$2.8 Million Commuter Coach Order Placed
Double Deckers Will Serve Montreal Area
Nine air-conditioned stainless steel commuter cars for service between
Montreal and outlying Lakeshore stations will have double the passenger carrying capacity of cars now
operating in this service. The length of the new cars will be 85 feet, and rail to rooftop height will be 15
feet 11 inches. Presently employed lightweight cars measure 13 feet six inches from rail to rooftop. An
artist's cut-away illustration shows accommodation on two levels.
MONTREAL - A $2.8 million order has been placed by the Company for nine double-deck
passenger cars which it plans to put into service on the Montreal suburban Lakeshore commuter run next year.
The cars will be built by Canadian Vickers Industries Ltd., and delivery is scheduled for June, 1969.
Canadian Pacific is the first railway in Canada to order the air-conditioned,
"push-pull" cars which have been introduced successfully by several USA roads.
The cars are specially designed to handle high-density commuter traffic, seating
passengers on two levels to combine greatly increased passenger capacity with maximum utility and comfort. The
concept has been well received in the Chicago area and in California, where similar cars are already in
service.
Each stainless steel car will carry approximately twice as many passengers as the
older, conventional, commuter equipment they will replace. The order includes seven trailer cars, each with a
capacity of 168, and two control cars, each with a capacity of 156.
The cars will be operated with a locomotive at one end and a control car at the
other. Enginemen will simply move from one end of the train to the other for the return trip, without need to
turn the train at each terminal. With the purchase of control cars, it will be possible to use the cars as a
single unit, or as two trains.
Each car will have its own diesel-operated power plant, and in addition to
air-conditioning, will have fluorescent lighting, attractive plastic-finished interiors, rubber-filled cushion
seats with throw-over backs, and double glazed windows with an inside pane of tinted safety glass.
The lower car level will accommodate two-abreast seating on each side of a centre
aisle, as with conventional passenger equipment. Upper levels will consist of two balconies with aisles on
each side of the car. Seating will be a combination of regular seats and rows of self-raising theatre-type
seats.
Each car will be divided into two sections by a spacious central vestibule with
manually-operated doors leading into each section. Immediately inside the doors will be four sets of stairs
leading to the upper levels. Δ
This Canadian Pacific Spanner article is copyright 1968 by the Canadian Pacific
Railway and is reprinted here with their permission. All logos, and trademarks are the property of the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
CP Rail 4072 looking pretty shabby with a consist of Canadian Vickers 168
seat double decker commuter cars at Rigaud yard - 8 Apr 1977 G.H. Landau - Joseph Testagrose
Collection.
CP Rail 4074 leads a commuter train along the West Island - Date unknown
Anonymous Photographer.
Canadian Pacific Set-off Siding Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada
MONTREAL - A $2.8 million order has been placed by the Company for nine double-deck
passenger cars which it plans to put into service on the Montreal suburban Lakeshore commuter run next year.
The cars will be built by Canadian Vickers Industries Ltd., and delivery is scheduled for June, 1969.
