Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

RAILWAY SWITCH / C.P.R.

Date Range From

1970

Date Range To

1980

Materials

BRASS, COPPER, METAL

No. Pieces

5

Length

12.3

Width

2.1

Description

5 RAILWAY KEYS OR SWITCHES ON A KEYRING. .A: BRASS. 5.0CM X 2.4CM (L X W). SKELETON KEY. ROUND TOP, WITH A SQUARE HOLE IN THE MIDDLE. AROUND THE TOP EDGE OF THE CIRCLE, STAMPED "C.P.R.". "T" STAMPED BELOW AND TO THE LEFT OF THE "C". ILLEGIBLE MAKER'S MARK ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE KEY. .B: SILVER COLOURED METAL. 5.3CM X 2.5CM (L X W). ROUND TOP, WITH A SMALL ROUND HOLE NEAR THE TOP. EMBOSSED "103" ON ONE SIDE OF THE ROUND TOP AND STAMPED "CPR" ON THE OTHER. .C: COPPER. 5.2CM X 2.3CM (L X W). ROUND TOP, WITH A MEDIUM SIZED CIRCULAR HOLE IN THE CENTRE. AROUND THE EDGE, EMBOSSED WITH "R. M. CO." OPPOSITE SIDE HAS "C.P.R." EMBOSSED ALONG THE TOP, WITH AN "S" EMBOSSED BELOW AND TO THE LEFT OF THE "C". .D: BRASS. 5.0CM X 2.2CM (L X W). ROUND TOP, WITH A MEDIUM SIZED CIRCULAR HOLE IN THE CENTRE. AROUND THE EDGE, STAMPED WITH "C.P.R.". MAKER'S MARK STAMPED ON REVERSE: "...ITCHE... CANADA" .E: COPPER. 12.3CM X 2.1CM (L X W). ROUND TOP, WITH A MEDIUM SIZED CIRCULAR HOLE IN THE CENTRE. NO IDENTIFYING MARKS. TEETH OF KEY FORM A SIDEWAYS 'E'. ALL KEYS IN GOOD TO VERY GOOD CONDITION. TWO COPPER KEYS HAVE TARNISHED.

Subjects

HOUSEHOLD ACCESSORY

Historical Association

TRANSPORTATION

History

THESE RAILWAY SWITCH KEYS WERE USED BY THE DONOR, ARNOLD “RED” ERVIN, WHEN HE WORKED ON THE RAILWAY. IN JULY 2015, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN, CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH ARNOLD AND HIS WIFE JOYCE ERVIN. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM THAT INTERVIEW. ARNOLD WAS BORN IN 1932 IN NIPIWIN, SK AND CAME TO LETHBRIDGE TO PLAY JUNIOR HOCKEY IN 1950. HE GOT A GOOD JOB WITH THE RAILWAY AND DECIDED TO STAY IN LETHBRIDGE. JOYCE WAS BORN IN 1931 IN FOREMOST, AB, ATTENDED MOUNT ROYAL COLLEGE IN CALGARY AND WORKED FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN CALGARY. SHE WORKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT, IN DEFENCE PRODUCTION, THEN WENT ON TO SHELL OIL. SHE MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1954 TO BE CLOSER TO HOME AND SHE GOT A JOB WITH THE RAILROAD. ARNOLD AND JOYCE MET THROUGH THEIR WORK AND WERE MARRIED IN 1955. SAID ARNOLD ABOUT THE KEYS: “[THESE ARE] OLD RAILROAD KEYS, UNLOCKED EVERY SWITCH FROM HERE TO VANCOUVER…I DIDN’T HAVE TO THROW SWITCHES BUT THERE WAS TIMES WHEN SNOW WAS TOO DEEP, YOU WERE OUT THERE SWITCHING, MAYBE [A TRAINMAN] WAS SICK AND YOU HAD TO GET OUT AND DO THAT…THEY’RE ALL THE SAME KEYS EXCEPT THIS ONE HERE (KEY E). ON THE PASSENGER TRAINS YOU HAD THOSE - YOU DIDN’T NEED THEM, BUT ONCE IN A WHILE IF YOU WERE OUT THERE…JUST HAD A FEW LOCKS THERE THAT EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY THAT WORKED ON THE PASSENGER TRAINS COULD UNLOCK CERTAIN [LOCKS]. THE BOTTOMS BELOW THERE, THEY USED TO UNLOCK THEM.” ARNOLD STARTED WORKING FOR THE RAILWAY IN 1951 IN THE ROUND HOUSE, AFTER DECIDING TO NOT PURSUE HOCKEY BEYOND THE JUNIOR LEVEL: “THEY PUT YOU IN [THE ROUND HOUSE] TEAMED UP, STARTED UNTIL YOU WORKED YOUR WAY UP TO A FIREMAN – FROM FIREMAN TO ENGINEER.” HE CONTINUED TO PLAY HOCKEY FOR FUN: “I STILL PLAYED HOCKEY WITH A BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT [I] KNEW AND YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO GO ON TO THE BIG LEAGUES BUT JUST ENTERTAINMENT. LETHBRIDGE WAS A GOOD HOCKEY PLACE. AND A NICE CITY TO LIVE IN.” IN RECALLING HIS FIRST DAYS AND WEEKS AT HIS JOB, HE SAID: “WELL, IT WAS WORKING IN THE ROUNDHOUSE. THE ENGINES WERE THERE AND YOU HAD TO GET UP AND THERE WAS COAL ENGINES AND YOU HAD TO SHOVEL THE COAL TO GET IT BACK INTO PLACES WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, SO ALL OVER. … YEAH, TECHNICALLY THEY CALLED YOU A WIPER. YOU HAD TO GO IN AND CLEAN THE WINDOWS … FOR THE ENGINEER COMING OUT EVERYTHING HAD TO BE CLEAN OR HE CALLED YOU BACK UP AND YOU DID IT OVER AGAIN. SO, IT WAS BETTER TO DO IT GOOD AND GET IT DONE.” ARNOLD CONTINUED: “I LIKED WORKING WITH THE RAILROAD, ENJOYED IT, AND STARTED IN THAT ROUNDHOUSE AND YOU WORKED YOUR WAY UP TO A FIREMAN AND UP TO AN ENGINEER AND THEN I WAS IN CHARGE OF ALL THE ENGINEERS. SO IT WAS A CAREER FROM NOT EVEN KNOWING WHAT THE RAILROAD LOOKED LIKE TO FIFTY/FIFTY-ONE WHEN I FINISHED. … IT WAS A PRETTY COMPATIBLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE AND AS IT TURNED OUT THE MANAGER OF THE HOCKEY TEAM WAS YARDMASTER HERE SO KNOWING THE BOSS KIND OF HELPED A LITTLE BIT. HE WAS LOOKING AFTER THE YARDS AND HE WAS THE MANAGER OF THE JUNIOR HOCKEY TEAM UNTIL HE RETIRED FROM THE RAILROAD. IT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK, PEOPLE TREATED YOU RIGHT.” STEAM ENGINES WERE STILL IN USE WHEN HE FIRST STARTED: “[THE STEAM ENGINES] WERE WHEN I FIRST STARTED YES. FROM STARTING IN THE SHOP YOU GREW UP TO BE ON A FIRE AND THEN ENGINES AND JUST ABOUT THAT TIME THE DIESEL ENGINES WERE COMING IN AND OPERATING AND [IT WAS A] TOTALLY DIFFERENT RAILROAD FROM A HAND-FIRED COAL ENGINE TO A DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE. SO, IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING AND IT EITHER COULD BE AS GOOD AS YOU WANTED OR AS BAD AS YOU WANTED. KINDA HAD NO BOSSES IN THE RAILROAD - YOU WERE KIND OF THE CREW - YOU HAD TO LIKE THE JOB OR YOU DIDN’T STAY THERE. AND I LIKED THE RAILROAD, LIKED THE TRAVELLING, TRAVELLING IN THE ENGINES AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD GIVE THEIR EYE TEETH TO GET UP ON ONE OF THEM ENGINES, RIDE UP TO CROWSNEST AND IN THE MOUNTAINS.” HE WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVES GO OUT OF SERVICE: “IF YOU HAD YOUR CHOICE TO GO ON A STEAM ENGINE ON A TRIP, GETTING ON A DIESEL ENGINE WAS A LOT EASIER THAN GETTING ON AN OLD COAL ENGINE, COAL-FIRED ENGINE, WHERE YOU BASICALLY TOOK COAL AND THREW IT IN THE BOILER. YOU TOOK IT FROM A CAR RIGHT BEHIND YOU AND PUT THE COAL IN THE ENGINES THEN BOIL IT AND THAT’S WHERE ALL THE POWER CAME FROM.” BY 1975, ARNOLD WAS WORKING AS AN ENGINEER FIREMAN AND CONTINUED TO RECEIVE ON THE JOB TRAINING: “YEAH, ALL ON-THE-JOB TRAINING. MOST OF IT - THERE WAS OTHER THINGS GOING ON BUT THE BASIC THING WAS DOING TRAINING AS AN ENGINEER TO BECOME AN ENGINEER. IT WAS WHERE I WANTED TO BE, WAS AN ENGINEER, AND THE RAILROAD WORKS IN SENIORITY - THEY DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE EVEN BETTER, YOU HAD TO WORK YOUR WAY THROUGH. WHEN THEY NEEDED YOU, YOU GOT THE BEST JOB WHEN YOU GOT MORE SENIORITY. IT WASN’T NECESSARILY ALWAYS THE BEST GUY [THAT] GOT IT, SENIORITY PREVAILED ON THE RAILROAD AND YOU GOT YOUR JOBS AS YOU BECAME OLDER … THE BETTER JOBS BEING MAYBE A DIESEL ENGINES ON ONE JOB AND A FIREMAN ON THE OTHER JOB.” HE RECALLED A COUPLE OF ACCIDENTS WHILE WORKING ON THE RAILROAD: WHILE WORKING AS AN ENGINEER, ARNOLD’S TRAIN HIT A CAR ON THE TRACKS NEAR BLAIRMORE AND HE RECALLED SEEING THE EYES OF THE CAR DRIVER: “I LOOKED UP AND [SAW] HER EYES LOOKING AT [ME].” ARNOLD REMEMBERED THAT ONE OF THE SCARIEST ROUTES WAS THE ONE GOING TO PINCHER CREEK, WHERE THERE WAS A HILL WITH A 2.3 GRADE, WHICH MADE CONTROLLING THE TRAIN CHALLENGING. HE SAID: “YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU’D SET THE BRAKE, YOU HAD CONTROL OVER IT BUT IT WAS SUCH A HILL AND SUCH A HEAVY TRAIN BEHIND YOU THAT IT WAS SCARY SOMETIMES … THAT WAS A VERY INTERESTING TRIP DOWN THERE THEN WITH THE DOWN 2.3 GRADE AND THEN 100,000 TON POTASH BEHIND YOU, PUSHING YOU. … YOU KNOW TRAINS STOP BUT IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO STOP … EVERY BRAKE ON THE TRAIN IS ON AND YOU’D STILL GO ANOTHER HALF A MILE DOWN THE TRACK. NOBODY COULD BELIEVE YOU WHY YOU COULDN’T STOP THAT THING – IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY – YOU COULD HARDLY EXPLAIN THAT IT TAKES THAT LONG TO STOP A TRAIN, BUT IT DOES.” HE ALSO RECALLED A RUNAWAY TRAIN THAT HE WAS CALLED IN TO HELP WITH: “THEY STOPPED AT COLEMAN TO SET A CAR OFF AND DIDN’T PUT THE BRAKES ON [AND] THE AIR SLEAKED OFF [OF] THE AIRBRAKES … YOU HAD TO HAVE THE COMPRESSORS WORKING TO KEEP THE TRAINS PUMPED UP TO KEEP [THE] BRAKES ON AND IT STARTED CREEPING DOWN.” HE CONTINUED SAYING THAT THE TRAIN STARTED “GOING BACKWARDS AND AS THE HILL GOT A LITTLE STEEPER [THE TRAIN] GOT GOING FASTER AND IT CAME DOWN TO LUNDBRECK WHERE YOU GO ACROSS THE RIVER THERE [AT] THE BRIDGE. [AT] THAT TIME, I WAS MANAGEMENT, [SO] I GOT IN A CAR AND WENT UP THERE AND TOLD THEM EXACTLY WHERE THAT TRAIN WAS GOING TO BE. [THE TRAIN WAS MOVING] TOO FAST TO GO ON THE REVERSE CURVE JUST COMING INTO LUNDBRECK AND IT FLEW LIKE A PLANE INTO THE RIVER THERE.” IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT THE TRAIN WAS TRAVELLING AT MORE THAN SEVENTY MILES PER HOUR. ARNOLD SAID: “THERE’S A REVERSE CURVE JUST BEFORE YOU GET TO LUNDBRECK. [THE TRAIN] LIFTED UP QUITE A BIT BECAUSE IT WAS GOING WAY TOO FAST AND THEN WHEN IT REVERSED THE OTHER SIDE, IT DIDN’T COME DOWN ON THE RAILS - IT LIFTED AND EVERY CAR ENDED UP IN THE LUNDBRECK RIVER.” FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING DETAILS ABOUT JOYCE ERVIN’S TIME WITH THE CPR, AND INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20150023000

Acquisition Date

2015-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail