LRC rebuild program

Great photos Montrealrail! Thanks for the update.

electricron wrote:Can you see any differences in the wheels or trucks? I have read somewhere, although I can't remember now, that they were going to disable the tilting capabilities of these cars during this refit. Just wanted to know if that can be detected from a distance.

You are correct that the cars have had the tilting mechanisms removed. I've had a good look at the trucks in photos, and I can't see any external differences as a result. Since the tilting system was mostly internal, it's removal shouldn't be really visible outside.

The tilting system was removed because the cars have been operating with it disabled now for some time anyway (due to the many mechanical issues), so removing it made sense, and also made the car lighter, simplified the interior wiring, etc.

3315 was in revenue service on VIA 23 today. I believe this was the first revenue run of the new car.

While at MMC, the car had the large "Canada" wordmark applied to both sides as on the other LRC cars. However, there is still no Canada flag.

I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed that the wordmark has now appeared on the newly rebuilt LRC coach. If our government really feels the need to advertise its support of the service, does it have to be that big? On the other hand, I have gotten used to seeing it on the cars and 3315 did look a bit strange without it.

While I have been fond of the wordmark, I was not all that sad to see it gone...but it sure did look kind of strange without it, just like 902 looks somewhat "naked" without the wordmark on the side.

I thought at first though that they were thinking that since the newer logo includes the "Canada" wordmark in the logo itself, as well as the maple leaf, they didn't need the extra graphics. But it does appear they're leaving the flags off.

Great pic Montrealrail and to me the wordmark is far overdue for removal, not that is bad Canada wants to show off it Canadian but as large as it was was uncalled for, a nice maybe 1 ft. tall Canada logo at the rear of the car or on the door ( able to fit in the door) would be a lot more tasteful in my opinion. And its very interesting that the rear lights are gone anyone know if this is to become the norm? Will only certain cars have end of car lighting or will VIA rail get FREDS like some of the Renaissance trains to replace the end of car lights? Id love to see a pic of the interior.

I think many people were quite pleased to see the wordmark gone, but it is back, and it is therefore most likely going to show up on all of the future LRC rebuilds. Personally, I've gotten so used to it that 3315 looked weird while it didn't have it!

For those of you who haven't seen 3315 with the wordmark added, here it is:

http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... 315tim.jpg

3315 has been in service on trains 22/23 for the last few weeks, so that's probably still the best chance to catch it.

As for the marker lights, VIA has removed them because of changes made to the regulations regarding end of train signals. Apparently, all that is now required is a red visible marker of some sort. You know that red dot VIA has added to the end of all it's coaches recently? Under the new rules, that is sufficient. Since the marker lights aren't needed, VIA is removing them on all of the rebuilt LRCs to save on costs for bulbs, maintenance, etc., and remove the extra wiring. I expect they will also start to neglect maintenance on marker lights on the cars that have them.

The second rebuilt LRC coach has been released: 3317. It's been seen in service with 3315.

in service between Montreal and Quebec city
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbBab7-AgcI&

Looks nice, though I'm not sure I like the elimination of marker lights. I don't think our FRA would ever allow that here in the U.S. Also, it seems a shame to lose the tilt mechanism. Have schedules had to be lengthened at all to account for that, or was it not really much of a time saver?

Matt Johnson wrote:Looks nice, though I'm not sure I like the elimination of marker lights. I don't think our FRA would ever allow that here in the U.S. Also, it seems a shame to lose the tilt mechanism. Have schedules had to be lengthened at all to account for that, or was it not really much of a time saver?

The marker light removal does seem odd, but new Transport Canada regulations don't require them (all they need is that red dot on the back, and I believe other end-of-train protection equipment). So, I guess VIA figured they could save a few $$.

As for the tilting mechanism, it isn't really that much of a loss because VIA hasn't used it regularly in years. Current LRC consists no longer activate the tilting system, and are still able to keep comparable schedules. While active tilting is a great idea for a system (and has been used successfully in other designs), the design in the LRC was simply too problematic, and had too many reliability issues. Removing it reduces the weight of the coach, and removes a lot of wiring, etc., which makes maintenance simpler and less costly. Given that it is not being used anyway at present, I think its removal is a wise choice, rather than trying to actually make the system work (or redesigning it, and dealing with lots of new headaches).

3315 are back on the Quebec-Montreal train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIFW0cu6zRw

and I tryed to get a good view of the inside of the car,but,from outside,it's not very viewable,but a passenger told me it's look almost the same than before

Anyone looking for great photos of the outside and inside of these cars should check out Canadian Railway Observations, specifically:

-April 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... r11via.htm

-June 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... y11via.htm (bottom of the page)

-July 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... y11via.htm

There are great inside and outside images. CRO is a free, monthly, online railfan publication, and certainly a great place for Canadian railfans to keep up to date on current developments on CN, CP, VIA, and other Canadian railways. There are lots of great photos every month too!

(hope that's not too shameless of a plug, given that I write for them )

timberley wrote:Anyone looking for great photos of the outside and inside of these cars should check out Canadian Railway Observations, specifically:

-April 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... r11via.htm

-June 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... y11via.htm (bottom of the page)

-July 2011 issue: http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... y11via.htm

There are great inside and outside images. CRO is a free, monthly, online railfan publication, and certainly a great place for Canadian railfans to keep up to date on current developments on CN, CP, VIA, and other Canadian railways. There are lots of great photos every month too!

(hope that's not too shameless of a plug, given that I write for them )

How do I sign up for this? Looks very informative...

gaspeamtrak wrote: How do I sign up for this? Looks very informative...

Go to http://canadianrailwayobservations.com/, and click the "Subscribe" link on the right. That way, you can get updates e-mailed to you each month when a new issue is up. Alternately, you can simply go to that home page any time and access current or past issues online.

Enjoy!

The third rebuilt coach has now been released from IRSI. It is coach #3319.

So as of this date, 3315, 3316, and 3319 are rebuilt and operating. Most recently, they were sighted operating together on VIA 22/23 between Montreal and Quebec City. It will be great to see a photo of these three operating right behind a rebuilt F40, and certainly great to see once the first Club car is ready.