Passenger Trains > some pix from my recent rides on The Canadian...

Here's a few shots from the many I took while riding The Canadian...I was on a North America Rail Pass beginning Jan.12, 2009 and ending on Feb.10, 2009.
It was my first and much anticipated ride on VIA - I took #2 from Vancouver,BC to Toronto with a three day stay at Niagara Falls before returning on #1 and then after zigzagging across the US on Amtrak I rode #1 again from Toronto to Vancouver,BC. It was a great trip covering about 20,000 miles through 27 states and 5 provinces on 16 different trains. I plan to put together some sort of travelogue with tales, tips and info about my journey but it will take some time to sort through the nearly 1000 photos and 12 hours of video plus all my notes...
The one thing I would like to emphasize here is that riding The Canadian is like going back in time 55 years to a time when passenger trains were in their heyday and in spite of route and schedule changes over the years it remains a great train ride! It doesn't have to be expensive to ride either and I believe VIA got it right when they chose to refurbish the Budd-built equipment rather than dispose of it as Amtrak did. One other thing VIA does much better than Amtrak is keeping the glass clean...they realize people ride trains to see scenery and take pictures/video of what's outside...very important to this railfan!

Don Delitz
Vancouver, WA

1) VIA train #2 on 1/13 prior to leaving Vancouver,BC

2) Banff Park on rear of #2 at Jasper with a huge pile of snow in foreground

3) end of #2 at Winnipeg...it was -40 degrees here this night F or C they say it's the same

4) wonderful food served here!

5) about -20 degrees in Jasper on return trip and the glass is still cleaned!

6) yours truly during stop at Hornepayne, Ontario

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here's three more...

7) #1 heads west with four cars added in Winnipeg to be moved to Vancouver

8) still used to switch cars at Vancouver

9) inside Toronto's Union Station

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10) lunch menu (different every day each way) and real china and silverware!

11) CN #2407 a C40-8M...part of an EB freight passed at Hornepayne, Ontario

12) #2 at Jasper with #6414 (ugly brown Loto paint scheme) as second unit

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Oh and by the way...to Todd Clark...I love your videos of your family's Canadian trip. It was a great preview of what I had been looking forward to for a long time. The shot of your daughter getting the Slinky to go down the stairs to the dome was priceless!!

DTrainshooter Wrote:
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> Oh and by the way...to Todd Clark...I love your
> videos of your family's Canadian trip. It was a
> great preview of what I had been looking forward
> to for a long time. The shot of your daughter
> getting the Slinky to go down the stairs to the
> dome was priceless!!

Glad you enjoyed it. Generally this train sees mainly older folks so I think my kids were enjoyed by both the crew and passengers. My attendant told me they rarely have children in the sleeper sections. My kids are asking when we will do the trip again. I am asking myself the same question.

Did you happen to notice the windows are real glass? That is the reason they have the little hammers throughout the train by the designated emergency windows.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Beautiful shots, thanks for sharing. What is this "clean glass" you speak of? I new menu item? A class of service? And it seems you were not arrested for taking photos in Via stations.

Yes, real glass...what a concept! Amtrak's plexicrap is horrible...not only do they not clean it nearly often enough but most of it is so scratched or discolored that you can hardly see through it let alone try to shoot photos or video through it. I did notice that every pane has a date on it and Amtrak has been changing the stuff out but it just isn't the same as glass plus they really do fall down on the job when it comes to being kept clean. I'm sure they'd argue that it's lighter/cheaper/safer than glass but it sure seems to be tough to keep clear!

I'm jealous. One of these days I'll finally take a trip on the Canadian. Actually, I can't believe I haven't done it yet.

Regarding the glass on The Canadian, Via must be complimented for actually returning glass to the dome cars. Not too many years ago Via was using the dreaded lexan, and many of the windows were badly scratched. Recently glass has made a return, and I believe it is some sort of special safety glass that was designed for use in the engines.

The Canadian is really a "must-do" for any railfan.