Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SAFETY VEST, "CP HOME SAFETY"

Date Range From

2020

Date Range To

2021

Materials

POLYESTER, REFLECTIVE TAPE, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

1

Length

64.1

Width

63

Description

ORANGE SAFETY VEST WITH SILVER REFLECTIVE TAPE RUNNING DIAGONALLY OVER THE SHOULDERS AND MID SECTION OF THE VEST. IT FEATURES TWO, SHORT HORIZONTAL BLACK LOOPS FIXED BELOW THE SHOULDERS, AND HAS THREE POCKETS -ONE ON THE RIGHT BREAST AND TWO ON THE VEST’S BOTTOM WHICH ARE SECURED BY VELCRO STRAPS. BACK TAG INSIDE THE NECK IS MISSING. ON THE LEFT BREAST OF THE VEST IS A LOGO IN SILVER REFLECTIVE MATERIAL READING “CP HOME SAFE”. OUTSIDE EDGE OF FRONT LEFT POCKET ARE TWO SMALL MANUFACTURERS TAGS- ONE READS “WORK KING SAFETY” IN WHITE AND RED LETTERING, SECOND TAG READS “3M SCOTCHLITE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL”. ON THE INSIDE OF THE VEST THERE IS A TAG WITH TEXTILE INFORMATION. THE VEST IS FASTENED BY AN ORANGE ZIPPER RUNNING ALONG THE FRONT. IT HAS SIGNIFICANT STAINS AND SOILING MOST NOTICEABLE ON THE FRONT OF THE VEST AROUND THE LOWER SECTION OF IT.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

TRANSPORTATION

History

ON OCTOBER 21, 2021 KEVIN MACLEAN, THE GALT’S COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, MET WITH DONOR BRETT CAMPBELL TO DISCUSS HIS DONATION OF TWO ITEMS HE WORE WHILE WORKING AS A CARPENTER BRIDGEMAN INSPECTING BRIDGES FOR THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY (C.P RAIL). CAMPBELL IS BASED OUT OF THE C.P. RAILWAY’S KIPP YARDS NEAR COALHURST, ALBERTA. HE HAS BEEN WORKING FOR C.P RAIL SINCE 2006. THIS SAFETY VEST WAS A PART OF THE SAFETY EQUIPMENT WORN BY CAMPBELL WHILE HE INSPECTED BRIDGES FOR THE C.P. RAIL BETWEEN 2020 AND 2021 ACROSS SOUTHERN ALBERTA. CAMPBELL WENT INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE LIFECYCLE OF HIS SAFETY VESTS SAYING: “I’D SAY THAT IT WAS IN USE FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS. THERE’S TIMES I’VE HAD TO REPLACE ‘EM AFTER A MONTH, EVEN. IT DEPENDS ON THE JOB. I WAS WEARING THIS IN 2021 AND 2020 BECAUSE I… WAS WEARING ANOTHER VEST.” HE EXPLAINED HIS REASONS TO DONATE THE VEST SAYING: “THIS [VEST] NEEDS TO BE REPLACED… IT IS FAIRLY DIRTY, NOW. A LOT OF THIS WAS FROM WHEN I WAS DOING SOME INSPECTIONS AND CRAWLING AROUND, YOU ARE RUBBING AGAINST THE GIRDERS AND THE STRINGERS AND IT’S RUBBING OFF A LOT IN THERE.” IN HIS INTERVIEW CAMPBELL DISCUSSED HOW HE FIRST STARTED WORKING FOR C.P. RAIL IN 2006: “15 YEARS AGO, I JUST HAPPENED TO BE LOOKING FOR JOBS IN THE PAPER, AND [I] HAPPENED TO COME ACROSS AN AD LOOKING FOR BRIDGEMEN FOR C.P. RAIL. AT THE TIME, I’M LIKE, WHAT IS A BRIDGEMAN? IT SOUNDED VERY INTERESTING. I ALWAYS THOUGHT I WOULD LOVE TO GET ON WITH C.P. RAIL; [THERE IS] A LOT OF HISTORY AROUND HERE. [I] SENT IN MY APPLICATION AND IT PROBABLY TOOK ABOUT A MONTH BEFORE I HEARD SOMETHING BACK, AND THEN THEY [C.P. RAIL] ASKED FOR SOME REFERENCES. I GAVE THAT, AND SOME MORE INFORMATION… I DIDN’T THINK I’D GOT THE JOB. I JUST KEPT WORKING AT MY REGULAR JOB AND THEN, FINALLY, THEY CALLED ME IN AND SAID, ‘YEAH, YOU’VE BEEN APPROVED. WE WANT AN INTERVIEW NOW.’ SO, I CAME IN FOR AN INTERVIEW. THERE’S THREE GUYS SET UP AT A TABLE… IN A BOARDROOM; WE WERE DOWN AT THE HOLIDAY INN, AND THEY ASKED ME ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS, AS IN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THIS SITUATION, SAFETY-WISE? THEY LIKED WHAT I SAID… AND THEY LIKED ME SO…I GOT THE JOB.” BRETT CAMPBELL DISCUSSED THE KIND OF TRAINING THAT HE RECEIVED WHEN STARTING WORK AS A BRIDGEMAN SAYING THAT: “FIRST THING… I GOT TRAINED ON WAS RADIO ETIQUETTE…YOU HAVE TO BE THERE A YEAR BEFORE YOU CAN GET WHAT THEY CALL A D-COURSE; THAT’S WHERE YOU TALK TO THE TRAINMEN. SO, I COULDN’T GET THAT YET BUT I WAS STILL ALLOWED TO ANSWER THE RADIO… ANOTHER COURSE WAS FALL PROTECTION, OBVIOUSLY. I HAD TO TAKE THAT.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT IF ANYONE IN HIS FAMILY WORKED WITH C.P. RAIL BEFORE HIM, CAMPBELL RESPONDED: “MY DAD DID WORK FOR THE COMPANY. HE WAS ON IT FOR, I BELIEVE, FIVE YEARS, WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN BACK IN THE 60S, I BELIEVE… HE WAS A CONDUCTOR AND THEN… HE DID IT FOR FIVE YEARS AND THEN HIS DAD NEEDED MORE HELP ON THE FARM SO HE QUIT AND WENT BACK TO FARMING.” CAMPBELL’S FIRST JOB AS A BRIDGEMAN WAS INSTALLING HAND RAILS ON TO THE MONARCH BRIDGE. HE DESCRIBED THE JOB AS SUCH: “ONE OF MY FIRST JOBS WAS WORKING ON THE MONARCH BRIDGE, PUTTING UP HANDRAIL… THERE WAS NO HANDRAIL AT THE TIME. IT WAS A LITTLE INTIMIDATING, GETTING UP THERE AND BEING AT A HEIGHT LIKE THAT… BUT, I ENJOYED IT.” HE WENT INTO FURTHER DETAIL ABOUT THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING HANDRAILS ON TO THE BRIDGE: “EACH HANDRAIL, UPRIGHT, IS GONNA HAVE LIKE A LITTLE SHOE-PLATE ON IT THAT’S, LET’S SAY, TWO FEET BY SIX INCHES, AND IT JUST SITS ON TOP AND YOU LAG BOLT IT DOWN ON TOP OF A TIMBER. WE CALL ‘EM TIMBERS, ON TOP OF A BRIDGE… THEY’RE PRETTY BIG… YOU LAG ‘EM DOWN AND THEN YOU PUT UP A HANDRAIL THAT RUNS ALONG THE UPRIGHTS.” ABOUT THE TEAM HE WORKED WITH HE ADDED: “THERE WAS ME - I WAS THE ONLY BRIDGEMAN. WE HAD, WHAT YOU CALL, A BRIDGE CARPENTER; THAT’S SOMEONE THAT HAS THEIR CARPENTER TICKET… WE HAD… AN ELECTRICIAN, AND THEN, THE FOREMAN [AND] WE GOT A 10-TONNE TRUCK DRIVER.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT BRIDGEMEN BEFORE HIM CAMPBELL REPLIED, “BEFORE MY TIME, I WOULD SAY MORE BACK IN THE ‘90S AND ‘80S AND EARLIER… [WE] HAD A TEAM IN LETHBRIDGE, FROM WHAT I HEARD, AT LEAST 35 GUYS... I HAVE MET ONE FELLOW. HE WOULD COME BY THE YARD ONCE IN AWHILE, WHEN I FIRST STARTED, AND THEN A YEAR AFTER HE PASSED… THE REST…MOVED AWAY OR THEY PASSED AWAY. CAMPBELL WENT INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE SCOPE OF HIS WORK WHICH INCLUDES HANDRAIL AND TIMBER REPLACEMENT PLUS HIS SUPPORT OF THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL BRIDGE INSPECTIONS: “WE HAVE AN INSPECTION TRUCK, STRICTLY FOR INSPECTIONS…BUT THERE’S A TIME WE HAVE TO SCHEDULE [THE TRUCK DRIVER] IN. HE WILL COME SPEND, LIKE SOMETIMES A MONTH IN THIS AREA… THAT’S WHEN WE JUMP IN THE MAN-BASKET, SOMETIMES ONE OR TWO OF US. HE DRIVES OUT ONTO THE BRIDGE AND THEN TAKES US UNDER AND THEN ONCE WE GET PART-WAY UNDER, WE TAKE CONTROL OF THE CONTROLS FROM THERE. WE JUST GO UNDERNEATH [A BRIDGE] AND WE LOOK AROUND, WE INSPECT, AND SEE IF THERE’S ANY DEFECTS. THEN, WE TELL [THE DRIVER] TO MOVE ALONG. WHEN WE’RE NOT UNDERNEATH INSPECTING, WE COME UP AND WE’LL WALK THE BRIDGE AND WE LOOK FOR… MISSING HOOK BOLTS. THOSE ARE BOLTS THAT WILL GO ON THE END OF A TIMBER, EVERY FOURTH TIMBER. IT GOES THROUGH THE TIMBER, THEY’RE ABOUT 18 INCHES LONG, AND UNDERNEATH THEY HOOK ONTO THE BEAM. [THEY ARE] WHAT BASICALLY HOLDS THE BRIDGE DECK DOWN. SO, WE MUST… MAKE SURE THOSE ARE IN PLACE. WE ALSO GOTTA MAKE SURE THERE’S TIE SPACES IN PLACE- THESE ARE BLOCKS THAT GO BETWEEN EVERY [TIMBER]. IF THEY’RE NOT, I HAVE TO MEASURE BETWEEN EVERY TIMBER, GO BACK, CUSTOM-CUT [A TIE], AND THEN GET A PIECE OF METAL THAT IT FITS IN, THAT SITS ON TOP, BETWEEN TWO TIMBERS. WHEN YOU ARE DONE INSPECTIONS [OF A BRIDGE], YOU HAVE TO… SEND THE DATA OFF… AND THEN ANOTHER PERSON LOOKS AT IT.” SUMMARIZING HIS EXPERIENCE OF WORKING AS A BRIDGEMAN FOR C.P RAIL CAMPBELL SAID: “I WORK FOR C.P RAIL AND I CAN, ONE DAY, BE IN THE YARD WORKING, [AND] ONE DAY BE OVER BY MEDICINE HAT WORKING ON A BRIDGE - SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. OR, I COULD BE OVER IN THE CROWSNEST PASS, INSPECTING. YOU KNOW, I JUST ENJOY BEING ABLE TO MOVE AROUND…THAT’S WHAT I LOVE; NOT JUST BEING IN ONE PLACE AND I LOVE DOING ALL THAT WORK.”

Catalogue Number

P20210011001

Acquisition Date

2021-10

Collection

Museum

Less detail