# Video......first VIA #1 in 14 months.



## NS VIA Fan (May 24, 2021)

Thanks to Can-Pass-Rail Forum members.....here's a video link showing the first VIA #1 in 14 months departing Toronto yesterday morning, May 23, 2021.


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## jiml (May 26, 2021)

Interesting direction.


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

jiml said:


> Interesting direction.



Do you mean how it is departing Toronto Union Station?


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## jiml (May 26, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> Do you mean how it is departing Toronto Union Station?


Yes, they were previously using the Bala sub to the east and the departure is westbound. Not really a problem - just interesting, like a flashback to the past. There are a number of ways they can go, although as you know fewer than in the past.

Here is a typical departure in 2019:


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

jiml said:


> Yes, they were previously using the Bala sub to the east and the departure is westbound. Not really a problem - just interesting, like a flashback to the past. There are a number of ways they can go, although as you know fewer than in the past.
> 
> Here is a typical departure in 2019:




The Video link you posted above also shows westbound #1 going out the west side of Union Station. It's going up the Newmarket Sub to Snider where it will head across the York and back to the Bala at Doncaster.

On all my trips on the Canadian (since the line beyond Barrie was abandoned).....we've always gone up the Newmarket Sub. The only time I've ever departed out the east side of Union was back in 2006 when the flyover was under construction at Snider. We backed (with the Park Car leading) up the Bala to Doncaster.....then reversed and continued west.


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## jiml (May 26, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> The Video link you posted above also shows westbound #1 going out the west side of Union Station. It's going up the Newmarket Sub to Snider where it will head across the York and back to the Bala at Doncaster.
> 
> On all my trips on the Canadian (since the line beyond Barrie was abandoned).....we've always gone up the Newmarket Sub. The only time I've ever departed out the east side of Union was back in 2006 when the flyover was under construction at Snider. We backed (with the Park Car leading) up the Bala to Doncaster.....then reversed and continued west.
> 
> View attachment 22642


You're right about the video. I should have actually watched it. My understanding was they were going to use Bala in both directions to avoid the back-up move at Snider, which fouls the freight main. There was also a past discussion that on resumption they might use CP to Parry and skip Washago northbound. It will be interesting to see which pattern they use for the resumed Northlander.


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

jiml said:


> You're right about the video. I should have actually watched it. My understanding was they were going to use Bala in both directions to avoid the back-up move at Snider, which fouls the freight main. There was also a past discussion that on resumption they might use CP to Parry and skip Washago northbound. It will be interesting to see which pattern they use for the resumed Northlander.



There is just no convenient way to turn the _Canadian_ in Toronto other than doing the 'loop' around the city. On rare occasions they've sent the consist to Bayview (Hamilton) to be turned.....but that is a 75 mile roundtrip.


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## jiml (May 26, 2021)

NS VIA Fan said:


> There is just no convenient way to turn the _Canadian_ in Toronto other than doing the 'loop' around the city. On rare occasions they've sent the consist to Bayview (Hamilton) to be turned.....but that is a 75 mile roundtrip.


Somewhat like Amtrak's Eagle in San Antonio.


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## Cal (May 26, 2021)

Why do they need to turn it? Can't they just run it through and go around the loop and continue on? 


Or why can't they use this wye that's in the top left of this picture?


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## zephyr17 (May 26, 2021)

Don't know. It is right at the throat of a yard and CN might not like it, also the southwest quadrant looks a mite dodgy on satellite view.

What they are doing is making a big loop around the city and going on. The problem is there is no southeast quadrant connecting track at the junction they use to head east back to the Bala Sub, so they have to pull forward of the junction, back down the northwest quadrant connecting track, the pull east towards the Bala Sub.


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

Cal said:


> Why do they need to turn it? Can't they just run it through and go around the loop and continue on?
> 
> Or why can't they use this wye that's in the top left of this picture?



There is no need to wye the _Canadian_. Looping it around the city works just fine and that's the way they've done it going back 30+ years to when VIA lost the use of the loop track at the Spadina Coach Yard where Rogers Centre (SkyDome) now sits.

Only on a rare occasion has the train needed to be wyed for operational reasons and that's when they've sent it to Bayview. The wye in the map you posted is at a very busy jct with a couple of different track owners so probably difficult to get a path and again....there's really no need. This used to be a diamond crossing....but it's been reconstructed as a fly-under for VIA, GO and UP Express. CP goes over.

When the _Canadian_ used the Newmarket Sub through Barrie all the way to Washago until the mid '90s...... it did the Loop in the opposite direction to that shown on the map I posted.


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

zephyr17 said:


> What they are doing is making a big loop around the city and going on. The problem is there is no southeast quadrant connecting track at the junction they use to head east back to the Bala Sub, so they have to pull forward of the junction, back down the northwest quadrant connecting track, the pull east towards the Bala Sub.



There used to be a Diamond Crossing at Snider but is now a Fly-over. This is to permit all-day GO service on the Newmarket Sub. The York Sub passing under the fly-over is CN's main east-west freight route through Toronto.


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## zephyr17 (May 26, 2021)

Thanks, didn't know the names of the subs except Bala and Newmarket right off the top of my head and too lazy to pull out my Canadian Trackside Guide.

That flyover was there the last time I rode the Canadian westbound in November 2019.

Too bad the middle of the Newmarket Sub got cut, though.


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## NS VIA Fan (May 26, 2021)

zephyr17 said:


> Too bad the middle of the Newmarket Sub got cut, though.



Now that was a Loop! Down one side of Lake Simcoe on the Newmarket (100 miles) and back up the other side on the Bala (90 miles). The ONR _Northlander_ used to do that.


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