Before RSID: <<2026-09-24T23:31Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1500>>
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Welcome aboard program 468 of Shortwave Radiogram.
This is Tony Pavick in Hope, British Columbia, Canada and
Al Holt in Alachua, Florida, USA sitting in for Kim Andrew Elliott.
Here is the lineup for today's programme, in MFSK modes as noted:
1:48 MFSK32: Programme preview (now)
2:59 MFSK32: The History of the Railroads of Canada
8:15 MFSK64: Modern Day Rail Travel in Canada
10:30 MFSK64: Classic Canadian Rail Journey Posters *
28:40 MFSK32: Closing announcements
(*) with images
Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social
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All aboard for a journey through the history of the railroads of Canada…
Canada’s rail history stretches back over 30 years before Canada
Became a nation in 1867. A rail line serving the public was
inaugurated in the summer of 1836 in Québec, near Montréal.
Powered by a little engine that could, named Dorchester, the
Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad was established to transport
passengers along the St. Lawrence River. The excitement about this
new method of transport was so great that over 300 people showed up
for the inaugural run. That crowd proved to be too much, and the little
engine that could, couldn’t! Only two cars were transported by locomotive
power; the rest were pulled by horse. Nonetheless, the excitement of rail
travel at a leisurely speed of 48 km per hour made the route of The Champlain
and St. Lawrence Railroad a popular attraction. For over a decade it remained
the only public railway in Canada.
In the mid-1850s serious rail expansion began with the purpose of linking
Canada and the USA. The railways were deemed to be of such great
importance that a requirement that rail expansion into Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick was a key item in talks on confederation and the crafting
of the British North America Act in 1867. The Constitution Act of 1867 set
forth a requirement to build a railway spanning from the east coast to
the west coast.
The nation’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A McDonald made a promise in 1871
that if British Columbia joined Confederation a transcontinental railway would
be built within 10 years. The toll to build this line was not only financial but also
in paid in human lives. Chinese labourers, paid $1 a day, half of what white workers
made, were given the most dangerous jobs and endured discrimination. It is estimated
that over a thousand Chinese workers died as a result of disease and industrial
accidents. It wasn’t until 2006 that the federal government issued a formal apology
for their maltreatment. In 1885, The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) drove the final
spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
As the nation grew and population moved westward, the railways did as well, leading
to the creation of smaller operators such as Canadian Northern Railway, Grand
Trunk Railway, Grand Trunk Pacific, Intercolonial Railway and the National
Transcontinental Railway. These railways struggled financially and Parliament
united them under the umbrella of the Canadian National Railway Company in
1919. This Crown Corporation would be wholly owned by the Canadian government.
Competition was fierce between the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National
as each built tracks duplicating routes and as luxury hotels. Canadian National actually
established a radio network, CN Radio, North America's very first national radio network.
Developed and operated by the CNR between 1923 and 1932, it was a groundbreaking
project that laid the foundation for modern Canadian broadcasting.
As all over North America, the depression led to financial struggles for both CN and
CP resulting in massive layoffs for both. The wars years, however, resulted in a
revitalisation of both as backbone of the nation's war effort. Traffic surged to historic
highs. Eventually automobile and air travel would contribute to a pivot from
passenger rail to freight transport and the formation of VIA Rail Canada.
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Before RSID: <<2026-09-24T23:38Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1488>>
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All aboard as our journey now continues in modern day Canada….
Rail travel on Canada’s two national train lines, Canadian Pacific
and Canadian National, peaked at over 60 million passengers during
World War II. However after the war with the popularity of both car
travel and air travel on the upswing, there was a steady decline in
passenger numbers. This eventually led to problems for both rail lines.
And as had happened in the United States both CN and CP began to
get out of the passenger rail business.
In 1997, under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, VIA Rail Canada
was established as a Federal Crown Corporation, taking over intercity
passenger rail services from both Canadian National and Canadian
Pacific. In 1978 VIA Rail launched its transcontinental train service
between Montréal and Vancouver, named The Canadian in honor of the
famous Canadian Pacific route.
Although VIA Rail initially had some severe budget pressures resulting
in the canceling and consolidation of many routes by the year 1990, a
later upsurge in passenger traffic saw its popularity grow. Today, utilizing
modern equipment, it is recognized internationally as providing both
excellent operations and service with beautiful views of the Canadian
Rockies, Northern Ontario and the prairies. In 1994 a special Pontifical
Train transported Pope John Paul II from Québec City pulling into Montréal
roughly two hours behind schedule due to the massive, enthusiastic crowds
gathered along the tracks and stations along the route.
VIA’s most popular routes include:
The Canadian/ Le Canadien: Canada's legendary transcontinental passenger
train that runs a 4,466-kilometre journey across five provinces. It travels
between Toronto Union Station and Vancouver Pacific Central Station on a
journey taking approximately 4 days and 4 nights (93 to 97 hours). Along the
route it travels across Ontario, the flat expanses of Canada's agricultural
heartland in the prairies and the snow-capped Canadian Rockies before
arriving in Vancouver.
The Ocean/ L'océan: A 1,346 kilometre journey between Montréal and Halifax
along the Saint Lawrence River valley and the rugged forests of New Brunswick.
The train route to Churchill, Manitoba: If seeing polar bears is a part your
rail adventure the Winnipeg–Churchill train is journey that takes you to the
edge of the Arctic. Because there are no roads connecting Churchill to the
rest of Canada, this 1,697-kilometre track serves as the only dry-land
connection to the subarctic port town. It takes about 45 hours.
There are other routes not run by VIA such as the Rocky Mountaineer, a
luxury tourist train featuring custom-designed glass-dome coaches offering
spectacular views of the mighty Fraser River canyon and the Rocky Mountains.
In Ontario, the Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) serves as a lifeline to northern
Ontario for both goods and freight as well as passenger services. Its Polar Bear
Express train not only transports supplies to remote areas not served by roads
but is popular amongst tourists travelling to Moosonee on the shores of James Bay.
This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64
Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
Sit back and relax for this week's images ...
Canadian Pacific Railway-Trans Canada Limited
Fastest Train Across the Continent
Sleeping Cars Only
Image: Canadian_Pacific_Railway-Trans_Canada_Limited
Sending Pic:146x220C;
Le Canada et le Canadian Pacific
a French poster promoting Canadian Pacific's
transcontinental service
Image: Canadian_Pacific
Sending Pic:145x221C;
Canadian Pacific
Travel The Canadian
The scenic dome route across Canada
Image: Canadian_Pacific-The_Canadian
Sending Pic:148x222C;
Canadian National Railways - Across Canada
Image: Canadian_National_Railways-Across_Canada
Sending Pic:143x223C;
Canadian_Pacific
The Scenic Way Across Canada
Image: Canadian_Pacific-Scenic_Way
Sending Pic:141x225C;
Canadian Pacific - Explore the Rockies
Image: Canadia_Pacific-Explore_the_Rockies
Sending Pic:151x226C;
VIA Rail-The Canadian
The motive power of the early runs of VIA Rail's "The Canadian"
Image: VIA_Rail-The_Canadian
Sending Pic:225x165C;
Ontario Northland
Travel in Comfort
Transporting People & Goods between Moosenee and Cochrane
The only all-season land link for the James Bay Coast
Image: Ontario_Northland
Sending Pic:147x227C;
Rocky Mountaineer
Experience the Canadian Rockies
Image: Rocky_Mountaineer
Sending Pic:225x169C;
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Before RSID: <<2026-09-24T23:57Z MFSK-64 @ 14070000+1488>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...
Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:
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&
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Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
http://swradiogram.bsky.social
X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram
This is Tony Pavick in Hope, British Columbia,
Canada and Al Holt in Alachua, Florida, USA
Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram.