A Weekend on the Ocean

A weekend on the Ocean to Montreal then onto Ottawa.

Work was going to have me in Ottawa for a couple of days so I decided to make it into a long weekend and head out Friday morning on VIA’s Ocean.

I would have to fly back so the first stop was to drop my car off at YHZ......the Halifax International Airport then catch the MetroX bus downtown to the VIA Rail Station.

The Ocean departed Halifax on time at 11am with 5 boarding the sleepers and about 30 in coach. We had 3 F40s hauling 13 Renaissance Cars including a baggage car, 3 coaches, 2 service/lounge cars, a diner, 5 sleepers, a transition car and Assiniboine Park……a Dome-Observation bringing up the markers.

I made my way back to the Dome for the departure from Halifax and stayed until nearly Truro when I went for Lunch joining about 5 others in the diner. I had the cold roast turkey sandwich with soup and chips on the side.

After that is was just a lazy afternoon with a coffee or two up in the dome as we made our way through Nova Scotia and on into New Brunswick. Arrival in Moncton was 10 minutes early at 3:10pm with a good crowd waiting and the sleepers and coaches started to fill up as they continued to do as we headed west through the evening.

At Pacific Jct near Moncton we veered away from CN’s National Transcontinental main and headed up the infamous Newcastle Subdivision. Only a couple of years ago the Ocean covered the 120 miles from Moncton to Bathurst in 2 1\2 hrs……it now takes 4 1\2 hrs and the section between Miramichi and Bathurst was subject to total abandonment just last spring. But better days are ahead and numerous work projects are now underway that should see the Ocean return to a more respectable speed through here. I spent some time in the Ren Lounge where Wi-Fi is available.

Dinner was just after leaving Rogersville. I started with the Ocean’s signature chowder……then the Sirloin Tips along with Mashed, Green Beans & Carrots. There was three passes with warm multi-grain rolls and I finished-up with strawberry cake and coffee. An excellent meal and good service!

I spent some time in the dome on the clear evening……looking across the Baie de Chaleur to the lights along the Gaspe coast Then it was back to my room and I stayed awake through Campbellton and into Quebec at Matapedia where time went back an hour to Eastern at 9:20pm…….right on time!

I had a Deluxe Cabin for Two. VIA’s Renaissance Sleepers are not named but are “Themed”…. You see this on a mural as you enter and it’s carried through the car with photos in each room. I was in Kouchibouquac…..a New Brunswick National Park.

There’s been some discussion in one of the forums here about locking of sleeping car doors……here’s the keycard and lock on my Ren Bedroom. (VIA Budd sleepers do not have card locks)

I didn’t hear a sound until the loud roar of HEP units out my window at 1:50am. So up when the blind just as we met the eastbound Ocean near Trois-Pistoles……..then back to sleep.

I set the alarm on my phone for 4:30am so I would be awake as we crossed the St Lawrence to Sainte-Foy on the Quebec Bridge. We’re 15 min late here……then we back-up across the bridge with the Park Car leading for the 3 1\2 miles to Joffre Yard then continue onto Montreal.

Time to get ready now and head for breakfast…….and just a light one: toast, fruit and coffee. I’m sitting in the diner as we stop in Drummondville 15 minutes early……then up into the dome for a 25 minute early arrival at Saint-Hyacinthe where we have to wait for our departure time. Certainly…..a lot of schedule padding.

We would have been 15 minutes early into Gare Centrale except for a halt just outside the station but still make it in about 5 min early.

I was staying in Montreal for a day at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth (a former CN Hotel) located directly above Central Station and connected by elevator. From stepping off the train and into my room was less than 10 minutes.

Here’s the upper portion of Centrals Concourse…….with the QE Hotel above

Saturday afternoon I took an AMT electric MU from Central out through the 3 mile Mt Royal Tunnel to Deux-Montagnes (Two Mountains)…… One of the more scenic routes doing some island hopping through the northern suburbs. One of the original CN Electric units that served the route until 1995 is “stuffed & mounted” in front of the Deux-Montagnes station.

On Sunday morning I took VIA #133 to Ottawa. A consist made up of refurbished Budd Stainless-Steel equipment. I was in Coach #4102 The photo below is an interior shot……you would never guess now that it started life on the Louisville & Nashville RR and probably saw service on the Georgian, Humming Bird and Pan American before going to Amtrak then onto VIA.

It was a quick 1 hr and 50 minutes up to Ottawa. After leaving the CN main near Coteau-du-Lac, we were on mostly VIA owned track, the Alexandria Subdivision for the remaining 65 miles into Ottawa.

Arrival was 5 minutes early at the most attractive Gare d‘Ottawa……soon to celebrate it’s 50[SIZE=small]th[/SIZE] anniversary:

Then it was on to downtown and to where I was staying via OC Transpo and the O-Train diesel light-rail. Ottawa buses run on a system of dedicated transitways……roads for buses only and bus-stops are stations…..not just a post on the corner. Here’s the transit stop at the VIA Station.

…..and the O-Train:

The original Ottawa Union Station was downtown and is still in use today as a Government Conference Centre. It’s located directly across the street and was connected by tunnel to the former CN Chateau Laurier Hotel. You can see the hotel in the background here behind the National War Memorial (where the terrorist attack took place here just over a month ago.)

……and keeping with the railroad theme of my trip, I returned to Halifax on “Porter” airlines. A Bombardier Q400 Turboprop covered the route in 1 hr and 25 min. Porter is a great little airline with routes in eastern Canada and into the US. All passengers get to use the business class lounge in the airport and there’s complementary snacks and free beer and wine on board.

As usual an awesome trip report

Steve4031 said:

As usual an awesome trip report

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Thanks!.......and it was a great trip too!

It thinking of flying porter to halifax and tracking the train back.

Thanks fo Sharing! Ottawa is one of my favorite cities in the world and of course riding on VIA is always a treat!

Nice way to return home also, sounds sort of like Southwest Airlines with Business Class! And I rememember CP Air with fondness!

jimhudson said:

Thanks fo Sharing! Ottawa is one of my favorite cities in the world and of course riding on VIA is always a treat!

Nice way to return home also, sounds sort of like Southwest Airlines with Business Class! And I rememember CP Air with fondness!

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[SIZE=11pt]Porter is a great little airline. They provide a business class lounge for ALL passengers along with complementary snacks, beer and wine in the air. Their main routes are out of Toronto and they’ve carved a niche market for themselves by using the downtown Toronto Airport and are now strong competition for VIA as the airport is only a mile from Union Station. But VIA is not doing bad either in the Toronto <> Ottawa market. Passenger traffic is up over 30% since 2012 and they’ve just added two express runs on that route.[/SIZE]

Great report always enjoy reading them.

Love Porter airlines...

Thanks for the report and pictures as well!

Really enjoyed your trip report. Hope to ride the Ocean soon..

Thanks much for report. Wanna wanna go there.

I loved your trip the first time and I read it and now I REALLY love it! Loved the pictures of the situation at Halifax! Saw the hotel we've booked. You say that you took the MetroX bus downtown. I've read that it starts in the morning but do you catch the bus right across the street from the hotel?

While I agree that Porter Air isn't bad, and the club access, free drinks, etc. are nice, my experiences are that it is loved and raved about in Canada because Canadians compare it to Air Canada, which in my opinion, is worse than almost every US flagged carrier. Most Canadians love to hate Air Canada, and with good reason.

I've found that Porter tends to have too short a turn around time between flights and will therefore tend to run a bit late. Those free drinks, etc. are nice though, while one is waiting for a delayed flight.

But do try Porter over Air Canada. Just don't mind the goofball pillbox hats the flight attendants wear and which seem a little silly to be wearing when working on a prop plane to me...

bobnjulie said:

I loved your trip the first time and I read it and now I REALLY love it! Loved the pictures of the situation at Halifax! Saw the hotel we've booked. You say that you took the MetroX bus downtown. I've read that it starts in the morning but do you catch the bus right across the street from the hotel?

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Thanks.....glad you liked the trip report

MetroX is the express bus to downtown from the airport and yes it boards right across the street from the ALT Hotel. You can see the bus stop in the top photo (and the hotel is connected to the Airport Terminal by pedway)

Bus runs every half hour during rush hours and hourly at other time. Fare is $3.50 Here’s the schedule:

http://www.halifax.ca/transit/Schedules/documents/Route320.pdf

If you are going downtown to the VIA Station for the Ocean at 11am (boards at 10:30)....don’t leave the airport any later than the 8:45am bus. It will get you to Scotia Square (Albemarle St) about a 15 min walk to the station but the driver can probably advise of a convenient transfer that will get you closer to VIA.

Thank you! We -okay I am planning on us taking the 7:15 bus since we are traveling on a Sunday. I would be too worried about cutting things close and would like to see at least a bit of Halifax. I don't walk great but I'm hoping we'll have enough time to walk to the station so we can see the city but if the weather is not cooperating will ask the driver about a transfer to a bus.....