Throwback Thursday - A CP International Service Van

CP 434956 follows its eastbound train onto the Winchester Subdivision at Smiths Falls East on August 21, 1993.  The red marker light and its attendant electrical conduits are apparent at roof level.  The small lettering above the car number says

ASSIGNED - WINNIPEG

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE, although by this date the word "International" has been painted out.  To the right of the car number, the words SOO ONLY appear.

By Peter Mumby

Cabooses on the Canadian Pacific were numbered according to their specific assigned service.  If the assignment of a particular car was altered, the number was patched out and changed.  So, if you are modelling a CP van, chances are that this patching should be apparent.  Sometimes the whole number would be patched and changed.  On other examples, only the final three digits would show signs of having been replaced.  Check available photos in your chosen era to see how your model should be numbered!

When American rules regarding higher grade window glazing for cabooses were introduced, CP decided to alter (and renumber) a group of 40 cars for International Service.  Such vans were numbered in the 434900-434931 and 434950-434957 series.  This new glazing would not be obvious on a model, but the appropriate patched number should appear. On some cars, smaller lettering in the vicinity of the number would refer to a specific assignment. All such cars also had a single red marker light installed at roof level at each end.  CP 434956, pictured here in Smiths Falls, Ontario, was the only such car I could locate in my slide collection.