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Comes the test supervisor,
who merrily greets me; he seems glad to see a new face. We start
to chat.
They run their tests
between Alexandria (I'd rather say Glen Robertson, as there is
a turning wye there) and Smith Falls; the line between those
two stations (except the section around the Ottawa station) belongs
to VIA Rail.
The test programme
checks the rolling characteristics at different speeds, as well
as the braking behaviour.
Positively responding
to my request to peek at the insides, I manage somehow to climb
aboard, as the car does not have the customary steps and grab-irons,
but the lifting crane holes make do well enough...
The inside is well-lighted,
finished of white. The walk-though buffer is closed by two half-doors
made of glass. As this is the sleeping car, the very narrow passageway
directly emerges on the right side of the vestibule.
Two rooms are unlocked.
The test supervisor shows one to me: spacious, it offers two
beds (perpendicular to the track) and, accross, a bathroom with
showe. The rooms are at least as spacious as the rooms we have
here. But the bathroom is really nice: sink, mirror, toilet,
and most importantly, shower. The whole bathroom is the shower
stall, like on a pleasure yacht. The window is generous. But
we can't put two bedrooms en suite to make a larger one.
The finishing is luxuous,
like a luxury yatch. Given the british loading-gauge, this is
a rather unexpected arrangement. But there are only 10 rooms
bet car, which is a disadvantage compared to our sleeping cars
that can accommodate up to 24 people (or 44 on the double-deck
Superliners).
We move onto the next
car, very strange: the vestibule gives to a handicapped bedroom.
Two superposed beds, parallel to the track, face a large window.
At the end, a bathroom that looks as big as the bedroom... In
all cases, the lowe bed, when raised, is a sofa that looks comfortable.
It is obvious that
we're in brand-new rolling-stock: the floors and cushions are
covered by a transparent polyethylene sheet... Only the absence
of a "new car" odour hints that the cars are not quite
new: 5 years. But otherwise they are totally virgin...
Always on the right,
the corridor goes on and goes by what looks like a conductor's
office, a baggage compartment with a corresponding door on the
right side on the car, and another closed office compartment.
Follows an elegent salon with red velvet sofas and seats, of
very nice looks, of the backs of which emerges strange bronze
handles, looking like giraffe horns. Probably a british tradition...
The seat shape is very retro, a bit like 1930's auto seat. But
the pure line of the ceiling that follows exactly the roofline
clearly hints that we're in very modern rolling-stock.
But most surprising
is that each table is illuminated by a very small and very handsome
light, which is a miniature reproduction of a classic american
sleeping-car light: imagine a frosted glass hemisphere, from
the axis of which emerges two half-cylinders each capped by two
half-hemispheres. Really classy and nice.
At the end of the car,
an important take-out counter and very well arranged: cash register,
a lot of sinks and ice compartments and a lot of refrigerators.
Two surprises: two generous windows, and a microwave oven with
a "Menumaster" sign with the good old British Rail
logo!!!!
The galley has, in
fact, two counters, the other being directly in the vestibule.
As I contemplate all
this, the three engineers that run the tests are busy calibrating
their measuring instruments, that are based on a PC with a well-known
data-acquisition system... The test supervisor tells me to go
see the third car, which I do right away...
There, the universe
squartely tumbles.
It is a 2+1 coach car.
Nothing unusual so far. Above each seat, a wierd transverse block
that looks like a baggage rack. But as I go on, I notice that
the seats are rather high relative to the floor. Well, that's
because each seat is above an oblique baggage space that extends
under the feet of the seat behind. Really odd.
About 2/3 of the seats
face forward, and the other third face backwards.
With the blocks above
each seat, this looks cramped. But each seat is generous and
comfortable. Claustrophobes will have problems, though. And each
seat has it's own window blind, which has the disadvantage of
cutting each window it two, rather like the old Santa-Fé
cars.
I go back to the bar-car
and, after talking about the test parameters being monitored
(X-Y-Z travel of the various suspensions), I say good-bye to
the sympathetic test team, that was nice enough to let me see
the train.
I've been told that
the ride leaves nothing to be desired, and that the cars are
not tilting (but that, I was guessing)... The test runs are progressive:
they go for about 10 km, stopped start, and they stop. They go
like that to the end of the line, turn the train and go back
the other way around, gradually increasing the speed. Today,
they almost went to 120 km/h... The engine can go up to 170,
but the line allows at most 150 km/h. But maybe they can take
some liberties here and there...
Well, that's nice all
that, the rolling-stock is available at a good price.
However, I'm afraid
that the rolling-stock is ill-adapted to our climate, and more
importantly, for a large quantity of such cars to be allowed
to run here, the Railway Act will have to be changed to allow
them to run, since they don't have the needed buffing strength.
For now, a special
waiver can do...
And if it is done,
positive train segregation systems will have to be instated,
to be absolutely, totally, wholly assured that no freight train
will run into one of those trains...
Other
Nightstar links:
Nightstar Channel Tunnel Sleepers (By Jonathan Hall).
History of Nightstar (By John F. Legg)
Hotel on rail plan fails (By Kees Smilde)
©
2000, Marc Dufour
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Returning today at Ottawa, I was disappointed not to see
it at Casselman, nor elsewhere on the line, but immensely fulfulled to
see it at the Ottawa station, coupled to LRC engine 6905!!!
