Part one takes us between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Toronto, Ontario by way of Montreal, Quebec.
One of the continuing luxuries of train travel is not having to deal with the airport hassle; security lines and an oppressive need to arrive at the airport hours ahead of your departure time. VIA Rail's Ocean is scheduled to leave at 12:15 PM from the impressive but now much less utilized classic station on the city's eastern waterfront. Our need to arrive super-early gone, we were able to get to the terminal at 11:30 AM and still have a comfortable enough margin of time to gather tickets, check luggage, and walk to the supermarket next door for a few last minute items all while having ample time left to enjoy the pre-boarding privileges of Sleeper Class. Despite knowing ahead of time that the consist we would be traveling in was outfitted with Budd stainless steel cars, it still brought a wide smile to my face when we could spot the gleaming silver train lined up on the platform outside, complete with a Vista Dome Skyline car ahead of the diner.
The call for Sleepers to board came, and we waited until the rush calmed down before approaching the boarding gate and having our tickets lifted; it was a nearly full train. We were in the first sleeper, car #1520, in Cabin "C". Our car was #8222 "Château Richelieu" and our car attendant Patricia met us with a smile at the bottom of the steps. Me and Mrs. Blackwolf settled into our compartment and familiarized ourselves with the amenities available, I then stepped back off the train for a little picture taking on the platform before departure. Rebuilt F40's 6449 and 6428 led the train, but the interesting note was the first coach. It was VIA roster number 8132, a former Amtrak Heritage Fleet coach and interestingly enough was the oldest rolling stock on the whole train, having been built in 1946!
The on-time departure had the two of us leaving our cozy compartment behind and heading for the Dome. It is funny how many of my generation and younger see little interest in the history of the equipment they are riding in or how lucky they are to have access to a treat like the Dome car. We were almost alone up there, only two others sitting in the first table-equipped row. Meanwhile the coaches were stuffed with people and the sleepers, while not sold-out, were far from empty! We came prepared for a stay in the Dome, wearing light sweaters to ward off the chill of air-conditioning and toting books to read between interesting scenery. Truro came and went, Mrs. Blackwolf's college town, and into the mountains (I call them hills, but then again I'm spoiled) we rolled. After three and a half hours, we'd had our fill of the Skyline when three women wearing enough perfume for a whole busload of blue-hairs walked up and choked us out. Ah well, we would return!
To our cabin we returned, and unpacked a few of the snacks we'd brought along. Since this was winter time, VIA was not offering Sleeper Plus with meals included in the ticket price, so we would have to pay for any food on board. We decided to have dinner in the diner, but beyond that, we had our own stash. Some of the items were perishable, so we had brought along plastic bags to keep it cool with ice from the train. When I asked about it from Patricia, she had an answer that surprised the heck out of me: "Why do you need ice to keep it cold? Just go see Nancy in the Skyline and she will put it into one of her refrigerators for you!"
Whoa!?! Amtrak would Never, with a Capital N, do that!!
When dinner time did roll around, we settled on a later seating of 6:30 to avoid any mad rushes for seats. The diner on the train was one of the recently rebuild and remodeled cars, #8401 "Acadian", part of the plan for upgrading the Canadian. I have to honestly say, it was absolutely beautiful how they treated it. I love the new color scheme, very modern and refined, and none of the original class of the car was taken away. Eons better than what Amtrak did when they refurbed their Heritage diners, this was First Class the whole way. Due to the Ocean normally not having a full kitchen, VIA did not have any kitchen staff on our train; just the two stewards taking pre-made and refrigerated entrees from the refrigerator and heating them in a convection oven. It was a low-note on the service that disappointed, but the meals were still not bad. We both had the salmon, with wild rice and broccoli, and a slice of caramel-chocolate cake for dessert. Add in two beers, and we had an expensive dinner ($57) but we had the enjoyment of the Diner atmosphere in the end.
Back in our room, Patricia had moved one car back as the attendant and in her place Vince had taken over. Vince was the head of On-Board Staff, a cheery older man that had an almost Grandpa kind of feel about him. I was wearing my Coast Starlight baseball cap and he noticed it immediately, asking all kinds of questions about where I'd been traveling and how Amtrak compared to VIA. Seems he's about 4 months from retirement and has a Bucket List he's itching to dive into, which includes riding every train in North America. I told him about the Forum, he'd never heard of it before. Hopefully he checks it out and get some ideas and answers to questions I could not answer! He turned down our beds for us, and we dove under the covers early. Man, will I miss those nice heavy comforters VIA uses when we're on Amtrak starting tomorrow. All I can say is, both of us slept very well.
7 AM came, and Vince kindly woke us with a rap on the door and a few punches of the room buzzer as we requested the night before. Shower, shave, and a change of clothes later, we headed back for the Dome to eat our packed breakfast. Our only stop was with Nancy to grab a cup of coffee while retrieving the cold food items, and we again had the entire upper Dome section to ourselves as we rolled into Drummondville smack on time. We would remain there, snacking on our stash and sipping our coffee until Saint-Lambert, where we returned to our compartment for the final leg into Montreal.
We had reservations on VIA #57 to Toronto, and fully anticipated walking up to the main station to wait for boarding. But just as we pulled into the terminal, a train of all-Budd cars that included a baggage was standing across the platform. My suspicions arouse, and after exiting (and generously tipping the staff) of the Ocean, we inquired if this other train was #57. It was! And they were boarding any passengers from #15 should they so wish, an entire hour before its schedule departure! Since we were traveling in standard coach for this leg, we jumped at the opportunity to have free-reign on seating and took up shop in the very last car. Yanno, rail-fan window and all. It was both a blessing and a curse, it turned out.
The blessing part: Acadian Bus Lines (Greyhound North I like to call them) were on strike in Quebec and Ontario, and we had a full train as a result. Had we not gotten the early boarding, we likely would not had sat together.
The curse part: Acadian Bus Lines were on strike. It was a full train. And some of those passengers were very much of the "bus" crowd, if you get my drift.
Two men boarded just before departure from Montreal, both reaking of cigarette smoke, and one in particular looking like he'd not had a bath in quite some time with filthy nappy hair stuffed under a ratty baseball cap and a sweater that looked like it could be a stand-in for moldy Swiss cheese. Both were complaining loudly of their "overpriced" fare, that the train took longer than the bus (I highly doubt that) and that the stops were too far apart compared to the bus. More on why in a moment. Both were riding through to Toronto, and both took seats next to us; one in front of me, the other at my side across the isle. Fan-Tastic. We departed for Toronto at 10:10 AM on the dime.
We had not made it to Cornwall, an hour-and-a-half up the line, before the one in front started to have a Nic-Fit, as Mrs. Blackwolf called it. He needed his cigarette, and he needed it NOW. So, up to the car attendant he strode, looked to discuss something with him for a moment, became agitated when he did not get the answer he wanted, and stormed back to his seat to seek reinforcement from his partner in crime. Seems the issue was VIA has a policy of no smoking on all Corridor trains and on all train platforms in Ontario and Quebec. Not only was Mr. Busrider #1 not going to get a smoke break every other stop like he was accustomed to with Acadien, but he was not going to have any cigarette time until after our arrival into Toronto! Now empowered with his buddy, both loudly began shouting about VIA and their so-called draconian policies, that they were being treated like second-class citizens because they were smokers, yadda-yadda-yadda. To make matters worse, the other "Bus-People" in the car with us took this information with shock and swamped the car attendant with their complaints. It was not long before the conductor (or what ever they are called on VIA) got involved. He told all of them to get to their seats and to do it promptly, they complied. For a little while. An hour later into the trip, Mr. Busrider #2 also began having a Nic-Fit and the whole saga started right back up again. This time, the two men and two other Bus-People stood up at the next stop under the guise of "getting some fresh air" and stepped off the train. Most of the other passengers sighed a relief, until a shouting match started just outside. It soon spilled up and into the car vestibule, and everyone got to see why. Mr. Busrider #1 had whipped out a cigarette as soon as he was off the train and lit up. The conductor saw this, marched right over and ordered him to extinguish it. The other smokers, planning to do the same, exploded. I think a sailor may have blushed at some of the words being exchanged, and this went on for a good solid few minutes before the conductor finally threatened to put the whole lot of them off the train. That took the wind from their sails, but not before one of the Bus-People threatened to call CBC News and report the whole issue for a story. All returned to their seats again, and vented extremely loudly a whole slew of obscenities from that point all the way to the end of the trip in Toronto.
The conductor never made good on his promise to put anyone off, I imagine he did not want the paperwork or the hassle. I would even ponder the company not wanting any more bad press after Sunday's derailment having something to do with it. I don't know, but I do know that I've seen people on Amtrak put off for a lot less. The good notes of the trip were that the WiFi on VIA works very well, and that we were on-time for every part of the trip.
We're settled into the Super 8 Hotel on Spadina Avenue for the night, and will be catching the South-Bound Maple Leaf to Buffalo, and eventually the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago tomorrow!
One of the continuing luxuries of train travel is not having to deal with the airport hassle; security lines and an oppressive need to arrive at the airport hours ahead of your departure time. VIA Rail's Ocean is scheduled to leave at 12:15 PM from the impressive but now much less utilized classic station on the city's eastern waterfront. Our need to arrive super-early gone, we were able to get to the terminal at 11:30 AM and still have a comfortable enough margin of time to gather tickets, check luggage, and walk to the supermarket next door for a few last minute items all while having ample time left to enjoy the pre-boarding privileges of Sleeper Class. Despite knowing ahead of time that the consist we would be traveling in was outfitted with Budd stainless steel cars, it still brought a wide smile to my face when we could spot the gleaming silver train lined up on the platform outside, complete with a Vista Dome Skyline car ahead of the diner.
The call for Sleepers to board came, and we waited until the rush calmed down before approaching the boarding gate and having our tickets lifted; it was a nearly full train. We were in the first sleeper, car #1520, in Cabin "C". Our car was #8222 "Château Richelieu" and our car attendant Patricia met us with a smile at the bottom of the steps. Me and Mrs. Blackwolf settled into our compartment and familiarized ourselves with the amenities available, I then stepped back off the train for a little picture taking on the platform before departure. Rebuilt F40's 6449 and 6428 led the train, but the interesting note was the first coach. It was VIA roster number 8132, a former Amtrak Heritage Fleet coach and interestingly enough was the oldest rolling stock on the whole train, having been built in 1946!
The on-time departure had the two of us leaving our cozy compartment behind and heading for the Dome. It is funny how many of my generation and younger see little interest in the history of the equipment they are riding in or how lucky they are to have access to a treat like the Dome car. We were almost alone up there, only two others sitting in the first table-equipped row. Meanwhile the coaches were stuffed with people and the sleepers, while not sold-out, were far from empty! We came prepared for a stay in the Dome, wearing light sweaters to ward off the chill of air-conditioning and toting books to read between interesting scenery. Truro came and went, Mrs. Blackwolf's college town, and into the mountains (I call them hills, but then again I'm spoiled) we rolled. After three and a half hours, we'd had our fill of the Skyline when three women wearing enough perfume for a whole busload of blue-hairs walked up and choked us out. Ah well, we would return!
To our cabin we returned, and unpacked a few of the snacks we'd brought along. Since this was winter time, VIA was not offering Sleeper Plus with meals included in the ticket price, so we would have to pay for any food on board. We decided to have dinner in the diner, but beyond that, we had our own stash. Some of the items were perishable, so we had brought along plastic bags to keep it cool with ice from the train. When I asked about it from Patricia, she had an answer that surprised the heck out of me: "Why do you need ice to keep it cold? Just go see Nancy in the Skyline and she will put it into one of her refrigerators for you!"
Whoa!?! Amtrak would Never, with a Capital N, do that!!
When dinner time did roll around, we settled on a later seating of 6:30 to avoid any mad rushes for seats. The diner on the train was one of the recently rebuild and remodeled cars, #8401 "Acadian", part of the plan for upgrading the Canadian. I have to honestly say, it was absolutely beautiful how they treated it. I love the new color scheme, very modern and refined, and none of the original class of the car was taken away. Eons better than what Amtrak did when they refurbed their Heritage diners, this was First Class the whole way. Due to the Ocean normally not having a full kitchen, VIA did not have any kitchen staff on our train; just the two stewards taking pre-made and refrigerated entrees from the refrigerator and heating them in a convection oven. It was a low-note on the service that disappointed, but the meals were still not bad. We both had the salmon, with wild rice and broccoli, and a slice of caramel-chocolate cake for dessert. Add in two beers, and we had an expensive dinner ($57) but we had the enjoyment of the Diner atmosphere in the end.
Back in our room, Patricia had moved one car back as the attendant and in her place Vince had taken over. Vince was the head of On-Board Staff, a cheery older man that had an almost Grandpa kind of feel about him. I was wearing my Coast Starlight baseball cap and he noticed it immediately, asking all kinds of questions about where I'd been traveling and how Amtrak compared to VIA. Seems he's about 4 months from retirement and has a Bucket List he's itching to dive into, which includes riding every train in North America. I told him about the Forum, he'd never heard of it before. Hopefully he checks it out and get some ideas and answers to questions I could not answer! He turned down our beds for us, and we dove under the covers early. Man, will I miss those nice heavy comforters VIA uses when we're on Amtrak starting tomorrow. All I can say is, both of us slept very well.
7 AM came, and Vince kindly woke us with a rap on the door and a few punches of the room buzzer as we requested the night before. Shower, shave, and a change of clothes later, we headed back for the Dome to eat our packed breakfast. Our only stop was with Nancy to grab a cup of coffee while retrieving the cold food items, and we again had the entire upper Dome section to ourselves as we rolled into Drummondville smack on time. We would remain there, snacking on our stash and sipping our coffee until Saint-Lambert, where we returned to our compartment for the final leg into Montreal.
We had reservations on VIA #57 to Toronto, and fully anticipated walking up to the main station to wait for boarding. But just as we pulled into the terminal, a train of all-Budd cars that included a baggage was standing across the platform. My suspicions arouse, and after exiting (and generously tipping the staff) of the Ocean, we inquired if this other train was #57. It was! And they were boarding any passengers from #15 should they so wish, an entire hour before its schedule departure! Since we were traveling in standard coach for this leg, we jumped at the opportunity to have free-reign on seating and took up shop in the very last car. Yanno, rail-fan window and all. It was both a blessing and a curse, it turned out.
The blessing part: Acadian Bus Lines (Greyhound North I like to call them) were on strike in Quebec and Ontario, and we had a full train as a result. Had we not gotten the early boarding, we likely would not had sat together.
The curse part: Acadian Bus Lines were on strike. It was a full train. And some of those passengers were very much of the "bus" crowd, if you get my drift.
Two men boarded just before departure from Montreal, both reaking of cigarette smoke, and one in particular looking like he'd not had a bath in quite some time with filthy nappy hair stuffed under a ratty baseball cap and a sweater that looked like it could be a stand-in for moldy Swiss cheese. Both were complaining loudly of their "overpriced" fare, that the train took longer than the bus (I highly doubt that) and that the stops were too far apart compared to the bus. More on why in a moment. Both were riding through to Toronto, and both took seats next to us; one in front of me, the other at my side across the isle. Fan-Tastic. We departed for Toronto at 10:10 AM on the dime.
We had not made it to Cornwall, an hour-and-a-half up the line, before the one in front started to have a Nic-Fit, as Mrs. Blackwolf called it. He needed his cigarette, and he needed it NOW. So, up to the car attendant he strode, looked to discuss something with him for a moment, became agitated when he did not get the answer he wanted, and stormed back to his seat to seek reinforcement from his partner in crime. Seems the issue was VIA has a policy of no smoking on all Corridor trains and on all train platforms in Ontario and Quebec. Not only was Mr. Busrider #1 not going to get a smoke break every other stop like he was accustomed to with Acadien, but he was not going to have any cigarette time until after our arrival into Toronto! Now empowered with his buddy, both loudly began shouting about VIA and their so-called draconian policies, that they were being treated like second-class citizens because they were smokers, yadda-yadda-yadda. To make matters worse, the other "Bus-People" in the car with us took this information with shock and swamped the car attendant with their complaints. It was not long before the conductor (or what ever they are called on VIA) got involved. He told all of them to get to their seats and to do it promptly, they complied. For a little while. An hour later into the trip, Mr. Busrider #2 also began having a Nic-Fit and the whole saga started right back up again. This time, the two men and two other Bus-People stood up at the next stop under the guise of "getting some fresh air" and stepped off the train. Most of the other passengers sighed a relief, until a shouting match started just outside. It soon spilled up and into the car vestibule, and everyone got to see why. Mr. Busrider #1 had whipped out a cigarette as soon as he was off the train and lit up. The conductor saw this, marched right over and ordered him to extinguish it. The other smokers, planning to do the same, exploded. I think a sailor may have blushed at some of the words being exchanged, and this went on for a good solid few minutes before the conductor finally threatened to put the whole lot of them off the train. That took the wind from their sails, but not before one of the Bus-People threatened to call CBC News and report the whole issue for a story. All returned to their seats again, and vented extremely loudly a whole slew of obscenities from that point all the way to the end of the trip in Toronto.
The conductor never made good on his promise to put anyone off, I imagine he did not want the paperwork or the hassle. I would even ponder the company not wanting any more bad press after Sunday's derailment having something to do with it. I don't know, but I do know that I've seen people on Amtrak put off for a lot less. The good notes of the trip were that the WiFi on VIA works very well, and that we were on-time for every part of the trip.
We're settled into the Super 8 Hotel on Spadina Avenue for the night, and will be catching the South-Bound Maple Leaf to Buffalo, and eventually the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago tomorrow!
Most Canadians that live in Ontario, and in the West, consider that Quebec and the Maritimes Live in their Own Seperate World!!! These Easterners tend to Act Rowdier, are Louder and More Uncouth in their Public Actions! In my experience (my Late Wife was Canadian and I have spent much time in the Great White North)Generally Canadians are Polite, Courteous and Quiet! :wub: Also Canada is Cracking Down on Smoking even Heavier than the US, (Cigs are like $12-$15 a Pack and Smoking is Banned in Most Puublic Places!) and as we know, Addicts tend to Act out when they can't get their Fix!!
