Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki

Use of this site is subject to our Terms & Conditions.

Difference between revisions of "Category:Ken McIlvoy Collection"

From DARwiki
 
Line 5: Line 5:
 
'''''Ken recounts how he came to possess these rare D.A.R. tracks charts:'''''
 
'''''Ken recounts how he came to possess these rare D.A.R. tracks charts:'''''
  
−
You may wonder how someone far away in Virginia comes to have DAR track charts. It is an interesting story that nobody, until now, has had the slightest interest in knowing. But, sometime around 1974-1975 the Canadian Transportation Commission held a series of public hearings on just how bad passenger service had become in Canada.  This was undoubtedly based on our own Interstate Commerce Commission’s hearings in 1968-1969.  This was well before the formation of Via (which was the ultimate result much as Amtrak was here).  One of the most significant public complaints about passenger service was the difficulty of getting schedules and fares, making reservations and purchasing tickets.  This exact same scenario has been experienced in Amtrak’s formation, and the public law that created the company actually stipulated that a nationwide call network and reservation/ticketing was mandated.  I had been with Amtrak from day one and was responsible for the development of the first several systems to meet this federal mandate (we couldn’t implement everything at once for many reasons – not the least of which was that the state of technology in 1971 was not what it is today and our options were limited to emulating the airlines.)
+
I retired from Amtrak after 37 years – having started in 1971 with the birth of the company. Prior to that I had spent 3 years with the Santa Fe and a few more with Eastern as well as North Central Airlines.  So, I have been in the passenger business in one form or another for my entire working life.  
  
−
After we had a successful (simply but successful) system up and running the CTC started to put pressure on CNR and CPR to do something along these lines.  As the “recognized experts” in this very new and limited field, we were called in by both companies separately (they never did anything together I assume).  We saw immediately that they needed to combine forces so that a single system would do the job.  Interesting enough, the negotiations to link Amtrak, CNR and CPR together came right to contract signing state when there was a government change in Canada and Minister E. H. LaBorde threw out the entire thing and pushed for the creation of Via, which was then ordered to modify the Air Canada (ResaVec) system into a ResaVia system.
+
During Amtrak’s early years there was much attention to what we were trying to do by the Canadian Transportation Commission as well as railroad commissions from around the world.  I was given the assignment to conduct negotiations with both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific (well before VIA) on some joint ventures with Amtrak.  
−
 
−
While I was in Montreal with the CPR (at Glen Yards as I recall) I happened to mention that I would love to get my hands on some DAR track charts (for model railroad purposes), especially the area between Digby and Annapolis Royal where the DAR runs so close to the Bay of Fundy.  To my surprise the CPR man I was with picked up the phone, called Kentville and the charts were sent to me a few days later.
 
  
−
Ken McIlvoy, ''September 21, 2009 by email.''
+
On one of my visits to Montreal, I found myself at the CPR’s Glen Yards and took the opportunity to ask (a most unlikely question) if I could get copies of the track charts for the DAR to be used for model railroading and historical purposes.  It seems at that very time the CPR was trying to clean out a lot of DAR materials, so a call to the General Superintendant at Kentville, NS sent the charts on their way to me a few days later.  I have held on to these charts since 1974 with no particular disposition in mind for them – until I came across this excellent DAR site. I wanted to share everything I had with those for whom the DAR holds a particular fascination.
 +
 
 +
Ken McIlvoy, ''September 29, 2009 by email.''
  
  
  
 
[[Category:Ken McIlvoy]]
 
[[Category:Ken McIlvoy]]

Latest revision as of 09:40, 29 September 2009

Ken McIlvoy Collection

Ken's Track Chart Collection

Ken recounts how he came to possess these rare D.A.R. tracks charts:

I retired from Amtrak after 37 years – having started in 1971 with the birth of the company. Prior to that I had spent 3 years with the Santa Fe and a few more with Eastern as well as North Central Airlines. So, I have been in the passenger business in one form or another for my entire working life.

During Amtrak’s early years there was much attention to what we were trying to do by the Canadian Transportation Commission as well as railroad commissions from around the world. I was given the assignment to conduct negotiations with both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific (well before VIA) on some joint ventures with Amtrak.

On one of my visits to Montreal, I found myself at the CPR’s Glen Yards and took the opportunity to ask (a most unlikely question) if I could get copies of the track charts for the DAR to be used for model railroading and historical purposes. It seems at that very time the CPR was trying to clean out a lot of DAR materials, so a call to the General Superintendant at Kentville, NS sent the charts on their way to me a few days later. I have held on to these charts since 1974 with no particular disposition in mind for them – until I came across this excellent DAR site. I wanted to share everything I had with those for whom the DAR holds a particular fascination.

Ken McIlvoy, September 29, 2009 by email.

Pages in category "Ken McIlvoy Collection"

The following 2 pages are in this category, out of 2 total.

T

Media in category "Ken McIlvoy Collection"

The following 131 files are in this category, out of 131 total.

Retrieved from "http://DARDPI.CA/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Ken_McIlvoy_Collection&oldid=14921"