Canadian Railroads > Car position on the Canadian

A friend is riding No. 2 the eastbound Canadian October1.  He is in car 222.  This used to be near the rear of the train, but Fred Frailey reported in his recent blog on the Trains Magazine website that car 222 was the first sleeper.  The friend called VIA and they said 222 would be the rear Manor sleeper, just ahead of the Prestige sleeper.  From what you have seen, which position is correct?  

I'm surprised that VIA staff have not been given the updated information that  approximately on the 1st of May the order of sleeping cars was reversed. My friends and I were in car 222 on a June voyage and right up to the day of departure from Vancouver VIA was insisting that car 222 would be near the end of the train. Car 210 is the last sleeper ahead of the Prestige sleeper(s). The Prestige sleeper is car 30 (also 31 when there is a second car) and the Park car continues to be car 39.  The one advantage of sleeper 222 is that there is a Skyline car directly ahead and a dining car ahead of that.  The Park car is obviously a long way back. 

Wondering what was the reason for switching up the car numbers....that have been in place for as long as I can remember.

DrawingroomA Wrote:
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> I'm surprised that VIA staff have not been given
> the updated information that  approximately on
> the 1st of May the order of sleeping cars was
> reversed. My friends and I were in car 222 on a
> June voyage and right up to the day of departure
> from Vancouver VIA was insisting that car 222
> would be near the end of the train. Car 210 is the
> last sleeper ahead of the Prestige sleeper(s). The
> Prestige sleeper is car 30 (also 31 when there is
> a second car) and the Park car continues to be car
> 39.  The one advantage of sleeper 222 is that
> there is a Skyline car directly ahead and a dining
> car ahead of that.  The Park car is obviously a
> long way back. 

Thanks.

Has someone noticed the car positions recently to confirm?

Jim

Jimbo Wrote:

> Thanks.
>
> Has someone noticed the car positions recently to
> confirm?
>
> Jim

I saw the train at Toronto Union about a week ago and the car line numbers were as they have been since the beginning of May - from front to back - 22, 21, 20, 19, etc.  After the last Dining car the numbers were 12, 11, 10, 30 (Prestige), 39 (Park).

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> Wondering what was the reason for switching up the
> car numbers....that have been in place for as long
> as I can remember.

I can't get any official reason - it seems the reservation offices still don't know the numbers have been reversed - but a service manager told me the reason she was given.  Sleepers 10, 11 & 12 were for the past many years the first sleepers on the train.  Those three were used primarily for groups. With the addition of Prestige class, some of the groups would be split up (assuming that some booked Prestige and some regular sleepers) so not only would their "cabins" be be a fifth of a mile apart, they would be assigned to different dining cars.  This sounds plausible.  I wonder what will happen when the train reverts to the winter consist?  (There's no point in asking anyone at VIA.)  Normally there are only three or four sleepers: line numbers 20, 21, 22 are the minimum. It is normal in the off-season that all sleepers are between the dining car and the Park car and only rarely is there a sleeper or two in front of the diner.

DrawingroomA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm surprised that VIA staff have not been given
> the updated information that  approximately on
> the 1st of May the order of sleeping cars was
> reversed. My friends and I were in car 222 on a
> June voyage and right up to the day of departure
> from Vancouver VIA was insisting that car 222
> would be near the end of the train. Car 210 is the
> last sleeper ahead of the Prestige sleeper(s). The
> Prestige sleeper is car 30 (also 31 when there is
> a second car) and the Park car continues to be car
> 39.  The one advantage of sleeper 222 is that
> there is a Skyline car directly ahead and a dining
> car ahead of that.  The Park car is obviously a
> long way back. 

All of this was my experience out of Vancouver on May 31.  I was disappointed yo be so far away from the Park Car--so disappointed I didn't even walk back once through about 16 cars to get to it.  Spend most of my time in the first dome.​

sums007 Wrote:

> All of this was my experience out of Vancouver on
> May 31.  I was disappointed yo be so far away
> from the Park Car--so disappointed I didn't even
> walk back once through about 16 cars to get to
> it.  Spend most of my time in the first dome.​

One of my friends was also annoyed at being 16 cars away and said he wouldn't go back.  We persuaded him to do so once a day.  He was glad he did as none of us had seen a rebuilt Park car.  I made the trip twice a day.  It is indeed a long way - close to a quarter of a mile (which seems much further when you are dodging other passengers and opening doors and going around bends)  - and it gave me a good excuse to have my afternoon "restorative" of gin & tonic.

Jim, I was on #1 a few weeks ago and can confirm the 22 car as the closest-to-the-front sleeper.  It is located right behind the "A" diner and dome, which they call the activity car.  It was quite a hike to the Park car, and I only made it back there once, spending most of my time in the A dome.