gmane.recreation.railway.canadian-passenger

Re: Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

Eric — 2013-05-25T00:46:51

Knut, if it adds to the possibility of meeting a dimensional load or loads, these are usually a few cars behind the power, where the crew can keep an eye on them.

Eric

--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, Knut <knut< at >...> wrote:




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OS: VIA #78, 81, and 88

db5355 — 2013-05-25T00:22:16

Friday 24 May, 2013
London VIA Station
VIA #78   OT
905  P42DC
3467 LRC Club
3303 LRC Coach
3351 LRC Coach
3305 LRC Coach
(4 cars)

VIA #81
920  P42DC
8618 HEP-I Baggage
4003 HEP-II Club 02
4004 HEP-II Club 03
4119 HEP-II Coach 04
4113 HEP-II Coach 05
4116 HEP-II Coach
(6 cars)

VIA #88
6427 F40PH
8135 HEP-I Coach
4000 HEP-II Club
3370 LRC Coach *
3361 LRC Coach *
3348 LRC Coach *
3472 LRC Club  *
6457 F40PH
(6 cars)
* - from today's #83

Doug Bardeau



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    C

Re: Ocean trip report

Terry — 2013-05-24T23:27:31

Tom I experienced the same situation a few years back with a Ren Sleeper 
door not closing properly & the light leak into the room. When I did the 
overnighter many years ago on the 2330 Train Tor-Mtrl the carpet in the room 
was soaked as the shower water was seeping under the shower door. I ended up 
having to put a towel up against the door to absorb the water from seeping 
under the door. 1.5 years ago when I did Mtrl-Hal all I could hear was 
creaking from under the body as something need to be greased.

So any idea why the Park car is closed off at 1030? On the Canadian they 
allow you to sit in the park car & it's never closed off.

1 Final question why is on the ocean every trip that I've done the sleeping 
car attendants never pull down the beds for you? It's always up to the 
passenger to pull down the beds at night. I kind of feel that the service on 
the Ocean is not as good as what it is on the Canadian.

I'll find out in a few weeks as I'll be on the ocean. 



---------------------------------

Re: MAJOR GO TRANSIT ANNOUNCEMENT

boxthom — 2013-05-24T23:20:45

On April 19, Barney Rubble (probably not his real name :-)
quoted an Ontario government press release:

The new timetables are now available.
East:
<http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/updates/30minute/Table09.pdf>
West:
<http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/updates/30minute/Table01.pdf>

This is a very significant increase in service.  I certainly
welcome it, but I wonder where the riders of these new trains
are going to park.  GO encourages people to take transit, bike
or walk to the station, but that's not possible for everybody,
and a great many users (including me, as an occasional user)
drive to the station and park their car there.  The Oshawa
station parking lot is usually completely full by 09:00 on
weekdays.  If you arrive in mid-morning, there's no place to
park.  I'm sure a similar problem exists at some other stations.
Daily commuters can pay for a reserved space, but that's not
practical for infrequent users.

I've never found Whitby to be completely full since GO built a
four-storey parking garag

Re: Ocean trip report

boxthom — 2013-05-24T23:01:07

Tim Hayman wrote:

They're made of accordion-folded paper, and I'm surprised they've
lasted this long.


On a Montreal - Quebec round trip in March, my cars in both
directions had had the original blinds replaced with new ones
made of a fine black mesh material.  The dining car on my
recent Ocean trip also had these new blinds.  They're quite
effective at screening out the glare of direct sunlight, but
they're not completely opaque, and I'm not sure they'd be
appropriate for a bedroom.


It was never completely full, but it was pretty well used.
On #15, there were several parents with children on a trip
from Halifax to Truro, while other parents drove to Truro to
pick them up for the return trip by car.  The kids were
well-behaved.  I suppose that short excursions like that will
not have access to the Park car in summer when Sleeper Plus
class returns, so now was a good time for such a trip.

Me:

Tim:

The Montreal arrival time changed from 08:30 to 09:05 in 2010,
and I'd hazard a guess that it may have be

Re: Province to fund repairs to Gaspé line

G Burridge — 2013-05-24T19:51:56

         The target users of the tourist train 
are passengers on coastal cruise ships(eastern US 
- St Lawrence river) that have Gaspe(town) as a stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Gerry Burridge - P.O. Box 152 - Pte.Claire, Que. - H9R 4N9 - CANADA
         Railways of Quebec City and South-Eastern Quebec:
          <http://pages.globetrotter.net/burridge/index.htm>
===================================================================== 



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Re: Ocean trip report

tim_hayman — 2013-05-24T19:18:16

Tom,

Thanks for the great trip report! Well detailed and interesting as always. I have just a couple of quick comments:

--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, "boxthom" <tbox< at >...> wrote:

I noticed the same thing in the 6th sleeper on my last trip, and confirmed that the car was indeed empty. I suspect they've added the 6th to prepare for the high season.


I've noticed a couple of rooms (when walking by on the platform in Montreal) that had the same thing done. VIA doesn't seem to have much of a supply of spare blinds, and those things tear easily. On my last trip in coach, the blind at my seat had been ripped and was patched together very crudely with staples. On another recent trip, I noticed that at least one seat had no blind at all, and that velcroed curtains had been used on one coach seat as well (can't remember which coach though).


That's good to hear. Glad you were able to enjoy the early morning in the dome! Did you find the dome to be well patronized over the

Bikes on VIA (Re: Corridor Baggage Cars)

boxthom — 2013-05-24T18:21:13

It remains to be seen if the baggage cars return to corridor
service in the fall when Touring Class ends on the Skeena.
I doubt that it's a sure thing.  If VIA thinks corridor
passengers can get along without a baggage car in the summer,
will they go back to running one (with the added cost of
hauling it) in the fall when more cars are available?


Reservia says those trains don't have baggage cars at all any
more.  The only corridor trains that do still have baggage cars
(according to the baggage icon on Reservia), but that don't
handle unboxed bicycles (judging by their absence from the list 
at <http://www.viarail.ca/en/bike>) are Montreal - Quebec #628
(weekends), the Montreal - Ottawa segment of #28 and 33 (weekdays),
Montreal - Ottawa #633 and 638 (Sunday), Toronto - Windsor #70
and 75, and Toronto - London #80 and 81 (the weekend variant of
#70/75).

#28 and 33 do handle unboxed bikes between Quebec and Montreal,
so they do have a baggage car with a bike rack, so I don't know
why they won't handle bi

Re: Bike Trains

sean_p_marshall — 2013-05-24T17:27:17

Peter, of course. GO Transit serves the casual cyclist very well (and without the $20 carriage fees). I've done some interesting rides using GO trains and buses - Uxbridge to Lindsay via former Midland/GTR/CN rail corridors (bus from Union Station to Uxbridge, bus and train from Peterborough via Oshawa) and Kitchener to Hamilton via the former CP GRR/LE&N electric lines and TH&B to downtown Hamilton. That trip I took the bike on the train to Bramalea (18:50 dep, after the weekday peaks bike curfew) and connecting bus to Kitchener. 

The Barrie summer train service opens up a few interesting opportunities as it connects to rail trails going as far as Orillia and Midland; and of course there's the Niagara service which I also enjoyed. 

Sean Marshall
Toronto

--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, "Peter D.A. Warwick" <peter1623a< at >...> wrote:




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Re: Province to fund repairs to Gaspé line

papoocanada — 2013-05-24T17:16:29


--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, "boxthom" <tbox< at >...> wrote:


Yes, what's the use of tourist train if there are 70 miles of impassable track  ?
*g







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Bike Trains

Peter D.A. Warwick — 2013-05-24T17:15:17

While VIA may have given up on the bicycle market, GO Transit hasn't. Virtually anywhere GO goes you can take your bicycle during off peak times. This is a surprisingly wide area. You could take the Niagara Falls GO Train and bicycle back to Toronto, for example. I'm thinking of possibly utilizing it for a day trip this summer. If they the early morning GO Train from Niagara Falls to Toronto I may take it to Toronto or Oakville and bicycle back.
 
Peter D. A. Warwick  
       

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Bikes on VIA (Re: Corridor Baggage Cars)

Sean Marshall — 2013-05-24T17:07:40

I'm in the middle of planning out my summer weekends; I really enjoyed
trying out the bike rack service last year between Toronto and Kingston.

I'm quite disappointed that VIA only now has one train a day (57/60) west
of Montreal offering this service, as I was planning to ride from Kingston
to Ottawa and ride the train back this year. I did read post #72441 where
the explanation was that baggage cars are being moved out west for the
Skeena.

That summer, I took train 44 to Kingston on Saturday July 28, which got me
in on time just after 14:30. Apart from the short section of John Counter
Road between the station and Portsmouth Avenue, it's quite pleasant to ride
to the city centre - several hotels downtown will accommodate bike storage.

I spent the Sunday riding on Wolfe Island and even took the ferry across to
Cape Vincent, New York - there's a nice park at a historic light house a
short ride from the US ferry dock. I rode back to Kingston Station and took
train 659 back, which allowed for a full day and

Ocean trip report

boxthom — 2013-05-24T15:11:38

I went to Halifax and back over the Victoria Day long weekend.
If it had been possible to take the train to Gaspé, I would have
gone there, but I didn't want to spend two days and a night in
New Carlisle, nor ride a bus to Gaspé and back, so Halifax it was.

VIA #60, 2013 May 17
dep Cobourg 12:54 (5 min late)
arr Montreal 17:02 (5 min late)

920 - P42 locomotive
8621 - HEP1 baggage car
4003 - HEP2 business class
4009 - HEP2 business class
4116 - HEP2 coach
4100 - HEP2 coach
4113 - HEP2 coach
4101 - HEP2 coach
4112 - HEP2 coach

In consists with two 40xx cars, it's common for the second one
to be used for economy class, but I think both were business
class on the above train.

VIA #14/16
dep Montreal 2013 May 17, 18:47 (2 min late)
arr Halifax 2013 May 18, 17:43 (25 min late)

6411 - F40 locomotive
6413 - F40 locomotive
*6456 - F40 locomotive
*8612 - HEP1 baggage car
*8112 - HEP1 coach
*8501 - Skyline dome-lounge
*Château Laval (30) - sleeping car
*Château Rouville (31) - sleeping car
7003 - Ren baggage c

CN/VIA dining car #1303

Derek — 2013-05-24T14:56:03

I am hoping for some enlightenment regarding what appears to have been a one-off dining car on the CN (and latterly, I presume VIA) roster, car # 1303.

This car emanated from the mammoth 1950s CNR order, and was modernized in 1964. There are several features which contribute to its uniqueness. For one, it has a vestibule at one end; somewhat rare for a dining car. It also has rather large men's and women's washrooms, and one small single bedroom, ostensibly for crew accommodation, according to the 'Canadian National Passenger Car Diagrams' book issued in 1967. The car seats 40 diners and the kitchen is just over 19 feet long, as opposed to the more standard 34 feet.

My guess is that is was purpose-rebuilt for a specific service, but clarification would be helpful.

Forgive me if this has been asked (and answered) on this board previously. 

All responses appreciated. 

Derek Thompson
Toronto, Ontario



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RE: SUPERLINERS NO LONGER USED ON AMTRAK VANCOUVER-SEATTLE ROUTE

Greg Menard — 2013-05-24T10:20:49

As of Thursday May 23, Superliner equipment is no longer used on Amtrak's trains 510 and 517 in/out of Vancouver. The 'Mt. Adams' Talgo set returned to those trains yesterday, May 23. The consist for Amtrak train #517 Thursday was as follows...
 
#467 F59 Unit
#7903 Power car
#7454 Business Class car
#7554 Business Class car with wheelchair lift
#7804 Dining Car
#7303 Bistro Car
#7504 Coach car with wheelchair lift
#7424 Coach car
#7423 Coach car
#7422 Coach car
#7421 Coach car
#7420 Coach car
#7102 Baggage car
#90278 Cab Control Unit
 
Cheers, Greg Vancouver B.C..

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

Terry — 2013-05-24T03:39:21

The blue on the 2 Park Cars resembles the Banff Park which has almost the 
same shade of blue. 



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Re: Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

Knut — 2013-05-24T01:37:45

Eric,

I think an extra wide freight is the most plausible explanation.

Some of the freight train was pretty close to my window. now that I think of it - it just didn't register at the time.

Knut

-----------------
On 2013-05-23, at 8:25 PM, Eric wrote:




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Re: Re: Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

Knut — 2013-05-24T01:34:12

Your probably right.

The load on some of the freight cars was awfully close - less than a foot I would guess.

------------------
On 2013-05-23, at 7:55 PM, G Burridge wrote:




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Re: Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

Eric — 2013-05-24T00:25:04

Hi Knut,

I've experienced this several times on the Kingston Sub, aboard VIA and trackside.  Some possible situations that might result in what you experienced:

-near Belleville, even with triple-tracking, VIA still waits occasionally for trains in/out of yard
-even with Distributed Power mid-train unit, trains still go into emergency due to marshalling or other conditions
-if in emergency, sometimes VIA trains are used to bring CN conductors up to head-end of train, to listen to trainline for leaking air or inspect train to find break-apart to expedite getting the freight train going again to prevent further delays
-with long trains that CN operates on the Kingston Sub, break-aparts are often within auto racks on the tail-end
-conductor may have been walking freight train, on the ballast
-if the location of the conductor/approaching VIA train is known, trains will pass at higher speeds
-other safety/operational reasons

Perhaps our VIA hoggers or others in the group will think of some other situations. At

Re: Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

G Burridge — 2013-05-23T23:55:59

         Sounds very much as if the freight had an excess width load 
which required caution when meeting other trains because of just 
meeting clearance limits.
         Soft roadbed or problem rail  in this situation seems most unlikely.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Gerry Burridge - P.O. Box 152 - Pte.Claire, Que. - H9R 4N9 - CANADA
         Railways of Quebec City and South-Eastern Quebec:
          <http://pages.globetrotter.net/burridge/index.htm>
===================================================================== 



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Why does the VIA train need to crawl?

Knut — 2013-05-23T22:47:18

I was travelling on Via Rail Train Number 60 this past Wednesday and a bit past belleville, the train came to complete stop and then crawled very slowly along while it was passing a very long CN freight on the adjacent track going in the opposite direction.

I initially thought there was a freight ahead of us causing the slow down, but then the attendant came on over the PA system announcing that our train needed to go extremely  slow until it had passed the freight on the adjacent track.

That confused me - normally the Via trains pass freights on adjacent tracks pretty much at full speed - in this case we not only proceeded very slowly, crawling is a good word, but we also stopped several times.

Does anyone know why the Via train would have such a severe speed restriction because of a CN freight train on the adjacent track?

Knut

PS: The CN freight had an additional helper loco towards the middle of the freight train which is something else I can't remember ever seeing in that corridor stretch.

--------