My Trip to Gaspe

My family and I took a trip to Gaspe in July this year, and had a great time. I uploaded some videos of our train.

The Consist of our train was:

East Bound
6417 Lead Montreal to Matepedia
6443 Split off with Ocean route with 6417
6440 Took Lead at Matepedia to Gaspe
8623 Baggage
8132 Coach
8500 Skyline Dome
8220 Chateau Papineau
8218 Chateau Marquette
8222 Chateau Richelieu

West Bound
6436 took lead at Matepedia to Montreal
6454 Combined from Ocean route with 6436
6410 Lead Gaspe to Matepedia
6440
8623 Baggage
8132 Coach
8500 Skyline Dome
8411 Imperial Diner
8220 Chateau Papineau
8218 Chateau Marquette
8222 Chateau Richelieu
8225 Chateau Rouville (deadheading to Montreal)

Our accommodations on the train was in Chateau Marquette, in rooms 2,3,7 & 8. My parents were in rooms 7 & 8. My brother was in room 2, and I was in room 3 on the way there. On the way back, we switched rooms. I took room 2, and my brother had room 3. I wanted to see the differences of the upper and lower rooms, and wanted to try them both out.

Our Eastbound train didn't have a dining car, because they were having some problems with the kitchen or something, so the crew had to make due with just the skyline car as a makeshift dining car, and they did an excellent job of doing so. While waiting for our Westbound train to come in to Gaspe, we chased it to take video and pics of it Barachois and Douglastown, before turning around on the wye to make its 3:00 pm departure to Montreal and were very happy to see a full size Diner in the consist.

Here are some of the videos I posted on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeFQ3hyuv2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZJv5XCA3kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGqV08U_KA

I'm still uploading some videos and will post them when I'm done.

Edit:

Here are a few more vids...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzrMlRpGCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ZwqIBi3J4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egDfx7C-7eA

Cheers
Doug Corrigan

Although I am surprised to see only one coach in the consist, I am not surprised that this route is weighted more towards "sleepers" - three in revenue service in peak season is about right. This is typical for the train, as are "staffed stations" for most of the train's route! With the right Skyline Dome, it can easily function as a Diner/Lounge/Dome combo and offer great meals.

With a tri-weekly schedule, only one diner is needed for this train and should be standard during peak seasons (summer/holiday periods etc.). And with three revenue sleepers, it certainly deserves a full diner. I just wish they would offer a "light lunch" of some sort in the full service diner prior to arrival into Gaspe (eastbound). Often passengers resort to the "cafe" under the dome car for lunch. It could easily serve lunch between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - arriving into Gaspe at 1:00 p.m. or so.

Often in late May/early June, this train runs with three coaches, as I've seen school children use it for trips and easily occupy one full coach. The Chateau sleepers seem to fit this train well, as I've also noticed a lot of "locals" travelling solely along the route.

Lastly, glad to see this train operating "all the way" to Gaspe rather than being "short-turned" before then. Sometimes the "short-turning" was random at best. I can remember being on this train and over an hour late. Sometimes being this late they would "short-turn" the train and sometimes they would run all the way out to Gaspe. It was often flip of a coin. And even though we were over an "hour late" we still arrived into Gaspe only about 1/2 hour late and the return train (same day turn) departed on time at around 2:30 p.m. VIA was "quick" to turn the train as they started "clean-up" prior to our arrival into Gaspe and continued "clean-up" while the train was being wyed - at least a mile in travel.

Hopefully you found the trip to be enjoyable and very scenic. I for one don't like the Chateau roomettes. Even if travelling as a single passenger, I'll take a double bedroom cause I don't like the up/down roomette arrangement on this train. I do like the roomettes (only four of them though) on the Manor series sleepers - preferrably roomettes #3 or #4.

I always think my trip on the Chaleur (Gaspe to Montreal) is my last due to the line falling into disrepair or VIA looking to end service out to Gaspe. Hopefully none of this will come to be, as VIA really has few overnight trains left in its system and has practically sliced trains to the Maritimes to a bare minimum.

What I don't understand is why both trains were over booked, and both times they threw the passengers in the dome seats with some pillows and blankets so they could sleep. They all took the best seats too. Come on! The dome section is for observing the scenery, not for sleeping...we missed so many great shots we could have taken, but couldn't for fear of disturbing the sleeping passengers. They should have plopped them in the empty sleeper cabins.

Also in one of my videos, I get stopped while doing my walk through, with the attendant saying the car was out of service. if the car is deadheading, why wouldn't they put it between the baggage car and the engines or at the very least, lock the doors, so you can't get to it?

I didn't let those 2 incidents get to me, but they are questions that could use an answer to satisfy curiosity.

Despite those problems, we did have a great time. the food was excellent, and the view in the dome was nice too, except for the really dirty windows (they should be washed before every trip). And I was even nice enough to go back to the snack bar, and tell the attendant that she gave me too much change for the 2 beers I bought. $12 for 2 cans, and I gave her a $20. She gave me $14 change, so I returned after a bit, and gave her back the balance.

I would suspect that the consist was actually short a coach, as typically they have two coaches for this train.

jp1822 wrote:Although I am surprised to see only one coach in the consist......

Not a surprise when you consider that there are apparently only two, yes two, coaches on the Ocean to Halifax. I'm sure that this varies with seasonal demand, as VIA operates with far more flexible consists than Amtrak, but all the same, if Montreal to Halifax service can be satisfied with only two low capacity coaches, then a single coarch to Gaspe makes sense.

Does the number of sleepers seem normal? When we were traveling to Gaspe, we had 3 sleepers, yet on the Return trip coming home, we had 4 sleepers, but one was deadheading.

goodnightjohnwayne wrote:

jp1822 wrote:Although I am surprised to see only one coach in the consist......

Not a surprise when you consider that there are apparently only two, yes two, coaches on the Ocean to Halifax. I'm sure that this varies with seasonal demand, as VIA operates with far more flexible consists than Amtrak, but all the same, if Montreal to Halifax service can be satisfied with only two low capacity coaches, then a single coarch to Gaspe makes sense.

That varies hugely by season. I have seen it with as few as two (once I think...and that was in the very much off-season time period), but the Ocean typically has at least 3 if operating with the Budd equipment in the winter (I've seen as many as 4 for sure), while the Renaissance consists almost always run with at least 3, if not 4 or 5 coaches. I think I may even have seen 6 before, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I know I've seen 5.

jp1822 wrote:I would suspect that the consist was actually short a coach, as typically they have two coaches for this train.

True. Every time I have seen the Chaleur (from the Ocean, when the two run joined) it has had 2 coaches.