Bordercollie
Senior Member
2Ft Longer than the P42DC.Really a juxtaposition between the new one and that old EMD train.
2Ft Longer than the P42DC.Really a juxtaposition between the new one and that old EMD train.
And so glad they went with Siemens. Nice to see rolling stock arriving on schedule as opposed the street car fiasco with Bombardier.
And that was exactly the point of chosing Siemens: VIA needed a design which was off-the-shelf and proven to minimize the risk of delays they couldn't afford while faced with the reality of operating a rapidly decaying fleet...It's easy when the only thing you customize is the paint and fabric colors.
And that was exactly the point of chosing Siemens: VIA needed a design which was off-the-shelf and proven to minimize the risk of delays they couldn't afford while faced with the reality of operating a rapidly decaying fleet...
First off, even under exaggerated assumptions of 100 people per car and 100 kg per person, you would have only 10I fine it strange some what that VIA is using the same train style as Brightline from the same builder using a cab car at one end and Brightline is using power at both end. Then, VIA is the only system moving to a cab car at one end compare to systems around the world that I know of on long distance trains. Other than crush load, see no need to have power at both end for 4 cars.
I should add that the designer in me doesn’t like the red maple leaf slapped on to the side. I’m certain some bureaucrat was “we need a maple leaf to people know we’re Canadian”. I don’t like it. DB, SNCF, NS, and PKP don’t use their national flags and colours. Branding and visual identity is different from national identity. The yellow, black, grey look great on this fleet.Loving the look of the new train. And so glad they went with Siemens. Nice to see rolling stock arriving on schedule as opposed the street car fiasco with Bombardier.
For a guy who seems to follow Progressive Railroading and the other industry rags, you seem to be painfully unaware of the two massive orders currently underway for Austria's and the Czech railways ordering - *GASP* - trainsets equipped with cab cars. Austria's even ordering overnight trains that will be cab-car equipped.Then, VIA is the only system moving to a cab car at one end compare to systems around the world that I know of on long distance trains. Other than crush load, see no need to have power at both end for 4 cars.
First off, even under exaggerated assumptions of 100 people per car and 100 kg per person, you would have only 10 tons of "human weight" per car and thus no more than 50 tons per train (note that you still need a 5th car, even if you replace the cab car for a second locomotive), which should still be less than the weight of one empty Venture car and thus have negligible effect on acceleration compared to lighter passenger loads (trust me, this is my day job!)...
Anyways, may I ask you what railroads use trainsets with a locomotive on both ends? Granted, that was standard for the first generation of HSR trainsets (e.g. Advanced Passenger Train, Alstom's TGVs, ICE 1, Eurostar e300), but with the notable exceptions of France and Sweden, they more or less all have been superseded by either locomotive-and-cab-car concepts (e.g. ICE 2, Railjet, Class 91 with Driving Van Trailer or virtually any intercity train across Europe and beyond) or EMUs (ICE 3/T/4, Alstom's AGV, Eurostar e320), whereas Japan's Shinkansen seems to have never bothered with locomotive-hauled trains...
They should've just had the maple leaf beside the Via text like their logo.
Interesting. I agree there isn't a power issue with a single locomotive. The worry I have with using cab cars more has to do with the physics of pushing a train. On straight track, if a car derails while being pushed, the slight offset resulting from the derailment will create an outward lateral force, pushing the car away from the centre of the track. When being pulled, that lateral force will be inward and pull the car back to the centre of the track, tending to keep it aligned on the centre of the track.
At least it looks like they tried to have it fit in. The way they put full waving flags on the LRC coaches and renaissance coaches looks ridiculous.I should add that the designer in me doesn’t like the red maple leaf slapped on to the side.
Yes, they should simplify their logo to be VIA* where * is maple leaf. They seem to think they need to spell out VIA Rail Canada with a maple leaf flag flying off the d on Canada as part of their logo.They should've just had the maple leaf beside the Via text like their logo.
Regarding Brightline, my guess is that since it was a small order (only 5 trainsets), the NRE cost of designing a cab car exceeded the cost of purchasing 5 extra locomotives. Also, I gather the plan is to eventually expand the trainsets up to 10 cars, so maybe they would need a second locomotive then.
I'm going to bet that now that the NRE is done and cab cars are an option, Brightline will eventually buy cab cars and reconfigure all their trains. Ordering cab cars would let them double the number of trains they have without ordering a single locomotive, while adding seats/amenity space to a trainset. Would let them substantially improve frequency from the current hourly that they do.