Last week my entire family closed up shop for a one-week vacation in the greater Detroit area along with a round trip on VIA Rail Canada from Windsor to Toronto.
A little background information: we used to have a home outside of Detroit when my father managed a design facility for Chrysler. We wanted to relive those days while sharing our memories with my younger nieces and nephews who were not around at the time. One of our favorite pasttimes was catching the train out of Windsor and spending some time in Toronto.
We drove to Detroit in a large rental van so we could all ride together. We would have loved taking the train, but alas there hasn't been a train in our part of Tennessee since 1979.
We spent two days touring the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Interestingly, when we rode the steam-powered train at Greenfield Village our guide announced that we would get to see a brief glimpse of the new Dearborn Amtrak station that will stop right on the edge of the Museum/Village property. Indeed, there it was. She said further that the planned opening date will be sometime in October.
Following our three days and two nights in the Detroit area, our trip to Toronto on VIA Rail proved to be an eventful day. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. so we could leave in the van no later than 3:00 and make the one-hour drive to the border. Since we were a group of 10 traveling in a van we stood a higher chance of being searched and questioned before entering Canada. We allowed ourselves an hour to make it through customs and then we needed extra time at the Windsor station to go in and pay for our ticket upgrades to VIA1 Business Class.
The drive through Customs was no big deal at all. In fact, it took less than 15 minutes! So, we arrived at the Windsor station with plenty of time to spare before our 5:30 departure.
The new station at Windsor is a big improvement over the old one that we remember from years ago. There was plenty of parking, and the price wasn't bad ($8/day). The station is clean and spacious.
We had no problem getting our upgrades paid for and the tickets reprinted. It was just as easy to get our baggage checked. At 5:20 a.m. we started boarding. This was about the time a thunderstorm moved in.
This train consisted of the older equipment. I did notice an LRC consist parked on the next track protecting that day's mid-morning departure. The business class seats were attractive looking and had good legroom, but didn't have leg rests. Our attendant was very efficient. Most everyone in my group chose the tomato omelet while my oldest niece chose the fruit and cereal. Everyone agreed that the meal was great.
Mechanically, however, the train was having trouble. We noticed that the train wasn't getting up to normal speed. The conductor announced that due to the storm outside we were having locomotive problems. I heard the engineer over the railroad say something about a traction problem. Then, in just a few minutes, all the power went out and the train stalled. The conductor came back over the announcement system (on battery back-up, of course) and let everyone know that we had a mechanical failure and that the crew was going to inspect the locomotive and try to restart it. About 15 minutes later were moving again, but we did not get up to regular speed until we left London.
We arrived in Toronto about 45 minutes late. I assume that we made up some time somewhere along the way because I expected an even later arrival. As soon as we arrived on the platform at Toronto we knew we were entering a major construction zone. Years ago when we did this trip Toronto Union Station was one of the most civilized and pleasant big city stations on the continent. It was quite the opposite on this trip.
Everything was in chaos. The platform area is all to pieces with scaffolding and temporary structures all over the place. Signage was practically non-existent.
We made our way down the escalator to the concourse and it was just as bad. Between all the temporary walls, temporary structures, temporary signs, and plastic drapery taped up in places, we found the baggage claim area. Walking through the Great Hall was rather depressing as the light fixtures were half-lit, there was scaffolding and orange cones everywhere, and the floor was tracked all over with dust. When we stepped outside, Front Street was torn completely out. We had to walk between temporary walls and other obstructions to get to a point where we could cross Front Street to the Royal York hotel. This meant walking through construction filth all the way to the hotel door. The front doors of the Royal York were dirtly from all the construction mess, and dust was tracked all over the very nice carpet in the lobby. What a mess!
It was too early to check into our rooms, so we checked our bags with the bellhop and went out to find some lunch and do some sightseeing. The hotel clerk told us that all of the staff at the Royal York are "construction fatigued" and that the Front Street Demolition has taken its toll on everyone.
It seemed everywhere we went in Toronto the city was all to pieces. Wherever we walked we had to trape through entire blocks of dusty, grimy construction zones. Crossing streets was tricky due to entire sidewalks being demolished and pedestrians redirected. Whenever we rode the sightseer bus the guide would have to talk loud over the sound of machinery and jackhammers. Not once but several times. All of our guides apologized for all the construction and explained that this is all part of a plan to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented.
I enjoyed watching Union Station during the morning and evening rush hours both days that we were there. It was sad in a way to watch the thousands of commuters walk every day between temporary walls on top of broken walkways with dust flying everywhere. The work can't get finished soon enough.
We waited in the Panorama Lounge for our return trip, which was very nice...and the only thing about the station that met our expectations. Unfortunately, our train back to Windsor did not offer checked baggage service so we had to carry everything on board. The attendant helped us get everything stored.
The trip home was normal speed the entire way. This train used the LRC equipment, which we liked a little better. The evening meal was even more impressive than the breakfast we had in the trip up. Some of us got the beef short ribs, my older nephew got the pasta alfedo, and everybody else got the salmon over rice.
We arrived back in Windsor right on time and had no trouble getting back into states before grabbing a hotel room for one more night in the area before heading home.
Overall, we were very pleased with VIA Rail and enjoyed our trip. We only wished that Toronto had been a little more intact. We will be going back and hope we will see Toronto at its best.
A little background information: we used to have a home outside of Detroit when my father managed a design facility for Chrysler. We wanted to relive those days while sharing our memories with my younger nieces and nephews who were not around at the time. One of our favorite pasttimes was catching the train out of Windsor and spending some time in Toronto.
We drove to Detroit in a large rental van so we could all ride together. We would have loved taking the train, but alas there hasn't been a train in our part of Tennessee since 1979.
We spent two days touring the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Interestingly, when we rode the steam-powered train at Greenfield Village our guide announced that we would get to see a brief glimpse of the new Dearborn Amtrak station that will stop right on the edge of the Museum/Village property. Indeed, there it was. She said further that the planned opening date will be sometime in October.
Following our three days and two nights in the Detroit area, our trip to Toronto on VIA Rail proved to be an eventful day. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. so we could leave in the van no later than 3:00 and make the one-hour drive to the border. Since we were a group of 10 traveling in a van we stood a higher chance of being searched and questioned before entering Canada. We allowed ourselves an hour to make it through customs and then we needed extra time at the Windsor station to go in and pay for our ticket upgrades to VIA1 Business Class.
The drive through Customs was no big deal at all. In fact, it took less than 15 minutes! So, we arrived at the Windsor station with plenty of time to spare before our 5:30 departure.
The new station at Windsor is a big improvement over the old one that we remember from years ago. There was plenty of parking, and the price wasn't bad ($8/day). The station is clean and spacious.
We had no problem getting our upgrades paid for and the tickets reprinted. It was just as easy to get our baggage checked. At 5:20 a.m. we started boarding. This was about the time a thunderstorm moved in.
This train consisted of the older equipment. I did notice an LRC consist parked on the next track protecting that day's mid-morning departure. The business class seats were attractive looking and had good legroom, but didn't have leg rests. Our attendant was very efficient. Most everyone in my group chose the tomato omelet while my oldest niece chose the fruit and cereal. Everyone agreed that the meal was great.
Mechanically, however, the train was having trouble. We noticed that the train wasn't getting up to normal speed. The conductor announced that due to the storm outside we were having locomotive problems. I heard the engineer over the railroad say something about a traction problem. Then, in just a few minutes, all the power went out and the train stalled. The conductor came back over the announcement system (on battery back-up, of course) and let everyone know that we had a mechanical failure and that the crew was going to inspect the locomotive and try to restart it. About 15 minutes later were moving again, but we did not get up to regular speed until we left London.
We arrived in Toronto about 45 minutes late. I assume that we made up some time somewhere along the way because I expected an even later arrival. As soon as we arrived on the platform at Toronto we knew we were entering a major construction zone. Years ago when we did this trip Toronto Union Station was one of the most civilized and pleasant big city stations on the continent. It was quite the opposite on this trip.
Everything was in chaos. The platform area is all to pieces with scaffolding and temporary structures all over the place. Signage was practically non-existent.
We made our way down the escalator to the concourse and it was just as bad. Between all the temporary walls, temporary structures, temporary signs, and plastic drapery taped up in places, we found the baggage claim area. Walking through the Great Hall was rather depressing as the light fixtures were half-lit, there was scaffolding and orange cones everywhere, and the floor was tracked all over with dust. When we stepped outside, Front Street was torn completely out. We had to walk between temporary walls and other obstructions to get to a point where we could cross Front Street to the Royal York hotel. This meant walking through construction filth all the way to the hotel door. The front doors of the Royal York were dirtly from all the construction mess, and dust was tracked all over the very nice carpet in the lobby. What a mess!
It was too early to check into our rooms, so we checked our bags with the bellhop and went out to find some lunch and do some sightseeing. The hotel clerk told us that all of the staff at the Royal York are "construction fatigued" and that the Front Street Demolition has taken its toll on everyone.
It seemed everywhere we went in Toronto the city was all to pieces. Wherever we walked we had to trape through entire blocks of dusty, grimy construction zones. Crossing streets was tricky due to entire sidewalks being demolished and pedestrians redirected. Whenever we rode the sightseer bus the guide would have to talk loud over the sound of machinery and jackhammers. Not once but several times. All of our guides apologized for all the construction and explained that this is all part of a plan to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented.
I enjoyed watching Union Station during the morning and evening rush hours both days that we were there. It was sad in a way to watch the thousands of commuters walk every day between temporary walls on top of broken walkways with dust flying everywhere. The work can't get finished soon enough.
We waited in the Panorama Lounge for our return trip, which was very nice...and the only thing about the station that met our expectations. Unfortunately, our train back to Windsor did not offer checked baggage service so we had to carry everything on board. The attendant helped us get everything stored.
The trip home was normal speed the entire way. This train used the LRC equipment, which we liked a little better. The evening meal was even more impressive than the breakfast we had in the trip up. Some of us got the beef short ribs, my older nephew got the pasta alfedo, and everybody else got the salmon over rice.
We arrived back in Windsor right on time and had no trouble getting back into states before grabbing a hotel room for one more night in the area before heading home.
Overall, we were very pleased with VIA Rail and enjoyed our trip. We only wished that Toronto had been a little more intact. We will be going back and hope we will see Toronto at its best.
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