[1956 FOOTAGE OF CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD STEAM LOCOMOTIVES]

Genres: amateur film, home movie

Year Published: 1956

Description: Shot in 1956 by an unknown American or Canadian filmmaker, this fascinating, silent 16mm home movie starts with shots of an elaborate model railroad before showing the real thing -- steam locomotives and diesels in Canadian Pacific Railroad livery. This film was shot just four years before the steam era came to an end in Canada; the last steam locomotive to carry passengers in Canada was on May 1, 1960, and by that year both the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National (CN) railways stopped using steam locomotives for regular scheduled trains. starts with footage of an elaborate O-scale model train set. At :20 the camera dollies across the layout and then follows a Birney type double-ended trolley car as it transits the layout. At 1:22 a group of trolley cars are seen at the carbarn. At 1;28, a heavy Lionel type steam locomotive moves down the track, pulling passenger cars. At 1:52 the locomotive moves past a parked box motor and into a station. At 2:03 a large train shed is seen with a locomotive moving out of the terminal. At 2:16, Canadian Pacific #1312 steam locomotive moves in a train with a diesel engine behind it, followed by shots of engine #5161. At 2:47, a 1954 Buick Special is shown in front of the Cooksville railroad station. At 2:52, a railroad switchman alights from a moving freight car and throws a switch. At 2:56, a steam locomotive #5117 seen at a distance, intercut with a man posing with his still camera. (Note: #5117 was a J-4-d 4-6-2 Pacific type which pulled the Royal Train from Westminster BC to Kamloops Jct in 1939.) At 3:25 a man poses in front of a South Railroad freight car. At 3:29, C.P. locomotive #5178 sits on a siding. At 3:45 a rain cover is seen over the smokestack. At 3:53, a Hollywood movie slate or clapperboard is shown reading Trains, Camberville (possibly Cambellville?), 5-11-56. At 3:57, a double-headed steam locomotive train whizzes past, followed at 4:08 by a caboose. At 4:13, another slate, location marked Cooksville, 9/4/56. Probably Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area region of Ontario, Canada. At 4:39, another slate for Niverville, Manitoba from 4-20-56. Shot of a fast moving Canadian Pacific diesel locomotive Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) FA-1 type followed at 4:50 by a fast moving steam locomotive. The film ends with a title card that says "Narrow Gage Kingdom" at 5:12.

Complete Record: Shot in 1956 by an unknown American or Canadian filmmaker, this fascinating, silent 16mm home movie starts with shots of an elaborate model railroad before showing the real thing -- steam locomotives and diesels in Canadian Pacific Railroad livery. This film was shot just four years before the steam era came to an end in Canada; the last steam locomotive to carry passengers in Canada was on May 1, 1960, and by that year both the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National (CN) railways stopped using steam locomotives for regular scheduled trains. starts with footage of an elaborate O-scale model train set. At :20 the camera dollies across the layout and then follows a Birney type double-ended trolley car as it transits the layout. At 1:22 a group of trolley cars are seen at the carbarn. At 1;28, a heavy Lionel type steam locomotive moves down the track, pulling passenger cars. At 1:52 the locomotive moves past a parked box motor and into a station. At 2:03 a large train shed is seen with a locomotive moving out of the terminal. At 2:16, Canadian Pacific #1312 steam locomotive moves in a train with a diesel engine behind it, followed by shots of engine #5161. At 2:47, a 1954 Buick Special is shown in front of the Cooksville railroad station. At 2:52, a railroad switchman alights from a moving freight car and throws a switch. At 2:56, a steam locomotive #5117 seen at a distance, intercut with a man posing with his still camera. (Note: #5117 was a J-4-d 4-6-2 Pacific type which pulled the Royal Train from Westminster BC to Kamloops Jct in 1939.) At 3:25 a man poses in front of a South Railroad freight car. At 3:29, C.P. locomotive #5178 sits on a siding. At 3:45 a rain cover is seen over the smokestack. At 3:53, a Hollywood movie slate or clapperboard is shown reading Trains, Camberville (possibly Cambellville?), 5-11-56. At 3:57, a double-headed steam locomotive train whizzes past, followed at 4:08 by a caboose. At 4:13, another slate, location marked Cooksville, 9/4/56. Probably Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area region of Ontario, Canada. At 4:39, another slate for Niverville, Manitoba from 4-20-56. Shot of a fast moving Canadian Pacific diesel locomotive Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) FA-1 type followed at 4:50 by a fast moving steam locomotive. The film ends with a title card that says "Narrow Gage Kingdom" at 5:12.