Canadian Railroads > The Millionaires' Special

Nova Scotia railfans got a headsup in the spring of 2000 that VIA would run a special train from Truro to Sydney and back on the CBNS, their first revenue trip on those tracks since the infamous cuts of January 1990. (There had been a couple test runs for the Bras d'Or the previous year, but not for fare-paying passengers.) Not only would the train feature the ex-CP stainless steel passenger cars and a Park Observation dome, but it would be hauled by a genuine FP9, 6309, which may have been the last F unit to run on that line, in the spring of 1989.

Since this was an event not to be missed, three or four of us rented a car, and headed off early on the morning of April 21 to document the event. Our first contact was at Orangedale, the site of the last ICR station still standing on the Sydney Sub, and also the location of a nice little museum with some rolling stock and exhibits related to the local area. The weather wasn't really promising, so to hedge my bets, I not only shot slide film, but also Kodak Portra 400VC negative film (and set up a Hi-8 video cam at some locations). The thought was that the negative film would be forgiving of exposure errors, and the extra saturation might help out the colours on a drab day. These images are from the Portra, scanned on my newly acquired film scanner.

The sun actually appeared briefly at Sutherlands River as the special crossed the causeway and bridge at the mouth of the river. This scene was shot from the still-dormant-for-the-winter Salvation Army Summer Camp front lawn. The special was running roughly on what would become the Bras d'Or's schedule, so by the time they reached the end of the CBNS at Truro, it was about 17:00, and the light was pretty dim. The Portra did do a decent job though, as they slowly moved west through the barren Truro yard.

6307 has had quite a career since these photos were taken. She was involved in an altercation with a dump truck in Quebec, but received a nose job and crudely rebuilt headlight casing and was back in service. She then was sold to the Ohio Central who remodeled the headlight, and worked there for a few years before being bought by CP and renumbered 4106 for use on their Royal Canadian Pacific and business trains.

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What was the consist of this particular train pictured. Looks like (from back to front) the Park Car Dome/Lounge, then three Chateau sleepers, Diner, ???? and the Diesel unit. I guess this Diesel was equipped with HEP, or is HEP being supplied by my ???? car?

Was this a test run with just VIA staff or why is it referred to as the "Millionaires' Special?

Course the Bras'd'Or had a short time span during 2000 and 2001 I believe. I don't think it made it into 2002 due to speculation of the line being sold/downgraded even further? The consist of the Bras'd'Or, even though I never had the pleasure of taking it was a few coaches, Skyline Dome Car and Park Car. I forget if it had a diner in the consist or not or if food service was offered from the Skyline Dome Car.

I remember that VIA had plans to operate this train seasonally (after the Renaissance equipment came online for the Ocean) twice a week - leaving Halifax on Tuesday, returning from Sydney to Halifax on Wednesday. Then leaving Halifax on Friday and returning from Sydney on Saturday. I don't think the return was planned for Sunday from Sydney to Halifax, but not sure. The Tuesday/Wednesday was the day that the Ocean had "off" so to speak (it didn't run). The semi-weekend trip of Friday/Saturday I think would have worked out much better. Course I can come up with a ton of ideas on how to run this train again, but I still can't figure out how "secure" the line is for the future, as VIA would want to ensure a two year booking on the line I would imagine with tour companies etc. Plus I'd suggest the train make a few local stops on its way to Sydney - or stops for passengers onboard to enjoy.

I hated the drive from Halifax to Cape Breton and kept saying "I wish I was on a train" regardless of how long the train would have actually taken (a day's journey). But with the traffic and construction on the highway up to Cape Breton it wasn't a short ride either.

jp1822 Wrote:
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I guess this
> Diesel was equipped with HEP, or is HEP being
> supplied by my ???? car?

The HEP was on the diesel unit. VIA had a Double O 92 Detroit Diesel added to the unit to provide HEP for the train. Its muffler can be seen on the rear top right side of the F unit in the last photo.

Gerry Gaugl
Ottawa ON

Gerry is correct about the HEP in the FP9. In addition to the muffler, there is a large cooling fan over top of where the steam generator once was. After these diesels were rebuilt with 645 power assemblies, they got the unofficial model number of FP9u. Most, if not all, got the HEP sometime after the initial rebuild. Although I can't tell for sure, I think the first car behind the engine is a Manor sleeper for crew accommodations. I'll see if there's a better image somewhere of it and its name.

The term "Millionaires' Special" was a nickname coined by VIA employees, I think. This was actually a charter by an American (I think) tour operator. For a number of years they hired an F unit, some Budd sleepers and a dome, and headed off for some remote part of Canada. I think one year they made it to Hay River in the NWT. The excursion was always in the off season, so the equipment was available, and presumably they got a better rate. Not all the passengers are millionaires, they just like to travel like it! I ran into one fellow in North Conway, NH a few years later, and he didn't act like a millionaire.

The Bras d'Or actually ran for five seasons: 2000-2004. I have some pictures of its first trip that I'll try to get posted shortly.

GTD

There were many sneering postings on Canadian railfans' sites claiming that the Bras D'Or was a train "only for the rich." I concede it was regrettable that the Bras D'Or wasn't operated like the Skeena, which makes local stops and provides basic coach transportation as well as the up scale Totem Class. But in all the whinging postings which I read, not one quoted the so-called outrageous fare that only the rich could afford. The most a passenger could pay was $200 one way. There were sometimes discounts available and at least in the year I rode it (2004) the westbound fare was lower than the eastbound. The Bras D'Or was a splendid train which deserved to succeed and, although not cheap, the fare seemed reasonable for a day-long trip of such quality.

Even the Canadian has some good deals in the off-season. This winter private room sleeping car accommodation can be had for as little as $1048.43 (including tax) for the three day/four night trip. If travelling round trip a Canrailpass would lower the cost even further.

The Via promotional material was strange regarding the "Bras D'Or" in that it marketed the train as a drive one way, take the train the other. Via went so far as to offer a rental car discount voucher. I wonder if there was no drop off fee for leaving the car at a location other than where it was rented.

I lived along the route of the Bras d’Or but for a local to ride it, the logistics were time consuming:

I would need to have someone drive me to Halifax early in the morning (3 hours). Then follow the Bras d’Or to Sydney to provide a drive home that evening. Another 2 1/2 hours. Or:

I could have taken a bus to Halifax the evening before and stayed at the Westin Hotel at the VIA Station for the early departure. Then there would have been another night in a Sydney hotel before returning home by bus on the third day.

Before the VIA cuts in January 1990, the Halifax-Truro-Sydney run was a busy route. Always running with 2 or 3 RDC units. Too bad the Bras d’Or wasn’t run similar to the Skeena.....Permitting local traffic. At least at Port Hawkesbury as the train was stopping anyway.

Well I would have to agree that something like the Skeena for the Bras'd'Or would have been ideal. And even a few stops along the route would have been fine - near or at major towns. Having rental car service available at Sydney or Port Hawkesbury would be key to attracting the tourist crowd, as I think most would want to explore Cape Breton from either of these locations - particularly.

I am still uncertain of the rail line's future. Is it brighter south of Port Hawkesbury, then dim from there to Sydney? For some reason, I thought the rail line was more secure than when VIA pulled out of the Bras'd'Or service back in 2004. And a tri-weekly train in peak season would be best - rather than once a week, in the middle of the week. But that's all they had enough equipment for at the time!

I did see a lot of rail cars from CN at the Port when I was up to Cape Breton a few years ago.

cn6218 Wrote:
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Although I
> can't tell for sure, I think the first car behind
> the engine is a Manor sleeper for crew
> accommodations. I'll see if there's a better
> image somewhere of it and its name.
>
I had a look through other photos of that trip, and although I don't have a close-up of the car name, my best guess (after scanning and enlarging a shot of the whole train) is that it's Laird Manor.