I've been collaborating with Minnesota's Adam Platt to reverse-engineer and reproduce the itinerary travelled during his 1981 trip across much of Canada. I also travelled west from Kingston in August, 1981, so Adam's trip really resonates with me. What are the chances that based on a single social media inquiry back on August 26...
"Hello friends. From my slide collection I am trying to cobble together the partially forgotten itinerary of a massive train trip across Canada and the western US I took the summer I turned 18 (1981). I have a few mysteries...."
...Adam and I would connect, having seen the same consists when I travelled west a couple of weeks after he did? What if those consists were travelling in the opposite direction i.e. eastward from Adam's destination of Vancouver (thence Jasper and Prince Rupert) when I observed them at Portage la Prairie or elsewhere on my trip [or even rode home in one]? What if nothing matched and the whole exercise became one long, wallow in nostalgia for both of us? Challenge...accepted!
While Adam regrets not having taken better notes, I had been doing so, compulsively. I had consists and photos of the Canadian and Super Continental through Portage that summer. After the earlier post confirming he travelled west on the Canadian, turning around at Vancouver and heading east on the Super Continental, what if I could employ my observations to help Adam determine where he was on each day of his trip, date wise? Adam has been abductively, creatively, deductively and even inductively employing memories, weather reports and the VIA system timetable of the time to deliberatively determine his itinerary dates and places. As part of our collaboration comprising 150+ emails back and forth, he kindly scanned some of his many unscanned slides after I requested any showing car names or numbers. He has kindly allowed them to include them here - all photos in this post by Adam Platt unless otherwise noted.
As in the previous post, my research process throughout this post is organic and may be updated as we go along, but is intended to 'show my work' (like we used to have to do in math class, remember?):
ORIGINATING IN QUEBEC & ONTARIO
As he was arriving in Montreal from New York on Amtrak's Montrealer, Adam photographed Kokanee Park, plus a Manor and Chateau sleeper on the tail-end of the Canadian (I believe it's VIA No 2) under the electrified tracks into Central Station, with the Stock Exchange Tower visible at left (above). Just a few days later, after boarding his Canadian consist in Montreal for Vancouver, Adam's No 1 paused at Sudbury the next morning for its scheduled 45-minute servicing stop, and he made it to the tail-end to photograph the Park car. There's a CP intermodal train at left, with the Sudbury Community Arena just visible at right:
Continuing westward, red-tinged rivers, through forests and along a four-arm pole-line, Adam is in the vestibule of diner Annapolis, passing Mile 43 somewhere in Northern Ontario. There would be three Mile 43 CP mileboards to pass this day: near Sinker on the CP Nemegos Sub west of Cartier near Biscotasing around 1000, near Dalton on the White River Sub (Mi. 43.8 CP White River Sub and 38 miles east of Franz) at 1405, and near Pringle on the Heron Bay Sub around suppertime. Based on the schedule, the morning light might make this Mile 43 near Sinker (below). Note the CP Rail Action Red stripe on the first visible Chateau at left.
Both Canadians, westbound No 1 and eastbound No 2, were scheduled to meet between Franz and White River, somewhere around Girdwood (Mi.100 CP White River Sub) or Swanson (Mi. 88) in the mid- to late-afternoon. My No 2 met No 1 at Girdwood in 1982, at much higher speed:
Back to Adam's meet now - it looks like the afternoon was overcast. Adam was still in the vestibule Dutch door of Annapolis for this meet (also - final photo in this post) to capture the meet with No 2. Note the crew sleeper, this one in VIA colours, which was always marshalled between the baggage car and coaches in 1981:
I believe Adam's photos of this meet were taken here on the curve at Swanson (40+ years' worth of tree growth notwithstanding). This screenshot from TVO's Tripping Train 185 shows the westbound Budd car at Swanson with the siding at right (at the 2:28:29 mark) with a siding signal just around the bend:
Here comes VIA No 2, creeping around the curve, headlight bouncing off the Skyline's stainless steel side. A CN-painted crew sleeper is second:
VIA No 2's Park car is oddly equipped with marker lamps:
It was not uncommon for the two trains to pass each other slowly. Greetings, and sometimes food or supplies were exchanged by the crew at vestibules before continuing on. Adam was later lucky enough to get a cab-ride in the leading F-unit, likely departing White River at 1630 and arriving in Schreiber at 2000.
WHILE IN WINNIPEG...
The next morning during the 0920-1330 sunny servicing stop, Adam took some great photos around the Winnipeg depot, both head-end and tail-end of his No 1, and a wander down into the East Yard car storage tracks. Initially not sure of which cars were on which train, I deduced that the some photos showed ex-CP cars on his train, while some were ex-CN spare/'protect' cars on more distant depot tracks where they were usually kept, ready for use, and handier than time-consumingly fetching them from East Yard at train time! Adam's views match mine in this post, also depicting Winnipeg layover railfanning. While over at the car department buildings, temporarily blocked from his train, CN 5362 led an eastbound freight through the Depot with another SD for power, toting flat cars. Cars are being serviced, and the train will be switched in a process I call the Winnipeg Sleeper Swap! Brock Manor and diner Annapolis are visible:
Awaiting the arrival of Super Continental No 3, the Depot's CN switcher and subsequent sleeper-swapping, here's Brock Manor...
...followed by diner Annapolis...
...followed by an unusually still-Action Red Chateau, likely Dollier, windows being washed by hand (below) though Chateau Lasalle and Chateau Lauzon were also still in CP Rail paint that summer.
Protect cars on spurs close to the depot parking lot. Heavyweight club lounge Bonsoir:
...and CN-painted Enfield (below) with a blue & yellow E-series (to left, not shown). I observed Enfield in Calgary on August 31, also noting Exeter still in CN paint on my trip.
Sibley Park brings up the rear of Adam's No 1:
Power was VIA 1405-6569 and CP Rail 8515. VIA 6569, formerly VIA 1425, was released from CN's Pointe St Charles Shops at the end of December, 1980 after being rebuilt to CN standards. Action Red paint poking through on the ditch light on 1405:
East Yard is at right, where stored passenger equipment awaits (below). I have to wonder if No 1's power has been cut off the train at this point to enable head-end switching by the Depot switcher (not pictured) like swapping the crew car before departure. The power does not appear to be on the same track as the rest of No 1's consist behind it. It's hard to tell in the darkened recesses of the Depot trainshed, but is that the east-of-Winnipeg VIA-painted crew car at left? It's definitely a sleeper based on the car-side lettering and has a stretcher window like the car in the top photo. West of Calgary, we can see No 1's the crew sleeper still in CN colours. Elijah Hall has kindly added that it is indeed a Mount-series sleeper.
THE WINNIPEG SLEEPER SWAP
In the summer of 1981, VIA was swapping cars at Winnipeg between Nos 1 and 3, Nos 2 and 4. While there was generally one through sleeper on No 1, Montreal-Vancouver on CP's southern line, up to three others were switched at Winnipeg, to Toronto-Vancouver No 3 to serve destinations on CN's northern line, and vice versa. In my case, three E-series sleepers were transferred from Toronto-Vancouver (on CN) No 3 to Montreal-Vancouver No 1 (on CP), and three ex-CP sleepers swapped from No 1 to No 3. The ex-CP diner was swapped out for a new (fully-stocked) ex-CP diner at Winnipeg. On the August 24 east/west of Winnipeg consists of No 3 that I recorded, the café-lounge was swapped out for an extra ex-CN diner and Skyline. (It's interesting to note that the Super had two staffed ex-CN diners, while the Canadian had a 3200-series snack bar coach and a full ex-CP diner.) Power was not swapped at Winnipeg, though it would be in Calgary. When the Super Continental was cancelled two months later, there was no longer any need for inter-switching at Winnipeg. Results of the Winnipeg sleeper swap for the trains I rode that August, with removed/swapped/added cars shown with (*):
I have to wonder if Adam switched cars in Winnipeg during the sleeper swap - from a Chateau to an E-series. Or was he travelling in the Manor ahead of the diner on No 1 that seemed to go the whole way Montreal-Vancouver? Adam confirmed that his self-portrait in the roomette mirror (top photo) was taken east of Winnipeg, and we know that east of Winnipeg the only sleepers on his train were two Manors and two Chateau cars. He does not recall changing cars at Winnipeg. Not only would saved tickets show the car line number, they would also show Adam's dates of travel. Adam saved them, but a hurried move in 1985 was likely their demise. Adam admits that some mysteries are just lost to time....onward!
Adam's photography resumes as his Canadian consist relentlessly wends its way westward from Calgary into the foremost foothills and massive mountains. Based on the photos Adam took at Lake Louise, this one is taken from the vestibule of Erwood:
Lake Louise station stop among the three E-series 8-4-4 sleepers. That's Adam's Dad wearing the green shirt - clearly enjoying both the trip and the mountain air, having joined Adam in Calgary.
A horde of passengers approaches, alongside the former location of garden tracks for private cars to be set out on the east side of the Lake Louise station. The lettering on first E-series is clearly Erwood:
Adam took some great scenic views of mountains with the consist of his No 1 stretched out among the coniferous cornucopia, the evergreen elodorado, as seen from the vestibule of the third E-series sleeper - all three added at Winnipeg from No 3. West of Lake Louise:
CP dispatchers orchestrated a meet with an eastbound CP freight near the Spiral Tunnels - likely Cathedral siding just east of Field. Adam had moved forward in the consist to photograph the stopped train from the vestibule of the first Dayniter car. Head-end:
Mount Ogden and No 1's tail-end, with the freight consist visible behind the Park car. Could that be a sign along the right-of-way marking the Continental Divide?
On the stub-end station tracks are two Park cars - Glacier Park is at left. I didn't observe Glacier Park on my 1981 trip (nor Kokanee Park in the top photo), though I was not trackside every day, and didn't see the later-arriving eastbounds at Portage often (Canadian No 2 and Super Continental No 4) because they came at suppertime, usually after a long day under the hot Manitoba sun watching trains! Adam took this photo prior to departure on the Super Continental. I suspect these may be the Super with Glacier Park and Canadian backed in two tracks away, in foreground.
A little later that day, Adam's No 1 is visible at left as VIA No 4 Eng 6507, leading the Super Continental, is watered and readied for departure from Vancouver:
Adam's overwhelmingly blue & yellow Super Continental stretches out, viewed from the first of the three ex-CP sleepers (two Chateau cars and a Manor) originally added to the train at Winnipeg when it was VIA No 3, now returning east on No 4 from Vancouver to be swapped back at Winnipeg. Judging by the numerals 6-0 on the signal mast, this is just east of Geikie Mi 8.6 CN Alberta Sub) and six miles west of Jasper. Head-end:
Tail-end showing a CN-painted and a blue & yellow sleeper just ahead of the Park car and about to be removed at Jasper. I didn't observe such cars in that position in my Super Continental consists through Portage. Elijah Hall has kindly added that the CN-painted "River car in the Vancouver-Jasper cut pictured on the Super Continental is one of those Ex-Nickel Plate 10-6's with middle-positioned double bedrooms and forward vestibule; likely the Riverside or Riverdale, as both Riverview and Riverlea had been repainted VIA by this point, while Riverfield was converted into a business fleet sleeper but not repainted. Phil Mason photographed one of these Rivers in crew service on the Super at Jasper in late September 1981." Thanks, Elijah!
The tunnel remains today, though a second track has been added (heavy equipment working in Adam's photo). The Miette River flows through the valley here (below - tiny turquoise spot at centre).
Dayniter 5750 can be seen at left, viewed toward the head-end of Adam's No 4 being watered at Jasper. The Skeena, ready to depart within the hour at a scheduled time of 1610 is at centre. CN 9159 leads an SGU, 9400-series baggage-dorm and three blue & yellow cars. Spare/'protect' cars at right are an ex-CN 5600-series coach and an ex-CP car:
A little farther along the platform, Adam gives us a close-up look at 9159 and its train:
Also at Jasper was Burrard, one of VIA's two seven-compartment-buffet-observation lounge cars, the other being Bedford, often occupied by charter groups on the Skeena, VIA Nos 9/10. An April, 1981 VIA pamphlet titled "Unique Tours for Train Buffs" almost certainly created by VIA's Bill Coo, described these cars as the "number one attraction" on that year's tour program, operating over the 721 miles between Jasper and Prince Rupert, or the 626 miles between Jasper and Terrace, BC. After touting the experience of viewing towering mountains, thundering waterfalls, enjoying a favourite brew in the private lounge, the blurb concludes with "enjoy a good meal in the Skeena's diner. And how about those F-units and steam generator cars on the headend?".
CONSIDERING CONSISTS
From Adam's photos of No 1, it can be seen that a few cars were swapped at Winnipeg: a blue & yellow ex-CN sleeper for another crew sleeper in CN colours. (Interestingly, the blue & yellow one is a Mount-series, though all the crew sleepers I observed that trip were ex-CN I-series [8] or ex-CN River-series [5] - the former assigned to the Super, the latter to the Canadian.) The Winnipeg sleeper swap meant another Manor car was added ahead of the diner, plus two Chateau cars and a Manor were swapped to No 3 for three E-series sleepers. Power was still F-units VIA 1405-6569 (elephant-style) and leased CP Rail passenger Geep 8515. (West of Calgary, that power was swapped for a VIA ex-CP 1400 and two CP Rail passenger Geeps.)
I made post-it notes representing each locomotive and car seen in Adam's photos along his route, arranging them as vertical consists representing each of Adam's trains. Rather than retyping them, here is a photo of those post-it consists: No 1 ex Sudbury (arriving Winnipeg), No 1 west of Calgary (ex Winnipeg except for power swap at Calgary), and No 4 ex Vancouver and arriving Jasper. (Legend: pink = ex-CP cars (multimark denotes still in CP Action Red); blue = ex-CN cars (wet-noodle logo denotes still in CN paint). Locomotive numbers and car names/numbers shown if known:
For comparison, I'll include links to two previously-published Trackside Treasure posts listing all the Canadian consists and Super Continental consists that I observed that August. The Canadian overwhelmingly rostered ex-CP cars and power, maintained at Glen Yard until 1984, and St-Luc in Montreal, respectively. The Super Continental consistently comprised ex-CN cars and power, serviced at Toronto's Spadina Shops and roundhouse. The exceptions were cars that were popular with passengers, like ex-CN Dayniters and ex-CP Skylines and Park cars. There would be more mingling after the cancellation of the Super Continental, when CP's unrebuilt power reached the end of its 30-year career and the ex-CN car fleet was markedly reduced in size.
Also for comparison, here are two Skeena consists bracketing Adam's travel dates on the Skeena:
I'm not sure exactly when diners were removed from Nos 9/10. The timetable continued to show the sit-down food symbol through 1984, though in 1985, my train had 752, a cafe-lounge serving sit-down food.
NOW, ABOUT THOSE CARS...
Now it was time to try to glean some information from the garnered names and numbers in Adam's fine photos:
- at Winnipeg - Brock Manor, diner Annapolis and Sibley Park
- during Lake Louise station stop - 8-4-4 sleeper Erwood
- at Jasper - Dayniter 5750 was in view
Could I review the rotation retroactively to see when these cars were in use on other trips after Adam's No 1 and No 4?
- Cars from Adam's No 1 that I observed: Brock Manor, Erwood and Sibley Park at Portage on No 2 on August 26 (as well as car names and numbers mostly not visible in Adam's photos: 109, 113, 512, 5711, Butler Manor and Erwood, Elgin and Elderbank) returning through Portage on No 2 on September 4.
- Adam's diner Annapolis was removed in Winnipeg per the practice at the time, and Kent was in its place on August 26's No 2. (That day, Kent was in turn taken off in Winnipeg, returning the next day, August 27, west toward Portage on No 1!)
- Dayniter 5750 from Adam's No 4 was eastbound on a subsequent No 4 through Portage on August 26.
There were other data points from my consists, though not necessarily helpful in determining a rotation. The trains' five-day timetable schedule was there in black & white, but time required for servicing at endpoints was a mystery. There seemed to be anywhere between zero and three days spent at endpoints. More complex servicing, re-stocking and repairs could be required above basic cleaning and preparing the consist for its next journey across Western Canada:
- 505, 1376 and Banff Park on August 26's No 4, off at Winnipeg, switched onto August 27's No 3.
- Emerald on August 24's No 2 at Portage, removed at Winnipeg returning on August 26's No 1, then heading back east and removed from September 4's No 2 at Winnipeg (ten calendar days and a longer turnaround at Vancouver?).
- Hunter Manor, Thompson Manor, Wolfe Manor and Riding Mountain Park on August 24's No 2 at Portage; I also spotted them in Calgary on August 31 (eight calendar days, a longer turnaround at Toronto?).
- Chateau Denonville and Chateau Argenson on August 26's No 4 and September 4's No 2 at Portage (ten calendar days with a next-day turnaround at Toronto, same-day at Vancouver?).
TURNAROUND TIMES AND MY SUBSEQUENT OBSERVATIONS
The Canadian (VIA Nos 1/2) and Super Continental (Nos 3/4) both operated on a five-day, four-night schedule between Montreal-Vancouver and Toronto-Vancouver, respectively, in the VIA summer 1981 system timetable. All four arrived at their endpoints between 0700-1030 and departed between 2000-2330. Approximate extent of each day's travel:
Did the same consist turn around immediately - bear in mind that this was a daily service at the time requiring several consists and coach yard storage - or was the consist taken to the shop for servicing for later placement up to three days later, for its next departure? That's something that the VIA timetable doesn't tell us.
I should note here that for the purposes of this post,
there is a distinction between schedule days and calendar days.
And both can be partial days.
A five-day schedule west followed by a five-day schedule east (totalling 10 schedule days) could actually take place over nine calendar days if a train arrived and left a terminal the same day, or 11 days if a train arrived and left a terminal the same day, then left the opposite terminal the following day.
In the previous post about Adam's trip, I discussed the consists of eastward or westward trains being the same or slightly different. I was able to divine a robust rotation in 1982, after the massive cuts to VIA in November of 1981, the cancellation of the Super Continental and the commencement of operation of the Corridor Canadian (Montreal-Toronto-Vancouver). Unfortunately, I was unable to do the same for 1981. That was partly because despite travelling for two weeks in August-September, and ideally having up to 56 Canadians and Super Continentals to record, I caught only about 25% of them. In fact, for that time period, I could find only one east-(west)-east paired example I considered reliable.
This consist is what I'm calling the 'ironclad rotational return consist' and here are my photos of it: VIA No 2 eastward through Portage on August 26 (above - core cars Skyline 512 and Butler Manor), then presumably completing a Montreal-Vancouver trip before returning through Portage eastward again on September 4 as No 2 (below) after I'd boarded in Calgary.
And, what are the chances this would have been Adam's Canadian consist? And my consist for my trip home from Calgary to Toronto? Apparently, excellent!
Adam recorded some car numbers from his trip, and has almost all the cars from this August 26 consist (though not necessarily from that year, as he also listed cars from his other years' travels), not including the swapped cars in the September 4 consist.
This east-(west)-east 'ironclad rotational return consist' I observed trackside in Portage, eastbound Canadian No 2's on August 26 and September 4 (above) encompassed 11 schedule days but only 10 calendar days before its return through Portage, requiring a quick turnaround in either Montreal and Vancouver. When I observed that consist upon its return, there were several different cars - likely swapped in Montreal - baggage, snack bar coach, Dayniter, two Manors, diner, and Park car!
Notice in Adam's photo of his No 4 at Vancouver behind VIA 6507, taken in the afternoon/evening vefore its departure at 8 p.m., that his No 1 consist is visible to the left, backed into the station - crew sleeper in CN colours and all. This suggests to me that the consist was simply turned back eastward the same day. Perhaps bad-ordered or otherwise substituted cars were dealt with by a switcher job during daylight hours there.
This makes a difference because when I try to reverse-engineer Adam's travel dates from my observations in Portage, a Montreal-Vancouver round trip could actually take only nine calendar days, not the ten schedule days (five west, five east) because the fifth day (arrival) of a westbound No 1 would be the same calendar day as the first day (departure) of eastbound No 2's journey.
VIA MARSHALLING DOCUMENTS GIVE CLUES
Consulting VIA's Consists and Marshalling of Trains issued in April, 1981 gave some turnaround clues:
- at Montreal, No 2's consist to No 1 the following day
- at Vancouver, No 1's consist to No 2 the same day
- at Toronto, No 4 to No 3 the following day except last four sleepers to No 3 the same day
- at Vancouver, No 4 to No 3 the same day
I'm always hesitant to quote these documents as Gospel (as I am railway Assignment of Space Circulars from the earlier, pre-VIA era) because they represent an ideal planned consist for each train. Operational exigencies and changes of plans do occur and there are differences between the ideal planned consists and Adam's consists and my consists. Having said that, these are quite informative for purposes of this post! The Marshalling document helpfully lists summer consists for each of Nos 1/2 (Montreal-Winnipeg and Winnipeg-Vancouver segments); Nos 3/4 (Toronto-Winnipeg and Wiinnipeg-Vancouver segments) and Jasper-Prince Rupert Nos 9/10.
ADAM'S ITINERARY - DIVINING DATES
Adam's latest, best estimates for his itinerary across Canada:
- arrival Montreal - Aug 4 or 7
- Montreal to Ste-Foy - Aug 5 or 8
- Toronto-London-Toronto-departing Dorval to No 1 - Aug 7 or 10
- en route Sudbury on No 1 - Aug 8 or 11
- en route Winnipeg on No 1 - Aug 9 or 12
- en route Calgary to Field on No 1 - Aug 10 or 14
- arrival Vancouver on No 1, departing on No 4 - Aug 11 or 15
- arrival Jasper on No 4, departing on No 9 - Aug 12 or 16
Being able to read car names and numbers in Adam's photos gave me specific cars to research in my Manitoba observations just a few days later. Could this help nail down Adam's estimated dates on each train? Yes!
There were two cars on two trains that Adam photographed and that I subsequently saw - Erwood at Lake Louise and Dayniter 5750 at Jasper were key cars. These two would represent my best guesses as to when the trains that these cars were on were operating, between Adam's trip and my observations trackside at Portage. It's interesting that there are three different trips to study, each of which covers a variety of transcontinental train segments:
- Adam's Montreal-Vancouver No 1, Vancouver-Montreal return Nos 2/1, my Vancouver-Portage No 2.
- Adam's Vancouver-Jasper-(Toronto) No 4, Toronto-Vancouver No 3, my Vancouver-Portage No 4.
- my 'ironclad' consist Portage-Montreal No 2, Montreal-Vancouver No 1, my Vancouver-Portage No 2.
Repeating the proviso above about how these days are numbered:
There is a distinction between schedule days and calendar days.
And both can be partial days.
A five-day schedule west followed by a five-day schedule east (totalling 10 schedule days) could actually take place over nine calendar days if a train arrived and left a terminal the same day, or 11 days if a train arrived and left a terminal the same day, then left the opposite terminal the following day.
DIVINING DATES - SLEEPER ERWOOD
Incorporating my ironclad rotational return east-(west)-east [August 26-September 4] consist above and the VIA's timetable schedule, Adam's photo showing Erwood at Lake Louise on No 1, and my sighting of it in Portage on No 2 on August 26, Erwood would have travelled:
- No 1 Lake Louise to Vancouver - 2 days
- No 2 Vancouver to Montreal - 5 days
- No 1 Montreal-Vancouver - 5 days
- No 2 Vancouver-Portage - 3 days
A total of 15 schedule days, or partial days. Adam has been estimating his itinerary based on his research done since the first post and pegged his photo at Lake Louise as taken on August 10 or August 14. If only counting calendar days, if August 10, Erwood therefore would have returned to Portage on August 25; if August 14, August 29.
But...same-day departures from Vancouver and Montreal, would reduce this to as little as 11 calendar days. If August 10, Erwood would have returned to Portage on August 21; if August 14, August 25.
But...same-day departures from Vancouver, and next-day departure from Montreal as described in the Marshalling document above, would reduce this to 12 calendar days! If August 10, Erwood would have returned to Portage on August 22; if August 14, August 26.
DIVINING DATES - DAYNITER 5750
Between Adam's photo showing 5750 at Jasper on No 4, and my sighting of it in Portage on No 4 on August 26, 5750 would have travelled:
- No 4 Jasper to Toronto - 3 days
- No 3 Toronto-Vancouver - 5 days
- No 4 Vancouver-Portage - 3 days
A total of 11 schedule days. Adam pegged his photo at Jasper as taken on August 12 or August 16. If only counting calendar days, if August 12, 5750 would have returned to Portage on August 23; if August 16, August 27.
But...same-day departures from Vancouver and Toronto, would reduce this to as little as 9 calendar days. If August 12, 5750 would have returned to Portage on August 21; if August 16, August 25.
But...same-day departure from Vancouver, and next-day departure from Toronto as described in the Marshalling document above, would reduce this to 10 calendar days! If August 12, 5750 would have returned to Portage on August 22; if August 16, August 26.
WE'VE REACHED THE TAIL-END...CONCLUSIONS
There is still some minor but important inherent variability in determining a reliable rotation of VIA consists criss-crossing the country 45 years ago. I'll sum up this rather leisurely, lengthy post with these conclusions:
- Knowing a schedule from 1981 is helpful.
- Not knowing servicing time at endpoints is unhelpful.
- Personal observations should be ironclad.
- Being able to identify specific cars has been key to this process.
- Two specific cars on Adam's train and that I observed later in Portage point to Adam's second set of itinerary dates - four days later.
- I'll leave it to Adam to see if these ruminations readily resonate with his itinerary. I hope so!
Thanks to Super Continental and early-era VIA expert Elijah Warner Hall for his additional comments and assistance solving some of these decades-old mysteries.
Running extra...
Taylor Swift, MTV VMA Artistic Director honoree, take a memo.
Americans and French words. Amazing. Forget Bret 'Farve', Ryan 'Phillipee', Josh 'Demel''. A subtle difference in two recently-aired Harbor Freight commercials. The first one aired mentioned Niko's one-man operation in "Dess-Plane, Illinois". The second one aired only mentions Niko's one-man shop in Illinois. I thought it was just one outlet mispronouncing the name, but I watched a real estate commercial and local news stories and, sure enough, they're all pronouncing it Dess-Plane, Not Day-Plane. Somebody please ex-plane!
First past the post...
It's been great collaborating with Adam in the creation of these posts. His willingness to share his photos has allowed me to wallow in nostalgia and recall, somewhat in parallel, my own journey west that summer. I love a good rabbit-hole to run down, especially when it's early-era VIA. I'm glad Adam allowed these slides from decades ago to surface, and allowed me to share this journey of discovery. I'm looking forward to meeting!