March Miscellany

Spring is just around the corner. I've been splitting my time between shovelling drifts, pushing drafts of my upcoming book on VIA Rail back and forth to my graphic designer, and creating some VIA-related memes. So I give you this pop-up post of spring miscellany. Tim Hayman snapped a photo of the first CANADA 150-wrapped VIA F40PH-2D 6454. I used the expansive nose to do a bit of publicity including Tim's role as a valued contributor (top photo). Have you ever wanted to be in the 1%? Here's an onion diagram that reveals how you can be:

VIA has wrapped Business Class car 3476 in the attractive 'leaves' variation of the CANADA 150 scheme similar to that applied to lounge car Glenfraser. Shaun Hennessy snagged the kaleidoscopically kolourful kar at Fallowfield station:

 My initial enthusiasm for the CANADA 150 scheme has not waned:

However it has come to my attention that trackside photographers are taking WAAAAY too many photos of the CANADA 150-wrapped locomotives and not nearly enough of the coaches:

We'll see how that works. Meanwhile, last Sunday's VIA Nos 648/650 featured 650's consist led by VIA 905 trailing the 50/50 consist tailed by VIA 916. Remember that 916 was initially released with white cab numbers which were soon replaced with the far more visible black numbers:

Logan Cadue kindly shared his notable nose-to-nose view at Kingston, and the same night Mary and Malcolm Peakman captured the nocturnal niceties at Napanee:

Some would say the wraps are being applied to cover up less-than-stellar paint jobs on non-refurbished non-Renaissance-scheme cars and there are more than enough photos of the gnarled noses of the P42's that warrant a little covering up:

Hyperbole at the White House:

Hyperbole at Halifax:

Meanwhile at Napanee, ON not much has changed over 150 years:

Last weekend's Kingston Rail-O-Rama netted some fine finds. Vice-Regal, preserved 6917, Brockville, Sudbury, Montreal and back-to-back 6400's added to my photo collection:

And afterwards, a trip to the Kingston station to see an unusual consist on VIA No 63 - LRC's replace the normal HEP consist:

'Orange you glad'? Citrushelf down and consider the navel-gazing I did at our very own city wrap that's appealing and not yet a-peeling:

And a Kingston Transit NOVA bus 1689 pausing proximal to the platform:

Getting a 'D' for E-series Edmunston or EdmunDston:

No longer available - we will no longer have a monopoly on what game pieces we use. The thimble, boot and wheelbarrow have been replaced by updated rubber ducky, penguin and dinosaur. Updated dinosaur??

And a view no longer available. Bright morning sun and dome haze cannot obscure the fact that this photo, taken from the eastbound Corridor Canadian Park car by my Dad in 1983 shows a shimmering stainless steel consist spread ahead as the train crosses County Road 6 near Amherst View, Ontario.

It's photos such as these that I was proud to include in my upcoming Trackside with VIA: Research and Recollections. My Dad's trip accounts, early-80's Corridor Canadian consists and photos get a well-deserved airing. Sharing this material is a fine legacy for data that I hadn't even known existed. I'm really looking forward to making it available to a new generation of VIAphiles, and leading off my book with this fitting tribute: