Came across these in an old folder. The two time and speed sheets were together. I added a couple more pieces from timetables. Not sure that there was any greater purpose of them being together, and I am not sure where they came from. I suspect they were sent by an old friend, John Welsh, from Montreal. That would have been some 50 years ago!
Anyway, there is sort of a comparison between mainline steam and first generation diesels. Pool Train no. 15 was The International Limited, running through to Chicago. It was pulled by a Canadian National Railways Mountain Type no. 6064. Its 14 cars would have been heavier models, with at least one diner and a parlour car and a "compt. parlour?" Sleepers were added at Toronto.
Looks like 6064 did a fine job, losing time for a stop near Aultsville. With coal stops and crew changes at Brockville and Belleville, the boys got in some 85mph running and arrived in Toronto a minute early.
The Rapido was 13 cars hauled by three GMD or MLW F units. It would have been a much lighter train with 1950s-vintage coaches and a snack counter. I think they used a club car also. Note that traditional work rules had them making crew changes at Belleville and Brockville! However, some 100 mph running helped speed things up.

Oh, the 1966 Rapido made no scheduled stops.
For comparison, here is the timetable from 1974. The crew changes were removed, but suburban stops were added at both ends.
I can verify the 100 mph runs on the Rapido. It was quite exhilarating! Rode the Turbo also, and it would sometimes hit 110 mph, maybe more briefly.
Not sure what the top speed of 6064 was? Maybe she could have marked 100 at times?
Oh, I looked up VIA Rail on line. Today, they can run between the two cities in 5 hours. I'd sooner ride no. 15!

When I worked for BN, there were still a number of old steam heads there, and I bought them coffee and tried to get them talking about the old days whenever I had the chance. The following was related to me by Danny Krawchik:

He was called for an eastbound refrigerator train, and when he got to 38th St (Denver) he found out that the power was a CB&Q O5b 4-8-4, and that his train was already air tested and the blue flag was off. His engineer immediately whistled for the board, and promptly got a green. On the next track was a set of Greybacks (Burlington slang for F units) with an identical train, called for the same time as the steamer, but still getting it's air test.

Crews ran on a first in, first out basis, and Danny's crew wanted to stay ahead of the Greyback's crew. As the Northern picked up speed, her engineer looked over at Danny and said "Give me a quarter inch of water and don't let her pop." I don't know the running times or how fast they were going, but they beat the diesels to Mc Cook, and were marked up ahead of the other crew.

A quarter inch?

I'm guessing the engineer is telling his fireman he wanted only a quarter inch (about .65 cm) of water showing in the gauge glass. That's a bit low, and it would presumably help the engine steam better.

Of course, running with low water could risk a boiler explosion, but I seem to recall the bottom of the glass was several inches above the top of the crown sheet. There should still be a margin of safety, but that's still a closer margin than many steam operators today would recommend.

A couple of the scans are so small as to be unreadable.

You got it. Danny also told me that using a feedwater heater allowed him to fine tune his water level by just turning the water feed valve up or down a little. He described that as "slick". The line from Denver to Mc Cook, Nebraska is pretty much flat, so he didn't have to deal with water sloshing around, and the level indication fluctuating too much. The bottom of the sightglass was 3" above the highest point of the crown sheet.

The "don't let her pop" part meant keeping the boiler pressure 5 pounds below MAWP. Easy enough to do with the O5b engines because they were oil burners. Even easier if every switch was lined and every signal green. Those F units stayed 2 blocks behind him the whole way, a perfect track speed move for both trains.

The Greybacks ran around the 5600 while the tender was filled with water at McCook, but that was a different crew going east.

Yep, this site doesn't load higher resolution scans. Luckily, the 1948 and 1966 runs came through okay. The one blurry one is just the fall 1948 public tt showing no. 15, and others. I tried posting a smaller item from that page showing the accommodations on no. 15, but it was pointless to post it. It showed: Coaches; Diner; Parlour - 3 cars; and it looks like two cars added at Brockville from Ottawa; also a "Compartment Parlour." Fairly heavy train.
The other blurry one will be the 1974 tt, for comparison. Removing the crew changes, CN got the Rapido across the line in 4-1/2 hours, and the Turbo in under 4 hours.
In the '70s, there were also "all-stops" trains like the Lakeshore and the Bonaventure. They made the run in just under 6 hours and switched Ottawa cars at Brockville, so not much better that no. 6064 in 1948. There was also the overnight Cavalier.
I guess this is really a "Railfanning" thread, and the moderators may move it without any backlash from me. In my defense, it does suggest that steam passenger operations can be run crisply! Even in the '70s, CN ran no. 6064's sister, no. 6060, in regular service from Toronto to Niagara Falls, and did it at mainline speeds and on schedule.
The mid 1970s' was CN's last gasp at passenger service. The company added trains in "The Corridor" and did a great job of it. Then everything was passed over to VIA Rail, and , well, 'nuff said!

You can use good old MS Paint to resize your images. and save them in jpg format to have a smaller file size over other formats.

This site does have a file size limit, but you do have plenty of leeway.

I think it’s 350K file size max. Irfanview is a free program that can change the image dimensions and resolution to whatever you want. A 350k jpg image file at 72 dpi is a pretty good sized image.

Here's a question. Even in the summer, would no. 6064 be sending steam back through the line, especially for the dining car?

I can think of only two reasons to furnish steam for passenger trains, in summer or at other times when steam is not required for heating:

First: car(s) equipped with steam-ejector air conditioning system, and/or,
Second: the train(s) carry a full-service dining car and/or use of hot wash water is desired in lavatories.

As to the first, SE airconditioning was uncommon; AT&SF and SOU each had a number of such cars which were not typically used in interline service - with specific exceptions. I am not aware of any SE equipment operated by the Canadian roads.

As to the second, by the 1960s, trains that carried dining cars required steam for food preparation and for sanitation, including dish washing.

For any other trains without full-service dining cars it would have been unusual to find hot water for summer hand washing, but not impossible.

Thank you Mr. Carey,
Steam might have been needed for the "Compartment Parlour" also shown in the timetable, and for the Chicago sleepers added later.
In later years, some passenger carriers eschewed switching out cars on route. Obviously, it was done a lot in the past, when diners and sleepers were switched out as needed. I recall the CNR operations at Brockville where the Ottawa sections were almost seamlessly switched in and out. Also, Canadian Pacific's Canadian at Sudbury combined the Toronto and Montreal sections. I recall one trip west where CP added an extra unit at Calgary because the temperatures had cooled down and extra steam heat was required. These changes were usually done in a timely and efficient manner.

Almost ATSF's entire fleet had steam air-conditioning and SOU did interchange their steam cars at Washington. In the Southern Crescent days, Amtrak had to have a GG1 with a working steam generator at Sunnyside and Wash to handle the SOU connection. If all went well, the same motor could do both.

Erie also used steam A/C but the lightweight sleepers and 1950's rebuilt through-line coaches and diners got electro-mechanical in the rebuild.

Phil Mulligan

Found this clipping about a high speed steam run on the Canadian Pacific in 1937. This was printed in CP Rail News, although the issue number is not recorded. The writer was H.W. Hayward.
"I was in the cab of Canadian Pacific locomotive 3003 during the test run in 1936 [sic] on the Winchester Subdivision. [west of Montreal] The 3003 was a 4-4-4 F2 class, had a boiler pressure of 300 pounds and 80-inch drivers, the largest diameter drivers of any of our locomotives in service at the time. Five were built for short, fast passenger service between Montreal and Ottawa and the Calgary to Edmonton run.
"The purpose of the tests was to determine the stopping distances from high speeds, and the riding qualities of a five-car train when brakes are applied at full emergency.
"The final test was made at a top speed of 112-1/2 miles per hour. At this speed, a signal was received in the cab from the control group in the tail end car, for the engineer to move the brake handle into full emergency. At the same instant, a bag of flour was dropped onto the track as a marker.
"Measured from where the flour was dropped, it took 1-1/8 miles for the train to come to a full stop. [1 mile, 2,025 feet] We in the cab thought it would be a very rough ride to the full stop. However, it was only when we got down to 15 mph that the locomotive bucked like a kicking steer and really threw us around in the cab. Glasses of water in each car did not spill over until we were down to that speed.
"My job at the stop was to take temperatures of the driving wheel centres and tires and to check if the tires had moved on the wheel centres, due to the high heat generated by the heavy application of the brake shoes.
"My instructions during the run were also to see if the locomotive's smoke at top speeds would trail down over the cars or be lifted over the train. I can assure any young test engineer today that if you want to keep your head, don't try to stick it out of a cab doorway at 112 mph."
From Omer Lavallee's amazing book "Canadian Pacific Steam Locomotives" he placed the test on September 18, 1937. It was conducted in concert with the Canadian Westinghouse Co. that wanted to test its air brake systems during high speed stops. The consist included a mail/express car, a baggage/buffet, and two coaches. The test occurred at Mile 38 about one mile west of Soulanges, Quebec.
M. Lavallee stated, that after the stop, the brake shoe temperatures on the cars ranged above 700 degrees F, while the driver tire brakes came in around 600 degrees.
No. 3003 was built by Montreal Locomotive in August 1936 and scrapped in 1957. Cylinders were 17-1/4 x 28 inches.
It would have been a heckuva ride! Will QJdriver try to do with his dear Audrey when he gets that high-pressure Canuck boiler mounted on her?