80:. The fleet of colonist cars at Canadian Pacific grew to include over a thousand cars, providing spartan sleeping accommodation to immigrants to Western Canada. These cars provided simple pull-down sleeping berths and kitchens where immigrant families could cook their own meals. Fares were very cheap. A family could cross Canada from Montreal for seven dollars, but immigrants had to provide their own food and bedding. Blankets, pillows and food were all surcharges. Canadian Pacific eventually built a fleet of over a thousand colonist cars, which played a major role in settling the
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Colonist cars were a solution to the challenge of North
American settlement in the mid and late 19th century which saw the growth of settlement areas in the western interior of the continent, thousands of miles from the seaports where most immigrants arrived. Colonist cars began in the 1840s as the
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as troop cars and surviving colonist cars were heavily used in the post World War II boom in immigration. By the 1960s most colonist cars were worn out and were replaced by standard passenger cars as demand for immigrant trains from sea ports fell in the wake of increased travel by air.
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However by the 1880s, railways competing for immigrant traffic on longer routes to western North
America developed specialized cars for immigrants providing simple sleeping berths and cooking facilities. Early examples were introduced by the
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cheapest form of transport for immigrants who could only afford basic fares. At first they provided only benches around the side of what were often boxcars which could be converted to grain cars for return trips to the east coast.
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also built fleets of colonist cars in the peak years of immigration before World War I. However in the wake of immigration restrictions in the 1920s and a near-halt to immigration during the
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built a replica of a 1920s era colonist car complete with immigrant luggage and cooking stove as part of its 2015 expansion.
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Today, two
Canadian Pacific Railway colonist cars are preserved in Canada at the Calgary Heritage Park in
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Interior of
Canadian National Railways colonist car, 1926. Note lowered sleeping berths at end of car.
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designed to provide inexpensive long-distant transportation for immigrants, mainly in
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All Aboard! for
Glacier: The Great Northern Railway and Glacier National Park
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in 1879. By 1885 the idea was matched by other western railway such as the
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Hanna, Jonathan (Fall 2008). "Colonist Cars Helped Build the West".
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127:. and at the West Coast Railway Association's museum in
131:. Canadian National colonist cars are preserved at the
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which inherited these fleets. They saw renewed use in
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Canadian
Pacific Railway colonist car No. 2809, 1924
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657:History of immigration to the United States
188:The American Railroad Passenger Car, Part 2
139:, the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in
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369:Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
149:Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
254:Calgary's Heritage Park Historic Village
143:and the New Brunswick Railway Museum in
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107:, many colonist cars were converted to
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329:"History of CNR 7195 Colonist Sleeper"
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133:Canada Science and Technology Museum
95:Rival Canadian Railways such as the
205:. Farcountry Press. pp. 80–81.
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314:"Colonist Car 1202 Restoration",
652:History of immigration to Canada
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169:"Rail Cars of the 19th Century"
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190:, JHU Press (1985), p. 471-472
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591:Troop kitchen / Troop sleeper
286:"The CNR Colonist Car Series"
217:"Tracking Time - Immigration"
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16:Type of railway passenger car
351:New Brunswick Railway Museum
173:The Transcontinental Railway
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225:Library and Archives Canada
145:Hillsborough, New Brunswick
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129:Squamish, British Columbia
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175:. The Linda Hall Library.
113:Canadian National Railway
101:Canadian Northern Railway
78:Canadian Pacific Railway
58:Central Pacific Railroad
27:) was a type of railway
647:Passenger railroad cars
559:Miscellaneous equipment
452:Travelling Post Office
201:Guthrie, C.W. (2004).
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74:Great Northern Railway
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316:Calgary Heritage Park
141:Smiths Falls, Ontario
97:Intercolonial Railway
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111:or work cars by the
447:Railway post office
413:passenger equipment
461:Passenger-carrying
437:Head end power car
420:Head-end equipment
365:"The Colonist Car"
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540:Sleeper / Pullman
347:"CN 2737 History"
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617:Rail motor coach
596:Vestibuled train
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292:. Archived from
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125:Calgary, Alberta
105:Great Depression
70:Northern Pacific
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99:and later the
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33:North America
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298:. Retrieved
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233:. Retrieved
229:the original
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117:World War II
109:combine cars
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25:emigrant car
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21:colonist car
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515:Observation
485:Compartment
641:Categories
300:2015-09-19
235:2015-09-19
155:References
605:Motorized
530:Passenger
495:Couchette
442:Horse car
290:BGR Group
576:Crew car
566:Autorack
535:Roomette
490:Corridor
480:Colonist
272:Momentum
76:and the
62:Santa Fe
626:Railbus
622:Railcar
586:Private
571:Combine
550:Smoking
475:Bilevel
427:Baggage
64:, the
39:History
525:Parlor
510:Lounge
500:Dining
147:. The
137:Ottawa
72:, the
68:, the
545:Slip
520:Open
505:Dome
23:(or
581:Pay
470:Bar
135:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
