Recent content by Trackside_Treasure

For anyone keeping track (pun intended) of the ongoing VIA injunction, this post details the latest known decision re: the amount of CN crossing data requested by VIA. It seems VIA's injunction is proceeding in Quebec Superior Court, though date of further hearings not known...

VIA officially ruled out tacking cars (never heard about locomotives) onto Venture consists for safety and monitoring reasons - back in the fall of 2024 when CN imposed the crossing speed reductions. (VIA also said it rejected joining Venture sets at that time, then formulated a complete plan...

I think it's there as an HEP-rescue locomotive. If the HEP fails only, otherwise the F40 is along for the ride only. I haven't been able to correlate the F40-added Ventures as being problematic HEP, or knowing how the F40's were assigned to certain sets.

While wondering how many Venture sets would be getting the F40-insurance, in three days it's been only one set. Set 14 with 6413, operating on a regular slot in the rotation. The first day, leading. The next two days, trailing in each direction, so wye-d in Ottawa.

6413-Set14 OTP: Monday No 63 departed 18' late, arrived 56' late. Tuesday No 40 made up 5 minutes between Fallowfield and Ottawa, arrived 17' late.

The only thing is...they can't go faster than the scheduled run time. VIA seems to have been reluctant to assemble more than one sets, nor more than two sets of the XL configuration.

My comment was intended as a coy comparison of North-American-built passenger rail products of the 1960s, 1980s and today. I come not to praise current foreign passenger rail production, nor to pine for resurgent North America builders today, because we all know those just do not co-exist. I...

So the Ventures are the best of the worst! They win the race to the bottom, the quest for mediocrity. :cool:

Dan knows. Social media are full of so many red herrings...snow in the intakes, cover up the side panel on the locomotive, thank goodness we are past the broken windshields, but there are still reports of x% of the fleet out of service, the new trains are s***! The end of the world as we know...

I have a Granny-square afghan that's really warm that I'm not using. Anyone else? :cool:

As a backup HEP source. I'm keeping track, pun intended, to see if the precious F40's are reserved for Sets which have had HEP problems recently - the problem children, as it were.

VIA Train No 63 had F40 6413 leading Venture Set 14. That's the only one...so far.

'F40'

I hope I am wrong reporting this, but... Due to losses of HEP on seven recent Venture-equipped trains within a week, a new configuration is the result: VIA will start to add a 6400-series locomotive to the cab-car end of Ventures train set effective tomorrow, January 5.

Yes, they nare available if needed - on standby. These guard sets would be the first thing to go if there was insufficient equipment. The only thing is, they are regularly called on this winter! I have seen photos taken at Ottawa station showing two tracks with two Venture sets each. Too short...