Friday, August 7, 2015

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?

4 comments:

Canadian Train Geek said...

Grumpy cat!

Zartok-35 said...

I'm looking forward to this series!

Anonymous said...

From the Peg...Free Range Chickens...they just keep sending photos...

Eric said...

Steve - great suggestion!
Elijah - prepare for a Dayniter interior shot!
Brian - that is one great commercial!
Thanks for your comments, all!
Eric