Here are a few scans of black and white negatives I acquired on an online auction site. I don’t know who the photographer(s) were, unfortunately. The auction listings showed two dates – July 27, 1979 for the flatcar and the rules car, and August 3, 1979 for the observation car.
Bulkhead flatcar AC 2372 is shown by a large building. I believe this was the Algoma Central engine house in Saulte Ste Marie, Ontario.
Heavyweight passenger car AC 10632 is lettered for the Algoma Central. My 1989 Canadian Trackside Guide says this was built in 1913 for Pullman and became a Durango & Rio Grande Western coach before coming to the Algoma Central. Here it shows RULES INSTRUCTOR on the side but the 1989 CTG lists it as a “Diner / Lounge” car.
Finally, here is the “Canyon View” stainless steel car. According to this TrainWeb page, AC 551 was a “double bedroom lounge observation car”, “Shining Brook“, one of five built for the New York Central Railway. The CPR bought three of these and named this one “Canyon View“. The Algoma Central sold it around 1984 or 1985. It eventually became PPCX 800064 Dagny Taggart and is privately owned (photos on RRPictureArchives).
Just One More Thing
Here are a few more Algoma Central references:
- Algoma Central in HO Scale, Chris van der Heide’s excellent reference site
- Variety Pack in Sault Ste Marie, my visit to the city in 2021
- Books on the Algoma Central
Thanks for sharing! AC 551 is now named after a character in “Atlas Shrugged” – did you end up reading it?
Hi Jeff, I was wondering who Dagny was. That definitely sounds like an Ayn Rand character name.
No, I didn’t read “Atlas Shrugged”. I’m still intimidated by the sheer size of it.