Canadian Baggage Car

I notice Via usually doesn't have a baggage car on the Canadian. Given this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL80C ... yOCc#t=73s where there are 23 cars and one appears to be a combine, where do those hundreds of people keep their luggage? I can't imagine you pay big bucks for the Canadian, just for the privilege of toting your Louis Vuitton on board...

Tadman wrote:I notice Via usually doesn't have a baggage car on the Canadian. Given this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL80C ... yOCc#t=73s where there are 23 cars and one appears to be a combine, where do those hundreds of people keep their luggage? I can't imagine you pay big bucks for the Canadian, just for the privilege of toting your Louis Vuitton on board...

It's a full Baggage Car you see here. (fourth car - the first three cars are probably deadheading)

They were originally built by Budd for CP as Baggage/Crew Dorms but were rebuilt to full baggage cars in the ‘80s.

VIA also has several xUnion Pacific Railroad Post Office Cars that have been rebuilt into full Baggage Cars.

Interesting.......if you look hard enough, you can still read "United States Mail - Railway Post Office" on the sides.

(the cars aren't that dirty.....I tinted the photo slightly to bring out the lettering)

Interesting, are those ex-UP cars Budd stainless? I was unaware the UP ever bought anything else other than carbon steel coaches painted solid armor yellow, mostly from ACF.

VIA's ex-UP baggage cars were built by Budd in 1963 in the UP 5903-5911 series. Here's a photo of one in UP paint: http://rr-fallenflags.org/up/up-rp5909jpa.jpg. The former UP 5909 is now VIA 8619.

Great find, Ken. Never seen a stainless UP car until today, and I can't tell you the last time I saw a UP lightweight car not in yellow dip.

I have seen, on multiple occasions, cars in VIA trains that look a lot like the only unpainted steel cars that i know the UP operated: RPO cars built by Budd from the UP 5903-5911 series.


When did these come to the VIA roster? This particular one came to VIA, according to the photographer, in 1993 and im wondering if any of them got there before that.

All 6 former RPO cars were purchased from the Union Pacific in 1991. They were upgraded with pass-through HEP lines by VIA in 1993.

The lettering on the stainless panels was brushed-out years ago, but if you look hard enough you can still read “United States Mail Railway Post Office” below the window band.

Ken V wrote:All 6 former RPO cars were purchased from the Union Pacific in 1991. They were upgraded with pass-through HEP lines by VIA in 1993.

I see. So they got all six at once. Could they ever be seen mixed with cars still in CN colours?

NS VIA FAN wrote:The lettering on the stainless panels was brushed-out years ago, but if you look hard enough you can still read “United States Mail Railway Post Office” below the window band.

That's interesting.

The tram man wrote:

Ken V wrote:All 6 former RPO cars were purchased from the Union Pacific in 1991. They were upgraded with pass-through HEP lines by VIA in 1993.

I see. So they got all six at once. Could they ever be seen mixed with cars still in CN colours?

No, anything still in CN (or CP) colours had mostly been re painted into the VIA scheme by the mid 80s.

NS VIA FAN wrote:

The tram man wrote:

Ken V wrote:All 6 former RPO cars were purchased from the Union Pacific in 1991. They were upgraded with pass-through HEP lines by VIA in 1993.

I see. So they got all six at once. Could they ever be seen mixed with cars still in CN colours?

No, anything still in CN (or CP) colours had mostly been re painted into the VIA scheme by the mid 80s.

Aha. Otherwise that would've made for some interesting combinations.