David, you are polite about our VIA station at Kamloops North. Our station is a " Disgrace" not only for our city, but worse for waiting passengers. Since CN smartened up about letting VIA run on time; I often wonder what passengers must think when the train arrives 1.5 hrs. ahead of schedule.Nothing for them to do, look at, or not even allowed to leave the station platform. Whoopee, look at our crummy station. Oh by the way, good video.
Ha ha, perhaps you are right Rick, maybe I should get you to write my descriptions lol. We are a long way from offering a passenger service in this part of the country, that's for sure. If I had been thinking I could have got a CP coal drag coming off the OK sub right at the beginning, it was an eye opener to watch the amount of traffic move through ahead of No.1. Cheers Rick, David.
Good morning David thanks for train station, lovely shot at about 820 as you pan along the length of the standing train it gives a great sense of scale. Take care Oscar
Hello Oscar, The junction as we call it is a very spartan place now. There used to be a beautiful brick station, a roundhouse and turntable, fueling racks and diesel storage tanks along with many other buildings and sheds. It is now for the most part a wind swept open area. The trains seem to be running with 21 coaches these days but longer trains are quite possible. David.
It was nice seeing you in the train room this morning David, before we headed out to the Junction and the station. Thanks for all the info on operations in your neighborhood. It might not be much of a station any more, but at least the train still stops.
Hi Art. I attempted a long video in the train room last week but with editing and other problems I had to abandon that one, I must try again. I don't fear having the train run through without stopping, we are a divisional point with crew changes and fueling so it will always stop here. Regards, David.
Great close up shots David. The ones of Via standing in the station brought back memories of my trip across Australia on the Indian Pacific. It looked so similar. It is also surprising to a Brit, as you must realise, to see how close you can get to the tracks compared with the UK. Regards Michael
Hello Michael, I really think that you should take this trip from Toronto to Vancouver and I should take the Indian Pacific. I think that Brits get even closer to the trains on the raised platforms you have, you really need to come and see for yourself. Regards, David.
Hello Andy. With only a handful of passengers per train and only four trains per week you can see why the station is very spartan. It is little more than a shelter from the weather. Regards, David.
Great video David. Surprised to see all the people getting off the train. I have to get on a Amtrak one day, just so dang expensive. Thanks for sharing. Dave
Hi Dave, thank you. I too was surprised at the number of people that got off for a stretch or a smoke. It is expensive but it is also a holiday in itself. Compare the cost of hotels, gas for your vehicle etc. and it isn't so bad. I want to do this cross Canada trip at least once more in my life. Perhaps we'll meet on a train sometime. Regards, David.
Hi Ray, It is really sad that the station has become so run down. CN would get rid of it all together if they could. Taxis don't even meet the train anymore, if you want one you need to pre-arrange or call and wait. I was surprised at the amount of activity when I got there though. I missed recording a loaded coal train going west. I was also surprised at the number of people that de-trained for a smoke and a stretch. Are you home now? David.
That is a great video and yes lots of trains. Nice station haha! but much better then most! unless you are in eastern Canada. The VIA looks great ! Nice pictures too. Well done David.
Hi Syl, Thank you, I was surprised at the flow of traffic when I went there. I was only there for 45 minutes. The last station I boarded a train in Quebec was Dorval and then Toronto. Dorval was small but newer and more modern than ours. Regards, David.
Very good David, firstly a service on your model railway then outside for some action. I was interested to note the platforms are at track level so I presume steps down. A super long stretch of tarmac for the passengers. Great sunlight on the Via at the end. Best regards to you
Hello Jonathan. Yes, as I often do I replicated the main feature trains in the video on my layout for the introduction. Most platforms are at ground level so the coaches have steps built in. The car attendant will open up and place a step stool on the platform as the bottom step. There is also provision for access to raised platforms. I'm not really sure but I think the platform here will hold around 30 coaches. We will very soon be losing that evening sunlight on that side of the train, we are really noticing the shorter days already. Thank you for your great comments once more. Regards, David.
Nice catches of those trains, David. Clearly I have some videos to catch up on, been busy lately, haven’t had much time to sit back and enjoy your videos.
@@trainsontuesday hi again, I was thinking about heading out towards your place tomorrow evening to do some trainspotting with a friend of mine, would you like to join us?
Yes indeed. I was quite surprised to see that many and of course not everyone would have de-trained for a smoke so that might only have been half of them.
I did indeed enjoy this video, David. You showed some great footage and the setting was wonderful. VIA is not the best at upgrading old stations - their preference seems to be to tear them down and then build a mere shadow of the former establishment in their place. Hopefully that doesn't happen in Kamloops.
Hello Andrew, so pleased that you found this interesting. CN had a beautiful old brick station building just about where the fuel truck sat. I suppose it wasn't efficient to heat and the offices probably weren't laid out efficiently for modern operations either. Anyway they tore it down probably 30-35 years ago and what you see is what we got. The biggest problem with it now is that it needs TLC that doesn't appear to be coming. For the number of passengers we get here we would be lucky to get a bus stop shelter if we were to lose this. See Ricks comments on this video. David.
@@trainsontuesday Rick was spot on there. You can contrast the Kamloops Station to what was done in Port Hope by the community to save their historic station.
@@DiamondMaster20 Yes, a great community project there in Port Hope. We still have the 1927 built CN station at Kamloops South. It is a heritage building converted to a restaurant.
Great to see action at the VIA / CN station. Those rest stops are great opportunities to get photos of the train - if you are allowed to pass the refueling activity. Great also to see some of the traffic in and out of the Okanagan sub. How far does that run now?
Hi Les, thank you for the great comments. I imagine that you are quite familiar with the "rest stops" that our trains take. I was shooed away from the fuel truck while recording but nothing to worry about. The Okanagan sub runs from Kamloops junction about 150Km. to Lumby, east of Vernon. I don't know all the industries served but it requires a train of about 100 cars daily. CP closed their track from Sicamous to Kelowna. I think that was a mistake but much of the track bed is still there as a cycle path. Regards, David.
Great video David nice catch ,What is a G Vo Loco?Is Suncores plant West or East of Kamlooops Airport ? Would have watched the video Tuesday ,had start up meeting in Innisfail yesterday going through paper work for the upcoming school year, this morning yard work. Have a great day.
Hi Ray, GEVO is short for General Electric Evolution series locomotives. There are quite a few different locos that fit within the GEVO designation. Suncor is located near the north east corner of the airport. Busy time of year for people in your profession. Take care.
YEH - I've been there , remember the coaches lined up to take us to our hotel for an overnight stay . Just wish I'd have known you then . ..........Peter
Hello Peter, you would have passed through this station, Rocky did not stop here when yo rode on it. Rocky was using Kamloops south at that time. Due to the increase in coal traffic on that line Rocky cannot use that station now either, they have built their own platform at Kamloops North. They still use the busses though. Yes, it would have been a great visit had we known each other then. I hope we get together agian before too long. Regards, David.
@David Atkins Hi David. Where is the Kamloops station where your Heritage Train is based and where the Rocky stopped when we did the tour in 2014. Is that Kamloops or the Kamloops South you mentioned. From what I can remember it didn't look like Kamloops North. While on the subject of Heritage Train, I seem to remember you mentioning a while back that you were going to be denied use of that part of Kamloops by CN/CP (can't remember which one it was). Will the Heritage Train ever run again? Great video BTW...... Ian.
Hi Susannah, Train travel here is totally different than it is in the UK. There you might hop several trains in a day. Here it is a once in a lifetime experience for most people. Glad you liked the video. Regards, David.
21 coaches and the locos, the platform would need to stretch half a kilometre David. No wonder it isn't raised. I don't necessarily like everything being modern, it kind of ruins the charm of the railways. But then again, it must be tricky for the disabled getting on and off the train. At some stage I'm going to have to get some modern North American diesels.
Hi Steven, This was a beautiful old rail yard and station 40 years ago but CN has trimmed it down to the basics now. I suppose it makes sense economically but life is about more the economics.. The platform may be a bit more than half a kilometer, trains can be close to 30 coaches long. There are portable lifts for disabled passengers so they are catered to. There are plenty of models of US and Canadian locos available, I look forward to seeing what you get. Regards, David.
