Anecdotes from Trips with Dad
As I mentioned at the end of my version
of The Day I Became a Railfan, I wished I paid more attention, took
more notes and photos. Well, ditto for all subsequent trips as they
all have become a bit of a blur. I have attempted to jot down some
anecdotes here of those subsequent trips.
After dad and my initial trip in 1989
(The Day I Became a Railfan), there was another quick followup trip.
We had only been back a few weeks when dad said he regretted missing
a couple of east coast train rides. So, mid October, we were headed
east again, this time by car. Day one, we drove all the way to
Edmundston, NB. Day 2, we boarded the #626 RDC train for Moncton,
arriving late morning. It was, I believe, the same RDCs were then
scheduled to head for a round trip to Saint John (unknown train
number). We boarded and were told that there would be a bustitution
from Sussex to Saint John and back due to trackwork. So be it. Still
got a hour or two in Saint John, bus and RDC back to Moncton and then
#625 RDC (in the dark) back to Edmundston. Day 3 was trip home. Did
some rusty railfanning (abandoned Edmundston to Riviere du Loup),
stopped in at the Maritime Museum of Quebec and back to Montreal
where we visited and stayed thie night with dad's aunt Norma, Day 4
was home.
Other trips become a bit of a blur. Dad
and I did try to take an annual or semi annual trip over the coming
years, pretty much exclusively in early fall after the tourist season
and some deals could be had but touristy places hadn't shut down for season. Some trips can be nailed down due to
discontinuance or notable events that occurred. I believe I had about
12 or 13 trips with dad, with maybe 3 or 4 to Gaspe and the rest to
Halifax or Moncton, plus two trips east without dad. Without
promising anything is in chronological order, here are some
anecdotes.
There was a last ride on the Atlantic
shortly before it ended (likely 1994). The Atlantic cut across
southern Quebec, Maine and NB. My only confirmed memory of that trip
was when I invited myself up to the cab of the lead locomotive, a
F-40, in Moncton on the way home. My recollection is, with the engine
running flat out for HEP, how much the cab shook, like being in one
of those weight loss vibrating belts.
Dad and I did an Annapolis Valley trip
as well. Took the train to Moncton, rented car, out to the Salem and
Hillsborough, Hopewell Rocks, Alma, Fundy Park, Saint John. Dad sent
me out for dinner to McDonalds as he wanted a McLobster, which was a
standard menu item then in the east. Next day we took the ferry from
Saint John to Digby. From there we followed the Annapolis Valley and
looked at the scant remnants of the railway that we had ridden in
1989, just a few years before. Stopped in Middleton to look for some
family graves and looked at the remaining stations in the Annapolis
Valley and toured a railway museum in one of them (Middleton?).
At some point, made our first visit to
the Train Station Inn in Tatamagouche. My friend Susan joined us on
that one. Dad and Susan took rooms in the station, I got a caboose to
myself. After Tatamagouche and back through Truro, headed across
country to Windsor and to Kentville before turning south to Lunenburg
(Museum of the Atlantic) and Oak Island causeway.
In the mid 90s, mom, dad, Uncle Mike
and Aunt Bette all made the trip to Gaspe. We met up in Montreal and
boarded the Chaleur. That was my first experience with a Skyline dome
to Gaspe as, in our previous trip, it was all blue equipment and a
700 series cafe lounge. We stayed at the new Bakers hotel, had lunch
at the Brise Bise, again checked out the remains of Fort Ramsay
(Commanders house was still there then and dad and Mike peaked
through the windows), toured the Gaspesie Museum, went through Forillon, right around
to Cap Rosier, to Perce Rock, etc.
Last Gaspe trip was likely 2000. Train
must have been ontime as Dad and I had a couple hours in Gaspe and
took a cab to the Legion, got the tour, and the big picture in the
stairwell was of my grandfather. Noted that Commanders house at Fort Ramsay was now gone leaving virtually no remnants of the WW2 base. Leaving Gaspe, it was mid November
as I learned about F40 traction control, if the wheels start
slipping, the engine backs off power until it effectively stalls. As
we left Gaspe, near freezing temperatures and fall leaves on the
rails, the traction stalled. The train simply couldn't climb hills.
Several runs at hills were needed before the rails were clear enough
and dry enough to continue. This continued for most of the afternoon
and into the evening. When dinner time rolled around we headed for
the Skyline diner. Had a good meal and were just hanging out. I think
the dinner joke became (with all the runs at hills followed by
backing up for another run) to be "Oh, we are in Port
Daniel".... Oh, look, Port Daniel again", "Oh, it is
Port Daniel again", Yeah... Port Daniel again.." There was
a point where we glanced out the the window and saw two youngsters,
with focused gaze, each had a firm grip on a stone, locked and loaded. They let
those stones fly, shattering the outside pane of of one the Skyline
dining car windows. Train screeched to a halt, crew jumped off, no
sign of the young offenders. Likely a $2k piece of glass, you brats.
As I ended my evening that night, by now 10pm+, the coach was on the
rear end and the vestibule on the very tail end. While officially not
allowed out there I spent a good hour out there in the cold rain/wet
snow, just listening to the clickety clack, smelling the brakes, etc.
Every so often, I would see a shadow behind me, just the conductor
making sure I hadn't fallen off or anything, never bugged me or gave
me grief. Great trip, one of my most favorites.
2002ish? Interesting trip as mom came
along. She flew to Halifax and met dad and I there as we took the
Ocean. On that trip, we drove to Cape Breton with stops in
Tatamagouche, we took a caboose and mom had the cold lobster (she
still says the best lobster she ever had) in the dining car at
Tatamagouche. Next day, off to Inverness, Bras D'or Lake and Sydney,
staying at a hotel that had a view of the harbour with cruise ships
and ferries, do recall hanging out with a bunch of people in the hot
tub while cooling off with the tunnel slides into the pool. Next day,
to Louisbourg and Glace Bay. Took the Bras D'or train back to Halifax. Mom
had a blast, certainly recall her sitting in the dome with me sipping
wine saying how it was one of her best experiences in life. At
Orangedale museum, the train stopped with tours, live entertainment
and dancing, Mom was dancing. The next day in Halifax, mom flew back
to TO and I was tasked with getting a bottle of scotch for dad for
Happy Hour on the ride home on the Ocean. It was a good hike to the
nearest liquor store at the downtown mall. (There is now a liquor store right outside the station in Halifax). In the mall I spotted Sue
Johannsen (Sex with Sue) just sitting on a bench. Said hello. What is interesting is after we all got
home, mom shrieked at dad and I saying it was one of the worst
experiences of her life!? I distinctly remember mom and I, in the
dome, glass of wine, and mom saying how wonderful this is. Mom will never be a train fan.
One non dad trip east was in the early
2000s. This was with Richard, Lucie, and Americans Jim and Doug. We
met up in Montreal. I was really short on money at that point in time
and had bought a discount ticket flushed out with some Airmiles. My
ticket was for "Sleeper Plus" (at that time, was a coach seat with sleeping car
priviledges) but, was told upon boarding, such service had been
discontinued a few weeks before and, despite what my ticket said, I
was simply in coach. My travel mates were all in sleeper including
Marc, who also only had a coach ticket (Marc rode out to St
Hyancinth so he could get back to Montreal that night). Richard came up to coach to invite me back when we were
stopped by Service Manager Vince, who said I was not allowed back in
the sleeper cars. I appealed my case saying I should have had Sleeper
Plus status but to no avail. Another attempt to join my friends was
caught by Vince who threatened to have me thrown off the train.
Finally, about 10 pm, long after cocktails, dinner or any other
common courtesy, I was summoned to Vince's office. He spent a long
time explaining how awful his job was, how awful his day was... he
reviewed my ticket, admitted there was a mistake, sold me a rommette
upgrade and allowed me to rejoin my friends. HOLY SHIT. I wasn't
going anywhere, doing anything weird. He could have said - hang out
with you friends, I know where to find you. WOW!! Big shift on that
story was a few hours later we were all sitting in the Park Car. You
are not allowed to bring personal booze into public spaces but I
filled my clear water bottle with Southern Comfort (pretty obvious)
and we were sitting in the Park Lounge. A guy comes up up to me and
says "I hear you had an issue with your ticket". I tell him
the story, while taking sips of my obviously not water, he listens,
says nothing about that, then says, "when are you coming back"?
I tell him, he says he is a VIA executive and not to worry about my
trip home. As far as the trip goes, we arrived in Moncton, rented a
car. I had booked the group tickets for the Salem and Hillborough for
their Thanksgiving Dinner Train. They had equipment issues, mostly
caused by clueless volunteers, and the train left late, pretty much
after dark. I think a key indicator was when Richard asked, after
many failed brake tests was, "when did you last do a COT&S?"
to which the reply was "what is that?" (Basic brake service and test, btw). My other recollection was the lounge cars had been
set up with lengthwise seating down both sides, like a doctors waiting room,
everybody uncomfortably waiting, no groupings or talking. After
awhile, we were called for dinner, Still don't think train had left
station at at that point. After the train ride, it was a late night
dash to Tatamagouche where Jimmie had thankfully pre-assigned us rooms. I got the box car, or half box car (box car
Jimmie), my favourite room thus far at Tatamagouche. A derailment in
Northern NB meant we were detoured up the National Transcontinental
line, hadn't done that since the Edmudnston RDC in 1989. The VIA
executive had kept his word and I got a free upgrade to a roomette on
the way home.
2004 trip is one I can nail and only
because it was the week Christopher Reeve died (now idea why that is relevant). Dad started in
Toronto and I joined him in Belleville as I moved to Tweed in the
spring of 2004. Dad and I went to Moncton. We went down to
the Salem and Hillsborough, hung out with Art Clowes a bit, went up
to Richibucto and some rusty railfanning. I wanted to go to
Kouchibouguac National Park, which we did and did the dunes and
raised bog walks. I believe we headed back to a S&H dinner that
night before taking the train home the next day.
The 2005 trip is another one I can
nail. It was the last trip dad and I took. At the time I was working
in Peterborough and I joined dad on the train in Cobourg. We
travelled through to Halifax, stayed the night and, after renting a
car, headed east through Dartmouth and beyond. We stopped at the
Musquoidoboit railway museum, on to Sherbrooke (at a point I stopped
and bought a used lobster trap for $25), toured Sherbrooke, up to
Stellarton and museum. We continued on to Tatamagouche for the night
and then back to Halifax the next day for the trip home. My lobster
trap got checked in the baggage car and got transferred in Montreal
and made it back to Cobourg.
Oak Island. Has always been a special
place for me since reading that Readers Digest story back in the mid
60s. I likely read it in the late 60s at my doctor's office, waiting
for my weekly allergy shot. Anyway, since the late 60s, always wanted
to go to Oak Island. Not sure when I first got there. While, dad and
my first trip down east was 1989, schedule would not have allowed it.
Subsequent years are more vague leading me to assume my first visit
was in 90 or 91. Those trips are ill-defined in memory. We did rent a
car in Halifax and did Peggy's Cove, Chester, Oak Island (just to the
causeway) and Lunenbourg. There were dinners at McKelvies, visiting
the amazing Sam the Record Man, the Public Gardens, Historic
Properties, Keith's Brewery and Tatamagouche,
On one of the trips, we were sitting
our opposite roomettes and during cocktails there was a crew
procession headendwards moving at blur speed. Then the train came to
a stop. It was likely hour or two before the train moved again and,
from talking to the crew, we got what happened. Apparently, various
pets had been booked into the baggage car. A Pit Bull dog chewed its
way out of its cage and and killed a cat in a neighbouring cage. It
was working on the another cat cage when the crew noticed and took
action. (this incident made the papers). I feel horrible for the
deceased cats owner. My brother's cat was a VIA regular (in the
baggage car) from Toronto to Belleville with never a problem.
Last trip was in Feb 2008 and went with
friend Kristen. We left from Belleville, to Montreal and Ocean to
Halifax. One funny moment was walking up to the check in counter at
Central Station, Service Manager was Kenny Kearns and when he saw me,
said "Hello Lesley, where are you off to this time?"
Kristen freaked saying, "Oh my god they all really do know you!"
Went down on HEP equipment and back on Rennaissance. Rented a car in Halifax
and did Peggy's Cove, Oak Island causeway and Lunenburg. We hit at
least 3 pubs a night in Halifax over our two nights there. It was quite the party.
