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VIA Rail

Urban Sky said:
They are delivered as trainsets and I don't see any reason to deploy the fleet as anything else than trainsets...
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Same with the lrcs.... look what happened after 10 yrs... hate to be cynical but via track record of butchering and Mish mashing is irrefutable
 
cplchanb said:
Same with the lrcs.... look what happened after 10 yrs... hate to be cynical but via track record of butchering and Mish mashing is irrefutable
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The locomotives were ordered with the coaches, yes, but I think integrated train management and telemetry systems have come on a few generations since those days...
 
dowlingm said:
The locomotives were ordered with the coaches, yes, but I think integrated train management and telemetry systems have come on a few generations since those days...
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That was also the case with tilting systems in LRC's but I believe that some diagnosis and management equipment was installed in the P42'S when they where ordered.
 
cplchanb said:
Same with the lrcs.... look what happened after 10 yrs... hate to be cynical but via track record of butchering and Mish mashing is irrefutable
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There will be a surplus of F40s with the delivery of the Siemens fleet, but only one Charger locomotive for every 5 Viaggio cars. Why would VIA use a scarce Charger locomotive to haul legacy fleet cars?
 
cplchanb said:
Same with the lrcs.... look what happened after 10 yrs... hate to be cynical but via track record of butchering and Mish mashing is irrefutable
Click to expand...

I don’t see your point - when VIA assigned underutilised LRCs to conventional trains it was because the LRCs were new and (relatively) reliable while the rest of their locos were junk. Good strategy if you ask me.

The F40s and P42s will not be compatible with some of the Siemens’ onboard tech so I don,’t anticipate their seeing much duty with the new fleet. . If a Charger loco is occasionally used on LRC or HEP trains, what’s wrong with that? They will be newer, more fuel efficient, and greener.

Hell, rent ‘em to CP for peaks, as VIA used to do with the 6400s…. good business.

- Pail
 
crs1026 said:
I don’t see your point - when VIA assigned underutilised LRCs to conventional trains it was because the LRCs were new and (relatively) reliable while the rest of their locos were junk. Good strategy if you ask me.

The F40s and P42s will not be compatible with some of the Siemens’ onboard tech so I don,’t anticipate their seeing much duty with the new fleet. . If a Charger loco is occasionally used on LRC or HEP trains, what’s wrong with that? They will be newer, more fuel efficient, and greener.

Hell, rent ‘em to CP for peaks, as VIA used to do with the 6400s…. good business.

- Pail
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What about this:

The LRC locos were almost brand new at that time and they were already mix and matched with legacy cars. When you start mixing and matching you affect the image of what's been marketed as fixed trainsets. They are supposed to be semi fixed consists. The sight of mixed lrcs/Renaissance/hep equipment to me just screams disorganized fleet identity, frugal operating model and just patch it up mentality. Maybe it's my old but I would really much prefer to see a complete trainset type stay as the same type from start to finish. Doesn't it look odd to see a mammoth p42 pulling tiny lrc coaches half it's size and vise versa as the attached pic shows? VIA is not a freight train operation. Public image is also important, one being how their fleet looks
 

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Urban Sky said:
There will be a surplus of F40s with the delivery of the Siemens fleet, but only one Charger locomotive for every 5 Viaggio cars. Why would VIA use a scarce Charger locomotive to haul legacy fleet cars?
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So will they be upgrading the F40's? Since we currently do not have any replacements on order?

I guess the P42's are finished then. Would anyone be interested in rebuilding them? ONR?
 
cplchanb said:
What about this:

The LRC locos were almost brand new at that time and they were already mix and matched with legacy cars. When you start mixing and matching you affect the image of what's been marketed as fixed trainsets. They are supposed to be semi fixed consists. The sight of mixed lrcs/Renaissance/hep equipment to me just screams disorganized fleet identity, frugal operating model and just patch it up mentality. Maybe it's my old but I would really much prefer to see a complete trainset type stay as the same type from start to finish. Doesn't it look odd to see a mammoth p42 pulling tiny lrc coaches half it's size and vise versa as the attached pic shows? VIA is not a freight train operation. Public image is also important, one being how their fleet looks
Click to expand...

The average passenger doesn't care a whit. They notice if the train is clean or dirty on the outside (VIA could do better here) and maybe whether the paint scheme looks "snazzy" (which is a concept that most enthusiasts' tastes may not understand or align to). I don't think the roofline of a P42/LRC combo even registers. Sure, some consists that mix LRC and HEP look a little odd, but I doubt they create an aversion to buy a ticket.

Certainly, sleek sells - but VIA has sold more tickets by mixing and matching to optimise the fleet than if they had turned up their noses and kept everything segregated.

Bordercollie said:
So will they be upgrading the F40's? Since we currently do not have any replacements on order?

I guess the P42's are finished then. Would anyone be interested in rebuilding them? ONR?
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P42's are reportedly reaching the end of the spare parts life cycle. The F40's are still mid-lifecycle after the last refurb. Won't know more for another 5-6 years. If HFR goes electric, there may be diesel Chargers to spare.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
The average passenger doesn't care a whit. They notice if the train is clean or dirty on the outside (VIA could do better here) and maybe whether the paint scheme looks "snazzy" (which is a concept that most enthusiasts' tastes may not understand or align to). I don't think the roofline of a P42/LRC combo even registers. Sure, some consists that mix LRC and HEP look a little odd, but I doubt they create an aversion to buy a ticket.



P42's are reportedly reaching the end of the spare parts life cycle. The F40's are still mid-lifecycle after the last refurb. Won't know more for another 5-6 years. If HFR goes electric, there may be diesel Chargers to spare.

- Paul
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Amtrak still has at least 100 units left in their fleet so is there not enough units still around for spare parts?
 
crs1026 said:
Those 100 units ARE the spare parts supply. After that....

- Paul
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VIA could possibly sell theirs to Amtrak for spare parts.

As for the F40s, I gather they have recently been refurbished.

Regarding mixing and matching, the LRC and Renaissance cars need to be retired, so they won't be available. That only leaves the HEP cars, and they are also approaching their end of life, and VIA will need them for their regional and long distance services.
 
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