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Our trip from Florida to Halifax was excellent. All trains were within an hour and a half of schedule, meals were very good, and crews were uniformly friendly on both Amtrak and VIA. We rode several types of equipment: Amtrak Viewliner sleepers, Amfleet coach on the returning Adirondack, VIA Renaissance sleeper, VIA drawing room in the "Park" car, VIA-1 class in an LRC coach Toronto to Ottawa, and a seat in a Renaissance coach between Ottawa and Montreal plus a couple of commuter routes along the way. As usual, riding VIA Rail Canada was the highlight and thankfully they retained the dome "Park" car on the "Ocean" route. That still offers the best view anywhere. I will have more details when I write my next TrainWeb article.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Jack -- glad you had a great trip!! I am looking forward to seeing your full trip report, and photos of the Ocean and the Renaissance equipment. I will be starting my trip report soon also, but unfortunately, my photos did not come out very well.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Thanks for the report, Silver Star. I didn't know there was a special coach between Montreal and Ottawa! What was your precise route? How was the Adirondack, timewise? Where did you stay in Canada? Can you recommend any hotels at reasonable prices? I'm hoping to take the OCean some time in the not too distant future.
SilverStar092 Member # 2652
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Sojouner...thanks for the questions...you will enjoy the Ocean trip. Our routing was Silver Meteor JAX-New York, Lake Shore to Buffalo for an overnight. We rented a car to get to Toronto and hence Ottawa, earlier as waiting for Amtrak would require an overnight in Toronto. (The other option was Adirondack to Montreal but then we'd have to rent a car anyway to make a same day arrival at Ottawa.) Caution: the expressway approaching Toronto had massive construction delays and we barely made our train. We took VIA from Toronto to Ottawa and stayed there overnight. Great city, Canadian Parliament is worth a visit. There are sveeral trains a day to Montreal but on Saturdays the last leaves Ottawa at 12:45pm...our travel was on a Saturday. The Ocean now uses Renaissance cars which are pretty nice but are smaller than typical equipment used on Amtrak and VIA. The bedrooms are about equivilent to Amtrak deluxe bedrooms. The Ocean still carries an ex-CP "Park" car on the rear and the dome is obviously the place to sit during waking hours. We overnighted in Ottawa at Chateau Laurier (old railroad hotel...great location but many people find their a/c insufficient in summer) and Halifax..Four Points by Sheraton is 4 blocks from VIA but an easy walk to downtown sights. We rented a van and drove to Cape Breton then on to Newfoundland by ferry and back. On the return we stayed at Hilton Garden Inn by the Halifax airport as my wife flew then at Montreal at Le Centre Sheraton. The Adirondack was about 30 minutes late much of the way but early into NYP. We stayed at the Newark Hilton Penn Station for convenience and that worked out great before the next day's Meteor back to FL. Most of the hotels were about $100-$110 which is more than I like to spend but the going rate this summer. We like nice hotels and even if someone saved a few bucks at a cheaper place, they'd pay more to taxi over there and back. Let me know if you have been questions. I encourage you to make this trip. You also may want to consider VIA's Chaleur to Gaspe or Perce.
palmland Member # 4344
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Thanks for the report Silver Star. Sounds like a great trip and certainly makes me want to go north (especially with nonstop 95 degree days in SC).
I wonder what Via is doing with all the Budd cars no longer needed for the Ocean? I guess more availability for the Canadian? We certainly want to ride the Canadian before the refurbishment that I have heard is planned for its cars that will reconfigure the room layout.
Does the Chaleur now use renaissance cars also? That seems like a nice trip - we saw it once on a camping trip while it was laying over in Gaspe and it certainly has great scenery.
SilverStar092 Member # 2652
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Hello Palmland! Yes, I miss the more pleasant temps in Maritime Canada, too. The Chaleur still uses the Budd equipment though we never saw that train this trip. This summer the trains are running separately as the extraordinary length of the Ocean/Chaleur combo was causing major delays due to multiple stops at stations. You are correct that the Chaleur trip is a must-do...I have been on it three times and it is a very scenic line. I call it the Coast Starlight of the east as it travels along beaches and atop cliffs overlooking the sea. A great thing is to ride to Gaspe, rent a car, and drive back to Perce for a couple night stay...great place. The displaced Budd equipment is reportedly used to make the Canadian longer though it seemed to manage 22 or 23 cars in peak season even when the silver cars were running on the Ocean. I have seen many Canadian consists on the Canada message board hosted elsewhere and it seems to be alternating between 17 and 23 cars lately. The shorter consist doesn't use any of the Chateau cars while the longer consist does. Later this year the Canadian will switch to a 4 night schedule so I imagine more equipment will be required for at least one more train line for the entire consist. Keep watching TrainWeb as my feature story on the just completed trip will likely be ready in 5 or 6 weeks. Have a great time planning a visit to Canada. I wish I were going back soon.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Thanks so much for all the details, Silver Star. $100-110 is fantastic for a good hotel nowadays. Is that all the 4 points by Sheraton was in Halifax? And the NEwark Hilton?
I've been wanting to go to Newfoundland for a very long time but with no possibility of driving myself, it hasn't seemed an easy trip. But a trip to Halifax and perhaps back thru Maine with ferry to Bar Harbor seems more doable.
SilverStar092 Member # 2652
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The hotel rates really fluctuated and some discounts I am eligible for certainly helped. Be sure to check thing slike AAA/CAA, AARP, etc. By and large some of the hotels could be had for the rates I mentioned..it just depended on the day, etc. The Newark Hilton ran about $139-$159 at best but Hilton points were used in this case...again check and compare dates. It is a great location and very convenient - we slipped in a RT on NJ Transit to Bay Head (nice ride!) before catching train 97 home. You will like Halifax as it is a very nice city with much to do. The ferry to Bar Harbor appearently runs to Portland on alternate days which would be convenient for catching Amtrak. It is a high speed catamaran which has potential for being a rough ride. I suggest an autumn trip as rates should be lower on Via and at hotels.
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