Into the Wilds of Quebec

A far cry from the Santa Fe! I rode the Super Chief over Labor Day weekend in 1971 and as far as the OBS crew was concerned it was still the Santa Fe; I can't imagine a Santa Fe steward saying anything like that.

NS VIA Fan:

Thanks for this "trip" back to the middle 1970s in Quebec...

This shows how interesting passenger services were before the advent of VIA under CN, ONR and GO Transit back then...

I noticed those H-S DMU units on the GO Pickering train and that Mopar (Chrysler) gas guzzler in one of the La Sarre pictures...

I was in my early teens then - Canada and its railways always interested me...

MACTRAXX

AgentSkelly wrote:Dining Car Steward “we don’t take no foreign credit cards” .....me....”yes Amtrak does”. “I don’t” “you might not pay-up before you leave the country” So it was back to cash until we reached LA!

Well it's at least somewhat comforting to know that surly on-board staff aren't just the advent of VIA Rail - sounds like a longstanding railroad tradition.

I would greatly appreciate any information about overnight accommodations in Senneterre and Jonquiere. Unfortunately I speak no French so I am interested in establishments that are English friendly or accommodative.

Thanks very much.

Bill
Williamsburg, VA

I wouldn’t call it ‘English Friendly” as I’ve found most Quebecois to be very accommodating to non-speakers (sure you might find a bad apple…but everyone’s got them!)

I stayed at the Delta Hotel (now a Marriott) in Jonquiere a couple of years ago. A modern high-rise hotel and conference centre.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/y ... ce-centre/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The front desk staff was completely fluent in English

I took a taxi between VIA and the hotel and had absolutely no problem with my limited French.

Jonquiere is part of a larger metro area with Chicoutimi (pop 150,000) so you will find several Hotels or Motels if you search it out.

Senneterre is much smaller and I’ve never stayed there. There are several small motels listed. You probably won’t find too many English speakers here but you will get along just fine!

NS VIA FAN,

Thanks for the info and advice. I have been to Quebec several times and have got along just fine with one exception. In Sept Isle at the start of a trackcar trip to Scheferville I visited one place in town with lots of folks around and none spoke any English or seemed to want to try to communicate in any way whatsoever. I will chalk up that experience as an outlier and following your advice will research a VIA trip to Senneterre and Jonquiere.

BAR
Williamsburg, VA

BAR wrote:I would greatly appreciate any information about overnight accommodations in Senneterre and Jonquiere. Unfortunately I speak no French so I am interested in establishments that are English friendly or accommodative.

Thanks very much.

Bill
Williamsburg, VA

posting a query on CPTDB's Quebec forum may also get you some info: https://cptdb.ca/forum/8-québec-transit-discussion/