Jump to content

YUL Bus Charters - 2016 Activities


SMS

Recommended Posts

Can you believe that YUL Bus Charters is now in our eleventh year of operation?

After record-setting years of hosting successful activities in 2014 and 2015, we continue to pursue our mandate in offering quality charters that you have come to expect from Montreal's premier bus enthusiast group.

This post is merely a SAVE THE DATE announcement, all details such as costs, times, etc will be announced at a later date - in the next few weeks. These are proposed ideas and are all subject to approval from the bus companies in question.

YUL BUS CHARTER WEEKEND 2016

Saturday 7 May 2016 - Ontario Tripper 2016 at Cornwall Transit

We are proposing our first Cornwall Transit diesel Orion V charter, with vehicle 0359 or 0360 requested.
The charter will begin and end as usual at Cornwall Transit Garage, 863 Second Street West, Cornwall ON, K6J 1H5
Proposed time: 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Final time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Parking available on premises.

Sunday 8 May 2016 - ex-Calgary Transit MCI Classic Charter at Société de transport de l'Outaouais

The charter will begin and end at Garage STO, 111 Jean-Proulx, Gatineau, Quebec J8Z 1T4
We are planning a charter to Buckingham, and will feature mileage on the new Rapibus right of way.
We are favouring any of the Classics apart from what Joseph McArdle chartered last year.
Proposed time: 1 pm to 5 pm.
Parking available on premises.

Details, pricing to follow in the upcoming weeks. A weekend pass price will be offered to promote attendance of both charters.

I hope that some of you are interested, so please bookmark your calendars. More details will follow in the forthcoming weeks, so please pay attention to this thread. All e-mails of interest, questions, comments, and complaints should be sent to yulbuscharters[at]gmail[.]com. PMs on the board concerning the charters are to be avoided.

It is not enough to indicate mere interest on the CPTDB. You must indicate your presence by writing to the dedicated charter e-mail yulbuscharters (@) gmail dot com.

Thank you and hope to see you in great numbers!

Edited by SMS
Final time for Cornwall edited in
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Final details

Cornwall modified time 1pm to 4pm, everyone should meet in the parking lot no later than 1245pm please

Gatineau time remains the same, let's all meet in the parking lot by the main exit gate (traffic light) no later than 1245pm please

Due to lower attendance, costs are $35 each or $60 weekend pass if you attend both.

Thanks and hope to see you in great numbers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to SMS and team for another great charter! :D

As for the old Fishbowls at Cornwall Towing, I sincerely apologise for giving the wrong directions to the property.  I took a drive along Cornwall Centre Road, and realised that the property is actually on Headline Road, which is the next road to the north. :unsure:

The address is 17011 Headline Road, on the north side of the road between Power Dam Drive and Highway 138.  The main landmark in the area is a wall made out of blue shipping containers, nestled among semi-rural residential properties.  On Saturday, I saw there were three Fishbowls on the property: the ex-OC Transpo/ex-ex-TTC GM TDH-5301, another ex-OC Transpo 1960s Fishbowl which had had a second life with a charter company, and ex-Cornwall Transit 7511.  I'll post photos of the three buses soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are the group pics, enjoy everybody! Thanks to all involved in the planning and execution of yet another successful charter weekend. Once again, Cornwall Transit and STO delivered the merchandise and gave us our first choice buses, 0359 and 9224 respectively. We were treated very well with clean buses, accommodating staff, and yard visits. If you enjoyed the service of your operators, please send a commendation for Dean at Cornwall Transit and Michel at STO respectively!

I am very much aware that the Sunday charter caused conflict with family plans. I realize that most of us (if not all of us) have mothers, wives, sisters, etc. Believe me when I say that it was not my intention to have a conflict. In eleven years of operation on the first weekend of May, I have never had to host a charter on Mother's Day. It is hoped that in the subsequent years of our operations, such a conflict will not arise again.

Thanks to those who came from near and far to attend our fan trips.

Rest assured that we will not rest on our laurels, as we have plenty more ideas in development for the rest of 2016, so as always stay tuned! Thanks for your confidence in our organization and see you all next time!

IMG_1431r.jpg

IMG_1633r.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Preliminary information, all subject to confirmation - this is only a working draft so please bear with us as we are finalizing the details ASAP.

RTCS (Shawinigan), Saturday July 30, 2016 - The charter will begin and end at the RTCS yard which is located on Boulevard des Hêtres at 28e Rue across from Cossette Chrysler Dodge Jeep. Parking available on the premises. The best way to get there is via Autoroute 55, exit 223 (follow indications Grand-Mère CENTRE-VILLE). Proposed times: 130pm to 430pm. My planning committee has worked very hard to come up with a great routing. We will feature in particular abolished route 4, of which little information exists online. Thanks to our friend Félix Parent-Rocheleau, we have learned valuable information concerning route histories in Shawinigan and we plan to put this to use. In effect, we shall have photo stops on all three existing routes. We have requested the sole high floor bus remaining in the fleet: 1996 Nova Bus Classic Suburban TUM-13 (ex-Autocars des Chutes 96-71). In the unfortunate event that the vehicle is not available, we will accept one of their three El Dorado vehicles TUM-09, 10, or 11 respectively. I did think about the ex-RTC LFS first generation but something tells me that this choice will be even more unpopular than the El Dorado. In any case, the latter is a rare vehicle in Quebec and could be worth chartering in the future. The middle of the charter will have a twenty minute break for snacks and restroom use at Plaza de la Mauricie, which will coincide with the timed transfer of the two RTCS vehicles in service on route 3.

STTR (Trois-Rivières), Sunday July 31, 2016 - The charter will begin and end at the STTR garage, 2000 rue Bellefeuille. Parking available on the premises. The best way to get there is exit 199 off of Autoroute 40. Proposed times: 10am to 1pm. Once again, we have requested the sole high floor bus remaining in the fleet: 1996 Nova Bus Classic 9603. Indeed we have chartered this very vehicle last year but we are promising brand new photo stops to areas of the city that we have not been to before. With luck, it will be our friend Félix Parent-Rocheleau operating the bus. In the unfortunate event that the Classic is not available, we could ask for 1997 Nova Bus LFS 9701, however Félix has offered to make his bus available to us (1982 GMC T6H-5307N 8202 ex-STO exx-CMTS). This charter routing has not been planned as I write this so I urge everyone to use the facilities and get breakfast before the event.

It is possible that privately-owned buses may make appearances this weekend, however this is subject to availability. If the owners agree to let us on for a joyride (note: this is NOT chartered transportation), we will pass the hat around for donations (fuel, maintenance). Please give generously!

Proposed cost: $30 each, weekend pass $50.

Thanks everyone for your patience and support, I sincerely hope to see lots of you in the Mauricie region in the centre of Quebec!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK time for final details and thanks for your patience!

RTCS (Shawinigan), Saturday July 30, 2016 - The charter will begin and end at the RTCS yard which is located on Boulevard des Hêtres at 28e Rue across from Cossette Chrysler Dodge Jeep. Parking available on the premises. The best way to get there is via Autoroute 55, exit 223 (follow indications Grand-Mère CENTRE-VILLE). Final times: 130pm to 430pm.We have requested the sole high floor bus remaining in the fleet: 1996 Nova Bus Classic Suburban TUM-13 (ex-Autocars des Chutes 96-71). In the unfortunate event that the vehicle is not available, we will accept one of their three El Dorado vehicles TUM-09, 10, or 11 respectively. The middle of the charter will have a twenty minute break for snacks and restroom use at Plaza de la Mauricie, which will coincide with the timed transfer of the two RTCS vehicles in service on route 3.

Bonus activity: instead of driving your car up to Shawinigan, how would you like to ride a bus from Trois-Rivières instead? A preserved urban transit bus will be used as a shuttle between STTR Garage in Trois-Rivières (2000, rue Bellefeuille) and the RTCS yard in Shawinigan, departing STTR at 1230pm sharp. This is not chartered transportation! However, the suggested donation for the upkeep of the vehicle is $20. After the RTCS charter ends, we will immediately return to STTR Garage, and then after to Buffet des Continents for optional dinner at your own cost. Everybody is welcome!

STTR (Trois-Rivières), Sunday July 31, 2016 - The charter will begin and end at the STTR garage, 2000 rue Bellefeuille. Parking available on the premises. The best way to get there is exit 199 off of Autoroute 40. Final times: 10am to 1pm. Once again, we have requested the sole high floor bus remaining in the fleet: 1996 Nova Bus Classic 9603. Félix Parent-Rocheleau will be operating the bus. In the unfortunate event that the Classic is not available, we could ask for 1997 Nova Bus LFS 9701, however Félix has offered to make his bus available to us (1982 GMC T6H-5307N 8202 ex-STO exx-CMTS). This charter routing does not feature a food stop per se (a quick restroom break is planned) so I urge everyone to use the facilities and get breakfast before the event.

After the charter ends, Félix has offered to take us out on 8202 for a spin. Leaving garage STTR, our first stop will be Les Rivières mall for the food court. Afterwards, we will improve photo stops in the city. No specific time frame is planned.

It is possible that other privately-owned buses may make appearances this weekend, however this is subject to availability. If the owners agree to let us on for a joyride (note: this is NOT chartered transportation), we will pass the hat around for donations (fuel, maintenance). Please give generously!

Final cost: $30 each, weekend pass $50.

All interested parties should confirm their attendance by contacting me at my charter email yulbuscharters(a)gmail(.)com - thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With many friends in Trois-Rivières, we will surely return again. Do not despair! I'm on vacation from RTL in a few hours, see everybody next weekend and here is hoping for good weather as well. I will have very limited presence on the board so I must reiterate please contact me by email for questions and concerns. Thanks to all!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here are the photos from last weekend with excellent weather and turnout. Thanks go out for those who traveled from near and far to be with us, especially the GTA crowd, our friend from Connecticut, and the distinguished Quebec City bus historians Jean Breton and Jacques Matte. The Shawinigan chartered bus ended up being our 50th vehicle chartered. Sadly due to a mechanical problem, we did not have the TUM Classic, so we had TUM-09 instead which was an excellent vehicle in the end! Great air conditioning and surprisingly decent suspension! The big surprise of the day was unveiling yet another preserved transit vehicle to everybody. Former Réseau de transport de Longueuil C9-501 was saved by the scrapper by a local transit enthusiast (neither Tristan, Félix, Steve, or me :P). So many thanks to the owner for letting us use it as our shuttle to the TUM yard. We got several vehicles posed us by our cooperative driver André including an ex-Quebec City first gen. My vice president Alex aka kellergraham as well as former Autobus LPR employee Félix Parent-Rocheleau helped greatly with the creation of our charter routing that included all three existing routes as well as abolished route 4 to Ste-Flore. The next day, thanks to our friend Félix, we were treated to an excellent tour of his home city of Trois-Rivières with the sole remaining Classic at STTR, 9603. We went to routes and sectors of the city never visited before, all inspired by Félix. At the beginning and end of the charter, I took the group photos with the end featuring GM New Look ex-STO 8202 exx-CMTS 32105 which Félix graciously showed us. We also rode his newly acquired school bus which truthfully wasn't so bad and the manual transmission shifted like new. Everyone got their bang for their buck with us offering extra time, plenty of photo stops respecting the sun angles, and great laughs. I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend in the Mauricie region! I hope to return for the Classic next year, should it survive.

See everybody at our next event, surely in December for Christmas Lights, if not an activity to be determined sometime around 14 October 2016, the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Metro.

IMG_2701r.jpg

IMG_2704r.jpg

IMG_2722r.jpg

IMG_2723r.jpg

IMG_2744r.jpg

IMG_2745r.jpg

IMG_2908r.jpg

IMG_2911r.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...