Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki
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DARSANSPAREIL
Dominion Atlantic Railway Pullman Parlour Car, "Sans Pareil", 1896 - 1920
The "Sans Pareil" (a French term meaning incomparible or without equal) was built in 1896 for the Dominion Atlantic Railway as a Pullman Parlour Car (at a cost, according to D.A.R. records, of $11,972).
Gallery
Pullman builder's photo of the Sanspareil in 1896.
The Sans Pareil at Digby.
External Links
Dominion Atlantic Railway Business Car, "Nova Scotia", 1920 - Present
It was converted to a business car for the D.A.R. General Manager.(1) The car survives today as part of a railway themed restaurant in Orillia, Ontario.(2)
According to the Ossawippi Express restaurant site, It became the D.A.R.'s official Car "Nova Scotia" around 1920, and operated there until 1958. This car houses our offices, restrooms and reception area. (5)
Listed in the C.P.R. M.P. 1941 in the D.A.R. section on page 39, this wooden car was built in 1896 and was 67'9-1/2" in length (after 1944 reported as 60' 8" but still built in 1896) on 6 wheel trucks. (3)
"Nova Scotia" played a significant role in history in 1917. It was parked at the North Street Station in Halifax on the morning of Dec. 6, 1917 when the Halifax Explosion took place. The DAR's General Manager and his family were eating breakfast in "Nova Scotia" but the car sheltered them from the blast and rain of debris which killed many people in the station. The General Manager quickly made his way to Rockingham, the nearest surviving telegraph station and ordered a relief train from Kentville. It brought doctor's, nurses, supplies and rescue equipment to Halifax the afternoon of the explosion and was one of the first relief trains to arrive in Halifax.(4)
Gallery
Business Car Nova Scotia beside the Kentville Repair Shop in August 1949.
No. 470 leaving for Kingsport with Train No. 11 from Kentville in August 1951. Visible is the business car Nova Scotia in front of the repair shop.
No. 2665 in the Kentville Railyard in August 1951 after bringing in Train No. 95 from Halifax. Also visible is business card Nova Scotia parked against the repair shop and to the left the car shop.
Nova Scotia, at Kentville Railyard parked beside the repair shop in Kentville, NS on August 27, 1956.
Mixed Train for Kingsport leaving yard. Visible is business car Nova Scotia beside the repair shop and the coaling tower in Kentville on August 28, 1956.
References and Footnotes
- (1) "Dominion Atlantic Railway Chronology of Passenger Car Purchases", Library and Archives Canada, Merrilees Collection, MG 31 NA A10, Vol. 55-4
- (2) Canadian Trackside Guide 2008, Bytown Railway Society
- (3) 1941 Canadian Pacific Railway Summary Of Equipment, Form M.P. 14 - January 1, 1941, page 38.
- (3) C.P.R. M.P. 14 Motive Power Rosters 1944, p. 40
- (4) Dan Conlin, "How Kentville and Wolfville helped a Stricken Halifax in 1917", Kentville Advertiser, Dec. 6, 1993, p. 3A
