Kingston-Toronto on the Turbo, August 1978

On August 13, 1978 my sister and I boarded Turbo 126-151 at Kingston commencing our VIA land-cruise to Manitoba aboard the Super Continental. Some notes from the trip up the Kingston Sub (see bottom photo for the actual notes) follow. General notes on the Turbo experience by this 14 year-old: Very good seats. Dirty windows. Balky motion. Tables useful. Easier to look out window acrosss aisle. Seats in front were back too far. Great speed. Push cart selling gold-topped cans of Quebec beer - Ex, 50, Carlsberg and O'Keefe.

The nattily-dressed crewman wears a CN noodle logo pin on his jacket (above). I am toting my just-arrived-from-Burlington Northern's-souvenir collection GN Rocky logo travel bag.

1758 - Eastbound Turbo at Kingston VIA 125-153

1810 - Departed

1821 - Coronation Boulevard

1823 - Ernestown Township Water Tank

1826 - Ernestown Station

1833 - Napanee: work train cars, Southern Railway box car, UP flat car

1839 - Gondolas on siding

1846 - Small airport

1848 - Belleville -  Yard switchers 1325, 1296, 1297, 1298, 1314, B-unit 9190 and cabooses 79576, 79518, 79701, 79454. Rule Instruction Car 15025

1850 - Met eastbound VIA (the Exec?) at Belleville

1900 - Trent Canal

1910 - Large quarry

1912 - Met eastbound Rapido

1920 - Cobourg

1925 - Port Hope, work train.

1933 - CP freight with two Centuries, one F-unit passing train, then passed another CP freight

1943 - Met CN freight with two cabooses

1944 - Came alongside Highway 401

1945 - Passed auto racks

1947 - St Mary's Cement

1950 - Oshawa Yards

1955 - Met EB Ontarian RDCs

1957 - New GO bilevels with GO locomotives 701 and 906 westbound

2025 - Passed GO train

2026 - Passed TTC subway yard

2030 - Arrived Toronto

Three hours later we would board a chartreuse-carpeted comfortable Dayniter to continue our trip.

Running extra...

This begins what has began a four-part series on this trip west. Inspired by an excellent Facebook post by loyal Trackside Treasure reader and Super Continental devotee Elijah Warner Hall. Having arrived in 1978 Toronto, we board the Super to head North and West (you know, like Kim and Kanye's baby), return east aboard the Super, and examine Super Continental consists.

Did you know...that Isambard Kingdom Brunel (none of those names appears in birth announcements these days) designed the Box tunnel so that the sun would shine directly through from east to west on his birthday, April 9? So for one day each year, there is indeed...light at the end of the tunnel.

We'll conclude this, the first post of Trackside Treasure's eighth year with a meme! Actually, each post! We'll alternate between Anchorman, Burton Cummings, one of the federal party leaders, and the Trivago Guy. Who else should be in the rotation?