in Vancouver on November 16, 1981.[16]

Such reductions in passenger service proved to be politically unpopular.[17][18] For example, the cancellation of the Super Continental had a significant impact on the Jasper, Alberta tourism industry. The train had brought around 100,000 tourists per year to the town. In 1982, these numbers were not made up by tourists travelling by other methods. The cancellation was criticized by local business groups, with the Jasper Chamber of Commerce filing an unsuccessful injunction on procedural grounds with the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, arguing that the federal cabinet had acted illegally by circumventing the Canadian Transportation Commission in cancelling the service.[19]

Following the election of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney in 1984, service was restored on June 1, 1985, but on a truncated route from Vancouver to Winnipeg via Edmonton that no longer lived up to the 'Continental' name.[20] The Toronto/Montreal to Sudbury segment was eliminated, and the Capreol–Winnipeg segment was reduced to a triweekly nameless remote services train. During this period, Via Rail was also able to re-equip the Super Continental with modern GMD F40PH locomotives. On February 8, 1986, human error resulted in Via's eastbound Super Continental colliding with a CN freight train at Dalehurst, Alberta, near Hinton, killing 23 people.

By the late 1980s, federal budgets were under serious pressure, and the Mulroney government's 1989 budget proved disastrous for Via Rail. The Super Continental was cancelled again; the last trains left Winnipeg and Vancouver on January 14, 1990. This left The Canadian as Via's sole transcontinental train. It was moved to the longer CN route used by the first incarnation of the Super Continental.

In the morning of February 8, 1986, as passengers were getting breakfast, the Super Continental ran head-on into a CN freight train about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of Hinton, Alberta. The collision created a massive fireball that sped along the train's length; both trains buckled from the impact.[31] Initial reports stated that at least 29 people died in the accident, although this was later reduced to 26, then later 23.[32] making it one of the more deadly incidents in Canadian railway history.[33] Subsequent investigation showed that the freight train passed a stop signal and ran through a closed switch to pull in front of the Super Continental.[32]