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This just-published blog post is an eye-popper! If you thought CN was the only strident voice against VIA's application for judicial review before the Federal Court, (though it's unclear just what the precise aegis and involvement of the Attorney-General of Canada [department] is in this and other such cases of this nature), it now seems that based on the publicly-available documents reviewed for this post that it was the AGC that really made the case for not having this case heard. The AGC submission was based on jurisdictional, not the technical/train/signals issues that were a major part of VIA's case for, and CN's case against.

The case is now in Quebec Superior Court and sometime we'll hear Transport Canada's response to the information CN was compelled to submit under the Ministerial Order MO 24-01.

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

VIA and CN in Federal Court - The Facts, Part 3

As I continue to garner (and generate posts here!) more public documents from the Federal Court case, I've been sharing their contents and h...
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com
 
Looks like the addition includes more service bays.

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Via Historical Association preserved equipment with other Via equipment. As a kid in the early 90s, it was always nice as a Go passenger to look out and see a mix of equipment.

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Off topic but does anyone else find it insane how dirty the Siemens sets are continuously? The silver bottom of them is essentially brown and it looks like even if they’re washed it doesn’t do anything. Maybe I’m an outlier but seems insane to me to not take proper care of your brand new fleet worth hundreds of millions. In comparison the GO fleet is ALWAYS clean. Don’t get it. Picture from @transitfanlion on IG. They already look almost as dirty as the LRCs.
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Jayson9999 said:
Off topic but does anyone else find it insane how dirty the Siemens sets are continuously? The silver bottom of them is essentially brown and it looks like even if they’re washed it doesn’t do anything. Maybe I’m an outlier but seems insane to me to not take proper care of your brand new fleet worth hundreds of millions. In comparison the GO fleet is ALWAYS clean. Don’t get it. Picture from @transitfanlion on IG. They already look almost as dirty as the LRCs.View attachment 638825
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From what I noticed at TMC the Siemens sets were the cleanest and the HEP cars were the worst.

That was my observation.
 
LRC, HEP, Ventures all dirty. The offending graffiti has been removed, showing the original paint underneath:
 

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Jayson9999 said:
Off topic but does anyone else find it insane how dirty the Siemens sets are continuously? The silver bottom of them is essentially brown and it looks like even if they’re washed it doesn’t do anything. Maybe I’m an outlier but seems insane to me to not take proper care of your brand new fleet worth hundreds of millions. In comparison the GO fleet is ALWAYS clean. Don’t get it. Picture from @transitfanlion on IG. They already look almost as dirty as the LRCs.View attachment 638825
Click to expand...
Im more wondering who thinks the Siemens cars are junk? Id say 99% of the railroad foamers and community think they are great cars, and certianly they have proven themselves as such all over north america.

Perhaps someone misinformed about why they are so slow right now, or, I am sure there are some foamers who just have a nostalgia for the old sets.
 
Maybe I'm showing my age, but I find a lot of 'younger folks' are quick to make up their mind on what is 'junk' and not be open to revising that opinion. In this case, the Siemens Ventures. I've compared their implementation with that of the LRC (didn't go back to the Turbo, though!) and found that the number and scope of problems are fewer, that it is proven and not novel technology. I am awaiting some serviceability numbers from VIA to prove just how unserviceable they may have been compared to other Legacy fleets and perhaps why that is. I don't think it's nostalgia for the older sets, I think it's just a tendency toward negativity especially when change is afoot? Dammit Jim, I'm a rail enthusiast not an anthropologist! :cool:
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
Maybe I'm showing my age, but I find a lot of 'younger folks' are quick to make up their mind on what is 'junk' and not be open to revising that opinion. In this case, the Siemens Ventures. I've compared their implementation with that of the LRC (didn't go back to the Turbo, though!) and found that the number and scope of problems are fewer, that it is proven and not novel technology. I am awaiting some serviceability numbers from VIA to prove just how unserviceable they may have been compared to other Legacy fleets and perhaps why that is. I don't think it's nostalgia for the older sets, I think it's just a tendency toward negativity especially when change is afoot? Dammit Jim, I'm a rail enthusiast not an anthropologist! :cool:
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Quite agree - unfortunately, the railfan grapevine tends to favour negativity. I have to say, it is sadly often true of older railfans also, so I wouldn't make this too much about age.... but some maturity is clearly lacking in what one reads on social media.

More objectively, it's fair to say that VIA is not out of the teething stage. There does appear to be a maintenance backlog of some minor items, meaning some trainsets are out of service longer than one would like....this may be exacerbated by a) the fact that the maintenance bases aren't ready yet, b) the new relationship where VIA has to work thru Siemens who are responsible for maintenance and warranty work c) the need for crews to learn the new format and technology of the trains, and d) availability of spare parts, which may not be at a robust inventory yet.

I discount much of what railfans report, but I have heard people who work on the trains comment (with some frustration, which is a normal phenomenon during a learning curve, but may be reported out of context) that the design is more complex that previously, with more digital features (meaning problems are solved by paging through menus, not by turning valves or banging with wrenches) that may still have a few gremlins. The move to a cab car format has new learnings as operating from a cab car with a more limited set of controls is different than operating from a locomotive (where the key breakers and buttons and readouts are within reach or a step or two away) and the intelligence for the train itself is found in a central CPU in one of the coaches (a different process for troubleshooting and necessitating more back and forth). I have been told that there are simply more breakers and buttons than in past locomotive models - a learning curve for that also.

Perhaps the transition plan has its gaps, but none of this amounts to the trains being as bad as some are claiming. I am happy to give this time to work out. As you note, the Turbo was legendary for being a lemon.... it ended up being quite a good train. The LRC's even more so. No need to think the sky is falling.

- Paul
 
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I would say that the only railfans/foamers who do not like the new sets are the ones who do not know why things are happening as they are. If you did not know why they were having to go slower, you might not like them either. However, if it has been a few years after the last one has been delivered and we are still seeing issues with the older ones in service then arguments can be made about whether they are junk or not. Once the LDF renewal takes place, I cannot wait to hear the whining about how they are not stainless steel and they don't look ''classic''. Someone will whine about something, it is just the nature of a public thing.
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
Does CN really know what's rolling on their tracks? Really? Ventures in revenue service for the year before this question!View attachment 639569
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Not only that, but their base assumptions about the equipment are and have been patently wrong the whole time.

Siemens Venture cars are lighter? No, they weigh more than LRCs and HEP cars.

They are shorter? Most LRC trainsets operate with 4 coaches and a locomotive, which, last I checked, was shorter than the 5 Venture cars and 1 Charger loco that the Siemens sets operate as.

Dan
 
smallspy said:
Not only that, but their base assumptions about the equipment are and have been patently wrong the whole time.

Siemens Venture cars are lighter? No, they weigh more than LRCs and HEP cars.

They are shorter? Most LRC trainsets operate with 4 coaches and a locomotive, which, last I checked, was shorter than the 5 Venture cars and 1 Charger loco that the Siemens sets operate as.

Dan
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Their whole assumption is based on an incident at a single crossing.
 
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