From a number of family 'caches' I have put together photos of the 'Eaton's Train' during its final few years of operation in Montreal.
As you would expect, the black and white photos aged the best. The 'bad Ektachrome' slides of the early 1960s slid into their usual rusty, sepia type stain but were restorable when I scanned them a few years ago. Some 60-year-old colour prints had aged to an almost white appearance, but it was possible to darken these enough to obtain colour details.
If you have not already seen it, at the end of this post is a link which will download a PDF version of the November/December 2005 edition of Canadian Rail with its excellent Peter Murphy article about the development, technology and operation of the trains commissioned for Eaton's Toyville operations.
From my perspective, the 1960s in Montreal presented a procession of wonders. Above all were the railway experiences ... from the Eaton's Train, and Turcot Yard ... to the developing CRHA museum at Delson, and the mainline steam and branch line wayfreight excursions which operated out of Montreal.
It came as a surprise that these things were not eternal. Gradually, many of the Montreal railway wonders met their natural ends.
As you see, the view above comes from 1961. Until I read the Canadian Rail article yesterday, I didn't realize how long the Toyville trains existed before I first boarded one.
In fact, my father might have been just a little older than I was (above) when he first rode the train. He probably took his younger sister to ride on it as well.
The idea for this post was precipitated by finding this clipping (a number of years ago) in my father's thick files of Montreal history. Eaton's took a full page ad. The top of the page promoted the train, the lower half showed particular toys, including those small orange plastic tractor tricycles, and pairs of battery-powered toy 'morse (Aldis) lamps' - like those used for naval ship-to-ship communication.
Check the date of the Montreal Star advertisement.
Even back then, the day after Halloween was the first retail day of ... Christmas!
The 1959 colour prints above and below are good for representing the 'bewitching little world' through which the train operated. The low-light, sparkled features were sometimes animated. The scenery was unique in my experience, but the train ride was the main point of being here. I don't think I ever bothered to spend time with the Eaton's Santa.
The view above shows crew change time for lunch.
The image below shows the position occupied by the engineer when operating the train.
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The print from 1961, above, shows the train on the move. The multiple light fixture reflections are probably from plexiglass panels designed to prevent excited children from getting on the right of way.
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Eaton's Train photography had reached the point of its highest technology by 1962 - the final year of the train's operation. My father had graduated to slide photography. These three colour images are provided in enlarged form so you can see details of the track and engine.
Two key points I discovered from the article ... 1) Those are 'blind' drivers (without flanges) so the rigid frame holding them can get around the tight curves. 2) The leading passenger car provides the electric motive power - the actual driving wheels and rods are there for effect only.
As you've observed, the equipment is dual-gauge ... narrow for the locomotive model, broad to hold two child passengers per seat.
The photo below provides some detail on the construction of the cars.
My father's disposable flashbulb, below, was blocked by the lineside fence. However, you can see the care that was taken in constructing the locomotive details and the pride CPR employees put into it - including the miniature builder's plate.
I remember the engineers using the bell, but not the whistle - I just don't remember the sound. The ride was very quiet - with the electrical equipment 'purring' its way around the oval. Out of necessity, the train operated at a slow, smooth speed.
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Finishing with an image from 1961, you can see some detail of the tailend car.
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The Canadian Rail of Nov/Dec 2005 has a history of the multiple Eaton's trainsets.
Not given a 'permalink' by their IT folks, my link to that edition went dead.
