The Unreal Qualities of NTV Archives The article discusses the unreal qualities of NTV archives and the loss of the Newfoundland railway. It's been a pleasure to work in the archives of NTV over the years. Knowing who we were helps us understand who we are. I'll share something that may shock you - the archives have an unreal quality to them, especially in the early years. Television in Newfoundland and Labrador started in the mid-1950s and the early offerings are preserved in black and white. We didn't live in a black and white world. A great portion of the archives, the stories preserved in black and white, come from the early days of television. This is true of the loss of our Newfoundland railway, a story I know well.I worked at the railway for several years, from office work to working in the dining cars of the old cross-island express. I was on one of the last runs of the train. It was in July 1969, and it wasn't actually the last run but the second last. We went from St. John's to Port aux Basques as a working crew in the dining car but 'deadheaded' back to St John's.The train pulled into the station in St. John's and my work with CN was finished. This story of the trains in Newfoundland, as presented, is something of an illusion. The railway was never a black and white world. It was a world of rich colour, with trees, towns, rivers, and the Atlantic Ocean all around.When I wasn't working, I would stand out on the 'break' and watch the world go by. The whole thing was filled with colour and layered sounds and smells. There was a distinct sound to the rails and brakes as the train ran over them. There was a smell of food in the dining car.Breakfast, dinner, and supper were served with good food. We had bacon in the morning, fried eggs in fat, and big roasts at dinner. Apple pies were cooked at the CNR bakery in St. John's and brought on board for the trip. The dining car was neat as a pin.I've included a colour picture of the interior of a dining car where I sometimes worked as a waiter. The men in the picture are full-time employees. The dress code called for neatly pressed black pants, a white shirt, a black necktie, a fresh white apron, and black well-shined shoes. If you were cool, you had a hand towel around your arm.The service was good, and people just stopped using the train because buses were a quicker way across the island of Newfoundland. I always say people liked everything about the train except actually buying tickets for it. Our dining car had six or seven waiters and a cook and a cook's helper, and in the final days, less than a dozen paying 'sleeper' passengers. If you had a sleeping berth, then dining car meals were part of the cost.If you were just riding in the coach seats of another car, the costs of meals in the dining car would keep you out. Sandwiches and soft drinks were sold 'in coach'. Enjoy the picture from the interior of the dining car during the glory days. Look at it and then close your eyes.You can almost hear the echo of a far-off whistle and that clickety-clack sound from a part of our heritage now gone