69 replies to this topic

[MikefromCrete]

Yes I find Texas's obsession quite intriguing. It is also fascinating that he does not see any similarity between his fixation about a paint scheme and NS VIA's liking of VIA. But it takes many sorts of individual sillinesses, which each of us have and on occasions are proud of, to make it an interesting world.

I would suppose the difference is that I've done my best to explain what precisely I didn't like about it. Silly or not the explanation is there. Some of the things I liked were the improved food quality, the generally professional but sometimes quirky staff, and the incredibly interesting sleeper cars. I was genuinely curious why NA VIA was so enamored with VIA. It's just another company to me that doesn't elicit any specific love or hate. It has a rather unique train with The Canadian but most of what VIA does as a company is standard passenger railway stuff that is neither at the top or bottom of the scale. Kind of a middle-of-the-road operation from the looks of things.

It's a shame Amtrak can't operate as well as VIA.

All Amtrak would have to do cancel two-thirds of its trains and run all long distance trains three days a week. Yeah, that would work.

[Ryan]

If you have a picture of the Empire Builder in a Harrah's Casino wrap then you might have a point.

Will you settle for the Texas Eagle with a Toyota Tundra wrap?

http://www.railpictu...d=91543&nseq=30

[Devil's Advocate]

If you have a picture of the Empire Builder in a Harrah's Casino wrap then you might have a point.

Will you settle for the Texas Eagle with a Toyota Tundra wrap?

Well, it's closer at any rate.

Toyota would have been in the process of building their first (truck) plant in Texas (here in San Antonio) when that photo was taken. The image of a pickup on rail trucks is just interesting enough to be worth a second look. I expect ads on commuter and corridor services since that's not so uncommon, but VIA was the first time I ever saw a big tacky ad be part of a luxurious tourist train. I'm not sure what to call the Texas Eagle, but it's not terribly luxurious. Seems to get whatever is left over after making sure the higher priority trains are taken care of.

Edited by Texas Sunset, 19 August 2011 - 03:49 AM.

[jimhudson]

If you have a picture of the Empire Builder in a Harrah's Casino wrap then you might have a point.

Will you settle for the Texas Eagle with a Toyota Tundra wrap?

http://www.railpictu...d=91543&nseq=30

I actually saw that one Ryan, it was sort of Ironic! Wonder if this Engine was like the old Fighters in WWII that painted a Plane on their side everytime they shot down an enemy plane? Trucks and Trains seem to be involved in most Crossing accidents, so looks like this Engine got itself a Tundra!

Edited by jimhudson, 19 August 2011 - 12:14 AM.

[Bill Haithcoat]

Looks like eastbound you get to see more of the mountains between Kamloops North and Hinton in daytime, but miss the opening hours of the railroad museum in Winnipeg. Westbound less daylight time in the mountains, specially with daylight growing shorter with the change of season, but at Winnipeg during hours that the museum is open.

Personally I have never traveled on the slower 4 day schedule on this train. My many rides on this train were all on the previous 3 day schedule, including on the last day of the 3 day schedule eastbound.

I had the pleasure of doing a four nighter once. This was in the early 70s. Out on the CN Super Continental, which was a four night run, and back on CP Canadian, a three night run. I enjoyed all of it.I was in a roomette on each train. That is the type of roomette which would be called "heritage" today on Amtrak, fully designed for one person.

[jis]

I had the pleasure of doing a four nighter once. This was in the early 70s. Out on the CN Super Continental, which was a four night run, and back on CP Canadian, a three night run. I enjoyed all of it.I was in a roomette on each train. That is the type of roomette which would be called "heritage" today on Amtrak, fully designed for one person.

Were the single roomettes then like the ones in the Manor cars used in the Canadian today where you have to get off your bed and stow it into the wall tog et access to the Commode?

[jis]

It's a shame Amtrak can't operate as well as VIA.

All Amtrak would have to do cancel two-thirds of its trains and run all long distance trains three days a week. Yeah, that would work.

Actually VIA provides a service for a greater density of train usage in Canada than Amtrak does in the US.

In 2010, VIA carried 4.4 million passengers.......On a per capita basis (the US has about 10 times the population of Canada) to equal that density of usage, Amtrak would have had to carry over 44 million passengers.....or about a third more than the 28.7 million they did carry.

And not all long distance trains are tri-weekly.....the Ocean for example.....but I will concede it’s daily except Tuesdays.

I also somehow have the impression, which may be inaccurate, that the Canadian for example, has a much more dense set of flag stops than equivalent Amtrak routes.

I would still like a little more frequent service on the VIA Corridors (Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal as well as Montreal/Quebec City) than at present, and specially a train each in the morning and evening shoulder hours. But that's probably just me.

Last weekend I found the true utility of having a lowly train like 66/67 (former Night owl) on the NEC when the Cardinal showed up in New York with me on board at 2:35 am. The existence of 66/67 made it possible for me to get home and get some Zzzs before going into work. Absent that it would have been an entirely sleepless night, well except for the sleep I got in my Sleeper on the Cardinal. And to my utter astonishment, 67 was almost SRO and it was not even short a car or anything like that.

[Devil's Advocate]

I also somehow have the impression, which may be inaccurate, that the Canadian for example, has a much more dense set of flag stops than equivalent Amtrak routes.

They'll stop at nothing more developed than a rural highway crossing if you request it far enough in advance. It's kind of amazing actually. My understanding is that Amtrak has been cutting back on both flag stops and primary stops but I'm not sure why.

[jis]

I also somehow have the impression, which may be inaccurate, that the Canadian for example, has a much more dense set of flag stops than equivalent Amtrak routes.

They'll stop at nothing more developed than a rural highway crossing if you request it far enough in advance. It's kind of amazing actually. My understanding is that Amtrak has been cutting back on both flag stops and primary stops but I'm not sure why.

Yeah. Red Lake Road comes to mind as such a stop. My neighbor in the Sleeper on my ride westbound traveled all the way from Toronto to that flag stop to visit her parents who came to pick her up. She was delightful company on the way, and the train stopped long enough at the flag stop for me to even get introduced to her parents. The station is a gravel parking lot off of Red Lake Road at the point where the road crosses the railroad. She said she was returning by Coach a few days later on the eastbound.

That was an eye opening example of the basic transportation function that the Canadian serves in spite of everyone here saying that it is just a tourist train. I bet no "tourist" ever gets off or on at these dozens of flag stops.

[Bill Haithcoat]

I had the pleasure of doing a four nighter once. This was in the early 70s. Out on the CN Super Continental, which was a four night run, and back on CP Canadian, a three night run. I enjoyed all of it.I was in a roomette on each train. That is the type of roomette which would be called "heritage" today on Amtrak, fully designed for one person.

Were the single roomettes then like the ones in the Manor cars used in the Canadian today where you have to get off your bed and stow it into the wall tog et access to the Commode?

As many older style roomettes as I have ridden, I really do not remember. I do not recall it being a problem, I guess the larger luggage was slid into a side.

[Steve4031]

Are the panorama dome cars replacing the budd skyline cars entirely? I enjoy the forward view of the classic dome cars, and am looking at this for next summer. Hopefully, I would have a choice.

[zephyr17]

I had the pleasure of doing a four nighter once. This was in the early 70s. Out on the CN Super Continental, which was a four night run, and back on CP Canadian, a three night run. I enjoyed all of it.I was in a roomette on each train. That is the type of roomette which would be called "heritage" today on Amtrak, fully designed for one person.

Were the single roomettes then like the ones in the Manor cars used in the Canadian today where you have to get off your bed and stow it into the wall tog et access to the Commode?

As many older style roomettes as I have ridden, I really do not remember. I do not recall it being a problem, I guess the larger luggage was slid into a side.

They are still running the same cars, Manor and Chateau, they always have, with the same roomettes. The Manors have "regular" roomettes where the beds fold into the wall, and you have lift the bed to get to the "combolet" (the Budd term for the little square commode/footrest). The Chateaus have duplex roomettes where alternating rooms have beds that fold down from the wall (upper duplex), or slide under the adjacent (upper duplex) roomette (lower). In either case, you have to stow the bed to get to the pot.

[pennyk]

I will be taking the Canadian in early December. I have read posts that indicate that coffee and tea will be provided in the Park Car 24/7. Does anyone know if green tea is provided?

Also, does anyone know if one can store luggage in the Vancouver train station? I will be arriving on the Canadian in the morning and leaving on the Cascades in the late afternoon and would like to explore Vancouver without my luggage (weather permitting).

Thank you.

[Devil's Advocate]

Even if there isn't any green tea set out you should be able to ask for some teabags before last call and have them ready for you. Like any other long distance train The Canadian sort of closes up and goes to sleep late at night. You may see a crew member now and again when approaching a stop but for the most part it's quiet and deserted. This included the Park Car on my trip. I don't remember the specifics but it was possible to make tea on your own when no staff was around. According to VIA there is baggage storage in the Vancouver station during the following periods.

Monday Wednesday Saturday
08h00 to 13h00

Tuesday Friday Sunday
12h00 to 20h00

[AlanB]

Penny,

I recall a wooden box with various types of tea sitting on a table in the rear lounge area, where the car tapers to a curve. I didn't really pay attention to just what types of tea where in the box, but there were several choices. So the odds are probably in your favor that one is Green, but I sure wouldn't want to promise you that.

The attendant that works the Park car goes to bed at either 11 PM or Midnight, don't recall which, but they don't stay up all night. I suspect that they leave the coffee/hot water dispensers out on the table and full at least initially. Can't swear that you'd still find it full of hot water however at say 4 AM.

And yes, they most certainly do provide luggage storage. We took advantage of that when we did our trip. Mind you since we were leaving from Vancouver we dropped off our luggage in the morning and went out for the day. When we came back we just went right to the lounge and had no need to worry about our bags at all. Our checked bags had of course already gone to the baggage car and our carry-on's they had already placed in our room for us. So all we carried onto the train was ourselves and my laptop backpack. I believe that they provide the same luxury in Toronto too, but I'm not 100% sure.

Of course you can't avail yourself of that luxury in Vancouver, but again they should still hold your bags for you for the day.

Remember to use the first class lounge in Toronto to wait for your train.

[NS VIA Fan]

I agree with those who say the panorama cars stick out like a sore thumb compared to rest of the carefully matched and maintained rolling stock, but they're nothing compared to this monstrosity.

You (and many others) will be happy to know that 6414 finally entered CAD in Montreal on November 21, 2011 and will emerge in the spring in the green Renaissance scheme!.......and completely re-built too......note the HEP compartment constructed on the rear platform in the photo below.

Edited by NS VIA Fan, 05 December 2011 - 08:44 AM.