Cigarettes on Canadian Trains in the Past

CPR’s Luxury Smoking Cars (1929)

In 1929, the Canadian Pacific Railway introduced a series of 15 opulent sleeping cars built at National Steel Car in Hamilton for $66,300 apiece[citation:1]. These “River” class cars represented the pinnacle of railway luxury. They featured:

• 🪑 Leather-upholstered smoking rooms — dedicated spaces where gentlemen could smoke in comfort[citation:1]
• 🚿 Individual ladies’ and gentlemen’s showers — unheard of luxury in the 1920s[citation:1]
• 🪞 Ladies’ lounge and observation parlour — a refined space for women, separate from the smoking areas[citation:1]
• 🌞 High-windowed solarium furnished with eight leather chairs, featuring “health-giving VITA GLASS Sun Parlors” — an era before UV rays were considered harmful[citation:1]

The cars were unusual because they contained no revenue-producing space — they were completely for passenger comfort[citation:1]. Unfortunately, due to the deepening Great Depression, CP cancelled the Trans-Canada Limited in 1931 and mothballed most of these cars as too expensive to operate[citation:1].

The Dedicated Smoking Coach (1937)

In 1937-38, Canadian Pacific built a unique smoking coach designated #1700. This 73-foot, 10.5-inch car was specifically classified as a “smoking coach” with exactly half its seats — 36 — reserved for smokers and the other half for non-smokers[citation:8]. Its first service was on the Calgary-Edmonton route, suggesting it was designed to meet specific local needs[citation:8]. In 1968, the car was renumbered #840 and put into Montreal commuter service, where its air conditioning was removed and windows were installed that could open — a concession to the changing ventilation needs of the era[citation:8].

The BCER Interurban: Gender and Class on the Tracks

The BC Electric Railway’s interurban trams that raced between urban centres opened up the world to women — but also restricted them in significant ways[citation:7]. All BCER Interurban trams were designed with Smoking and No Smoking sections. In the 1910s and 1920s, the Smoking section was an unofficial “men’s only” part of each tram car because at the time, women who smoked were seen as morally dubious and few dared to challenge this notion[citation:7].

• 🪑 Non-smoking section: Featured special “transit weave” rattan seats designed to prevent snagging of women’s stockings when rattan fibres frayed[citation:7]
• 🪵 Smoking section: Had simple wooden seats, considered less comfortable — but they were where men gathered[citation:7]
• 👊 Gender tension: There are stories of women who tried to sit in the wooden seats of the Smoking section to avoid the fraying rattan — they were “unceremoniously pushed out of the Smoking section by men wanting to preserve their domain”[citation:7]
• 💨 Ventilation: Car ceilings featured metal rings — these were actually exhaust fans to draw smoke out of the car[citation:9]
• 🔥 Match-striking strips: Smoking car windows had designated rough strips where passengers could strike their matches[citation:9]

The Post-War Era (1954)

In 1954, Canadian National Railways placed a large order of passenger equipment from Pullman-Standard and Canadian Car & Foundry[citation:2]. These new cars featured a striking black/green/gold paint scheme and were designed with modern amenities, including dedicated smoking compartments.

• 🪑 Seating capacity: 52 passengers in the main seating area
• 🚬 Smoking compartment: Seats for an additional 24 passengers in a separate smoking compartment[citation:2]
• 🎨 Iconic livery: The black/green/gold paint scheme became one of the most recognizable in Canadian railway history

Blueprints of a Smoking Era (1950)

Technical drawings from 1950 reveal the careful engineering that went into segregating smokers from non-smokers on Canadian National trains. A manufacturing plan by Canadian Car and Foundry Company Limited shows detailed ceiling layouts for first-class coaches — with clearly marked smoking and non-smoking rooms[citation:6]. These architectural decisions were not afterthoughts; they were integrated into the core design of passenger cars.

The Decline of Smoking on Trains (1960s-1970s)

By the 1960s, attitudes toward smoking were beginning to shift. In 1969, Transport Minister Paul Hellyer confirmed in the House of Commons that “the restriction on cigarette smoking in passenger carrying equipment used in intercity service has not been enforced in many years”[citation:10]. However, smoking was still not permitted on commuter trains operating in certain areas where older equipment was in use[citation:10].

• 📅 1969: Minister confirms smoking restrictions not enforced on intercity trains[citation:10]
• 🚫 Commuter restrictions: Older equipment still had smoking bans due to inadequate ventilation[citation:10]
• 🔄 1976 innovation: CN introduced “mobile separators” — movable dividers that could be adjusted based on the number of smoking and non-smoking passengers in any given car[citation:4]
• 🚭 Turbo train innovation: CN set aside two entire cars on every turbo train as non-smoking cars[citation:4]
• ✅ 1990s: Complete smoking bans gradually implemented across all Canadian passenger rail

The War of the Seats: Women vs. Smoking Section

One of the most telling anecdotes from BCER tram history involves the special rattan seats in the non-smoking section. These seats were woven in a diagonal “transit weave” designed specifically to prevent snagging of women’s stockings when old rattan fibres frayed[citation:7].

However, there are stories of women on BCER trams who tried to sit in the wooden seats of the Smoking section to avoid the fraying rattan. They were “unceremoniously pushed out of the Smoking section by men wanting to preserve their domain”[citation:7].

From the 1920s, tobacco companies began campaigns to glamourize smoking, including linking it to weight-loss, women’s equality, and Hollywood movie stars. This changed societal attitudes in the process. By the 1930s and 1940s, it became more acceptable for women to light up a cigarette. Gradually women joined men in the Smoking section[citation:7].

The Infamous Government Train Incident (1919)

On April 25, 1919, MP Archibald Blake McCoig rose in the House of Commons to complain about a remarkable incident of railway privilege. Before the departure from Toronto to Ottawa of the 10:55 Canadian Northern train, McCoig had wired from Chatham for a berth — but was denied[citation:5].

• 🚂 Three private cars were attached to the train: one carrying the Minister of Finance, one carrying the Minister of Militia, and a third carrying the Chairman of the Railway Board[citation:5]
• 🛏️ 50 people were unable to get sleeping berths because of these special cars[citation:5]
• 🔥 Train derailed before reaching Smith’s Falls — a wreck that McCoig believed was “evidencing its disgust with the action of the Government”[citation:5]
• 🍳 After the wreck: The ministers in their private cars had breakfast while other passengers watched “through the windows, with empty stomachs”[citation:5]

Match-Stripping Strips and Exhaust Fans

The BCER trams had two ingenious features related to smoking. First, smoking car windows were equipped with designated rough strips where passengers could strike their matches — a small but important detail from an era before reliable lighters[citation:9]. Second, the ceiling metal rings visible today in preserved trams were actually exhaust fans designed to draw smoke out of the car[citation:9].

From Railway Lounges to Your Doorstep

The era of leather smoking lounges on CPR trains is long gone. Today’s smokers face a different reality: plain packaging, retail display bans, and sky-high taxes. But one thing remains constant: the desire for affordable, quality tobacco.

• 🛒 Convenient online ordering: No need to hunt for a smoking car — Cigstore.ca delivers to your door.
• 🪶 Indigenous-owned: Supporting First Nations economic development with every purchase.
• 💰 Massive savings: $29-55 per carton vs. $140-180 for commercial brands.
• 🚚 Fast Canada-wide delivery: $29 flat shipping (free over $290) to every province, including Newfoundland & Labrador and Yukon.