# Additional thoughts on Canada trip



## Bill Haithcoat (Oct 4, 2004)

I was in quite a rush the other morning. Not only was I returning from a two week vacation but I am also having very minor out-patient surgery tomorrow (10/5) so I will be out of pocket for two weeks.

I did got back and correct at least some of the many typos I made. Hope I don't make as many in this post.

Some things you will miss on The Canadian: No good place to rest your food or drinks that you might bring back to your room.The whole concept of fold out tables actually came from the airlines, not the pre-Amtrak railroads. I did not notice if the coaches had fold out trays---they probably do now but certainly in 1955 they would not have been built with them.

Coach passengers are only allowed in the coaches(usually about three cars) and the front skytop dome coffee shop car. They get their meals there. They are not allowed any further back. Sleeping car passengers, can, however, walk through the entire rain.

The feature car on the train is the Park Car, mentioned in the earlier post. It has observation area, upstairs dome, downstairs tavern, two triple bedrooms(formerly called drawing rooms) and two double bedrooms. Such a lounge-sleeper combination was not unusual in the earlier days.

The Park Car on The Canadian serves a similar function as the Pacific Parlor Car on the Coast Starlight.

Such older lounge cars usually did not serve serious food, much more than peanuts, etc. They do, on the Canadian, have a lot of free fresh fruits, pastries, juice, coffee etc sitting around. The idea of running down to the lounge and getting a simple sandwich really did not begin too much until Amtrak.

One might ask, what IS an observation car, compared to say, a dome, or even a Hi-Level or a Superliner Sightseer Lounge? Original observation cars go back to the earliest days of railroading. They had awnings, real platforms, etc that people could stand on or look out at the scenery. Presidents, politicians and others used them to make speeches in small towns. The phrase "whistle stop tour" came from that.

In the streamlined area, late 30's, observation cars were built closed in and usually with tapered rears. A few had a flat back but still had windows looking out. Dome cars were not invented until the late 40's, the hi-level later and the Superliner later than that. So------the name "observation" had already been taken when those other cars (from which one can "observe" much more, to be sure). were invented. Had all types of such cars been invented at the same time, I am sure the domes, hi-level and superliner sightseeing lounges would have grabbed the name "observation car" and the cars with view out the end would have been called something else.

Typical pre-Amtrak equipment did not usually have many showers. On the Canadian nobody has a private shower but each sleeper has a communal slower. Folks in the Park Car have to go to the sleeper next door. I used it once in each direction and was very pleased.

The sleepers have all had one section(i.e. semi-private green curtain upper and lower berths) taken out and replaced with a very large shower. A few sections in use as such remain in each sleeper.

One might wander what are sections doing on streamlined equipement? Didn't sections sort of go out with heavyweight construction and steam locos? YES---largely---but not completely. Some streamlied trains did have sections. I suspect that in Canada the relatively few trains they had sort of needed to be "everything for everybody", all price ranges, and had a lot of different kinds of sleeping car space: roomettes,sections, double bedrooms, compartments, drawing rooms, maybe others.

About the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, It is a Fairmont property. Even if you cannot find an almost-reasonable price on the net, at least hover around the beautiful lobby and people-watch. I went down for breakfast and as it happened all the people standing in line were in business suits. I thought to myself , "Oh my God, does this place have a dress code even for breakfast? But soon I noticed there were a few other slobs as unkempt as I, so I blended in just fine.

There are cheaper restaurants downstairs in an underground which connects the hotel with the station. However, in good weather I do not suggest it, because there are no escalators for your baggage. But in rain, snow, cold or ice it would be fantastic just to cross under the street out of the weather.

It goes without seeing that viewing the train ahead of you from the dome is fantastic. Not as well known is such viewing at night when the dome lights are out. And if you are really lucky---even in a 30 car monster such as I was in, a few times you will even see the locomotive headlights way, way up ahead.........


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## JESUSrocks (Oct 4, 2004)

Hey Bill

Thanks for the updated report.

One more question

Do the double bedrooms in the park cars have couches?

Thanks

in JESUS

Gavin


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## Bill Haithcoat (Oct 19, 2004)

JESUSrocks said:


> Hey Bill
> Thanks for the updated report.
> 
> One more question
> ...





No, only the triple bedrooms (Formelry known as drawing rooms).


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## JESUSrocks (Oct 19, 2004)

I hear you had surgury

hope you feel better


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## Bill Haithcoat (Oct 19, 2004)

JESUSrocks said:


> I hear you had surgury
> hope you feel better




I am doing much better, thank you. And it was good having such great memories, of my trip just taken, during the down time.


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