The Canadian

[Ryan]

Maybe everyone else expects this sort of thing but nothing in VIA's literature gave me any indication that they were using their trains as mobile billboards.

You're right, this sort of thing never happens on Amtrak.



Here comes the Boss! by Ryan Stavely, on Flickr

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I think even you'd agree that there is a difference between a commuter trip that lasts at most a few hours at a cost of maybe $300 and a nearly transcontinental ride on a flagship train that lasts four days at a cost of $1,300 - $2,500 for a single compartment. If you have a picture of the Empire Builder in a Harrah's Casino wrap then you might have a point.

Is VIA your parent's employer? The primary component of a life-dominating hobby? The subject of your college thesis? What exactly is the basis for your hyper-emotional connection to VIA anyway?

I like VIA!

And what exactly do you like about them?

.........

Well, that was your chance to wax poetic about all the various things you enjoy about VIA. Since all you have to say in reply is a bit of unintelligible Morse code I guess our discussion is complete.

 

[Ryan]

No, I can't see much of a difference between Amtrak's flagship train at costs significantly greater than other modes of transportation.

It's a stupid thing for anyone to get annoyed about, Via or Amtrak, and it's utterly ridiculous to expect either company to notify you in advance of any changes in the pain job on the train that pulls you.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

I'm thinking of doing the Canadian. What would you folks suggest, east bound or west bound?

Thanx

I think this thread might have gotten ever-so-slightly off topic.

I took the Canadian westbound. I felt that it was really the only way to travel. I mean, it was my first transcontinental train trip (I started in Halifax). And it just seemed appropriate to go west, like the settlers did. On the other hand, both directions will be spectacular. If you don't have a particular attachment to one direction, just take whichever is cheaper.

Of course, if you care about having a matched trainset - if wrapped ads and the occasional mismatched car makes you nauseous - the Acela is really the only way to go. Though, as Ryan pointed out, it gets wrapped, too.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

You're obviously out looking for another fight. I posted my view based on my personal experience. If you think my opinion of VIA's tacky advertising is stupid then that's your problem.

 

[Ryan]

I'm just looking for some sanity. You're the one that drug a thread about the Canadian into the solvency of Via Rail and then into what one of the locomotives look like, rather than focus on any relevant details of the train.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It takes two to tango. Or maybe you could drop your guard and tell us how your own VIA rail experience went.

 

[Ryan]

Just as soon as I get up there, I will (and I guarantee that what the locomotives looked like won't be a part of the report).

 

[jis]

No, I can't see much of a difference between Amtrak's flagship train at costs significantly greater than other modes of transportation.

It's a stupid thing for anyone to get annoyed about, Via or Amtrak, and it's utterly ridiculous to expect either company to notify you in advance of any changes in the pain job on the train that pulls you.

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.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

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.

 

[jis]

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.

Yup, everyone is entitled to their opinions and it is hard to force anyone to share theirs, or articulate the reason for a particular opinion unless they want to do so. Hence I find it pointless to keep pressing VIA or anyone else. If he wanted to have a discussion with you on the matter he would have. For whatever reason he does not. So let it go.

 

[Anderson]

Given that the only tango going on here seems to have been written by Tom Lehrer, I hesitate to enter the fray. But I'll say that a WB trip has the benefit of 25-hour days on two occasions while the EB trip has 23-hour days twice. Other than that, I think they're mainly the same trip...though I'm not sure if there are any menu differences, etc. When I take the Canadian, it will likely be EB...but that is more a function of starting with a trip to Iowa and going from there than anything.

 

[jis]

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.

 

[Rail Freak]

Thanx !!!!! :unsure:

 

[guest]

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.

 

[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.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=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.

 

[Bob Dylan]

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.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=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!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

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 its daily except Tuesdays.

 

[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?

 

[NS VIA Fan]

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?

Yes, scroll down in this link for cut-away views:

http://members.kos.net/sdgagnon/canb.html

What's shown here is a "Duplex" Roomette but a standard Roomette is very similar.....no step-up and the sink is in the corner.

 

[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.