I'm finally making the journey to Canada to ride the westbound Canadian out of Toronto this year.
Does anyone have information on the numbering system Via uses for the summer consist and can anyone recommend a hoel in Vancouver that wont mind a cancellation if we get delayed (I have read of some bad delays)?
Thanks in advance for any information!
Hey, Amtrakker:
VIA Rail has only train #1 westbound and #2 eastbound on the Canadian. ONLY TWO NUMBERS! It has reworked its schedule to operate only TWO times per week, YEAR-ROUND versus having a third train in high season this coming 2019 season. Must be due to the horrendous delays on the CN. Depending on when you intend to travel, call VIA reservations as soon as possible. We had access to Prestige Class rooms about a year before our departure and not any sooner; we heard those rooms on our train were sold out within a month!
Last October, we had a room at the Delta by Marriott Toronto the night before departing on the Canadian. We then rode the Canadian to Jasper and then had to deal with a canceled hotel stay at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge: we were delayed about 14 hours, arriving at 6AM instead of the scheduled 4PM, the previous day. Major delays on CN's transcon route. The hotel acknowledged that there was a problem but as they are no longer connected to any railroad, a no-show is still a no-show on its books; when CP ran its trains and owned the hotels, it MAY have been a different story. We accepted the no-refund situation and moved on by having a great breakfast in the hotel's casual restaurant before we drove down the Icefields Parkway to make our stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel as scheduled. We were finally back on schedule!
Depending on where you intend to detrain, I would work from that information. The further west you go, the longer the delays can get. We intend to ride Canadian rails again some time in the future BUT, instead, we plan to fly into Calgary and ride the Rocky Mountaineer from either Banff or travel up to Jasper and take the RM from Jasper to Vancouver. Either way, you spend the night in Kamloops but you get to see the Canadian Rockies in daylight (we rode the RM from Banff to Vancouver on our last trip: WOW!!!).
BE FLEXIBLE whenever you travel on the Canadian! Give yourself an extra day or two at your end of vacation to be sure you don't miss your flight back home; we built extra days into our plans. As we are retired, things like delays didn't matter as much as compared to those who have a strict schedule to be met. I retired over a year ago and do not miss the nine-to-five one bit! We had a VRBO rental in Vancouver that was a delight; no hotels at the Vancouver end for us.
AMTRAKKER I'm finally making the journey to Canada to ride the westbound Canadian out of Toronto this year. Does anyone have information on the numbering system Via uses for the summer consist and can anyone recommend a hoel in Vancouver that wont mind a cancellation if we get delayed (I have read of some bad delays)? Thanks in advance for any information!
“Things of quality have no fear of time.”
Hello, Amtrakker--concerning hotels' cancellation policies, if you use the websites of various companies that arrange reservations, you will usually find the policy of individual hotels in the descriptions of the hotels.
Johnny
I think he means the car numbering system (the changeable 4 number codes each car bears, not the car's actual UMLER identity) that is used to help passengers find their car. Unfortunately I cannot help, best ask someone at VIA.
The cars are best identified by their name series, while the coaches and baggage/dorms only have numbers the mid-train domes are "Skylines", the "Manor" series sleepers have 3 sections, 6 double bedrooms and 4 roomettes, the "Chateau" series sleepers have 3 sections, 3 double bedrooms, 1 drawing room (sleeps 3) and 8 roomettes, and the non-prestige "Park" series observation cars have 3 double bedrooms and 1 drawing room, along with the lounge, dome and bar.
The rebuilt "Prestige class" cars kept their Chateau and Park series names, but only contain the upgraded bedrooms.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Dude, I tried to think of how to phrase what he meant by "car numbering"--and I agree with you.
But- a Manor series car has only five double bedrooms; room F is actually a compartment, which is arranged the same as a bedroom is, but is a little bit longer. And the Chateau series cars have duplex roomettes, which are slightly smaller than roomettes and are somewhat sandwiched with the berth of one room (it is on rollers) stored beneath the next room (have you noticed how the windows are staggered?) Also, each Manor and Chateau car has a shower with a dressing room which replaced one of the sections. If your accommodation is in a Park car, you have to go to another car to take a shower (or did VIA lately rebuild the Park cars with showers?)
On our first trip across Canada, my wife wanted to relive her first trip by Pullman (from Miami to New York) whereon she had a lower berth--so we took a lower from Vancouver to Jasper and then had room F (which I discovered was a compartment) to Toronto. On our last trip together, we had a drawing room Vancouver-Jasper, Jasper-Toronto- and Montreal-Moncton (I did not mind at all going to the next car for my showers). I made the reservation about eight months in advance to make sure we would have the drawing rooms on #2. On my last trip in Canada, I had a compartment from Jasper to Vancouver.
I should have clarified, I meant for car placement within the consist.
For example, on the w/b Empire Builder of Chicago, if you are in the 0730 sleeper you are in the Seattle section of the train, if you are in the 2730 sleeper you are in the Portland section.
On the Canadian we will be in the 111 sleeper, I'm wondering where this will be in the consist, and perhaps what I can expect a summer consist to be, placement of the domes and diner(s)?
My wife and I have ridden Amtrak quite a bit, but this will be our first time on Via, just wondering what to expect!
AMTRAKKER, I wish I could remember the placement of the cars by the numbers the times that my wife and I rode between Vancouver and Toronto. I do remember that the arrangement in late spring and summer had each diner bracketted with three sleepers behind and a dome car and three sleepers in front (there were two diners during the high travel season). The Park car was, of course on the rear, and there were a dome car with food service for coach passengers and two coaches behind the baggage car. What cahnges have been made, with the introduction of the Premier Service, I have no idea.
Thanks for the clarification Johnny, it is amazing what variety of accomodations were once widely available in sleepers.
Today VIA only advertises 1, 2 and 3 person compartments, along with berths. An upper is still a bit cheaper than a lower.
As for consist makeup, a skyline dome and diner are normally placed in between the coaches and sleepers, and the prestige cars are on the very tail end. Normally there are 2 ex-Chateau sleepers and the rebuilt Park car.
I haven't noticed any particular order to the arrangement of the other sleepers and domes, buy they do like to put the diners next to the skylines so extra seating is easily available.
Each prestige compartment sleeps 2, and contains its own shower.
SD70Dude Thanks for the clarification Johnny, it is amazing what variety of accomodations were once widely available in sleepers. Today VIA only advertises 1, 2 and 3 person compartments, along with berths. An upper is still a bit cheaper than a lower. As for consist makeup, a skyline dome and diner are normally placed in between the coaches and sleepers, and the prestige cars are on the very tail end. Normally there are 2 ex-Chateau sleepers and the rebuilt Park car. I haven't noticed any particular order to the arrangement of the other sleepers and domes, buy they do like to put the diners next to the skylines so extra seating is easily available. Each prestige compartment sleeps 2, and contains its own shower.
It's some time since I made arrangements to travel on VIA, but as of four years ago, the rooms were described as "cabins for one, two, or three," thus avoiding the terminology which would be mysterious to people who are new to comfortable rail travel. When making reservations, I would ask for a bedroom for night travel, and a roomette for day travel--and whoever was on the other end of the line understood what I was saying.
Hi AMTRAKKER
A recent consist was:
Baggage
Coach
Skyline
Manor (13)
Manor (12)
Manor (11)
Manor (10)
Diner
Chateau (DH) (Crew?)
Prestige Chateau (30)
Prestige Park (39)
There will be more sleepers and another diner in the summer.
I hope this is what you are looking for.
williamsb Hi AMTRAKKER A recent consist was: Baggage Coach Coach Skyline Manor (13) Manor (12) Manor (11) Manor (10) Skyline Diner Chateau (DH) (Crew?) Prestige Chateau (30) Prestige Park (39) There will be more sleepers and another diner in the summer. I hope this is what you are looking for.
Exactly!
Thanks!
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