Upper level bar on Sightseer Lounge

[Willbridge]

What I recall from that lease, was they got four cars...a sleeper, diner, coach, and coach baggage, but no Sightseer Lounge. Not sure if they got an HEP equipped F40 or two, or not....

You're right on the consist. I can't recall what the motive power was and those parts of my old Rail Travel News collection and correspondence files aren't accessible right now.

 

[OBS]

You're right on the consist. I can't recall what the motive power was and those parts of my old Rail Travel News collection and correspondence files aren't accessible right now.

Off topic, but I used to LOVE Rail Travel News!

 

[railiner]

You're right on the consist. I can't recall what the motive power was and those parts of my old Rail Travel News collection and correspondence files aren't accessible right now.

I believe VIA Rail was still mainly steam heated at that time, so they may have had to lease some HEP power as well...not sure....

 

[railiner]

Off topic, but I used to LOVE Rail Travel News!

Me too...it was a twice a month (most of the time), little tabloid paper magazine, that provided much more timely news, than other railfan publications could.
It's letters to the editor comprised a large portion of its contents, and provided a forum, not very different from AU, long before we had the internet...

 

[jiml]

I believe VIA Rail was still mainly steam heated at that time, so they may have had to lease some HEP power as well...not sure....

That sounds right. The HEP units were concentrated in the East early on. They usually led, with an F7/9 or FP as second unit to provide heat to the consist, much the way Amtrak transitioned. I seem to recall some compatibility issues between the two roads' HEP systems in the early going as well.

 

[mlanoue]

They ran Superliner's to Toronto? I wasn't aware of that. I recall Amfleet and LRC equipment...

I think in the early 2000s they used Superliners on the International seasonally--just in the winter. I only rode it once, right after Christmas in 2003, and it did have the SL lounge that time. It was sold out, too. That would be an insanely long trip end to end without some kind of cafe car, though.

 

[railiner]

I think in the early 2000s they used Superliners on the International seasonally--just in the winter. I only rode it once, right after Christmas in 2003, and it did have the SL lounge that time. It was sold out, too. That would be an insanely long trip end to end without some kind of cafe car, though.

I think you got my posts mixed up...the Superliner equipped Panorama ran between Winnipeg and Edmonton. Its diner was divided into dining room and lounge sections. The International always had some kind of cafe, regardless of equipment type...

*

I searched a bit more and this account answer's some previous questions about the actual consist and power...
http://tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com/2009/02/vias-winnipeg-edmonton-panorama-1984.html

 

[Willbridge]

Me too...it was a twice a month (most of the time), little tabloid paper magazine, that provided much more timely news, than other railfan publications could.
It's letters to the editor comprised a large portion of its contents, and provided a forum, not very different from AU, long before we had the internet...

I've had to explain the phenomenon of "little magazines" to younger people. I tell them that they were sort of blogs. It was rumored that Paul Reistrup and Graham Claytor read it to find out what was REALLY going on at Amtrak. Northwestern University's library may have the only archived collection of them.

I wrote a few articles for it from Oregon, a lot from Western Canada, and then a few from Colorado. Here's a sample attached.

 

[Willbridge]

I think you got my posts mixed up...the Superliner equipped Panorama ran between Winnipeg and Edmonton. Its diner was divided into dining room and lounge sections. The International always had some kind of cafe, regardless of equipment type...

*

I searched a bit more and this account answer's some previous questions about the actual consist and power...
http://tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com/2009/02/vias-winnipeg-edmonton-panorama-1984.html

That was a good summary, with pix. I was thinking of going back to the Edmonton<>Calgary thread to explain how the development of the VIA Rail Panorama
evolved.

 

[railiner]

I've had to explain the phenomenon of "little magazines" to younger people. I tell them that they were sort of blogs. It was rumored that Paul Reistrup and Graham Claytor read it to find out what was REALLY going on at Amtrak. Northwestern University's library may have the only archived collection of them.

I wrote a few articles for it from Oregon, a lot from Western Canada, and then a few from Colorado. Here's a sample attached.

Nice...
I used to eagerly grab it when it came to my mailbox, and devour it all at once....
I guess a lot of its reader's believed the Amtrak president read it, too. I recall several 'open letters' beginning with" "Hey Paul!"..... followed by some wild proposal on how he should run his railroad....