When Peter was in charge of the dining-car, he knew one or two weeks in advance of the time what celebrity he would be looking after. Then, he had to pick his crew, including the waiter and the chef for the occasion. After this had been completed, those involved would check over the menu. He stated that all celebrities were good tippers. Most of them had salaries much greater than those of railway crew members.
Royalty
- Prince Edward of the United Kingdom was a tall down-to-earth person. He was on way to Jasper from Vancouver to enjoy some skiing. The newspapers had not been given whole story about where he was going. They thought that he had gone home. Thus, no one met him at the station. He was accompanied by only an RCMP undercover officer and a Scotland Yard officer.
- Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands, travelled from Calgary to Vancouver in a private car for which Peter was responsible. The Dutch Prime Minister and the Cabinet travelled in another coach and ate in a regular dining car.
Although there was a Dutch waitress, the Queen preferred to speak English. Both the Queen and the Prince were very easy to look after. The crew had opportunities to chat with them. The royal couple were interested in the lives of the crew: asking about what they did in spare time and about their families. However, the Queen did not speak much of her own past in Canada. When asked about her family, she told about their two boys, saying that they attended regular school as that is what the family wanted.
Following the last meal, to the surprise of all, she gave each waiter a big hug. On arrival at Vancouver, she stated that she had not said, “Thank you,” to the chef. Therefore, she proceeded to the kitchen and gave him a hug and told him what lovely meals he prepared. Standing there was the very surprised, but appreciative, chef.
On another point, when her mother gave birth to one of her children in Ottawa during World War II, the Canadian Government designated the hospital room Dutch territory so that the child could be a Dutch citizen.
Government Leaders
- John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, stands out most among Pime Ministers and Premiers whom he met. They talked with each other several times. On arrival in the dining car for breakfast, John would say, “Peter, give me my regular.” This was dry toast and black coffee. He wanted to be called John. He would leave the train on reaching Saskatoon, SK, to go to his constituency at Prince Albert, to the north. Once, as a lawyer, he took a case following a train wreck, after which he became famous. He was one who would defend cases for the down-and-out.
- Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, was of different character, although friendly. He was a short fellow with blue eyes.
- Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, was a fine fellow and very polite.
- W.A.C. Bennett, Premier of British Columbia, was a quiet person on the train. He was on a trip from Vancouver to showcase the northern area of the province. His Cabinet and railroad officials from across North America were also on this special train, which included several American private cars. It was the Premier’s desire to open the region for railroad business as there existed minerals in the area along the former Pacific Great Eastern Railway.
Everything went well as far as Fort Nelson on the way to Dease Lake. The railroad entered a muskeg area, in which the speed of the train was limited to about ten miles per hour. In spite of the slow speed, the train tended to move from one side of the track to the other. Peter, sitting in the locomotive, asked the engineer what would happen if the train should jump the tracks. The reply was that he would have to walk out as it would be freeze-up before the railroad could bring in machinery for repairs.
The ground was muskeg beyond Fort Nelson, which created problems with the rail bed. The passengers saw many bears around the camps lining the railroad. The train actually arrived at its intended destination as far as the railway had been built.
The train hit the ditch a few miles out of Prince George on a steep hill. An explosion occurred in an empty car. If it had not been for some trees, the train could have descended further into the valley with the possibility of some passengers being killed. The railroad very quickly brought a locomotive and a car to take all back to Prince George.
Everyone was checked at Prince George for injuries and then flown back to Vancouver. The flight met very turbulent weather. Herb Capozzi noted that, at 30,000 feet altitude, he had no place to jump; whereas, he could jump off the train. The railroad cared for its high profile passengers very well.
Peter’s wife did not want him to go on this trip as she felt there would be derailment. She was right! - Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta, travelled to Vancouver quite often. He did not say much to the crew; but, otherwise he was outgoing.
Corporate Executives
- A former CP Rail president was aboard on one trip. He was very impressed with everything that he saw on the train.
- Howard Hughes had recently passed away. A number of the lawyers of his estate were on their way to Jasper. They said that they would be rich before all the estate would be settled as relatives were suddenly putting in an appearance looking for the spoils.
- Kintetsu World Express of Japan chairman, along with several lawyers and others travelled to Jasper for a meeting and a holiday. This was one of the world’s largest companies at the time. All were unbelievably fine people. Peter noted that the chairman’s wife did not wear jewellery, other than a wedding ring.
- Joseph Hirshhorn, father of Denison Mines and Elliott Lake, ON, was on the train once. When uranium ore was discovered by a prospector in the area, he paid the prospector $100,000 for the claim. He became wealthy while the mine lasted, but the other man lost all of his money in one year.
- Lukes Machinery Company of Winnipeg president was aboard once. He had wanted to travel on Peter’s train.
- Jim Pattison, the Vancouver business man, was on the train to attend the opening of the five-mile tunnel on the Canadian Pacific Railway in interior British Columbia. He was a very pleasant man.
Sports Personalities
- Jean Beliveau, a fixture with the Montreal Canadiens since the mid 1950s as a player, then as an executive, was well-liked by Peter. He was a prince of a man, always a gentleman, very polite at all times, and using no bad language. At no time did Peter see him drinking.
- Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountain climber, was on a trip around the world. Since he did not talk much, Peter had little opportunity to find out about him.
- Harry Jerome, the Canadian runner who set a world record for the 100-yard dash, was on his train once. Harry’s father was a railroad porter.
- E. P. Taylor, the horse racing owner, of Windfield Farms, his wife, and young daughter were once aboard a train on which Peter was working. They were taking their annual Christmas Eve trip to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, QC. They were a very friendly family.
- Al Sparks, one-time Canadian light heavyweight boxing champion, worked on one of the trains on which Peter worked. This boxer fought the talented Bobo Olson in 1960, but lost by a TKO.
- Fred “Cyclone” Taylor (1884-1979) was a well-known hockey star of an era prior to Peter’s time. He was a great gentleman, but he was a heavy smoker. One time, he was on a train running between Vancouver and Edmonton at a time before there were strict rules in regard to smoking. When a passenger complained about Cyclone’s smoking, Peter replied that the man had paid his fare and that he could not ask a 94-year-old old man to go outside onto the vestibule.
Entertainers
- Louis Armstrong and his band travelled once in Peter’s car. They were well-liked.
- Dane Clark played the tough guy in gangster movies; but, in real life, he did not seem to be a tough guy. When Peter shook hands with him, it was such a soft handshake. He had expected a much firmer one.
- Henry Fonda boarded the train to Toronto at either Detroit, MI, or Buffalo, NY. He offered Peter’s boss to give a hand in the kitchen. Peter did not know who he was, but accepted the offer. Henry wanted steak, which at the time was prepared by hand. He mentioned that he was going fishing in British Columbia. From his briefcase, he produced pictures of fish which he had caught. On arrival home afterwards, Peter was informed by his sister who his guest had been. Peter considered him a wonderful guy.
- Lorne Greene, a very pleasant man, made a trip once. He possessed a voice which was easily recognized.
- Woody Herman and his band members were all very jolly and outgoing.
- Lena Horne was “out-and-out” a lady who did not make it known that she was a famous singer. However, everyone knew who she was.
- Sally Rand, of burlesque, was on the same train as Edmund Hillary and Peter Fonda. However, Peter had no association with her, but his boss did. She wanted to sit in the first-class parlour car. When she said who she was and did not want to pay $3.50 for the privilege, she was informed that she could not. The crew member advised her that he could be fired if he did allow her. She eventually relented, paid the extra fare, and sat in the car.
- Russian ballet dancers travelled once on his train. Peter noted that they, particularly the men, drank much vodka.
Writers
- Stephen King, the author was a prince of a fellow; his wife was a princess of a lady; and their daughter, about ten years old, was very pleasant. Peter’s sister wondered why he did not obtain an autograph. They had been on the train since Jasper, but Peter was not aware of their presence until the train was near Prince Rupert. Stephen had been given permission to ride in the front end for a short distance. This was against railway policy; but, sometimes, the rules were bent to allow this.
