THE CPR LITTLE GENERAL MINI TRAIN

The “Little General” mini train is entirely owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated during community events. It is a ¼ scale replica of their widely-used AC4400 General Electric locomotive and numbered CP 9380. The mini train is 60 ft. long, 7.5 ft. high, 5 ft. wide and powered by a Kubota tractor, which tows a passenger car and caboose. 20 passengers can be accommodated in the mini train, which has a turning radius of 45 ft. and, during the Calgary visit, operated in a wide circle within the parking lot. Going to events, the mini train travels in a monstrous 53-foot trailer, shown, pulled by a semi truck.

The mini train is featured here, in the Calgary Transit south parking lot, on July 30th, 2018, between 3:00 and 6:00 pm; during a cross country visit by the “CPR 150 Train”; of which I attached a clip, on the way to the festivities, at the end. During its layover there was no interior access into the commemorative train, but the crowd was entertained trackside, from a boxcar retrofitted with a stage. Meanwhile in the parking lot, “The Little General” provided free rides for big and small kids, on a “first come-first served” basis. The day was exceptionally windy, but thousands attended the commemorative event. Food trucks and community organizations rounded the CPR presence on the site.

The purpose of the CPR visit was, not only to commemorate Canada’s Confederation, a century and a half ago, but also to highlight Canadian Pacific’s 130 years of service to Canadians.
The CPR 150 Train was led by iconic maroon and gray FP9A
CPR locomotive 1401, built in 1958, with, among the consist, 10 immaculately restored vintage cars (1916-1931) in Tuscan red, from its “Royal Canadian Pacific” signature train.

The CPR 150 Train started in Port Moody BC (near Vancouver) and travelled to Montreal, with Ottawa, as its final destination. In its publicity for the train, CPR mentioned that “Port Moody to Montreal”, represented “a reverse trip”, from 130 years ago, when, scheduled service started to serve British Columbia from Montreal.
During the cross-Canada tour, The Little General provided rides in Port Moody, Calgary, Winnipeg and Hamilton; while during stop-overs in Revelstoke, Thunder Bay, Montreal, and Ottawa; the mini train was on site, but rides were not offered.

For the sake of avoiding repetition, I combined 3 mini train trips into one. There was a run, about every 20 minutes or so, and hundreds stood in line, hoping to eventually get on. The Canadian Pacific Railway head office is in Calgary and the event was absolutely free.

Thanks for watching.