On 17th January 1930, the Canadian Pacific Railway, (CPR) applied for licenses
1/17/2012 at 7:43 AM
to operate Radio Stations in eleven cities from coast-to-coast for the purpose of organizing its own Radio Network in order to compete with the opposing Canadian National Railway, (CNR) Radio Service.
The CNR had built a Radio Network which had opened on 1st June 1923 with the urging of CNR President, Sir Henry Thornton. The aim was to promote itself as well as entertain its Passengers during their travels, especially on its coast-to-coast transcontinental line.
The General Public could also receive the Broadcasts if they lived in the vicinity of a CN Radio Station.
On the 9th October 1923, the CNR Network made International news when it broadcast the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George being interviewed by Reporters while traveling an a train from Montreal, bound for Toronto.
On 27th December 1928 CN Radio broadcast the first regularly scheduled cost-to-coast network program, and by the end of 1929 there were three hours of national programming broadcast every week.
CN Radio used existing technology to connect its Stations by utilizing its already established network of Telegraph Lines which were run alongside the tracks.
The CPR had left it too late to organize their Broadcast System because with the onset of the Great Depression the CPR's financial plan was damaged, and financing for a rival project was withheld. By April 1930 they withdrew their applications for Stations in all but Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg.
CPR did not pursuing these applications either, but instead operated a Phantom Station in Toronto known as "CPRY," with the initials standing for "Canadian Pacific Royal York" which operated out of Studios at CPR's Royal York Hotel, and leased broadcast time on Radio Stations CFRB, and CKGW.
During the first half of the 1930’s, a network of Affiliates carried the CPR’s Radio Broadcasts, but the takeover of CNR's Radio Service by the new Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission removed CPR's need to have a network for competitive reasons, and therefore in 1935 CPR's radio service was discontinued.
Note: A Phantom Radio Station was used in the early days of Radio Broadcasting. A Broadcast Company which did not own or operate a Radio Transmitter, but was licensed to Broadcast could Lease time from
an existing Physical Station. The Phantom Broadcaster’s licensee's call letters were used only during the period of Leased time from the facilities of the Physical Station.
Source:
CNR radio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNR_Radio
CPR Radio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway#Radio