Caption: CP is well known for operating their stainless steel passenger cars across Canada, but CN also had a few of their own as well: in 1962 CN purchased a set of stainless steel Budd passenger cars from the Reading Railroad, previously used on their "Crusader" train. The cars consisting of the full 5 car consist of two coaches, a diner, and two observation cars (the idea was to have an observation at either end to be able to run around the train, rather than wye or turn it). Once refurbished and branded under the "Champlain" name, the set was initially used in service between Montreal and Quebec City, but later appeared on some of the southern Ontario corridor trains. There was also a regular CN baggage car painted black and silver to match this consist (not shown here). The five cars (300-304) survived into the VIA era until retired in 1982, although they never did wear VIA blue. Three of the cars were sold for scrap, but the observations were resold and survive in the US: one at a museum and another on a dinner train.

Here we see CN "VIA" 74 with GP9 4103 leading an F9B, 4 of the 5 Crusader cars (including an observation), and some regular steel CN & VIA cars at Hyde Park, just east of Denfield Road near London Ontario. Instead of wying the train at the end of its run, CN often just wyed or ran the power around and pulled the train back from the other end, hence the observation car right behind the B-unit and the baggage car trailing.

Not factoring in the hoard of self-propelled CN RDC units, the former Crusader passenger cars made for an interesting glimmer in the sea of CN white and red (and later VIA blue and yellow).