VIA Rail

[micheal_can]

Slow at it is, I still love the fact that with just two connections one can travel 5,400 km from this station to Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. You’ll need five to six days to do it, so bring a book.

It’s too bad the Canadian doesn’t run from Halifax to Vancouver. Was that ever an offering?

There was a time when the Ocean and Canadian/Super Continental met in Montreal, only requiring the one transfer. Then the Canadian met the Toronto Canadian in Sudbury and the Super Continental met the Toronto Super Continental in Capreol. That all stopped when they ripped up the tracks through the Ottawa Valley.

I don't know that Wikipedia's list is comprehensive, (named passenger trains in Canada, current and historical)

List of named passenger trains of Canada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But looking at all the trains w/Vancouver as a listed terminal point, I don't see any destinations further east than Montreal.

CN/VIAs Super-Continental appears to have been the last of these to run, ending service in 1990

***

There are some curious terminal points in that list.

Yarmouth, NS was a big one..
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Port Arthur, ON (now part of Thunder Bay)

Also while there are several city pairs you might imagine from a more robust era of rail (Toronto-Buffalo, Montreal-Boston, Cleveland Toronto, Halifax-Boston)...

I find it interesting to see several pairs originate in Minneapolis MN.

Back when rail ruled the land, the goal was to connect everywhere to everywhere. For example, before 17 was completed in the 1960s, you could take a train along the Superior coast. Now, no passenger train follows that entire route. And before anyone corrects me - it was not a no transfer trip. However, it could still be done, much like the original idea behind going between Vancouver and Halifax.

 

[evandyk]

I can only image the amount of Canadians coming through here and other stations in the area to board the ships to defend our freedom.

Half a million troops one way, then a million immigrants and refugees the other way in the next 25 years, including my parents and grandparents.

 

[micheal_can]

Half a million troops one way, then a million immigrants and refugees the other way in the next 25 years, including my parents and grandparents.

My grandparents and aunt also came through here. Interestingly,I can still retrace their entire rail journey in Canada.

 

[evandyk]

I actually don't know for a fact that my parents took the train, I've never asked them. But I think pretty much everyone who came via Halifax to Toronto (or Thunder Bay of all places in my dad's family's case) took the train.

 

[micheal_can]

I actually don't know for a fact that my parents took the train, I've never asked them. But I think pretty much everyone who came via Halifax to Toronto (or Thunder Bay of all places in my dad's family's case) took the train.

Most likely it was all they could afford.

 

[evandyk]

Maybe. All though in my mom's case, my two oldest uncles had come by themselves a few years earlier, so it's possible they made other arrangements. I'll ask her next time I see them.

 

[micheal_can]

Maybe. All though in my mom's case, my two oldest uncles had come by themselves a few years earlier, so it's possible they made other arrangements. I'll ask her next time I see them.

For shorter trips,a bus may have worked, but going into Ontario/Quebec, as in the case of my family, it was overall much better to take the train.

 

[evandyk]

On this topic, this is fun:

ALL ABOARD! | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

In the years immediately after the Second World War, transportation companies published children’s food menus abroad their ships and trains. In order to attract prospective travellers, transportation companies realized that illustrating the services they offered and the travel experience aboard...

pier21.ca

 

[micheal_can]

On this topic, this is fun:

ALL ABOARD! | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

In the years immediately after the Second World War, transportation companies published children’s food menus abroad their ships and trains. In order to attract prospective travellers, transportation companies realized that illustrating the services they offered and the travel experience aboard...

pier21.ca

I have been to that museum, twice. I feel every Canadian that is not indigenous should visit it in their lifetime. We were all immigrants once.

 

[Urban Sky]

On this topic, this is fun:

ALL ABOARD! | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

In the years immediately after the Second World War, transportation companies published children’s food menus abroad their ships and trains. In order to attract prospective travellers, transportation companies realized that illustrating the services they offered and the travel experience aboard...

pier21.ca

Definitely a fascinating aspect of Canadian history (which ranks high on my personal to-visit list!) and a reminder of how closely it is tied to its railways!

Yet, this would probably be more on topic in this thread:

General railway discussions

I have a feeling the MPI brand is dead, so any new locos reverting to GE, such as their P47AC proposal https://vergarastudio.com/index.php/projects/ge-p47ac-passenger-locomotive.html Meanwhile electrek reports on a UK trial of a Hitachi battery intercity trainset. Mind you, the distances...

urbantoronto.ca

 

[dowlingm]

Re the long distance locomotive replacement. I posted the Merx announcement on railroad.net and it raised a suggestion I hadn’t contemplated - without sight of specifications and thus VIA priorities, couldn’t VIA simply order Tier 4 freight units, and have HEP provided by generators on baggage or service cars? This would even open the option of having the host railroad provide the power directly. Does Canadian exceed 70mph on any part of its route at present?

 

[cplchanb]

Re the long distance locomotive replacement. I posted the Merx announcement on railroad.net and it raised a suggestion I hadn’t contemplated - without sight of specifications and thus VIA priorities, couldn’t VIA simply order Tier 4 freight units, and have HEP provided by generators on baggage or service cars? This would even open the option of having the host railroad provide the power directly. Does Canadian exceed 70mph on any part of its route at present?

the gearing of freight vs passenger locos are different. these locos will be used everywhere other than corridor so it needs to be rated for passenger line speeds.

 

[micheal_can]

Re the long distance locomotive replacement. I posted the Merx announcement on railroad.net and it raised a suggestion I hadn’t contemplated - without sight of specifications and thus VIA priorities, couldn’t VIA simply order Tier 4 freight units, and have HEP provided by generators on baggage or service cars? This would even open the option of having the host railroad provide the power directly. Does Canadian exceed 70mph on any part of its route at present?

Yes, parts of the Canadian route does see it reach 90mph. It is rare that it does, but it still can.

 

[Urban Sky]

Rumours shared on groups.io claim that VIA is considering to procure generator cars:

Re: Ocean video, with hint about new cars

groups.io

 

[KevinT]

Rumours shared on groups.io claim that VIA is considering to procure generator cars:

Re: Ocean video, with hint about new cars

groups.io

I think it would have been great if the cab cars for the Chargers on the corridor had each had an emergency genset in them that could power any one car in the consist in case of an emergency to keep the lights on, HVAC going, and the toilets flushing. I know there'd be procurement and ongoing maintenance costs to that, but the alternative has already proven to be ugly on two occasions, and we haven't even had them that long. Hopefully there's been lessons learned for the long-haul fleet procurement.