CALGARY — Lest we forget. Canadian Pacific Railway employees will bring all trains across Canada and the United States to a halt at 11 a.m. local time on November 11, observing two minutes of silence in honor of those who have served their country in war. The silence will be followed by one long train whistle blast as a railway salute to the nations’ freedom fighters.
All CPR trains, as well as locomotives in the railway’s yards and terminals, will be brought to a full stop in a safe location. There are about 250 trains moving daily on the CPR network. The railway has a fleet of about 1,600 locomotives.
Locomotive engineers will blast their whistles in hundreds of communities in Canada and the United States where CPR operates. “We hope the sound of our train whistles will be a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of those who have served in armed conflicts and a call to unity in the face of new threats to the rights and liberties of people around the world,” Rob Ritchie, President and Chief Executive Officer of CPR, said.
Some 33,127 Canadian Pacific employees served in the last century’s two world conflicts alone. Sadly, 1,774 sacrificed their lives. Railway shops were converted into munitions factories and company ships ferried troops and supplies across the oceans. A total of 27 Canadian Pacific ships were lost in the two world wars.
Canadian Pacific Railway’s 14,000-mile network serves the principal centres of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest regions. CPR feeds directly into the Chicago hub from the East and West coasts. Alliances with other carriers extend CPR’s market reach beyond its own network and into the major business centres of Mexico. For more information, visit CPR’s website at www.cpr.ca.