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The Canadian Railway Hall of Fame recently welcomed a former Canadian Pacific Railway photographer, retired Canadian National Railway Co. civil engineer, the Confederation Train and town of Mount Royal, Quebec, as part of this year's inductees to the "virtual" hall.

Created in 2002 by the Railway Association of Canada and accessible at railfame.ca, the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame elects inductees each year in four categories: heroes, technologies, leaders and communities.

The "heroes" category inductee is the late Nicholas Morant, who served as CPR's photographer for 44 years. During his career, he photographed hotels, steamships, trucks, airplanes, oil wells, mines and other facets of the railroad, creating a "photographic collection that chronicles the rich heritage of the Canadian Pacific," hall officials said in a prepared statement.

In the "technology" category, the hall inducted the Confederation Train, which in 1967 commemorated Canada's 100th anniversary as a nation. The train, comprising a diesel locomotive and eight coaches loaned by CN, featured colorful exterior "super graphics" on the cars.

The hall chose the railway civil engineer as this year's "leaders" inductee. Late CPR engineer J.E. Schwitzer and retired CN engineer Ron Bailey will represent the category.

"Historical engineering works ... remain a legacy to the contribution of such individuals [and] modern engineering programs, such as those led by Mr. Bailey on behalf of CN during the 1980s, ensured continued capacity and efficiency for railway companies dealing with today's burgeoning growth," hall officials said.

Finally, "community" category inductee Mount Royal was established by the Canadian Northern Railway to help finance the Mount Royal Tunnel Project. The tunnel still is used today by commuter-rail trains heading into downtown Montreal through Central Station.

The hall also presented a special award to author Donald Bain. In the late 1970s, Bain spearheaded the production of the "Canadian Pacific in the Rockies," a photographic publication that eventually led to companion books covering the history of CPR, CN, regionals and U.S. railroads' Canadian operations.