Long haul pax equipment after VIA transfer

I know that Canadian Pacific's long haul passenger operations were transferred to VIA, but i have some questions about the equipment after that transfer:

Could CP equipment be seen in "original" colours in VIA trains in that case? Are there any pictures of that?
Did any of the rolling stock maintain their original interiors after being repainted into VIA colours?
Were there any external changes made, except for the paint scheme, after VIA took over? I.e. window arrangement, doors, under floor equipment, etc.
Is there any equipment of CP heritage that never got the VIA paint scheme despite surviving the take over?

Yes, you could have seen the cars still in the CP Rail paint scheme for awhile after VIA acquired the cars in 1978.

http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Ca ... _Budd_cars

The xCP fleet was mostly Budd Stainless Steel so it was just a matter of a Blue Stripe being painted over the Red Stripe above the windows. There was also modifications to the brake systems on some cars so the would be compatibale this the xCN cars.

There was some upgrading of the interiors but the major work wasn’t done until the HEP program in the late ‘80s early ‘90s when nearly the entire fleet was rebuilt. The old steam heating system was removed and converted to electric.

Here’s xCP cars (stainless steel) running with xCN cars (smooth side) in the mid 80s.

Thanks mate. I only have two questions:

So you could actually see cars in CN, CP and VIA colours all combined in a single train? It's not just my imagination jumping to conclusions?

The brake systems were different? I thought all rail cars were supposed to be built to the same specifications?

Although I don't have photos, I took a trip from Montreal to Vancouver in 1981. The consist included some VIA, CN and CP Rail cars. The diner was ex-CN painted in VIA colours, but the interior was clearly a CN diner with the neon lights behind a dropped lattice-work ceiling. There was at least one sleeper in CN black and white. There were two adjacent Château sleepers, one with CP "action red" stripes and the other with the VIA blue. As (bad) luck would have it, the sleeper in which we had our drawing room was the one still in CP and it was quite shabby inside. The sleeping car conductor had taken the drawing room in the beautifully restored Château car behind it. I asked him nicely if we could trade because my wife and I were really looking forward to the refurbished car and he readily agreed. Of course, staff weren't supposed to get drawing rooms if paying passengers wanted them, but that hasn't stopped some from purloining the best accommodations on a train and telling the passengers it isn't available. I was grateful that he was a fine fellow. The windows of the dining car leaked every time we encountered rain and I recall the Trackside Guide reported that that car was soon retired.

Sounds like he was a nice guy.

I always thought CP kept their cars in the best condition possible until the transfer to VIA.

Anyway, thanks for confirming what i thought. CN, CP and VIA combos were possible.

Edit: You wouldn't happen to know the name/number of the dining car?

The tram man wrote: The brake systems were different? I thought all rail cars were supposed to be built to the same specifications?

Some cars, mainly CN had clasp brakes.......CP: disc brakes.

NS VIA FAN wrote:Some cars, mainly CN had clasp brakes.......CP: disc brakes.

Huh. I honestly thought they would have been able to work together anyway.

NS VIA FAN wrote:http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Ca ... _Budd_cars

Very interesting link

Though, in the dining car section, I noticed this:

16511 Imperial 16511 8411 Wrecked Sept. 3, 1998 - Biggar, SK Retired 09/2001

That car is Still in active service today. it was part of the consist when I took the Chaleur to Gaspe QC in June 2010.

warwgn3 wrote:

NS VIA FAN wrote:http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Ca ... _Budd_cars

Though, in the dining car section, I noticed this:
16511 Imperial 16511 8411 Wrecked Sept. 3, 1998 - Biggar, SK Retired 09/2001
That car is Still in active service today. it was part of the consist when I took the Chaleur to Gaspe QC in June 2010.

Here's a link to VIA's active fleet.....and yes, Imperial is still there.

http://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/our-fleet

Click on the car type (and also on 360 deg view in each link for interior shots)

warwgn3 wrote:

NS VIA FAN wrote:http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Ca ... _Budd_cars

Very interesting link

Though, in the dining car section, I noticed this:

16511 Imperial 16511 8411 Wrecked Sept. 3, 1998 - Biggar, SK Retired 09/2001

That car is Still in active service today. it was part of the consist when I took the Chaleur to Gaspe QC in June 2010.

According to The Trackside Guide, the diner that was retired after the Biggar wreck was "Champlain."