Oh Harry that sounds like a wonderfull trip,I wonder if it could still be done (minus the turbo’s of coarse) The small alfred street yard is still partially there one track crossing Grenwich which is not used indeed not conected anymore but the other main track that comes down clarence and crosses over Grenwich is still used by CN to switch the old area around the Massey Plants.Those electrics were likely the left over steeple cabs on the GRR/ LE&N they ran up until 1961 the the deisels took over. It’s nice seeing the old grand trunk station still in full use. VIA re-roofed and redid the waiting rooms and washrooms last year 1 million or so.Regular VIA service for the corridor still very much in full swing 10 weekday trains 8 weekend. We can go Brantford to Hamilton in about an hour and three quaters $50 round trip not too horrible concidering gas prices and ugh Toronto parking fees and traffic woes. Last year when we went into toronto we took the 7:15 to toronto LRC coaches and a P42 the return train left Toronto Union at 8:30 was all bud with F40PH and a baggage wich was a run through from Montreal to sarnia.Today i was down at the station in it’s hobby shop(yes good MRR shop in what was the Ladies lounge) and the two VIA’s were both all Bud consists so they are still in corridor service not just on the Canadian.I have to say that having ridden in both Bud and LRC equipment I prefer the Bud’s ride. Thankfully I haven’t seen any marked deterioration on the usual Bud equipment and so far none of the new euro-style renasance cars have come our way. Rob
BYOB
Bless your only brothers . . .
What are the prices for Canadian right now if I wanted to go Vancouver to Toronto?
Cheapest please.
Sorry haven’t been on a VIA train.
By the way, did VIA ever think of using Superliners or did they think it more profitable to use the Budd trains?
Good Morning once again … a bit of a chill in the air this morning and a chance for some light rain here in mid-continent USA … but still a fine day! Hope all is well with all of you … Some discussions to resond to, so here goes … [tup][:D]
No idea … Any input out there?[:D]
[quote]
QUOTE: daveklepper Posted: 31 Mar 2005, 14:21:20
Look, I apologize if I seem crass. But obvioiusly the conductor could hold the train, but what good would it do? The train isn’t cleaned at Central Station, but at coach yards.
Once the train is moved by VIA people to Central Station where the Amtrak crew boards, and you can check me out on this, there is very little the Amtrak crew can do except to take the train out to Rouses Point or wherever the crew change point is.
But I can understand the coach cleaners’ position too. Maybe the train came in with such a complete mess, that all they could do was get the water off the floor in the passenger seating area, never mind the restrooms! I’d be interested in what time of year this was. In New York, the train is supposed to be serviced at Sunnyside Yard. Suppo
I forgot to add this question last night/early this morning:
Did Algoma Central have any local trains or were they all tour trains? Anything special in the way of equipment?
On that note when did Ontario Northland start operations and what kinds of paseenger equipment have they used?
Hello brief answers to yuor questions. Algoma does hvae some local passenger service between Sault Ste Marie and Hawk Junction possibly still as far north as Hearst. Searchmont and the canyon are stops for these trains as well. For the smallar communities these trains are still a necessity as the roads there are poor to non-existant. I’m sure CN wishes to end these trains but so far can not. Most of the passenger service on the ACR are the tour trains which the round trip from the Sault to the canyon and back is an 8 hour excursion(with dinning car service as well) worth the trip actually. The northlander started out in the early 1900’s 06 or 07 I beleave you’ll need to do some research for the exact dates. It was originally known as the TN&O ( Temiskaming and Northern Ontario) they ran your basic period wooden heavy weight cars (6 axle) they also owned the Nippissing Central which was an electric intururban line that Ran to Haleybarry,Cobalt& Timmins. This equipment was again your usual turn of the century wooden electric railway equipment.The currant Northland passenger equipment is refurbished single level go commutor cars and coaches. And as well as the Polarbear Express tour trains they maintain regular passenger service Toronto to North Bay and Northbay to the Arctic rim at Moosenee / Moose factory on James bay again these are essential service trains as highways are basically non-existant after Cocheran ontario.There is a good book out on the first hundred years of the ONR. If you go to our museum website we sell it. A very informative book. www.hcry.org Rob
Fellas, I am on the fly, still busy with other things. But, is any one else a member of CARP (Cdn Assn of Retired People). I’m the fortunate beneficiary of my deceased mother’s lifetime membership, and the latest issue of their magazine included a glossy flier from Reader’s Digest offering three videos of training across Canada…all for $30 to members! One had a steamer on the cover, so, natch, it caught MY eye.
Really gratified to see this thread is so prolific. Tom, ya done good.
I know the LRCs have a higher speed restriction then the Budd cars; does the Renaissance equipment have a higher speed restriction then the LRC’s?
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by trolleyboy
Hello brief answers to yuor questions. Algoma does hvae some local passenger service between Sault Ste Marie and Hawk Junction possibly still as far north as Hearst. Searchmont and the canyon are stops for these trains as well. For the smallar communities these trains are still a necessity as the roads there are poor to non-existant. I’m sure CN wishes to end these trains but so far can not. Most of the passenger service on the ACR are the tour trains which the round trip from the Sault to the canyon and back is an 8 hour excursion(with dinning car service as well) worth the trip actually. The northlander started out in the early 1900’s 06 or 07 I beleave you’ll need to do some research for the exact dates. It was originally known as the TN&O ( Temiskaming and Northern Ontario) they ran your basic period wooden heavy weight cars (6 axle) they also owned the Nippissing Central which was an electric intururban line that Ran to Haleybarry,Cobalt& Timmins. This equipment was again your usual turn of the century wooden electric railway equipment.The currant Northland passenger equipment is refurbished single level go commutor cars and coaches. And as well as the Polarbear Express tour trains they maintain regular passenger service Toronto to North Bay and Northbay to the Arctic rim at Moosenee / Moose factory on James bay again these are essential service trains as highways are basically non-existant after Cocheran ontario.There is a good book out on the first hundred years of the ONR. If you go to our museum website we sell it. A very informative book. www.hcry.org Rob
[/qu
Speed limits of the different types of VIA equipment are really governed by the motive power up front. The lower number F40s have 95 mph gearing while the rest have only 90mph gearing .The P42s have 110 mph gearing but have been limited to 100mph. So if you have Renaissance equipment with a P42 it can go the 100mph but I don’t know if this has happened yet. Most consists have F40s with the stainless cars and P42s with LRC stuff, but mix and match happens all the time so nothing is for sure. If the tilt mechanism on the LRCs goes out ,then the train is limited in speed in the corners to that of regular non tilt equipment. If a LRC consist has a stainless car in the consist, and it does happen,then the whole train is limited to regular speed of non tilt cars. If you have a baggage car in the consist, another speed limit is imposed. Add in track condition, freight traffic and you have a really confusing situation. So there are many factors governing the speed of our VIA trains not just the type of equipment used…
Yes, the ACR does offer passenger service all along its line from Sault-Ste-Marie to Hearst.
A friend and I took the ACR’s “Tour of the Line” train in early May 2004. It was one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken. The train litterally stops in the middle of nowhere to drop off / pick up passengers at hunting/fishing camps (etc). The scenery was spectacular, even though there were still several patches of snow amongst the leaf-less trees (even some of the lakes had small patches of ice on them still). Once in Hearst, we stayed at a small hotel that was immediately adjacent to the tracks – only a parking lot stood between the train and our room.
As for equipment, there were 2 baggage cars and 2 passenger cars. The passenger cars still bore faint hints of their previous owners – CN and VIA.
The ACR receives government subsidies in order to keep offering their passenger service which is deemed essential as it is the only way to reach some of the remote camps and homesteads. During our trip, at no time was the train anywhere near having one full car, let alone both. Mind you, we were travelling outside the busier winter snowmobiling season, the summer tourist/camping season, and the autumn hunting/fishing season.
For more info, check out the web site … www.agawacanyontourtrain.com
VIA Rail tested Superliners in the 1980’s on the transcontinental run but it never went further. Hopefully by the time VIA Rail does have to replace the Budd equipment they will chose something more interesting, more similiar to the present design.
CN offered an autocarrier service from the east to Edmonton (if I remember correctly) before VIA Rail. I would think if there was a market in Canada for another autotrain service it would be more likely to be on the transcontinental services than in the Windsor Corridor. Aren’t the distances between the primary markets (Toronto and Montreal) too short to be competitive with an autotrain service?
Andrewjonathon
Absolutely correct it was called Car-Go-Rail and operated between Toronto and Edmonton. The service used the double deck enclosed auto carriers that CN later sold to Auto-Train. A passenger had to surrender their Auto at Toronto or Edmonton four hours before departure time. This gave CN time to load the cars and inspect the cars. If memory serves me correctly two passengers had to be traveling together in First Class and the auto traveled for one and one-half first class fares as well. The auto was delivered at destination to the passengers Hotel within four hours of the trains arrival at destination freshly washed. As memory serves me the service did not last to long maybe a year or just over. The Auto- Carrier was coupled to the rear of the east or westbound Super Continental. If memory serves me correctly I remember seeing one summer consist with two auto-carriers on the rear of a westbound Super Continental. Most days only a single Auto-Carrier was operated and it was rarely full if I remember correctly. It is believed that this is where the idea for the Lorton,VA. - Sanford, FL Auto-Train service came from.
HAPPY “ANNIVERSARY” TO US! With 213 responses and 2502 visitors, we’ve made it to the start of our 2nd month![tup][tup][tup][;)] I knew there was interest “out there” when this thread was started - THANX TO ALL![:D]
Now, let’s see what this fine day has brought to our “door” …
Your answer follows … [tup]
[quote]
QUOTE: trolleyboy Posted: 01 April 2005, 16:45:49 [PARTIALLY QUOTED]
Hello brief answers to yuor questions. Algoma does hvae some local passenger service between Sault Ste Marie and Hawk Junction possibly still as far north as Hearst. Searchmont and the canyon are stops for these trains as well. For the smallar communities these trains are still a necessity as the roads there are poor to non-existant. I’m sure CN wishes to end these trains but so far can not. Most of the passenger service on the ACR are the tour trains which the round trip from the
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by Sterling1
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by trolleyboy
Hello brief answers to yuor questions. Algoma does hvae some local passenger service between Sault Ste Marie and Hawk Junction possibly still as far north as Hearst. Searchmont and the canyon are stops for these trains as well. For the smallar communities these trains are still a necessity as the roads there are poor to non-existant. I’m sure CN wishes to end these trains but so far can not. Most of the passenger service on the ACR are the tour trains which the round trip from the Sault to the canyon and back is an 8 hour excursion(with dinning car service as well) worth the trip actually. The northlander started out in the early 1900’s 06 or 07 I beleave you’ll need to do some research for the exact dates. It was originally known as the TN&O ( Temiskaming and Northern Ontario) they ran your basic period wooden heavy weight cars (6 axle) they also owned the Nippissing Central which was an electric intururban line that Ran to Haleybarry,Cobalt& Timmins. This equipment was again your usual turn of the century wooden electric railway equipment.The currant Northland passenger equipment is refurbished single level go commutor cars and coaches. And as well as the Polarbear Express tour trains they maintain regular passenger service Toronto to North Bay and Northbay to the Arctic rim at Moosenee / Moose factory on James bay again these are essential service trains as highways are basically non-existant after Cocheran ontario.There is a good book out on the first hundred years of the ONR. If you go to our museum website we s
As partially quoted by Trolleyboy
[/quote]
I suppose that they could but CN does get gov funding to keep the trains running (cheaper than building the needed highways through muskeeg and other awful terrain ) I doubt very much that CN would want a third party running the trains as the ACR isn’t a double track line and they do move allot of frieght through the road so their dispatchers can direct the trains for thier best requirements. Much can be said about the ONR as well it’s ONT gov. funded for the regular passenger service for again the same reasons. Much too expensive to build the roads into the more remote areas( read not enough population for the upkeep) It’s nice to know that there are places to remote for air and road travel. Rob
[/quote]
Flying into a remote area can be expensive in money; drving by paved road destroys the “remoteness” of the region and the destination.
I suppose that they could but CN does get gov funding to keep the trains running (cheaper than building the needed highways through muskeeg and other awful terrain ) I doubt very much that CN would want a third party running the trains as the ACR isn’t a double track line and they do move allot of frieght through the road so their dispatchers can direct the trains for thier best requirements. Much can be said about the ONR as well it’s ONT gov. funded for the regular passenger service for again the same reasons. Much too expensive to build the roads into the more remote areas( read not enough population for the upkeep) It’s nice to know that there are places to remote for air and road travel. Rob
[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more. Plus building airports for big planes is also expensive. junctionfan or anyone else. Do the self levelling equipment on the LRC’s still work? I thought that they had been designed to function with the similarly firred equipment on the LRC locomotives and since the Loco’s are long gone are these not just normal coaches now? Rob
Flying into a remote area can be expensive in money; drving by paved road destroys the “remoteness” of the region and the destination.
[/quote]
I have been told that Alberta U. has a serious project about light rail between Edmonton and Calgary, tieing the two light rail systems together, as a low-cost alternative to either increasing the number of highway lanes or a true high speed passenger railroad. Apparently, the convenience of using the existing light rail stations in both cities would compensate for the additional travel time as compared with highspeed trains. Does anyone know anything more about this? I would guess they would share the existing freight CP line, which used to have decent passenger service.
Good Evening All - I’ve checked in from time to time and noted that we really haven’t had sufficient posts for me to make a “compilation.” I would hope that most of us have other things to do over the weekend, aside from sitting at the keyboard! I know I do!![;)]
I don’t know why, but as of late, I’ve been thinking about an RDC (Rail Diesel Car) trip I took with my wife and a couple of friends back in 1999.
We were visiting Vancouver, BC and on what was supposed to be an “off day” - (they do what they want, we do what we want), I looked into booking a trip aboard BC Rail’s “Cariboo Prospector” (that IS the way they spelled it) from North Vancouver to Lillooet, BC. The round trip was to take the entire next day with a 7 AM departure and return at 9 PM.
When the other couple found out what I had in mind, they too wanted to come along. So, I booked the four tickets and off we went.
The consist awaiting us that chilly March morning was four RDC’s - from my pictures, it appears that we had two RDC3’s and two RDC1’s. The livery was the blue/white striped with blue red heralds.
For those who may not know, an RDC3 was designed as a combined passenger, bagage-express, and mail car. Over the years, BC Rail (formerly Pacific Great Eastern Railway) had these cars “rehabed” to provide a food prepration area in the baggage area. The coach portions were outfitted to include swing down tray tables (similar but larger that what the airlines use) along with much more comfortable seating than I recall when commuting aboard the Boston & Maine’s RDC’s back in the 1960’s.
The RDC1 was initially designed to seat 89 passengers. BC Rail’s version appeared to be about the same, but with the upgraded seating.
Our seats were in the RDC3 for both legs of the journey.
That morning was a gloomy, low overhanging cloudy start to the day. As we wound our way out of North Vancouver and followed the route to Squamish, I was a bit sadde