Passenger Trains > Westbound Canadian of May 6

Via No. 1 on Tuesday was reputed to have left Toronto with 30 cars, to accommodate a large tour group. I bet a lot of people would love to see its consist, if it was anywhere near as long as that.

Fred

ffrailey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Via No. 1 on Tuesday was reputed to have left
> Toronto with 30 cars, to accommodate a large tour
> group. I bet a lot of people would love to see its
> consist, if it was anywhere near as long as that.
>
>
> Fred

WOW: that's almost as long as RBBB's two 2008 trains: Red show with 37 streamliner-era passenger cars, and Blue show with 40 streamliner-era passenger cars! 'Wouldn't mind seeing some photos of that VIA train myself.....

I have been on 26, 28 and 30 car Canadian's before, so long consists are not that unusual. I would think they have 3 maybe 4 F40's up front.

That means a 4th engine west of Kamloops

ffrailey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Via No. 1 on Tuesday was reputed to have left
> Toronto with 30 cars, to accommodate a large tour
> group. I bet a lot of people would love to see its
> consist, if it was anywhere near as long as that.
>
>
> Fred

The following consist was posted by a regular contributor to the Yahoo Canadian Passenger Rail site:

6403
6434
6440
8612
8104
8105
8103
Skyline 8500
Brock Manor
Allan Manor
Fraser Manor
Skyline 8517
Fairholme
Christie Manor
Franklin Manor
Craig Manor
Chateau Denonville
Chateau Marquette
Chateau Laval
Chateau Lauzon
Skyline 8515
Imperial
Osler Manor
Lorne Manor
Bell Manor
Waterton Park

Power = 3
Cars = 23

This consist can be described as slightly above average for the peak season.

By my calculation the consist listed has 303 sleeper berths and 204 coach seats available. Actual passenger count will be less of course as VIA reserves some roomettes for crew space, and not all berths are typically sold (a couple may book a triple room for example, and open sections apparently don't sell as well as private rooms). Some other random thoughts -

- I'm pretty sure VIA opens the Canadian's diners only to sleeper passengers, with coach passengers eating in the first Skyline car. The two diners on the train provide about a 1:3 diner seat to berth ratio, while for coach its over 1:8.

- The 3:2 ratio of sleeper berths to coach seats is the opposite of what Amtrak offers, which is usually at least 1:2 on most LD trains.

- To provide similar capacity using Amtrak Superliners, you would need 9.5 revenue cars vs. the Canadian's 16.5 (A Park car is half revenue space, as is an Amtrak dorm-sleeper). Assuming two diners, two lounges, and a Superliner coach-baggage car for checked luggage, fourteen Superliners replace 23 VIA Budd cars.

- Two P42DCs pulling 14 Superliners likely provide the same if not better HP/tonnage ratio than three F40PHs pulling 23 Budds, even when HEP generation is factored in.

Before anyone jumps in with the "Budd cars are much better" argument, I'm only comparing the capacity, not making a statement on which I would rather ride in. I'm a dome fan too!

Dave

I am a little surprised they hauled out the Chateau series sleeper cars for this run, as typically the Canadian can still get by with just the Manor series sleeper cars. Course the Chateau series sleeper cars feature the coveted Triple bedroom - which normally only can be found in the Park Car on the Canadian.

Coach passengers typically can get a meal in the diner in "off-peak" season or when the Canadian is running with a shorter consist. But with a longer consist like this, the coach passengers were likely dining in the Skyline Dome/Lounge car. VIA was smart to make one half of the lower section of these cars a "lounge" space and the other a "table/chair seating arrangement" with the middle containing your grill and cafe section for concessionaire etc.

VIA's Canadian always has sleepers outnumbering coach cars. And the sections are often booked up despite the privacy of a roomette offering.

Class act.
If I had the time this would be very high on the list.

To continue this very interesting discussion, the Chateau sleepers usually show up when the consist gets to 20-21 cars. I rode the eastbound Canadian (#2) on May 2, with this 18-car consist (line numbers follow the car name or number):

6437 F40PH-2 (off at Jasper)
6434 F40PH-2
6440 F40PH-2

8612 Baggage
8105 2 Coach
8103 6 Coach
8500 Skyline dome buffet-lounge (coach diner)
Brock Manor* 210
Arlan Manor* 211
Fraser Manor* 212
8517 Skyline dome buffet-lounge
8409 Diner
Christie Manor*213
Franklin Manor*214
Craig Manor* 000 (DH)
8515 Skyline dome buffet-lounge
8411 Diner
Osler Manor* 220
Lome Manor* 221
Bell Manor* 222
Waterton Park# 239 Skyline dome-sleeper-bar lounge-observation

* 3 sections, 5 bedrooms, 1 compartment, 4 roomettes
# 3 bedrooms, 1 drawing room

The passenger count out of Vancouver was 50 in coach and 142 in sleepers
The passenger count out of Jasper was 63 in coach and 105 in sleepers

This train is the last throwback to the Streamliner Era. To book a bedroom in the Park car, as I was fortunate to do, is to step back 50 years in time. But that is another story.

Those who want to explore Canadian consists in more depth should join the Canadian-Passenger-Rail discussion in Yahoo Groups. There, a certain hero of mine by the name of Robert Lubinski has since 2004 recorded approximately two-thirds of the departures of No. 1 from Toronto, car name or number by car name or number, plus the motors.

Fred