Just to add a note to what was said above - operators like Chiltern are refurbing stored UK Mk3 to current disability standards for entrances and toilets, but this is a substantial task so only two cars out of a consist of 4-5 are being done, justified by recent structural analysis which indicated a lifespan good until the 2030s so it's unlikely many UK 3s will be scrapped in the near term. 90+ Irish Mark 3s on the other hand ARE being tendered for scrap as they require far more work to be saleable into other markets (ALL toilets need redoing, pushpull wiring not fitted, bogies need regauging from 1600mm etc. etc.) I'll leave it at that to avoid pulling the thread further off topic.
buddah wrote: I wonder if VIA would be interested in selling them now that we know there still around, the only issue I have is they cannibalized them for there trucks ( probably for the running fleet as spare parts) which makes these semi useless.THANK YOU BUDDAH for replying to this thread--it's now October and, as they say, "tempus fugits"---It's not often that one has $30-50 million in hardware just lying in a marshland next to one of the finest transportation(water/rail/truck) terminals in North America. Surely some broker could stimulate enough interest in these shells to market them via auction(onsite or online) to private-car builders and thereby liquidate VIA's investment for other uses. I know no one in the industry--I'm just a harmless railroad hobbyist nearing retirement that still hasn't hit the lottery, so chances are the only private railcar I'll ever experience is one I get invited to attend, or perhaps visit in a museum. So, come on, all you eccentric, well-meaning, enthusiastic, perhaps even rabid railfans, let's persuade VIA to either put these shells into service OR release them into the marketplace for next-generation passenger/tourism/luxury usage. If I DO hit the lottery in the next year, I'd take one or two, although I'd prefer a Budd self-propelled model like BCRail used to run--maybe I could trade for one!
Time to stop hallucinating and go to work--but--that part about persuading VIA to take action--somehow we MUST do that...