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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 16th, 2013, 6:09 pm 
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Joined: June 19th, 2001, 7:00 pm
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Location: Sudbury, Ontario Canada
Hey all,
DF13 has officially begun... :thumbup:
The Budd Car left the station this morning at @ 10 am with an eager DF13 crew... It was cool at -24 C but the day was supposed to warm up to -13 C, and the sky was clear. Not sure of the actual head count but I'd estimate at least 22 -25.
There was also a crew of about 10 ?? university students and Garrett Conover (Snow Walker's Companion) also heading north to Missinaibi to complete a 108 km trek to Peterbell in 10 days. They are going to record a documentary film of the experience.... Sounds like quite a challenging trip.
I'll be heading in on Tues with the next crew... see you all then
Cheers,
Al 8)


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 19th, 2013, 11:58 am 
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Joined: June 19th, 2001, 7:00 pm
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Location: Sudbury, Ontario Canada
Hi all,
Bad news today... the Budd car was cancelled due to compressor issues.. This creates two problems.. the large group from southern Ontario who were planning to go in today can't and have made alternate arrangements to camp in Killarney so they can salvage their winter camping trip :( .
The DF campers who were planning to come out on Wed are SOL until Fri, and that's if the Budd car makes it north on Thurs.

I live in Sudbury so I'm going to try again on Thurs..
Of interest to Budd car users, two issues have affected it's reliability even more so than in the past: ( as told by the Station Master in Sudbury)
i) one of the baggage cars was damaged recently when it was hit by a transport truck, so it's under repairs in TO.
ii) a second car was sent to Moncton for refurbishing and supposedly is completely done, but the company doing the work went under and until the legal proceedings are complete it's stuck there....
Not a good day for the DF crew...
Al 8)


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 19th, 2013, 12:52 pm 
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Joined: June 20th, 2001, 7:00 pm
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Location: Scarbados, Ontario Canada
Ouch!

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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 19th, 2013, 4:28 pm 
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Joined: February 8th, 2005, 10:34 pm
Posts: 726
Is there any reason VIA Rail couldn't replace those worn-out old beaters?

Bombardier Transportation supplies diesel multiple units to half the countries in the world, and it's not as if they don't have friends in Ottawa.


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 19th, 2013, 8:45 pm 
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Joined: June 19th, 2001, 7:00 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Sudbury, Ontario Canada
The Budd Car service is a lost leader.... It's amazing that it still operates and that's because it's the only means of transportation available to access some areas along the Sudbury-White River corridor.
Passenger fares don't even come close to covering what it costs to operate the Budd, so refurbishing the units is probably the least expensive option... although new Bombardier diesel units would be really nice...
Bad luck and bankruptcy got the better of us today...
Maybe Thurs will be a better day...
Al 8)


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 21st, 2013, 9:29 am 
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Joined: February 12th, 2008, 6:01 pm
Posts: 498
Location: North Bay, Ontario
Hi,

As it happens 4 of us who had obligations hiked down the tracks to Benny, about 10 km, and were graciously given a ride to the station in Sudbury by Scouter Joe's lovely wife. The walk took about 4 hrs on variable snow, mostly without snowshoes. I certainly hope the Budd starts running to pick up the rest.

Other than that things are going great out there. The snow is deep and the lakes are slushy but that is part of the game. Wish I was still there...

Kinguq.


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 21st, 2013, 11:18 am 
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Joined: December 25th, 2001, 7:00 pm
Posts: 57
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada
I have to do a little rant on the Budd Car. It may not be a money maker, but it’s offered as a train service, and as such, it should be somewhat reliable. It’s hard to call it a train service when you never know if it’s going to run or how incredibly late it’s going to be. Everyone has commitments, appointments and schedules in their lives. This includes people who rely on the Budd Car.

We have quite a bit of experience with the Budd Car. The Budd Car, followed by a 4 hour hike, is the only way into our camp in the ‘off’ seasons and the only way out. I know of people who have had to call in helicopters or ski planes when the Budd Car has been down and they have been stuck somewhere north on the line. I know of someone who lost a week of work when the train didn’t run south on a Sunday.

Even people who have been regular users have tired of it’s unreliability, and if they can possibly find any other option, they don’t take it any more. But as people who can find other options avoid the Budd Car, revenues drop further. Of course, many users in the remote area it services have no option.

You are now suppose to buy a return ticket good only on the specific dates for which it is issued – yet they can’t guarantee that the train will even be running on the return date. Where’s the logic in that? I’ve heard that if you buy a return ticket, it’s VIAs responsibility to get you back. Has anyone tested that theory?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Budd Car. I love the experience of travelling so far off the beaten path. I love the guys on the train that make you feel almost like family. However, I don’t love that no one can tell us whether the train will run that day before we set out on our 4 hour hike to the train. I also don’t love the experience of sitting at the side of the track in December when the train is 4 hours late and I’m not sure when/if it will be there.

Ok. There’s my rant.


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 22nd, 2013, 1:03 am 
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The fact that at least some people depend on VIA's service between Sudbury and White River is exactly why VIA should replace those worn-out old clunkers.

As to the cost, most if not all passenger rail service is a money loser. GO Transit provides great service, and covers their operating costs out of fare revenue. But as far as I know, even GO needs taxpayer support for major capital expenditures like their new locomotives a couple of years ago.

So maybe it's time VIA sent a purchase order for some new DMUs. The capital expenditure wouldn't be extreme as long as they buy something that is proven reliable and is available off the shelf (a design that works in northern Norway should work in Canada, and VIA would need only a few of them) and would be offset by far lower maintenance costs. And those who need the service, either residents along the line or recreational users, would have something they could count on.


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 22nd, 2013, 7:18 am 
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Joined: February 13th, 2005, 7:42 pm
Posts: 53
Location: Sudbury ON
Forgive me for not reading the whole 4 pages. What is DF 13 and where were you going?

And yes, the only thing the Bud Car is good for is drinking in the baggage car on the way to a canoe trip...


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 22nd, 2013, 7:39 am 
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Location: Simcoe County, Ontario
Grey Jay wrote:
Forgive me for not reading the whole 4 pages. What is DF 13 and where were you going?

And yes, the only thing the Bud Car is good for is drinking in the baggage car on the way to a canoe trip...


In the listing in the Events forum, smokey posted an excellent history of the annual Deep Freeze experience:

http://myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=40465

There are some photos posted in the Gallery:

http://gallery.myccr.com/index.php?cat=4&page=1
http://gallery.myccr.com/index.php?cat=4&page=2
http://gallery.myccr.com/index.php?cat=4&page=3

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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 22nd, 2013, 8:51 am 
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Joined: February 12th, 2008, 6:01 pm
Posts: 498
Location: North Bay, Ontario
Does anyone know if it ran yesterday? The web site is not informative.

Kinguq.


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 22nd, 2013, 9:48 pm 
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Joined: September 9th, 2002, 7:00 pm
Posts: 565
Location: Kemble, Ontario Canada
The Budd ran Thursday and Al and his geetarr got in for the pot luck Thursday evening. Al played for over 2 hours straight very cold fingers and all. Great time was had by all. Ya Northwest Passage. The Budd showed up Friday on time.Ok for the record anything under 2 hours late is on time. We all missed Jim, Jim, Blaf and Mike and their whole gang. We had a collective weep when hearing what Big Jim was bringing and did not get in with.
A complete report may be posted after the DF 13ers all are home safe.
Stay safe
OAF

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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 23rd, 2013, 6:53 am 
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Location: Scarbados, Ontario Canada
I'm glad to hear the Budd is running again - and that you folks are salvaging what's left of the trip. Looking forward to the report if someone will find the time to do it...

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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 23rd, 2013, 6:13 pm 
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Joined: June 26th, 2001, 7:00 pm
Posts: 688
Location: scarborugh, Ontario canada
Just got back from Killarney, a group of us hiked in 3.5 kms in on George lake and made camp for 5 days. We had alot of fun and the kids had a ball!
As one of the original group on the Deepfreeze(12,13 years?) trips I'm sorry to say that I won't be attending any in the future :(
The unreliability of the bud car has me beat and we will continue to camp elsewhere where my holidays won't be disrupted!
The day we arrived and it was announced the train was cancelled (around 1030 am) I asked why there was no attempt to fix it? it was still early. They told me to come back in 2 days.................... :oops: ...................not! They weren't even able to give us our refund???? It seemed that the only issue was the overtime they were going to get :roll:
Sorry for the rant, and I hope the others in the group had a safe fun trip.
jim


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 Post subject: Re: DF 13
PostPosted: February 24th, 2013, 5:38 pm 
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Location: NORTHERN ONTARIO
Sorry to hear that jimdiane, your crew has always been a great part of DF! But I hear ya, that train has a big impact on how the trip can go (as someone who has also been affected).

But I hear we may choose a different site next year - though I hear that every year. Early rumours have it, at Smokefox off the 144. Been there a couple years back with another train failure, and it was a great site. A couple of KM's in, but all lake travel (with the exception of a couple of flat portages).

Another rumour is that the Budd maybe getting replaced. Apparently they already have been replaced, but waiting for some kind of litigation to clear with those who refurbished the replacements.

So we'll see, maybe we can all be together again to keep the tradition going??

Otherwise for those who managed to get there and back successfully, it was a great time again. The highlight again was Potluck Night starring Al playing his guitar with many voices adding in to the choruses!!

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to DF's success, from breaking trails, cutting fire wood, singing and generously providing refreshments to the drop ins!

Can't wait till next years, but summer can come now, I want to get the boats out now!!

ANdrew

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