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| VIA 15 at Matapedia on the morning of Dec. 23, 2013. Why was this westbound train here at that hour of the morning? Read on... |
With
Christmas fast approaching, I find myself longing to be back on the rails again.
Train travel has been an integral part of the Christmas season for me over the
last decade; I headed to the east coast for school in the fall of 2007, and one
of the most exciting things about that was the opportunity to take the train
back and forth to Ontario over the holidays. That’s continued every year since,
and now it doesn’t really feel like Christmas if I’m not on a train at some
point. There’s something really special about train travel at the holidays –
there’s a certain festive atmosphere, and everyone is excited about seeing
friends and family. Best of all, a raging snow storm outside makes the trip
even cozier and more enjoyable, while by any other means of travel it would be
a nightmare.
I’ll
be getting in plenty of train travel this year too, though all slightly after
Christmas for a change. For now, though, I’ve been thinking back on various
Christmas trips I’ve made over the years, and it seemed like a good time to
resurrect an old trip report from “the archives”.
I
posted this report on the Canadian Passenger Rail Yahoo group back in January
of 2014. I’ve had a lot of interesting trips on the Ocean over the years, but
this particular one wins hands down for the most “eventful” trip of them all!
Without
further ado, please enjoy this snippet from Christmas 2013:
_________________________________________________________________________
#15
Dec. 22nd, 2013 Halifax-Montreal
I
arrived at the station for departure on VIA 15 about an hour ahead of time, and
went ahead and checked my bag. I’m glad I was there early, as it was quite busy
in the station and the line for checked baggage quickly grew. Despite it being
busy, the train was still not nearly sold out in this direction. It seems
Christmas travel this year was heavier towards Halifax before, and towards
Montreal after the holiday [Edit: This is a typical travel pattern, and I've noted it each year since]. I was traveling in a sleeper, so I waited until the
check-in process began.
There
was a rather long line for coach passengers, and unlike in the past where a
single line was started at Gate 1, there were actually two separate lines. One
was for coach passengers going all the way to Montreal or on to points west,
and the other was for all intermediate stops. As it turns out, VIA was using
first of two HEP1 coaches at the rear of the train entirely for coach
passengers going through from Halifax to Montreal, and keeping intermediate
pickups and drop-offs in the forward coaches. This avoided having to make
multiple platform stops at intermediate stations. The second HEP1 coach picked
up Montreal-bound passengers in Moncton.
I
noticed right away that the train was split into two segments: the first HEP1
coach was still on the rear, but the second coach, the Chateau sleeper, and the
Park car were split off as a second section on the adjacent track.
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| VIA 15 before departure, in two sections. The majority of the train is on the right, and the Park, a Chateau and a HEP1 coach are separate on the left. |
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| The second section, which would be added on departure. |
After
boarding the sleepers and the HEP1 and loading baggage, we pulled out of the
station and backed in to pick up the remaining section. Passengers in the
forward coaches were then boarded after the train was connected (I’m not sure
what the reasoning was for this). We departed Halifax in light rain at 12:50pm,
about half an hour late, and would soon make our way into freezing rain and
snow. The consist leaving Halifax was as follows:
6449
6457
7003
7220
70108
7208
7309
7402
7314
79501 (19)
7518 (20)
7520 (21)
7507 (22)
7509 (36)
7512 (37)
7524 (38)
7516 (deadhead)
7602
8124
8137
Chateau Richelieu (deadhead)
Assiniboine Park
I
don’t know how busy the forward coaches were, but 8124 was quite full leaving
Halifax, and 8137 filled up at Moncton. The sleeper load was light though, with
plenty of empty rooms, one deadhead Ren and the deadhead Chateau. I should note
that though the Chateau was deadheading, I did notice several coach passengers
who had gone back and laid down in the open sections overnight. The crew didn’t
put down beds, and may well have told them to move at some point (as the car
was unattended).
I
was in Room 7 in Car 37. This was my first time in one of the non-shower Ren
bedrooms, and I can say I was quite pleased with it. The setup is a touch
different, but nothing major. Room 7 was a very smooth ride, being both forward
facing and near the middle of the car.
I
made for the Park very early on, and was surprised to find it empty (apart from
the attendant) all the way to about Truro. The load remained light for much of
the trip, and I was surprised that few coach passengers seemed to have found
their way back. Coach passengers were being provided with food cart service
(much like in the Corridor), which seemed to be based out of the transition
car. They were also informed that the canteen was available in the Park. As a
result, there was no complimentary tea or coffee set out in the Park (although
it may have been available from the attendant, had I asked).
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| The dome of Assiniboine Park, complete with tinsel along the windows (the multitude of no-smoking labels are a unique feature in this dome). |
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| Christmas décor in the Park car lounge. |
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| Christmas décor in the mural lounge. |
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| Christmas décor in the bullet lounge. |
The
Park car did have a sign (hand-written) on the door indicating the car would
close at 10:30pm. It was closed at 10:30EST, and indeed we were all asked to
leave and the car was blocked off with the end gate. It was open again in the
morning, although it didn’t get much use (you’ll see why shortly). The rooms in
the Park weren’t sold on either of my trips.
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| Sign on the Park car - no dome for anyone after 10:30. |
We
did have a meet with #14, which is unusual on the new schedule and only made
possible by Christmas schedule adjustments. Both trains were running late, so
we ended up leaving Amherst and backing into the first siding we came to. We
had maybe a 20min wait before #14 emerged, solidly caked in ice, out of what
was now mostly blowing snow.
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| Meet with #14 at Amherst. |
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| VIA 14, with a nearly identical consist to ours, arrives at Amherst. |
Our journey continued well, and as the night got
on there was a good group of us chatting in the Park bullet lounge. I was
reminded again of how great the train can be for socializing and meeting lots
of interesting people! We lost some more time into the evening and were close
to an hour a half late by the time I turned in for the night, not far from
Campbellton. I can’t say I was quite prepared for what would happen during the
night…
Before
I get to that, a quick note on meals: the dining car was well patronized on
this trip, although there was enough space that general calls were made for
both lunch and dinner. Most people seemed to opt for the first lunch setting
and the middle dinner setting. The food was about as good as can be expected on
the Rens, and the staff and company were excellent. I was a little disappointed
by the lack of the Christmas dinner that had been an option in recent years,
but what was offered was still decent. Most passengers seemed happy with the
food as well, which is always good to see.
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| Renaissance dining car - with some festive touches. |
The
“Bustitution”
Now,
back to the trip: having arrived at Campbellton, we were a good bit late so I
had gone to bed. I did notice at some point that the HEP shut down and came
back on, and that we stopped and started moving again, but I fell asleep and
didn’t really notice what was going on. I was woken up a few more times in the
night by some sort of alarm going off (I realized later that these were
indicating HEP problems), but I generally brushed it off and got back to sleep.
I was sleeping surprisingly well until I was awakened by a loud knocking on my
door at around 6:20am (AST). Still trying to put my thoughts together, I was
surprised when the attendant informed me that we were STILL in Campbellton, and
that we might be put on busses and that I should be prepared just in case. When
I asked what was wrong, she pointed out that we had no power or heat, although
she didn’t elaborate on what the cause of that was. Apparently the problems had
started just after we left Campbellton, so we had backed up and spent the
duration of the night trying to fix the problem. That fact that we weren’t
moving did explain why I had slept so very well!
One
thing I learned very quickly about the Renaissance cars is this: they are NOT
well insulated. Within minutes of the heat being off, the cars become
noticeably colder. Waking up at that point, it was absolutely freezing in the
room (the HEPs, by contrast, actually did very well and stayed warm for a good
while after we lost heat in the Rens). I put my things together, but opted to
try to stay warm in bed until further notice! I would learn later that
apparently 1 or 2 busses *did* go from Campbellton, and were apparently for
people making connections beyond Montreal, but no-one ever informed or asked me
if I was interested. I heard about it from one person who was offered that
option, but turned it down because she was told that checked baggage would not
be transferred to those buses.
Shortly
after 7am (AST), I was informed that we would be able to stay on the train, and
the heat was quite noticeably back on. I put myself together, and decided to
head down and see if breakfast was on just as we started moving, around 7:25am.
The diner was quite full, and breakfast was being served. Unfortunately, the
HEP proceeded to cut out shortly after we left, requiring us to stop and reset
it. We started moving again, and this happened twice more before arriving in
Matapedia. Each time we lost power, breakfast prep had to be put on hold as all
the appliances shut down! We did all get fed eventually, and we arrived in
Matapedia shortly. By that point though, it was clear that all was not well. I
heard the SM radioing as he walked through the diner, say “okay, that’s enough
of this. Just order the busses”.
After
a lengthy stop in Matapedia, we were informed that the train would not be going
forward. The reason, as I understood, was that 6457 had died and at least
partly as a result of that, we were having HEP problems. It may have been that
the other locos were overloaded or that there was an additional problem, but
the most I could find out for sure was that something kept causing breakers to
cut out, requiring the HEP to be reset. 6457 was shut down when I walked by at
Matapedia, but the other two were still running. After much trying, they
couldn’t get the problem fixed and decided we would have to find alternate
transportation.
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| VIA 15 at Matapedia. Now you know why it was there at this time in the morning! |
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| VIA 15 in a very snowy scene at Matapedia. |
We
were given two options at this point: go back in a taxi to Campbellton and be
put up in a hotel for the day to take #15 out that night, or get on a bus to
Montreal. I opted for the bus, figuring that we could well face further delays
on the following #15, and that at least getting closer to Montreal presented a
faint chance that I could make some sort of connection on to Brockville that
night. Most of the people I had met on board opted for the Campbellton hotel
(it seems especially elderly folks and those with young kids who didn’t care
for the idea of a long bus ride!), and in the long run, they would make it to
Montreal the next day in time to make connections.
We
were put onto the buses by about 10am (EST). This process was, unfortunately,
not very well organized. Although we were pointed in the right direction, with
instructions to board one bus for Montreal and west and the other for
intermediate stops, there was major confusion about checked baggage. Some staff
told us we had to pick it up, then the baggage car staff told us it was all
being transferred so no worries. Then the staff at the bus told us yes it was
being transferred but that we needed to ID it first. Then again at the baggage
car, we were told it was all being transferred. It didn’t help that some
passengers were given their bags to put on the bus, and some of us weren’t. In
the long run, all the bags were transferred.
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| "VIA 15" for the rest of the trip to Montreal. Not exactly what I had been expecting... |
We
left Matapedia by about 11am EST, with a lot of confusion still remaining about
what would happen at the other end, and our assigned VIA attendant having few
answers to give. Food was provided on the bus, in the form of various
sandwiches and other snacks that were picked up before we left.
The
bus trip itself was slow thanks to the poor road conditions, but it was a very
scenic ride. The odd thing was that we didn’t take a more direct route to
Montreal, but instead followed very closely to the train route the whole way [Edit: someone subsequently noted to me that there wasn't a much more direct route to go from where we were].
Despite separating us into two distinct bus-loads, both buses traveled together
the entire way and made all the necessary stops along the way (which were not
at the respective VIA stations, but rather at a more convenient stop location
for the bus, and I believe passengers were then taxied to their destinations).
Stops were at Mont-Joli, near Riviere-de-Loup, and near Quebec City/Charny. As
a result, the trip was long and we didn’t arrive in Montreal until 8:37pm,
about 11.5h late.
The
arrival in Montreal was a bit of a disastrous mess. We stopped at the bus drop
area at Central station, and since there was no room to pull in, our driver
parked right in the middle of the road blocking traffic and the exit from the
parking area. There was no organization to the baggage retrieval, as everyone
was just sent to get their own bags instead of having a few people remove them
all and then have people claim them. It caused a bit of chaos, and the staff
outside were very frustrated by the whole thing. I’m sure it was made even more
difficult by the extra buses that were there to be loaded with that night’s VIA
#14 passengers.
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| The departures board in Montreal - "Remarks: Bus Service" - This is a message no one ever wants to see... |
Since
we missed any possible connections, we were given two options: 1) stay in a
hotel at VIA’s expense and take another train out the next day, or 2) be
refunded 100% for our trip, but be left on our own to find accommodations and
further transportation. It seemed like most people opted for the hotel, and
there were close to 20 of us who stayed the night. We were put up at the
Fairmount Queen Elizabeth (directly above the station), which was a very nice
place to stay for the night. Unfortunately the check in process, which involved
re-booking us onto trains for the next day, was not very quick. We ended up in
the station for close to an hour before we were sorted through to head to the
hotel, and the station agents seemed to be learning the process as they went.
Regardless, we did eventually all get checked in, had very nice rooms, and were
given free supper and breakfast at the hotel (which was very nice!).
So
after a relaxing (albeit unplanned) stay in Montreal, I made it the rest of the
way on VIA #57 on the 24th, a sold-out but almost entirely on-time
run. Final arrival in Brockville: 24h10minutes late! [Edit: As of Dec. 2017, this is still the record for my latest trip ever.]
Overall
thoughts on the trip:
As
usual, I was impressed with VIA’s service for much of the trip. In the case of
the bustitution, I was pleased that VIA made a real effort to get everyone on
to their final destinations, and I commend the crew on the great job they did
during what has to be an unwelcome and exhausting trip for them as well. I also
appreciate VIA doing things like providing extra meals and hotel
accommodations. However, I have to say that the communication at several points
was severely lacking, and I fear that VIA may have lost some customers over
this. I know at least one woman who swore she would never set foot on a train
again (despite my assurances that this was a rare occurrence, to which she
replied sarcastically “oh sure, I’ll bet it is”). But there were also others
who were very pleased with VIA. On my return trip (described in Part 2), I met
almost everyone I had met on this trip, making their return the same day I did.
Most of them chose the Campbellton option, and all of them were very pleased
with VIA’s handling of the situation. So generally, it seemed to me that it was
the experience around the bustitution that left most people bitter.
For
me, it was an unusual and interesting adventure, which I took at a relaxed pace
and tried to see the positives. If nothing else, I now have a handsome travel
credit for my next trip :) [Note: I made good use of this credit...]
The Return
New Business Class on VIA 54
After the exciting trip west from the
week before, I was looking forward to a slightly more straightforward return
trip. This time I was connecting from Ottawa on Train 54. I had booked a
Business class ticket on a good sale, and was looking forward to what I
expected to be my first taste of VIA’s “new” Business class in a refurbished
LRC club. I was not disappointed.
First, a note on checked baggage: Train
54 does apparently allow for limited checked baggage for passengers connecting
to the Ocean (despite the lack of a baggage car), but this is not clearly
explained anywhere and I only found out about it thanks to a post on VIA’s Facebook
page. When I arrived at the station, I took my bag to the counter and said I
was checking it to Halifax. A tag was slapped on it, no further questions
asked, and it was on the conveyor simple as that. It made it to Halifax with
me, so clearly the system works.
The train was about an hour late from
Toronto, and we would arrive in Montreal over an hour behind schedule as well
(another travel credit…I ended up with a pretty good collection of these by the
end!). When it did arrive in the station, I was pleased to see the 3461 in its
bright new paint scheme leading the LRC consist.
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| 3461, in all its (semi-)refurbished glory. Note that only the lower half of the end of the car was actually repainted. |
The new Business class interiors look
fantastic, for a start. For the first time, I think they really do look
properly like a “first class” version of the LRC interior. The new layout is
very spacious, and the overall look of the new upholstery is splendid. The
seats are now laid out so that there are no “window-bar” seats. The leg room is
excellent, and the spacing to the sides is much improved. The addition of a
small table next to the seat along with a fold-down tray table from the
seat-back make it a much better setup than the old LRC clubs. I was also quite
impressed to find that the armrests are moveable, which makes it possible to
get in and out of one’s seat while leaving the tray table down. The single
seats are also slightly farther out from the wall, which allows you to see out
the window ahead of you as well as the one next to you (assuming the curtains
are open). The new bathrooms are also very nice, with large mirrors, clean
colours and motion-sensor activated taps. The only thing I was surprised to
find that wasn’t at all modified were the overhead luggage bins. From the
outside they appear only to have been cleaned up, and inside they’re very
clearly the original bins with no work done to them.
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| The refurbished Business class interior. This past year VIA has now reconfigured all of these cars so the front half has backwards facing seats, putting the facing pairs in the centre of the car. |
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| The single seats. Lots of space. |
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| The double seats. Far more room than the old layout, and with the table in between, you hardly even feel like you're sitting right next to someone. |
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| View forward. With the single seats spaced farther from the window, you actually have a good view out the window ahead (assuming that person doesn't close the curtain). |
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| Entering the car, through the refurbished galley. |
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| New tray tables - a huge improvement over what was in the armrests in the past. |
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| The bathroom - much nicer sink, with motion-sensor faucet. Bright and clean. |
I have only had one prior experience
with Business class, so I don’t have much to compare the new service with.
Drink service started immediately out of Ottawa along with small snacks (which
seemed similar to the “urban mix” or whatever it was that VIA has had in the
past). Hot towel service followed, but the former towels were replaced with
packaged “lemon scented towels”. Meals were served all at once, and service
started simultaneously from the front and back of the car. This meant that in
Row 12 I still had all three options (chicken, salmon or chick-pea salad)
available to me. The middle rows, though, had few options left. I had the
chicken, which was quite good and included mashed potatoes and vegetables, a
roll, salad, and Laura Secord fudge and biscotti for dessert. The meal was
followed with packaged chocolates (dark or chocolate and raspberry), which were
quite good. I was only ever so enthralled with the VIA chocolates, so this was
certainly an acceptable substitute.
We arrived in Montreal late and so
backed in off the Victoria Bridge [Note: this train would then proceed on to Quebec City, so it needed to be ready to head straight out]. The escalator at Gate 20 was not working, so
the stairs were a little chaotic!
Heading East on VIA 14
[Note: I do have photos from this trip somewhere, but I haven't been able to dig them up yet. I may go back in and add them at some point] Upon arrival in Montreal, VIA #14 was
listed as on time. However, I had noticed that the train wasn’t in the station
yet when we arrived on 54, so I suspected we would be late. When checking in,
the SM informed me that we’d be lucky to leave before 8pm. Sure enough, the
departure time was steadily pushed back and back by 15min at a time, and it was
9pm by the time we boarded. By 9:23pm we had departed Montreal.
Apparently the cause of the delay was
that some problem had developed with the accessible Renaissance sleeper (Line
19) and it had to be cut from the consist. As a replacement, an extra Chateau
was also added. I don’t believe any rooms were occupied (apart from crew), but
I don’t know for sure. I expect they may have been needed on the return trip.
Our consist on departure was:
6424
64436414
7007
7228
70217
7227
7303
7401
7313
7502 (20)
7517 (21)
7519 (22)
7510 (23)
7525 (36)
7513 (37)
7504 (38)
7600
8138
8142
Chateau Brulé
Chateau Bienville
Tweedsmuir Park
The rear HEP1 coaches were both full,
but were loaded only with passengers going to Moncton. At Moncton, they both
emptied completely. All intermediate passengers and those going through to
Halifax were put in the forward Ren coaches. Once again, food service in the
rear coaches was done by food cart, and though the Park was available for some
canteen service, few people seemed to use it for that. Unlike the previous
trip, free coffee and tea were available on a table in the Park lounge (as
usual).
Since we were late leaving Montreal, we
only had one dinner setting on departure. It was reserved exclusively for
Sleeper Plus passengers, with extra space going to Sleeper passengers as
available (they were informed at the check-in that they should consider getting
food before we left, as we were delayed anyway). The menu on the return trip
was different from the trip up, which provided a nice bit of variety. The food
again was good by Ren standards, the company was excellent, and the service was
okay (although not as attentive as on the trip up).
After dinner I returned to my cabin,
Room 2 of car 37. The Park had closed at 10:30 (if it was even open when we
left, which I don’t know), but I decided to check anyway. The end gate had
actually been put up across the first Chateau sleeper, discouraging coach
passengers from trying to sleep in the open sections or even steal a roomette.
I slept surprisingly well once again,
and woke up to find that we had been delayed by yet another hour overnight
thanks to waiting for freights. This meant that I got to enjoy breathtaking
views of the Matapedia valley, with trees covered in snow and the river mostly
frozen, as I enjoyed my breakfast in the diner. We kept up a good pace for much
of the day, but still remained well behind schedule.
Lunch service was also reduced to only
one setting at 12:30. It was exclusively sleeper passengers with reservations,
but this time basic Sleeper passengers were also invited along with Sleeper
Plus, and in fact given a complimentary meal due to the delay. They also picked
up Subway sandwiches and other snacks at Bathurst for all coach passengers.
Just as we were nearing Moncton (at
around MP26 on the Newcastle Sub), we got stopped again. Apparently a
snowmobile was on the tracks ahead of us and had got itself stuck on a small
bridge. The crew ended up using the train to pull the snowmobile free, and
after about 40min of delay and jostling, the snowmobile and its owner were left
in the hands of the RCMP. We then also had to wait for about another
15-20min due to issues with a switch just a few minutes out from Moncton.
Thanks to all this and our further delays, we got up to running nearly 5 and a
half hours late. It was well dark when we arrived in Moncton, so I didn’t see
much beyond there. The Park attendant turned the lights on in the dome (and
wouldn’t turn them off again), so that view was gone.
Due to the delay, VIA picked up extra
meals for everyone going on past Moncton. This time it was very basic St.
Hubert takeout (chicken with a baked potato, bun and sauce, and drinks). I
enjoyed that in my room, picked up a cup of tea from the Park, and settled into
bed to read for a while as we made our final way into Halifax. Final arrival in
Halifax was at 10:49pm, warranting yet another travel credit to add to the list
from this year’s Christmas travels. [Edit: I made good use of all of these!]
Overall, it was another excellent trip.
I was very pleased with the onboard service, and had a very comfortable ride.
The extra little things VIA does during delays, like bringing on extra
complimentary snacks and meals, do really go the extra mile to help offset
people’s displeasure at being so late. As I look at it, I got extra time on the
train, still got where I was going the day I planned to (unlike the last
trip!), and got a few extra perks and a travel credit out of the whole thing.
In the end, I don’t have much to complain about.
Another excellent trip with VIA, and I
already look forward to the next one!
_________________________________________________________________________
So, there you have it. The first installment From the Archives. I'll plan to post more of these in the future, but for now, expect to see some new material very soon. Merry Christmas, and see you in the New Year!
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| VIA #14with classic Budd cars filling in for the usual Renaissance equipment, drops off passengers in Truro NS before making the final part of its trek to Halifax. Feb. 26, 2011 |
