History
In the earlier years of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the company was forced to build special cars for its officials as it did not have old passenger equipment to convert for official use. The solution was to design a short version of a business car to use by divisional Superintendents. As a result, 22 cars like No. 27 were constructed over a period of 12 years.
Car 27 was built in 1907 at CP's Farnham, Quebec in the Eastern Townships. Constructed of wood, the car is 35 ft long.
In 1929, the car was purchased by the Thurso and Nation Valley Railway (T&NVR) for use by it's officials to travel into the woodlands north of Thurso, Quebec. The car was used intermittently over the years, and was included for special excursions by the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA) in the 1960s, and later by the Bytown Railway Society in the late 1970s. By 1979, the car was in poor shape and T&NVR was seriously considering scrapping it by burning it.
During a BRS fall trip in 1979, the Society offered to restore the car if T&NVR would donate it to the Society. T&NVR agreed and went even further by offering the use of their shop for the restoration project.
As the restoration progressed over several years, T&NVR even provided much of the wood necessary as well as other materials and tools required for the extensive restoration work. The Society owes a debt of gratitude for all the support and assistance T&NVR provided.
Following Car 27's restoration, Society members occasionally enjoyed a trip on the T&NVR including several weekend outings into the wilderness where the car and the Society's caboose were parked on a siding and participants left to enjoy several days in the wilds.