Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki
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DARSANSPAREIL
Dominion Atlantic Railway Pullman Parlour Car, "Sans Pareil", 1896 - 1912
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.
Dominion Atlantic Railway Business Car, "Nova Scotia", 1912 - Present
Sanspareil was converted from a parlour car to a business car for the D.A.R. General Manager in 1912 and renamed "Nova Scotia".(2) It was described in the CPR MP Report in 1941 as a wooden business 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 George E. Graham 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. Graham 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)
Nova Scotia served as the DAR's business car until 1958 when it was replaced by a 1958 Pontiac Hi-Rail station wagon. Nova Scotia was transferred to Quebec and finally retired in 1967. It was initially owned by the Upper Canada Railway Society until sold to a railway themed restaurant in Orillia, Ontario. The served a the Ossawippi Express restaurant office, restrooms and reception area(5) until the restaurant went out of business in 2010.
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.
Nova Scotia at Niagara Falls on Sep 25, 1966. DAR Crests have been removed.
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
