October 25, 2020

Model Railroading - My O Gauge tribute to Canada's greatest passenger train (a short video)

Happy Sunday DU'ers,

Hope everyone is keeping safe. Thought I'd post something for distraction's sake for viewers here in the DU lounge.

Due to the Covid pandemic, VIA Rail (Canada's version of Amtrak) has temporarily curtailed service on some of their long distance routes but has reported that it will resume service on the Vancouver-Winnipeg portion of the route of its flagship train, "The Canadian", as of Dec. 11.

Since it's not currently possible to watch "The Canadian" pass by from trackside until then, I've been busy instead running my own O-gauge version of the train in Canadian Pacific Railway livery - before the service was taken over by VIA Rail.

For those interested, I thought I'd share a short 6 minute video showcasing my O-gauge tribute to the Canadian Pacific Railway's legendary transcontinental passenger train - "The Canadian":

A pic of the set on my shelves:


And on the layout:


One more:


The engines are a Lionel #8365, 8469 & 8366 Canadian Pacific F3 three-unit diesel, and a Lionel #2380 Canadian Pacific GP9 roadswitcher diesel. The headend power is followed by a Lionel #9228 express boxcar, a K-Line "Empress" dining car, a K-line "Skyline 505" dome car, K-Line "Blair Manor" & "Craig Manor" sleeping cars and Park-series dome-sleeper-lounge-observation car "Tremblant Park" on the tail end.

For more pictures & videos of my train collection and layout, see my website at: https://northamericabyrail.info/model-railroading/

Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete

October 11, 2020

Workin' on the Railroad - Attempting to model accurate passenger train consists in O gauge

Good evening DU'ers,

Hope everyone is keeping safe.

With parts of Canada going back into lockdown and with my wife & I trying to stay hunkered down ourselves, as a distraction I've been able to find some more time to enjoy my hobby of model railroading, in particular O-gauge model railroading.

One of my main areas of interest is passenger trains and I've taken on the challenge of attempting to recreate reasonably realistic representations of passenger train consists in O gauge, trying to recreate in miniature some of the great trains of yesteryear based on information & pictures I've found in books and on the internet.

Traditionally, one of the biggest challenges to doing so in O gauge is the availability at any one time of the correct combination of engines & rolling stock, especially in Canada - a situation that has been made somewhat easier in recent years thanks to the internet & mail-ordering, and also helped by no small degree of patience and the fact that for me model railroading has been a lifetime hobby.

Along those lines, I thought I'd post some pics of just a few of my passenger train consists along with some pics I found on the internet of the full-sized prototypes that they represent.

The pics of the models are mine, the full-sized ones are the work of other photographers.

More pics and a video of my layout & collection can be seen on my website at: https://northamericabyrail.info/model-railroading/

Hope you enjoy!

Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Canadian' - Lionel/MPC F3 & GP9 diesel locomotives & express boxcar with K-Line passenger cars


A pic of the prototype's motive power from the Joseph Testagrose collection


VIA Rail's 'Skeena' - Custom-painted MTH F3 diesel locomotives and Ready Made Trains passenger cars


A pic of the prototype 'Super Continental' which used the same equipment as the 'Skeena', by Kevin Dunk


Chicago Burlington & Quincy's 'Denver Zephyr' - Williams E7 diesel locomotives & Lionel passenger cars


The prototype, by Marty Bernard


Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Dominion' - Weaver Class H1B 'Hudson' steam locomotive & passenger cars


The prototype, by Edward J Ozog


Grand Trunk Western's 'Maple Leaf' - Lionel GP7 diesel locomotives & MTH passenger cars


The prototype, by Donald Haskel


Penn Central's 'Broadway Limited' - Williams GG1 electric locomotive, MTH express boxcar, Williams passenger cars


The prototype, by Thomas C Ayers


Southern Pacific's 'Coast Daylight' - Lionel Class GS4 steam locomotive & passenger cars


The prototype, by John West


Erie Lackawanna's 'Phoebe Snow' - Lionel Alco PA1 diesel locomotives & passenger cars


The prototype, photographer unknown

October 3, 2020

Across Canada by Train on VIA Rail's "Canadian" - Another Look

Good Morning DU'ers,

Hope everyone is keeping safe. Thought it might be time for another weekend distraction.

Back in March I had posted some pics from the route of VIA Rail's legendary transcontinental passenger train, 'The Canadian', which runs from Toronto to Vancouver. In this post, I attempt to take a more detailed look at the Canadian by including some scenes not shown in my prior post and also attempt to include more pics with human interest as well.

The pics are a composite of several trips aboard the Canadian in 2017 & 2019 and are from the following pages from my website at:
https://northamericabyrail.info/a-trip-on-via-rails-canadian-2017-toronto-on-jasper-ab-banff-ab-vancouver-bc/
and:
https://northamericabyrail.info/a-trip-on-via-rails-skeena-jasper-ab-prince-rupert-bc/

So without further ado, for those interested in taking another scenic land cruise across Canada from the comfort of your computer or smartphone let's pack our bags, grab our tickets and hop aboard for a trip into the vast Canadian wilderness, past sprawling prairies, glimmering cities, and through the majestic peaks of the Rockies.

Hope you enjoy!

Toronto Union Station & CN Tower


Toronto Union Station's great hall


By train along Lake Simcoe near Washago, Ontario


In the dome car, passing sunken telegraph poles, west of Parry Sound, Ontario


View from rear of train west of Parry Sound, Ontario


Through the muskeg & lake country of the Canadian Shield near Hornepayne, Ontario


Refueling stop at Sioux Lookout, Ontario


Entering a tunnel near Canyon Lake, Ontario


Boaters waving to the train at Redditt, Ontario


One long train. Redditt, Ontario. The consist, swollen by the "Canada 150" traffic in 2017, was 25 cars. Another 5 cars were added to the train at Edmonton, Alberta for a total of 30 cars, making the train a half-mile long!


A friendly attendant welcomes us to dinner in the Dining Car on VIA's Canadian


Coffee Shop in the Skyline Dome car on VIA's Canadian


Passengers enjoying the view from the Scenic Dome section in the Skyline car on VIA's Canadian


Lounge in the Skyline Dome car on VIA's Canadian. VIA Rail sponsors a residency program for young musicians who perform at certain times in one of the train's dome cars and at the stations.


Sleeping Berth Section on VIA's Canadian - Daytime setup


Sleeping Berth Section on VIA's Canadian - Night time setup


Prairies & Red River floodway east of Winnipeg, Manitoba


Winnipeg Union Station. Winnipeg is a long crew change, refueling & resupply stop allowing passengers to detrain & explore.


Winnipeg Union Station's main hall


Folk artists Piper and Carson performing at Winnipeg station, part of VIA's resident program for musicians


Winnipeg nocturne with Train number 1


Downtown Winnipeg as seen from the train


The Canadian rounds a bend east of Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan


The Canadian crossing the high trestle over the Battle River near Wainwright, Alberta


Onboard the Canadian, rolling along the Athabasca River in the foothills of the Rockies at the Entrance to Jasper National Park, Alberta


Along the Athabasca River, Jasper National Park, Alberta


Canadian Rockies near Devona, AB


Passing Roche Miette, Jasper National Park, Alberta


Crossing the Snaring River at Henry House, Alberta


Along the Athabasca River passing Roche à Perdrix, Jasper National Park, Alberta


The Canadian rolls through a cut at English, Alberta


General Motors F40PH-2 diesels on the point of VIA Rail's Canadian during it's station stop at Jasper, Alberta


Dome car window wash. Jasper, Alberta


Jasper Heritage Railway Station


Canadian National Railway steam locomotive on display at Jasper Heritage Railway Station


Back on the train, entering a tunnel near Wynd, Alberta


Onboard the Canadian roaring through Yellowhead Pass and over the Great Divide


The Westbound Canadian east of Fitzwilliam, British Columbia


Passing Mount Fitzwilliam, British Columbia


Along Moose Lake, British Columbia


Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia


Passing Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The summit is only visible on average 16 days per year.


Exiting a tunnel near Tête Jaune Cache, British Columbia.


In the Thompson River valley east of Kamloops, British Columbia


In the Panorama car rolling along the Thompson River Canyon outside Kamloops, British Columbia


The Canadian in the Fraser River Canyon at Cisco, British Columbia, at dusk


Hell’s Gate Canyon, narrowest & fastest flowing part of the Fraser River


Onboard the Canadian, approaching Agassiz, British Columbia


The Canadian crossing the Fraser River into Vancouver, British Columbia


Park-series dome-observation car on the tail end of the Canadian at Pacific Central Station


Pacific Central Station, Vancouver, British Columbia


Lion's Gate Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia, as seen from Stanley Park after detraining