Amtrak & VIA Rail Across 2 Nations

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Railroad Bill

Buckeye Train Watcher
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
3,917
Location
Northern Ohio
Just finished a 2.5 week vacation involving Amtrak, VIA Rail and a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Most of the trips were enjoyable, especially the train rides. I will provide a synopsis here and place some photos as time permits.
We began on May 2 from our home base at CLE. Checked a couple of large bags and then boarded Lake Shore 448 on time. Locos were P42 #105 & 46. SCA Bob prepared room for day use since we board at 5:45 am and we had a short run to Rochester. Bob offered to bring our breakfasts to our room since it was a long walk back to the diner via 4 coaches. Omelet, potatoes, juice and milk tasted good as we sped off across Pennsylvania via Erie. We arrived in Buffalo Depew on time. Had a brief fresh air break to change personnel and off we went to Rochester. Arrived on time at 10am and walked down and up to the very nice Rochester Amtrak station. Luggage came in from the bag car and we had to claim all of our bags and prepare for our trip on the Maple Leaf 63 at 2pm. It was a nasty rainy day in the morning but cleared a bit afternoon. Planned to have lunch at a local Mexican place but it was closed and then rain started again so decided to have some "goodies" from the vending machines. Agents were friendly and provided info about the Maple Leaf trip across the border. Had our passports and other ID. Amtrak Maple Leaf arrived a few minutes late. We had business class seats and there were 5 seats available upon boarding. Caught a video of Loco 122 arriving. Had to carry all of our 5 bags onto the train due to customs regulations. Rain continued as we returned to Buffalo and continued on to Niagra Falls, Ontario. All passengers had to deboard at the NF station and talk with Canadian Customs agents. After everyone had left the train, agents with dogs checked out the cars. We then had to wait until everyone had been checked in before we could reboard our train. There was a man dressed in formal wear playing a piano in the station which helped pass the hour long wait. Very talented gentleman. Now known as 1098 and with all new VIA crews we now continued toward Toronto. Also no free beverages from the VIA cafe car for BC passengers. . Grabbed a burger and chips as we now headed toward Hamilton Ontario. Arrived in Toronto around 8 pm. Union Station is quite impressive, but we moved to the front to find a cab and get to our Doubletree Hilton Downtown for a much-needed rest. First time riding the Maple Leaf combo train. Not a great connection from CLE to Toronto but anytime on a train is good.20230502_102148.jpg
 

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Just finished a 2.5 week vacation involving Amtrak, VIA Rail and a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Most of the trips were enjoyable, especially the train rides. I will provide a synopsis here and place some photos as time permits.
We began on May 2 from our home base at CLE. Checked a couple of large bags and then boarded Lake Shore 448 on time. Locos were P42 #105 & 46. SCA Bob prepared room for day use since we board at 5:45 am and we had a short run to Rochester. Bob offered to bring our breakfasts to our room since it was a long walk back to the diner via 4 coaches. Omelet, potatoes, juice and milk tasted good as we sped off across Pennsylvania via Erie. We arrived in Buffalo Depew on time. Had a brief fresh air break to change personnel and off we went to Rochester. Arrived on time at 10am and walked down and up to the very nice Rochester Amtrak station. Luggage came in from the bag car and we had to claim all of our bags and prepare for our trip on the Maple Leaf 63 at 2pm. It was a nasty rainy day in the morning but cleared a bit afternoon. Planned to have lunch at a local Mexican place but it was closed and then rain started again so decided to have some "goodies" from the vending machines. Agents were friendly and provided info about the Maple Leaf trip across the border. Had our passports and other ID. Amtrak Maple Leaf arrived a few minutes late. We had business class seats and there were 5 seats available upon boarding. Caught a video of Loco 122 arriving. Had to carry all of our 5 bags onto the train due to customs regulations. Rain continued as we returned to Buffalo and continued on to Niagra Falls, Ontario. All passengers had to deboard at the NF station and talk with Canadian Customs agents. After everyone had left the train, agents with dogs checked out the cars. We then had to wait until everyone had been checked in before we could reboard our train. There was a man dressed in formal wear playing a piano in the station which helped pass the hour long wait. Very talented gentleman. Now known as 1098 and with all new VIA crews we now continued toward Toronto. Also no free beverages from the VIA cafe car for BC passengers. . Grabbed a burger and chips as we now headed toward Hamilton Ontario. Arrived in Toronto around 8 pm. Union Station is quite impressive, but we moved to the front to find a cab and get to our Doubletree Hilton Downtown for a much-needed rest. First time riding the Maple Leaf combo train. Not a great connection from CLE to Toronto but anytime on a train is good.View attachment 32618
Great pics Bill! I haven't Been in Rochester since the New Station was built.

Sad to see the once Grand Central Station in Buffalo still mostly unused after years of attempts to bring it back to life!🥺
 
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