VIA Rail Canada

[Trimetwes Fan1003]

17 hours ago, D40LF said:

While they were second hand the majority of the cars had been stored out in the open since being built and had never even been tested. But I think in this context I think new refers to the cars being new to VIA.

Actually the Colorado Railcar domes were the newest passenger cars before the venture cars.

[smallspy]

5 hours ago, Trimetwes Fan1003 said:

Actually the Colorado Railcar domes were the newest passenger cars before the venture cars.

But they were not new in any sense, as they been through two previous owners and several years of service prior to getting to VIA.

 

The argument can be made that the Renaissance/Nightstock was new because it had never been used in service, and in fact most were completed for VIA. You can't make that same case for the Colorado Railcar domes.

 

Dan

[Trimetwes Fan1003]

8 hours ago, smallspy said:

But they were not new in any sense, as they been through two previous owners and several years of service prior to getting to VIA.

 

The argument can be made that the /Nightstock was new because it had never been used in service, and in fact most were completed for VIA. You can't make that same case for the Colorado Railcar domes.

 

Dan

But timeline wise the Colorado domes are newer, being built in 2000 while the Renaissance cars were built in 1995.

[D40LF]

8 minutes ago, Trimetwes Fan1003 said:

But timeline wise the Colorado domes are newer, being built in 2000 while the Renaissance cars were built in 1995.

The Colorado Dome cars are three specialty cars used either on the Canadian or the Skeena (currently stored), it is not a fleet of cars such as the Renaissance cars of which 106 entered service.

[InfiNorth]

On 11/18/2022 at 1:46 PM, Trimetwes Fan1003 said:

But timeline wise the Colorado domes are newer, being built in 2000 while the Renaissance cars were built in 1995.

And not for VIA Rail, they were built for BC Rail's rail cruise service through the Cariboo before [insert generic BC Rail rant]. 

[Trimetwes Fan1003]

Meanwhile the wiki says the 2600s are cab cars.

[Dane]

On 11/19/2022 at 2:17 PM, InfiNorth said:

And not for VIA Rail, they were built for BC Rail's rail cruise service through the Cariboo before [insert generic BC Rail rant]. 

The building was completed for BC Rail. They were actually initially purchased by Florida Fun Train, and not completed. I just bring this up because an interesting side story of the Whistler Northwind was how in insanely cheaply BC Rail got the equipment put together. A series of very good deals bolstered by some good luck. Worked half a season on the train, was a pretty good time!

[InfiNorth]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:21 PM, Dane said:

The building was completed for BC Rail. They were actually initially purchased by Florida Fun Train, and not completed. I just bring this up because an interesting side story of the Whistler Northwind was how in insanely cheaply BC Rail got the equipment put together. A series of very good deals bolstered by some good luck. Worked half a season on the train, was a pretty good time!

Do you have some good resources for reading on the Northwind? I know relatively little about it.

[Articulated]

53 minutes ago, InfiNorth said:

Do you have some good resources for reading on the Northwind? I know relatively little about it.

This site has got a little bit of info and some nice photos; I found it earlier this year while researching Colorado Railcar car histories (including VIA's three Panorama Domes):

http://www.trainweb.org/ultradomes/bcr/northwind.html

The service only ran for 2 seasons (and mostly in the pre-digital era), so any information out there is rather limited as a result.

[InfiNorth]

20 hours ago, Articulated said:

This site has got a little bit of info and some nice photos; I found it earlier this year while researching Colorado Railcar car histories (including VIA's three Panorama Domes):

http://www.trainweb.org/ultradomes/bcr/northwind.html

The service only ran for 2 seasons (and mostly in the pre-digital era), so any information out there is rather limited as a result.

If I recall correctly, the photos on that page are all part of the same collection put together for the marketing CD-ROM (man, what a time to be alive). If I'm not mistaken, VIA still has ownership of the old non-dome observation car employed on the service. 

http://www.okthepk.ca/publicArchive/201204whistlerNorthwind/month00.htm is one of the best sites in terms of the overall consumer info on the service. 

Is another one. I was hoping someone had a book or something about the whole thing. Also wish someone would make a (non-marketing, history-focused) book on the Rocky Mountaineer and how it gobbled VIA's Rocky Mountaineer and eventually the route served by the Northwind.

[Viafreak]

On 11/29/2022 at 6:55 PM, InfiNorth said:

If I recall correctly, the photos on that page are all part of the same collection put together for the marketing CD-ROM (man, what a time to be alive). If I'm not mistaken, VIA still has ownership of the old non-dome observation car employed on the service. 

http://www.okthepk.ca/publicArchive/201204whistlerNorthwind/month00.htm is one of the best sites in terms of the overall consumer info on the service. 

Is another one. I was hoping someone had a book or something about the whole thing. Also wish someone would make a (non-marketing, history-focused) book on the Rocky Mountaineer and how it gobbled VIA's Rocky Mountaineer and eventually the route served by the Northwind.

VIA sold the observation car within the last few years. I can't recall where I read that.

[smallspy]

9 hours ago, Viafreak said:

VIA sold the observation car within the last few years. I can't recall where I read that.

No, they didn't. It's still sitting at MMC.

 

Dan

[Shaun]

13 hours ago, smallspy said:

No, they didn't. It's still sitting at MMC.

 

Dan

Why is it not used in revenue service?

[InfiNorth]

On 12/1/2022 at 6:02 PM, Shaun said:

Why is it not used in revenue service?

It doesn't match (or even remotely come close to matching) anything else they have. It's a tail-end observation car without a dome. I can't see them ever using it.

[smallspy]

11 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

It doesn't match (or even remotely come close to matching) anything else they have. It's a tail-end observation car without a dome. I can't see them ever using it.

That's not specifically true or even applicable, to be honest.

 

Pavilion and Glenfraser were rebuilt at the same time into a pair of lounge cars for the ill-fated Florida Fun Train. The interiors of both are quite similar. When BCR picked up that equipment for the Whistler Northwind, they used both on each train.

 

As for its lack of use......well, how often does Glenfraser get used? Why put a second car into service when the first is used so little already?

 

DAn

[D40LF]

4 hours ago, smallspy said:

That's not specifically true or even applicable, to be honest.

 

Pavilion and Glenfraser were rebuilt at the same time into a pair of lounge cars for the ill-fated Florida Fun Train. The interiors of both are quite similar. When BCR picked up that equipment for the Whistler Northwind, they used both on each train.

 

As for its lack of use......well, how often does Glenfraser get used? Why put a second car into service when the first is used so little already?

 

DAn

Perhaps the boss of a certain model train company will buy Pavilion?

 

[smallspy]

15 hours ago, D40LF said:

Perhaps the boss of a certain model train company will buy Pavilion?

 

He won't.

 

But I know of others who have tried, and were rebuffed.

 

Dan

[D40LF]

5 hours ago, smallspy said:

He won't.

 

But I know of others who have tried, and were rebuffed.

 

Dan

That is actually interesting as it suggests that VIA could see some value to it for the future. Of course it could also be a case of VIA not knowing, or caring, what they have on hand.

[webfil]

On 2/4/2022 at 2:54 PM, webfil said:

So the timeframe for the return of trains to Gaspé has somewhat been skewed. 2024 is now the objective for the reopening to Port-Daniel. The bridges over Cascapedia river were finished early, but the completions of the other structures were delayed due to geotechnical issues (most notably maritime erosion). Here is a pic from the MTQ of the Caplan bridge, completely rebuilt as for dozens of them until Gaspé.

The MTQ announced today the relocation of a 1.4-km section of railway washed out by maritime erosion in Gascons, in order to "protect habitats in coastal and marine environments" and "pursue the objective of bringing the passenger train back to Gaspé".

https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/fr/salle-de-presse/nouvelles/Pages/chemin-fer-gaspesie-nouvelle-phase-port-daniel-gascons.aspx

[Shaun]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:20 AM, webfil said:

The MTQ announced today the relocation of a 1.4-km section of railway washed out by maritime erosion in Gascons, in order to "protect habitats in coastal and marine environments" and "pursue the objective of bringing the passenger train back to Gaspé".

https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/fr/salle-de-presse/nouvelles/Pages/chemin-fer-gaspesie-nouvelle-phase-port-daniel-gascons.aspx

Only 19M? What took so long? What else is needed to bring the train back?

[webfil]

20 hours ago, Shaun said:

Only 19M? What took so long? What else is needed to bring the train back?

They are basically building a new railway on an existing ROW, nay a new ROW at some places

What else is needed :

• New bridge over chemin du Quai in Saint-Siméon, Saint-Siméon river, Arsenault brook in Bonaventure, Bonaventure river, Cullens and Day brooks in Bonaventure, Shigawake river, Paspébiac river, Saint-Godefroi river, Castilloux brook, Little Port-Daniel river;
• Yard overhaul in New Carlisle;
• McInnes tunnel broadening in Port-Daniel;
• 21 additional large bridge overhauls (least probable) or replacements (most probable) east of Gascons (88 % of all large bridges);
• Displacement of 10 miles of track located on barachois sand bars or otherwise washed out (coastal hydrogeomorphology was not exactly perfected in the 1890's), most probably resulting in 10 to 20 miles of new railway located deeper in the hinterland;
• About 275 new culverts;
• Vegetation clearing, replacement of hundreds of thousands of sleepers, application of ballast, rail laying, refurbishment of crossings, new signals, etc.

There is provision for half a billion dollars to cover for the work, but perhaps more will be required to complete it. I am not aware of all the railway works in Canada, but I doubt there are many projects that aim at completely refurbishing 200 miles of undermaintained, hurricane-struck tracks in a 10-year span, so it's hard to tell if the timeframe is right or not.

Although the VIA rail passenger service is one motivation in such major investments, Temrex lumber, Fabrication Delta, McInnis cement plant, LM Wind Power and the port of Gaspé play a bigger role in rending the project viable.

[Shaun]

2 hours ago, webfil said:

They are basically building a new railway on an existing ROW, nay a new ROW at some places

What else is needed :

• New bridge over chemin du Quai in Saint-Siméon, Saint-Siméon river, Arsenault brook in Bonaventure, Bonaventure river, Cullens and Day brooks in Bonaventure, Shigawake river, Paspébiac river, Saint-Godefroi river, Castilloux brook, Little Port-Daniel river;
• Yard overhaul in New Carlisle;
• McInnes tunnel broadening in Port-Daniel;
• 21 additional large bridge overhauls (least probable) or replacements (most probable) east of Gascons (88 % of all large bridges);
• Displacement of 10 miles of track located on barachois sand bars or otherwise washed out (coastal hydrogeomorphology was not exactly perfected in the 1890's), most probably resulting in 10 to 20 miles of new railway located deeper in the hinterland;
• About 275 new culverts;
• Vegetation clearing, replacement of hundreds of thousands of sleepers, application of ballast, rail laying, refurbishment of crossings, new signals, etc.

There is provision for half a billion dollars to cover for the work, but perhaps more will be required to complete it. I am not aware of all the railway works in Canada, but I doubt there are many projects that aim at completely refurbishing 200 miles of undermaintained, hurricane-struck tracks in a 10-year span, so it's hard to tell if the timeframe is right or not.

Although the VIA rail passenger service is one motivation in such major investments, Temrex lumber, Fabrication Delta, McInnis cement plant, LM Wind Power and the port of Gaspé play a bigger role in rending the project viable.

At least there is an industry to support rai ltraffic on this route, especially considering the amount of money being spent. 

[Doppelkupplung]

Bit of an odd question: anyone know any spots along the Corridor (west of Montreal) where the mainline parallels a road right along side the tracks, for a considerable distance? I'm a little obsessed with pacing shots and kind of want to get some. 

[smallspy]

5 hours ago, Doppelkupplung said:

Bit of an odd question: anyone know any spots along the Corridor (west of Montreal) where the mainline parallels a road right along side the tracks, for a considerable distance? I'm a little obsessed with pacing shots and kind of want to get some. 

There's a pretty long section of Moira St just west of Belleville, although you won't be able to get too many pacing shots of VIA's there without worrying about getting a speeding ticket. There are another two sections, one just east of Brighton and the other west of Belleville (Highway 2 and Airport Parkway, respectively), although both of those are on the wrong side of the tracks.

 

There's a long section parallelling the 401 between exits 632 and 623 that will work for westbound trains.

 

The Gardiner Expressway west of Dufferin is another good place, although the traffic can be problematic there.

 

Dan

[tomsbuspage]

23 hours ago, Doppelkupplung said:

Bit of an odd question: anyone know any spots along the Corridor (west of Montreal) where the mainline parallels a road right along side the tracks, for a considerable distance? I'm a little obsessed with pacing shots and kind of want to get some. 

There's a 2.3 km stretch along Bath Road in Kingston that parallels the CN Kingston Sub between Canatara Court and Collins Bay:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/44.2377681,-76.5789903/44.2424418,-76.6070807/@44.2402371,-76.5931417,1317m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0

There's also a roughly 3 km stretch of Russell Road east of Carlsbad Springs in rural southeastern Ottawa that parallels the Via Alexandria Sub between Boundary Road and Milton Road:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/45.3627136,-75.415668/45.3682916,-75.4523274/@45.3653519,-75.4349791,1663m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0