Canadian Railroads > Status of Montreal's railfan condo tower...

The construction of the Montreal condo tower with a good view of the tracks leading into Central Station is coming along.

The pictures show yesterday's combined Halifax (#15) and Gaspe (#17) train backing out to the MMC. This is how the train is built these days.

Ray

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And will the sun ever be on the right side for the railfan in the condo?
Roger B

Yes - in the afternoon.

Ray

When the two trains are combined is the rear train supplied HEP from its loccomotive or does the head end provide all HEP until separation?

nm2320 Wrote:
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> When the two trains are combined is the rear train
> supplied HEP from its loccomotive or does the head
> end provide all HEP until separation?

The usual procedure is for the rear train to be supplied HEP from its locomotive, but not traction. The Ren and HEP-I cars do not have MU connections running through them like the LRC and HEP-II do. In the winter, the locomotive just idles to keep from freezing. I'm not sure if they shut it down in the warmer months. There is no crew riding in it.

This makes the splitting/combining of the two train in Matapédia relatively simple, since the only line the has to be dis/connected is the air brakes. The car man does a brake test, and they're on their way. When connecting the HEP cables, the power must be turned off first in both sections of the train. In the Ren cars, this prevents the toilets from flushing, although there is still basic battery powered lighting.

GTD

Thanks.