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April 17/76 WB: 6532-6620-9650-Empire Club-5478-5503-2512-5634-5544-5651-5452-5489-5573 (above left).
April 17/76 EB: 6771-6777-9657-Hamilton Club-5642-5529-2511-5654-5598-5531-5620-5498.
June 11/76: 6762-6860-6862-8106(baggage)-Club Laurier-5650-5506-5637-5573-5186
Aug 21/76: 6771-6616-3124-9603-Boulevard Club-5534-5651-2503-5452-5542-5635-5622-3038 (above right)
Aug 28/76: 6788-6782-9603-Boulevard Club-5508-5569-2509-5650-5511-3034-5402-Bonheur(club lounge)
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Aug 29/76: 6780-6616-9673-Club Laurier-5649-5473-2501-5648-5602-5587 (above left)
Sept 4/76: 6782-6625-9652-York Club-5537-5636-2503-5452-5610-3032.
Sept 4/76: 6777-6623-6870-5220-9673-Club Laurier-5648-5649-2501-5508-5654-5219.
Sept 12/76: VIA 6516-6634-6786-9653-Boulevard Club-5663-5596-2509-5621-5651-5635-5637 (above right)
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Aug 11/76 at Belleville 1157 WB: Turbo 126-151 (above left)
Aug 1/76: 6114-6002-6118 (above right)
Apr 15/79: 6351-6001-VIA 6117-VIA 6003-6121
Mar 24/77 6760-6869-VIA 9600-VIA Saint James's Club-VIA 5536-5446-VIA 2512-VIA 5591-VIA 5508-5574-Great Slave Lake. GSL was one of six buffet-club-lounges: Caribou, Muskoka, Ontario, Lake Couchiching, Lake Makamik, in service in Corridor from at least May/76 to Sept/78.
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Apr 13/79: VIA 6780-6860-6519-4105-all VIA...9602-Saint James's Club-5732- 2512- 5536-5441-5542-5633-434-5489-5574-5452-5573-5580-5631 (above)
Apr 29/79: 6513-VIA 6611-VIA 6624-VIA Muskoka-VIA 5733-VIA Club Laurier(partial consist):
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The Turbos were suffering increasing unreliability, and were temporarily pulled from service after an onboard fire on May 29, 1979. The Turbos were replaced by short conventional consists, without baggage cars:
June 9/79 Turbo Replacement: VIA 6537-3112-VIA 5447-VIA 2502-5584-VIA 5504-VIA Club de la Garnison
June 15/79 Turbo Replacement: VIA 6516-VIA Club de la Garnison-5584-VIA 5447-VIA 2506-VIA 5504:
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June 19/79: 6758-6862-VIA 9602-VIA Mount Royal Club-VIA 5727-VIA 5571 (partial consist):
By 1981, the Turbo's demise was looming, while the LRC's debut was on the horizon. Some units retained CN colours, such as 6866 and 6867 in October 1982 and some would be retired still wearing them.
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Feb 9/80: 6785-VIA 6620-baggage-rest of consist VIA (below, at Benjamin's cut Mi 184 Kingston Sub)
Mar 14/81: 6535-all VIA...6614-9613-5482-5618-2502- CN Club St-Denis-all VIA...3024-5649-9641.
Finally, here comes a matched consist of blue and yellow, passing through the limestone rock cuts at Queens, Mi 174 Kingston Sub. May 9/81: all VIA...6523-2509-5580-5494-5654-Club Laurier :
West of Toronto, CN Tempo equipment carried on, with the Tempo cars receiving blue and yellow striping. June 22/81 Bayview Jct WB: 3150-321-343-367-354-361-362:
Battered CN units helped out too. June 23/81 Bayview Jct EB: 4017-3107-VIA 5433- CN 5423-all VIA...5641-5630-4888-5562-2508-5594-5506-9628
Those clean yellow noses look pretty good in the morning sun, as the head-end crew brings their coffee back from the club car:
From November 1981 until 1985, VIA's Canadian ran Montreal-Vancouver. Below, an eastbound combined No 2/No 44 makes it station stop on the north track at Kingston. A partial consist of one of the first such trains, totalling 14 cars:
Nov 21/81: 6542-6634-6532-baggage- CN Club St-Denis-all VIA 122-116-118-505-Ellerslie-Chateau Salaberry-Strathcona Park
VIA in its infancy experienced more corporate change than equipment change. While necessary, new equipment waited until VIA gained its footing, although its mandate has remained murky. This brings to a close VIA's Corridor consist series, spanning the six eras of VIA trains in the Corridor. Someday I'll collate all the consists I have from VIA's various eras. No doubt this era's consists would be the most interesting.
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Some all-VIA consists round out this pre-LRC era:
Sept 12/81: 6528-9628-5522-3035-5474
Oct 24/81: 6787-5748-765-5504-5486-5437
Nov 15/81 6533-6635-5542-3200-4888-5518-5465-5504-5641-2514-5737
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Nov 21/81: 6542-6634-6532-baggage- CN Club St-Denis-all VIA 122-116-118-505-Ellerslie-Chateau Salaberry-Strathcona Park
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Running extra...
Listening to Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum, ye dogs! It's the tale of Captain Henry Morgan and some fantastic feints of strategy against overwhelming odds. Buried treasure meets Trackside Treasure.
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Pieces of eight, you say? The Empire Builder, Great Northern's pre-eminent streamliner, passed through eight states, or at least pieces of eight, and was also the nickname of James J. Hill. Omaha Orange and Pullman Green adorned the cars, with the train's name writ large, in script larger than "Great Northern".
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Am I the only person in North America who hasn't seen that freaky movie Avatar? Reminds me of a switching crew's radio transmission about to make the joint "half a car". That'll do.