Caption: The VIA cuts of early 1990 meant the end of The Canadian running over its original Canadian Pacific routing, that it had been operating over since its inception as a brand-new stainless steel transcontinental passenger train in 1955. The switch from CP to CN routing also meant The Canadian would no longer serve a number of cities in Canada including Calgary, Regina, and Thunder Bay. Here, visiting Thunder Bay for the last time, the last westbound VIA The Canadian over CP poses by the old Saskatchewan Wheal Pool grain elevators, with most of the train sitting near the former CP Fort William Station further back.

This was the last westbound run of The Canadian out of Toronto running on CP trackage, with VIA F40PH-2D units 6453 and 6410 leading, it departed Toronto Union Station on January 14th 1990 around 3-4pm (departing as train #9, becoming #1 at Sudbury).

Many passenger train enthusiasts, railfans and sentimental riders went out for their the "last ride" over the original route, or parts of it. According to his meticulous field notes, photographer William D. Miller rode the last westbound Canadian from Toronto up to Thunder Bay on January 14th-15th, and the next day on the 16th, caught the last eastbound Canadian over CP (#2, that had departed Vancouver on the 14th) with 6457 and 6407 from Thunder Bay back to Toronto.

William (Bill) D. Miller photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide.