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Bordercollie said:
I meant the ex GO coaches. The single level ones that ONR owns.
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I don't think they have all been recently rebuilt but can't confirm that. I can't find a decent or halfways current passenger car roster, and the inventory on their open data webpage is "under review". A couple went to the York-Durham Heritage Railway.
 
lenaitch said:
I don't think they have all been recently rebuilt but can't confirm that. I can't find a decent or halfways current passenger car roster, and the inventory on their open data webpage is "under review". A couple went to the York-Durham Heritage Railway.
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As good as ONR shops may be, they can't pull miracles. If Bombardier couldn't rebuilt those cars what makes you think ONR shops can?

However some HEP I and II cars are getting a facelift. If it's something like that, it might be possible, but parts are going to get harder to find unless you make your own.

Comes down to how much equipment they have lying around and what condition it's in.

Do those rebuilt ONR cars have WiFi?
 
Bordercollie said:
As good as ONR shops may be, they can't pull miracles. If Bombardier couldn't rebuilt those cars what makes you think ONR shops can?

However some HEP I and II cars are getting a facelift. If it's something like that, it might be possible, but parts are going to get harder to find unless you make your own.

Comes down to how much equipment they have lying around and what condition it's in.

Do those rebuilt ONR cars have WiFi?
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I'm not sure what you are getting at. They have already rebuilt a number of former GO single level cars for the Polar Bear Express. The discussion is whether they intend to rebuild more for the planned Northlander - and if they have enough, or whether they intend to source the rolling stock elsewhere. I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but if they plan to rebuild the existing fleet and have the numbers, they have demonstrated they are capable.

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I don't believe the PBX has enroute wi-fi. Given the remoteness of the route, it would take a lot of networked towers or satellite service and was probably deemed cost prohibitive. I stand to be corrected. Their bus fleet has wi-fi, although their might dead zones on the more remote routes.
 
lenaitch said:
I'm not sure what you are getting at. They have already rebuilt a number of former GO single level cars for the Polar Bear Express. The discussion is whether they intend to rebuild more for the planned Northlander - and if they have enough, or whether they intend to source the rolling stock elsewhere. I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but if they plan to rebuild the existing fleet and have the numbers, they have demonstrated they are capable.

View attachment 372352

I don't believe the PBX has enroute wi-fi. Given the remoteness of the route, it would take a lot of networked towers or satellite service and was probably deemed cost prohibitive. I stand to be corrected. Their bus fleet has wi-fi, although their might dead zones on the more remote routes.
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The Northlander had free on-board wifi before it disappeared in 2012, but it was cellular-based, and so not fast or reliable, especially between North Bay and Cobalt (where the tracks are farther from the highway).
 
ShonTron said:
The Northlander had free on-board wifi before it disappeared in 2012, but it was cellular-based, and so not fast or reliable, especially between North Bay and Cobalt (where the tracks are farther from the highway).
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ONR which was sold to Bell was a Telecommunications provider, and likely have their own fibre network along the railway line.

They could utilize it to provide 5G connectivity along the rail line. But for 2 trains a day it's not worth it.

If it becomes a real transportation corridor, they could do that. But some WIFI is better than none.
 
lenaitch said:
I'm not sure what you are getting at. They have already rebuilt a number of former GO single level cars for the Polar Bear Express. The discussion is whether they intend to rebuild more for the planned Northlander - and if they have enough, or whether they intend to source the rolling stock elsewhere. I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but if they plan to rebuild the existing fleet and have the numbers, they have demonstrated they are capable.

View attachment 372352

I don't believe the PBX has enroute wi-fi. Given the remoteness of the route, it would take a lot of networked towers or satellite service and was probably deemed cost prohibitive. I stand to be corrected. Their bus fleet has wi-fi, although their might dead zones on the more remote routes.
Click to expand...

I guess the question can also be asked if they were to bring back the Northlander before any new coaches are bought or any older ones refurbished whether they will end up using the new PBX for the Northlander and use older coaches for the PBX.
 
micheal_can said:
I guess the question can also be asked if they were to bring back the Northlander before any new coaches are bought or any older ones refurbished whether they will end up using the new PBX for the Northlander and use older coaches for the PBX.
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I'm not sure how many older coaches are left sice some where donated to museums. And they aren't stainless steel so who knows what the frames are like on those.

Is leasing GO Bi levels with nicer seats not an option? I'm sure there is a surplus of those. The issue is that can cars are useless since they don't have locomotives with HEP so maybe pickup those F59'S too?
And then the single level cars can get lie flat seats as hybrid sleeper cars.
 
I would imagine the wireless coverage in a lot of the Northlander's proposed route has improved significantly since 2012.
micheal_can said:
I guess the question can also be asked if they were to bring back the Northlander before any new coaches are bought or any older ones refurbished whether they will end up using the new PBX for the Northlander and use older coaches for the PBX.
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The passengers, largely indigenous, depend on the PBX for basic transportation. Withdrawing the newer fleet for older stock would be a tough sell for a government agency.
Bordercollie said:
I'm not sure how many older coaches are left sice some where donated to museums. And they aren't stainless steel so who knows what the frames are like on those.

Is leasing GO Bi levels with nicer seats not an option? I'm sure there is a surplus of those. The issue is that can cars are useless since they don't have locomotives with HEP so maybe pickup those F59'S too?
And then the single level cars can get lie flat seats as hybrid sleeper cars.
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Well, we could always wait to see what they do.

I don't know how many older coaches they have either; I've mentioned that at least twice. They donated two that I am aware of. It would seem that that the ones they refurbed for the PBX were in decent enough condition. I stand to be corrected but I'm not sure if any stainless steel clad cars have s/s frames - perhaps some brand new rolling stock.
 
Bordercollie said:
I guess owning them provides more revenue than leasing? But owning also means you need to maintain them.
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If you are the lessee, aren't you responsible for maintenance anyway? The lease market might be a little tight right now,. They look to be the type that secures the cans via a built-in bulkhead, which I don't think are particularly common, and they might want a guaranteed fleet of those to service the undulating roadbed between Cochrane and Moosonee (although I think it does limit them to 40' cans, at least for the upper level.
 
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