Passenger Trains > "Red Rocks" Roster?

Do any TOs have a roster, or know where I can get one) of the cars and locomotives currently used on Rocky Mountaineer's "Rockies to the Red Rocks" Denver-Moab Train? I understand that they will be leasing a third diesel soon. Tanks for any help!

Consist of inaugural westbound run:

SD70M  UP 5107
SD70M UP 5105
Generator 9272
Crew  5716
Lounge 3030  (ex CN/VIA)
Silver Leaf Plus 2016
Silver Leaf Plus 2015
Lounge 3039  (ex CN/VIA)
Silver Leaf 2012
Silver Leaf 2011
Silver Leaf 2010
Crew 5276

Today's version still had 4413 as the second unit heading west.

Jim Barton

so five silver leafs = 200 passengers + capacity, few spares are in Denver i think

Thanks. Do you or anyone else know the heritage of the Silver Leaf and Plus "dome coaches"?  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/21 14:37 by RRBMail.

The Canadian Trackside Guide 2021 available for purchase from Bytown Railway Society has complete information starting on page 4-15.

Sorry, but the 2021 edition is sold out at Bytown, copies may be available at hobby shops or on line



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/21 15:05 by 70tonner.

Per the 2020 Trackside Guide:

2010 - ex. RMRX 3215 2015, exx. VIA cafe-coach 3215 1995, exxx. VIA coach 5620 1983, nee CN 5620 1973
2011 - ex. RMRX 5706 2016, exx. VIA 5706, exxx. CN Dayniter 5706 1978, nee CN coach 5526 1972
2012 - ex. RMRX 5709 2016, exx. VIA 5709, exxx. CN Dayniter 5709 1978, exxxx. CN coach 5445 1072, exxxxx. CN 3222 1966, nee CN 5445 1964
2015 - ex. RMRX 5718 2018, exx. VIA 5718, exxx. CN Dayniter 5718 1978, nee CN coach 5466 1973
2016 - ex. RMRX 5702 2018, exx. VIA 5702, exxx. CN Dayniter 5702 1978, nee CN coach 5510 1972

Elizabeth

RRBMail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks. Do you or anyone else know the heritage of
> the Silver Leaf and Plus "dome coaches"?  

So this needs to be confirmed, but at one time I thought they were converting them from the Red Leaf coaches - a facility in California was doing the work, I had thought??? Then as Rocky got more heavy into the conversions and retired Red Leaf service, I am not sure if they continued with the "conversion" or were purchasing passenger car shells from someone else.

Rocky did have a lot of Red Leaf coaches in inventory, plus some VIA/CN coaches that were still in storage from there old livery (as in like when purchased in the 1990s or so). Again, I'll gladly stand corrected and look for clarification cause some of the earlier Silver Leaf's differ from when Rocky converted more in sort of larger quantities (when going all in on the Silver Leaf class and dropping Red Leaf altogether).

I would think Rocky is looking to convert or add to the Silver Leaf class inventory (especially with the American routes opening up), and then also re-configuring the Red Leaf coaches into the lounges to go along with the Silver Leaf Plus. Rocky can figure this stuff out, unlike other passenger rail carriers. Not saying Rocky and Amtrak have the same business model, but if you think about basic objectives - there is commonality......... 

Overall, I'd be curious about how Rocky is doing financially and booking wise with its new service in the United States, let alone how it's faring in Canada..........Appears this tour service in the United States is heading into November.....

CedarRapids Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Per the 2020 Trackside Guide:
>
> 2010 - ex. RMRX 3215 2015, exx. VIA cafe-coach
> 3215 1995, exxx. VIA coach 5620 1983, nee CN 5620
> 1973
> 2011 - ex. RMRX 5706 2016, exx. VIA 5706, exxx. CN
> Dayniter 5706 1978, nee CN coach 5526 1972
> 2012 - ex. RMRX 5709 2016, exx. VIA 5709, exxx. CN
> Dayniter 5709 1978, exxxx. CN coach 5445 1072,
> exxxxx. CN 3222 1966, nee CN 5445 1964
> 2015 - ex. RMRX 5718 2018, exx. VIA 5718, exxx. CN
> Dayniter 5718 1978, nee CN coach 5466 1973
> 2016 - ex. RMRX 5702 2018, exx. VIA 5702, exxx. CN
> Dayniter 5702 1978, nee CN coach 5510 1972
>
> Elizabeth

So they are the ex-Red Leaf cars, a class of service that Rocky operated up until 2015 or so.......VIA Rail first operated the ex VIA/CN Daynighters in its own Rocky Mountaineer service when launched in 1990 or so. Rocky then purchased a "fleet of rail passenger cars" from VIA (all ex-CN cars from VIA in origin) to continue the service when it took over the service from VIA and launched under its own name. 

RRBMail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do any TOs have a roster, or know where I can get
> one) of the cars and locomotives currently used on
> Rocky Mountaineer's "Rockies to the Red Rocks"
> Denver-Moab Train? I understand that they will be
> leasing a third diesel soon. Tanks for any help!

The cars that went south from Canada are as follows:

2007 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 3244, converted in 2015)
2008 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 3213, converted in 2015)
2009 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 3240, converted in 2015)
2010 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 3215, converted in 2015)
2011 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 5706, converted in 2016)
2012 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 5709, converted in 2016)
2013 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 3251, converted in 2017)
2015 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 5718, converted in 2018)
2016 -- Silver Leaf (ex-RMRX 5702, converted in 2018)
3030 -- lounge car
3039 -- lounge car
5716 -- staff car (former Red Leaf)
5726 -- staff car (former Red Leaf)
9272 -- generator car

With the exception of the generator car (built by National Steel Car in 1957), the other cars all originated with the massive re-equipping of Canadian National's fleet in 1954, built by Canadian Car & Foundry.

The Rocky Mountaineer RMRX numbers listed above are the same as those used by VIA prior to sale; in some but not all cases these are different from the original CN numbers.

The conversions of these particular Silver Leaf cars were carried out by Alstom Transport at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif.  Earlier, Avalon Rail in Wisconsin had done four (2003-2006) and the first two (2001-2002) were carried out by Industrial Rail Services of Moncton, New Brunswick, for use in the short-distance Whistler Mountaineer day trip that ran from 2006 to 2015.  The nine Silver Leaf cars remaining in Canada are 2001-2006 and 2014, 2017, 2018 (the latter three also converted by Alstom).

The basic Red Leaf service ended at the conclusion of the 2015 season, and the cars are used for staff purposes on the Canadian trains and the new U.S. service too.  Rocky has 26 of these in its fleet, so there's still plenty of feedstock for future conversions to Silver Leaf.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/21 01:21 by railsmith.

Thanks railsmith for that run down! It was brilliant of Rocky Mountaineer to create the Silver Leaf Service, let alone Silver Leaf Plus. Great marketing and revenue move. They preserved a premium brand by removing the Red Leaf cars altogether, rather than a gradual removal etc. 

Pretty amazing, the revenue they are getting out of those old coaches!

mp51w Wrote:
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> Pretty amazing, the revenue they are getting out
> of those old coaches!

Perhaps when HEP was added, Rocky's contractors had learned by 1990s (from VIA and Amtrak etc.) how to not compromise the integrity of the car's structure? In the Silver Leaf rennovation, these cars were really taken down to bare bones!!! Saw pictures.

Does any TO have the specific history of the "Red Rocks" crew car #5726 (or as reported above 5276) ? BTW which is it 5726 or 5276? Thanks!  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/21 13:14 by RRBMail.

Per the 2020 Trackside Guide, crew car 5726 (it is that number) is ex. VIA 5726, exx. CN Dayniter 5726 1978, exxx. CN sleeper 2018 "Isleview" 1965.  Built 1947 by Canadian Car and Foundry.

Elizabeth

CedarRapids Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Per the 2020 Trackside Guide, crew car 5726 (it is
> that number) is ex. VIA 5726, exx. CN Dayniter
> 5726 1978, exxx. CN sleeper 2018 "Isleview"
> 1965.  Built 1947 by Canadian Car and Foundry.
 
2021 Trackside Guide shows the build date as 1950. The 1947 build date applies to the next car in the list, RMRX 5749.

The history listing is slightly different. Car was built as CN sleeper 2018 Isleview, converted to Dayniter CN 5726 in May 1976, sold to VIA in March 1978, and acquired by Rocky in 1991.