▚ A government creation
Canadian National was assembled between 1918 and 1923 by the Canadian government out of a handful of bankrupt railways — the Grand Trunk, the Canadian Northern, and others — to keep the country's rail network alive. It became a coast-to-coast system and a Crown corporation for most of its life.
▚ The wet noodle
In 1960 CN adopted one of the most enduring corporate logos in the world — the flowing "CN" that railfans affectionately call the "wet noodle." It has survived unchanged for over sixty years.
▚ Privatized and expanding
CN was privatized in 1995 and became aggressively acquisitive, buying Illinois Central, Wisconsin Central, and BC Rail, and reaching all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Today it is Canada's largest railway.
▚ On this layout
CN is a big roster in both scales — Dash 8-40CMs and CWs, ES44ACs, an ET44AC, SD70ACe, SD40-2Ws, C44-9Ws, RS18s, C424s, GP38-2s, and a GMD-1. The wet noodle runs here in force.