The list of Pullman cars assigned to the CP and Soo I posted last night got me
to thinking (always dangerous). The first three cars of the train in the photo,
the "composite" baggage-buffet and the two sixteen section cars, don't appear
on that list, which leads me to believe that this is a tour group that
contracted directly with Pullman, rather than with the railroads, for the cars.
This little ensemble would be perfect for about five dozen people, with self
contained baggage space and food service. In fact, it could even serve as
accommodations while the group was staying in Banff, so that leads to the
question; was such a thing possible to arrange? Were there occupied cars on the
"garden tracks" at Banff on a regular basis?
I also note that the photo is eastbound, still west of Banff, which leads to
another question; How much of this tour traffic came up from California and the
western US? We often think of the Mountaineer as a conduit for tourists from
the eastern and midwestern US, but the train also had good connections with the
US roads at Vancouver, and there must have been some traffic from the west
coast.
Dennis
