Canadian Railroads > The 'Dayniter'.....a step above Coach.

Back in the '70s....CN introduced the 'Dayniter' cars. A step above regular coach but certainly not the comfort of sleeper accommodations! They had leg and foot rests along with tray tables that standard CN coaches lacked. Floors and walls were carpeted.....so they were quiet and the seats slid forward and didn't encroach into your neighbour's space behind.

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With the April 1974 timetable change.....the through sleeper (here...Greendale an exBoston and Maine RR car) between Sydney NS and Montreal was replaced by a Dayniter. In the 3 rd photo below at Stellarton NS in Sept 1975.....the Dayniter is the last car. It...... along with a Cafe-Lounge, Coach and Baggage Car would be added to the westbound Halifax-Montreal Scotian at Truro, NS. I rode the Dayniter to Montreal several time and usually there were very few aboard. Most passengers rode the earlier 'Railiner' to connect with the Ocean in Truro. Eastbound from Montreal to Sydney.....the Dayniter WAS on the Ocean and better used.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/20 01:28 by ghCBNS.

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The initial fleet of Dayniters with 52 seats were rebuilt from CCF 1954 76 seat coaches but later on....cars were rebuilt from sleepers. These were easy to spot from the placement of the smaller windows......and riding one you might find yourself next to a wall!

Here's 5729........originally a 24 Duplex Roomette Sleeper built by CCF in 1950. This was actually the first car I had seen in the new paint scheme about 3 months after the launch of 'VIA CN' in April 1976. It was on e/b #18 to Sydney with the through cars from Montreal at Stellarton NS on July 11, 1976.

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VIA 5751 was originally Frisco (St. Louis – San Francisco RR) 14-4 Sleeper 'Osage River'

And VIA 5725....exCN 5479. A 76 seat coach built by CCF in 1954.

They were also used in the corridor and called 'Club 52' but didn't offer the full Club (1st Class) service. A lot of the VIA Dayniters eventually went to Rocky Mountaineer.

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ghCBNS Wrote:
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> VIA 5751 was originally Frisco (St. Louis – San
> Francisco RR) 14-4 Sleeper 'Osage River'
>
> And VIA 5725....exCN 5479. A 76 seat coach built
> by CCF in 1954.
>
> They were also used in the corridor and called
> 'Club 52' but didn't offer the full Club (1st
> Class) service. A lot of the VIA Dayniters
> eventually went to Rocky Mountaineer.

I rode in Club 52 many a time.  For $5 or $6 above coach fare, and a comfortable ride with a meal as well. Could not beat it!

My favourite cars were the ones made from ex-MILW Road sleeping cars.

I travelled in Club 52 several times on shorter distances, such as Toronto to Belleville or Kingston. The modest supplement included a snack, which was sufficient on a short run.It was usually a salad and/or a sandwich, a piece of cake and a non-alcoholic beverage. Some trains offered only one club car (Club 52) and not two club cars which offered a choice of full club service (with 2+1 seating and a hot meal) or Club 52.

A few years ago VIA was planning on reconfiguring some VIA-1 cars to offer a choice of service levels in the one car. The then traditional 2+2 seating area would be operated like Club 52; passengers would be served a snack. A rebuilt 2+1 seating area would provide the full VIA-1 service. Nothing came of that plan and most VIA-1 cars have been reconfigured with the spacious 2+1 seating arrangement.

Very nice overview of Daynighter cars.  In early VIA days rode on one on the Canadian.  Car very comfortable.  Only problem was a group of noisy kids not watched over by parents.  But can't blame that on the car.  Thanks for posting.

Correct me if I am wrong. but seem to recall that many CN Daynighters sold to Rocky Mountain rail at the time of their start up  for $1.00 per car in a bad political deal.

Wow we must be twins ! I'm 58 years old and you have seemed to have lived my life to a certain point !
Although I travelled to Gaspe instead of Halifax...
Those "Daynighters" were great to ride in if you could not afford the sleeping car fare.
I also remember riding them in the corridor to.
Please keep these reminders of the "good old days" coming !!! 
Thank you for sharing !!! :):):)

gaspeamtrak Wrote:
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>Although I travelled to Gaspe instead of Halifax...
>Those "Daynighters" were great to ride in if you could not afford the sleeping car fare.

During the '70s......the through cars from Montreal to Sydney and Gaspe were similar.

Eastbound the through cars to Sydney were on the Ocean and the Gaspe cars.....on the Scotian.

Westbound it was just the opposite:

The Sydney cars were added to the Scotian in Truro and the Gaspe cars added to the Ocean in Matapedia.

I love those cartoon like advertisements from the 1970's.
That swain lucked out getting a seat reservation next to that lovely lass.
"Another round of drinks here, please!"

The couple in the drawing after the photos sure seem to be happy to be seated next to each other!

RuleG Wrote:
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> The couple in the drawing after the photos sure
> seem to be happy to be seated next to each other!

Yes, and the gentleman wearing a tie while "relaxing". Good luck on that one. 

Nice series; the rear-end view of the full, all-CN consist really looks sharp. You wouldn't necessarily predict that black with light grey would have that impact, but it does. It's also neat to see how the MLW road switchers fit in, with grey frame stripe on noodle scheme.
Fred