Trip to Gaspe and Renaissance Equipment

Are there any trains on the Eastern Corridor that use Renaissance Equipment between Toronto and Montreal or Ottawa and Montreal? If so which ones? Appears I may be travelling on a Friday either on a morning train or early afternoon train and may possibly connect same day to the the Chaleur departing around 6:45 p.m. at Montreal. Not sure if I would start the journey from Ottawa or Toronto.

My last trip from Toronto to Montreal was in VIA 1 class, but with the stainless steel equipment. Enjoyable ride, but trying to try different type of equipment on this trip. Would still opt for VIA 1 class.

And as mentioned, I am trying to plan this trip in May to mainly include a ride on the Chaleur from Montreal out to Gaspe. Would spend two nights in Gaspe before heading back to Montreal - or perhaps connecting with the Ocean on the return and going to Halifax.

Also what type of equipment would the Chaleur operate with in late May (May 25)? I know it is tacked onto the Ocean, which uses Renaissance equipment. But I'd definitely prefer a sleeper aboard the Chaleur departing Montreal. I know some times the Chaleur operates as an independent train? Would a trip around May 25 be peak season for this train at all? What should I expect? Meals are served in the Skyline dome? Any info would be appreciated.

Lastly, any suggestions on what to do in Gaspe (late May) and a very nice place to stay? I really want to try and take in the spectacular scenery that I've heard so much about in the Gaspe area. Would rent a car - so suggestions on car rental agencies welcome! What is in the area on the "must do or see list?" Enjoy coastal scenery and hotels on the coast etc. But very picky about hotels and not price sensitive in this area.

Less than a fortnight ago, I made a quick trip to Gaspe with three friends. It was quicker than anticipated. The train was late getting into Gaspe, so we had but 35 minutes. We were expecting to have two and a quarter hours. But at least we made it. VIA can be "naughty" at times and short-turn the train at New Carlisle if it is too late for a convenient turn-around at Gaspe. We left Montreal two hours and 20 minutes late due to having to wait for an Ottawa-Montreal train that had been involved in a fatal collision with a snowmobile. By Matapedia, we had made up an hour so VIA allowed us to continue to the end of the line. The scenery north-east of New Carlisle is stunning; we would have felt cheated if we had to spend the day in New Carlisle. An eight-hour round-trip bus ride wasn't an option for us.

The normal off-peak consist for the Chaleur is F40, baggage car, one coach, Skyline, two Chateau sleepers. We had three sleepers on our train and they were almost full on the eastbound run, less so on the return. The summer consist (normally late June to mid to late Sept.) is usually four sleepers with the added bonus of a full dining car. The food in the Skyline car's dining room was quite good. It is surprisingly better than the food on the Ocean - even when they operate a full stainless steel diner.
See the menus (and all of VIA's menus) here:

http://www.viarail.ca/menu_repas/en_index_frame.html

In both directions, the Chaleur is marshalled ahead of the Ocean section of the combined train. It is rare for it to be a separate train all the way to and from Montreal, although it did happen for an unusually long period of time, I believe, last year.

As we did not have any appreciable time in Gaspe, I can't give you any specific recommendations, but "Motel Adams" is a favourite with railfans. Those making the same-day return trip recommend their restaurant for lunch. There was a Budget car hire in the Gaspe station, but with the very cold weather and mounds of snow everywhere limiting the tourists, not surprsingly it was closed.
The following Website gives a lot of information on the region:

http://www.infogaspesie.com/

Renaissance equipment does not operate between Toronto and Montreal. Occasionally it is seen on an Ottawa-Montreal train. The stainless steel VIA 1 cars have recently been refurbished so they all look first class inside. On the Toronto-Montreal run, LRC equipment is almost always operated on #52 and 56, both of which would give you some extra time in Montreal before the departure of the Chaleur.

Thanks for the info - will look into it!

Has the Chaleur been running with a full diner lately - or just a consist of a two coaches, Skyline Dome Car, and two sleepers? Anyone have any recent info on this train? Has it been making the full trip out to Gaspe? Any short turns?

I may be in Montreal later this month and am considering this train just to say I took it - thus it will be more for the "ride" even though I always use the train to get from point A to B, with something planned at both ends. But considering this is only a three day a week operation, I will likely just make a same day turn at Gaspe. Hopefully the layover will be long enough so I can grab lunch in Gaspe. Any recommendation or inside scoop regarding a same day turn are welcome - other than what has been mentioned above?

By the way - do they serve lunch on the train for passengers arriving at Gaspe? Since meals are not part of the sleeper fare, I would imagine lunch is made possible?

On the day you posted your enquiry, Sunday June 17th, I was on board the Ocean/Chaleur departing Montreal. Although I was bound for Halifax in the Renaissance equipment, I had an opportunity to observe the manoeuvres at Matapedia where the trains were split. The Chaleur's consist was:

F40 6435
F40 6406
Baggage 8621
Coach 8139
Coach 8141
Sleepers: Chateau Richelieu
Chateau Rouville
Skyline 8505
Diner Acadian
Chateau Lasalle
Chateau Laval

On my February trip to Gaspe, one of my friends asked if lunch would be served as we were nearly two hours late. He was told no, but the diner would be pleased to make a sandwich if desired. As there was no time to get lunch in Gaspe, we were glad that we had brought along a snack. Amongst the four of us, we had brought Champagne, fruit, pate, cheese, etc. Two of my friends always travel with a cooler just for such an "emergency."

Thanks for the replies! I had a similiar consist as above (less two sleepers) on my trip to Gaspe. Talk about end of the line at Gaspe! Bumper post and all!

I found the train to be very busy (Wednesday/Thursday), despite the rumors that this train may be discontinued. Coastal scenery was fantastic! There were a lot of school children using the train - I suppose for class trip purposes?

Although I managed quite well, I did find that if I spoke French, I might be able to engage in more conversation with people. All were kind though!

That being said, I think the locals outnumbered the tourists! And this is certainly not a bad thing. Although we were running about an hour late, I was surprised they didn't serve lunch upon arriving into Gaspe. The diner would have certainly brought in additional revenue by doing so.

I was also amazed at how quickly they could turn this train - less than an hour after arriving at Gaspe. Consist was baggage, two coaches, Skyline Dome, Diner and two Chateau sleepers. The turned the consist (cleaning and literally wyeing the train) very quickly - puts Amtrak to shame! Except for a few roomettes, the sleepers were full! I am pretty sure one attendant handled both sleepers. Additionally, there was only one waiter and one cook. And the coaches were cleaned after being pretty well covered with rowdy children! All crew members seemed to pitch in and handle the train fine!

I would certainly recommend this trip!

Anecdotally, local patronage on this train has always been good.
Additionally, on days when the Ocean and Chaleur both operate, eastbound passengers destined for points west of Matapedia are usually booked onto the Chaleur as well.
The wye in Gaspe is good for a max of 1 locomotive and 12 cars (or 2 and 11, I suppose). I suspect things are made easier because the passenger train is the only scheduled service there.

While in Gaspe, did you notice if there is a shore power (480 VAC HEP) installation at/near the station? Since the westbound Chaleur leaves Gaspe a few hours after it arrives eastbound, I suspect Via may not have a shore power facility there ... they just use locomotive HEP during the consist's short layover at Gaspe.

I would like to operate a private car trip to Gaspe, and the 2 things I need to make it feasible are:

a. The Chaleur to operate Montreal - Gaspe - Montreal as a completely separate (from The Ocean) consist with Budd stainless steel cars.

b. Shore power available for a multi-day stay parked at Gaspe ... I don't want to run my diesel generator for 3 days.

I didn't see any power supply to speak of near the station. Although I could be mistaken. It's literally one track into Gaspe and one track out of Gaspe these days as well. They wye the train about a mile or so down the track. Not sure where they "store the train" when it doesn't make a same day turn at Gaspe. I also have not seen or heard of reports running separate from the Ocean, as a separate train set. Since the train set is quite long in the summer season, VIA really should consider running these as two separate trains. Perhaps the Chaleur departing Montreal around 5:30 p.m. to allow for more layover time in Gaspe and provide another frequency to Quebec City. Would likely conflict with a train currently scheduled on the corridor.

You could easily attach a private rail car to the rear of the Chaleur as the rear two cars are typically the sleepers (when it splits from the Ocean). No Park Car to contend with - just a Skyline Dome Car. Not sure, but perhaps for the right price VIA could accommodate the operation of the Chaleur and Ocean as two separate trains on days when private cars are tacked on to the back of the Chaleur.

marquisofmississauga wrote: ... The Chaleur's consist was:

F40 6435
F40 6406
Baggage 8621
Coach 8139
Coach 8141
Sleepers: Chateau Richelieu
Chateau Rouville
Skyline 8505
Diner Acadian
Chateau Lasalle
Chateau Laval
...

I saw 6406 last Monday; it's wrapped for Spiderman 2.

That's certainly a descent consist for the Chaleur - and rivals any Amtrak train. Offers more sleeper capacity when comparing to eatern long distance Amtrak trains. Hope to ride the Chaleur again one day!

Slightly off-topic, but back in September 2005, I rode the Ocean from Moncton to Montreal (purposely on a day that the last set of Budd equipment still assigned was to operate on the train). Overnight, west of Matapedia, I woke twice to find us stopped for meets: once for the eastbound Ocean with a Renaissance set and a Park car on the rear, and then later for the meet with the eastbound Chaleur. A visual check of my train from the Skyline dome in the morning showed we did not combine with the westbound Chaleur (indeed, after my arrival in Montreal, the Chaleur made it's arrival about 15 minutes after the Ocean).

Guess I caught a rare day when they did not combine the trains in either direction.

I heard VIA Rail's Gaspe line got hit with the recent effects of a hurricane - early November 2007 that went up the eastern seaboard. Currrently the Chaleur is wyeing at New Carlisle? Repairs in order? Or is the line "done in" for a while?

jp1822 wrote:I heard VIA Rail's Gaspe line got hit with the recent effects of a hurricane - early November 2007 that went up the eastern seaboard. Currrently the Chaleur is wyeing at New Carlisle? Repairs in order? Or is the line "done in" for a while?

Reports on the Trains_en_Gaspesie List indicate that repair work is already underway.

Good to hear!