2015 Skrillex Tour Aboard VIA Rail

What has a diner, three Chateau sleepers, a baggage car and a Park car and travels up CN's Kingston Sub on a sunny Saturday morning? Well, it's the 2015 Skrillex Full Flex Tour! Let that sink in for a minute....questions? Who's Skrillex? Great question! He's a DJ and a producer who also chartered a VIA consist in 2012 for his cross-Canada tour. Here's a Twitter photo showing the gleaming stainless steel consist at Ottawa:

This year, he's doing it again, with shows in Ottawa on July 8, Quebec City on July 9, Montreal on July 10 and Toronto July 11. Then he heads west for shows in Winnipeg on July 14 and beyond. At Fallowfield, the consist was marshalled with VIA No 30 for the trip to Montreal: 6405-6412-3475-4100-4107-Chateau Lasalle-Chateau Bienville-Chateau Marquette-8604-Waterton Park. Today, the charter was tailing VIA No 61, led by 6457 and four LRC cars:

No Corridor cars behind 6405. Diner Frontenac has been added, likely at Montreal:

These photos were taken along Bath Road in Kingston. I had earlier been out to watch for Skrillex, thinking it would be an early-running sunrise-shredding separate charter, as in 2012. But thanks to fellow VIAphile Matt Soknacki, who gave me a heads-up via Facebook that the train had not gone through Kingston yet, I headed back up to the tracks upon receiving that message. Was I in time? An eastbound freight passed as I tarried trackside, thinking I might be too late. Then, a headlight appeared. YES!

Three Chateau Cars. Chateau Lasalle:

Chateau Bienville, one of the two cars on CPR's demonstration Canadian train:

and Chateau Marquette:

Why would a baggage be marshalled mid-train, between sleepers and Park car?

This is why 8604 is marshalled next to Waterton Park. Space to create and um, kick back! Sick = good.

The train scoots west towards Toronto and a 4 pm show. Then it's to be attached to tonight's VIA No 1 out of Toronto, between the power and the working baggage. One problem - VIA No 2 is late into Toronto, as it was on July 9. On the 9th, it arrived eight hours late at 1738.

I had arrived on VIA No 651 and was heading back east on VIA No 48. Here's the view from near the new Union-Pearson Express terminal:

Thursday's No 1 was turned around, the crew rested and it went west again at 0110. Tonight's No 1 may be detouring due to a bridge fire. Watch for updates!
UPDATE: Sunday July 12 - VIA advisory states that No 1's ETD from Toronto was 0200.
UPDATE: Saturday July 18: The cars of the Full Flex Express arrived in Vancouver on the head end of VIA No 1, the day before the Pemberton BC show.

Waterton Park whisks westward with a whoosh.

These are video captures from a video of the train I posted on Youtube. This may be the wave of my full flex foto future - video to stills. Any Trackside Treasure readers preserving photos for prosperity in this way? Maybe I should just stick with stills?

Running extra...

While in Toronto on Thursday, the 'Play Me - I'm Yours' baby grand beckoned to me. On my way to the Business Class lounge, Burton Cummings' mellow Tears of a Child was followed by equally-mellow though genre-hopping Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by J.S. Bach. 

Thanks to Hank from Holland for his videography skills!