The pool services involved two separate kinds of pooling. One was pooling of
equipment to reduce the number of trains operated, thus reducing costs. The
other was pooling of revenues between points served by both railways (with
allowance for the work actually done by each of them). The trains labeled as
Pool trains served primarily traffic between their end points. Most pool
trains were considered to be a combination of two previously competitive
trains that had run at approximately the same times. Cars that would have
otherwise operated on the cancelled train were instead run on the surviving
train. However the volume of night Montreal-Toronto service couldn't be
accommodated on a single train so there was no point in cancelling one of
them. (In fact both railways would have needed to run their trains for the
mail and express business anyway.) There was no need for either railway to
run any of its cars on the other's train (which would have been complex and
expensive), and arguably no justification for either railway to do so.
Neither train represented a combination of two previous trains. I assume
they were nevertheless designated as pool trains because they had
competitive time slots. Trains that didn't represent a combination of
previously competitive trains weren't labeled Pool trains. The
Ottawa-Brockville service, connecting with the morning Montreal-Toronto pool
train on CN, weren't themselves labeled pool trains because CN hadn't run a
morning Ottawa-Toronto service at the time the pool was initiative. Other
through trains such as CP's 35 and 36, or the Montreal-Quebec locals,
weren't called pool trains. All revenue between points served by both roads
in each of the three pool channels was pooled and either road's tickets were
accepted matter how convoluted the route (except that any such route passing
between Montreal and Ottawa could only be over the road issuing the ticket.)
This led to such anomalies as travel with a CN ticket on CP's Kingston
Subdivision or a CP ticket on CN's ex-Midland Railway so long as both end
points were served by both roads.
Don Thomas
_____
From: cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of W.
A. (Dale) Wilson
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2012 7:21 AM
To: CPSig List
Subject: [cpsig] Train 21
I'm curious about equipment assignments. #21 carried all (and only) CPR cars
and ran on CPR trackage, yet as far west as Toronto was a "Pool" train.
Other pool trains would mix equipment. Was it simply more convenient and
economical NOT to have CN equipment, or was there some other reason?
And did this also apply to 100% of head end cars on the train?
Dale Wilson <dale.wilson@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dale.wilson%40sympatico.ca> >
Nickel Belt Rails, Box 483, Station "B", Sudbury, ON, P3E 4P6
