By 1923, much of the basic groundwork of consolidating the operations of CN's constituent lines was complete. However, a great deal of fine-tuning remained to be done, and that took the better part of a decade. The timetables, work rules, salaries, and services of the various railroads were to be adjusted to conform across the country. Many of the lines assembled in the new railroad had been built close together to compete for the same traffic, and much of the track belonging to the smaller, less prosperous railroads was in a dilapidated state.

Canada's first radio network

CN's second president, Sir Henry Thornton, was just the man to hammer it into shape. Appointed in 1922, Sir Henry was an American railroader who had been knighted by King George V for his work in managing Britain's transportation during World War I.

Sir Henry launched an aggressive drive to attract passengers with an array of innovative services. In 1923, he established the first radio network in Canada to entertain train travelers. Through receivers and headsets aboard specially equipped cars, passengers would listen to programs broadcast by one of CN's eight radio stations located across the country. The radio network, the first in North America, became the basis of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.


Passengers listen to CN's radio network on an observation car of the transcontinental train, 1927.


Harvest Excursion Trains and Silk Trains

The railway's new colonization and agriculture department encouraged immigrants to settle near CN lines and helped them succeed in a new, often difficult environment. CN ran "harvest excursion trains," carrying hundred of young men from Eastern Canada to the Prairies, where they would help grain farmers bring in their crops.

Like several other North American railroads, CN operated "silk trains" during this period. Faster than any other trains at the time, they carried highly perishable raw silk that had been imported from Japan all the way from Vancouver to New York. Silk trains had priority over all other trains. With fuel and water stops held to no more than 10 minutes, they could make the transcontinental journey in just 80 hours.

In 1928, CN introduced Canada's first main line diesel locomotive, a year before they appeared in the United States. These first diesels, which bore CN numbers 9000 and 9001, operated between Montreal and Toronto, with bursts of 80 miles (130 kilometers) an hour.