Fleet Friday - VIA's Grey Ghosts

 

VIA Rail #s 5558 and 5590 are seen in the yard at Toronto's VIA Maintenance Centre waiting to be added to an afternoon train heading to Montreal.

    In 1980 VIA Rail Canada introduced this paint scheme and quickly removed it.  Rapido Trains, Inc., a model railroad manufacturer, included this in their oddball paint schemes run of Super Continental coach cars in 2008.  At the time of the release, I wasn't interested in these cars.  However, as time when I really started to like this scheme.  The problem was these cars had been long out of production and impossible to find.  For several years I looked in hobby shops I visited (both in the U.S. and Canada) and at train show, but they were never there.  E-bay wasn't producing results either.  The closest I got was seeing one on a bookshelf in a Rapido Trains video.  In an act of unnecessary desperation, I actually emailed Rapido to see if they would sell it to me. Unfortunately, it was part of an employee's private collection and wasn't for sale.

Rapido sales packs still found on the PWRS website.

    On a random Saturday in 2018, out of the blue, I decided to contact The Steam Shack, a by appointment only model railroad shop that has been advertising in Model Railroader for as long as I can remember.  What makes this place noteworthy is that the shop is in the city I live in.  I wasn't specifically calling to find the Grey Ghost cars; I was just curious as to what was in the shop.  I had lived in the area for 22 years and never tried to visit the shop.  I scheduled a time that afternoon to meet with Roger, the owner, and visit the shop.  The shop is a couple blocks from my house.  

    The Steam Shack has a vast collection of models.  I'm pretty sure there is one of every Rapido model created.  The shop is shelf after shelf of model trains.  Roger showed me where he kept his Rapido passenger cars.  Turning a corner, on one of the bottom shelves, I hit the jackpot!  I found the Grey Ghost coaches - both of them.  

    I bought just one of the cars, but upon my next visit to the shop I bought the second.  They technically are not in the time period I model, but the nice thing about the layout is that it's mine and I can run it how I want.  They really look great!

Some of the collection of Super Continental cars on the shop's shelves.

    I searched shops and shows in two different countries for six or seven years and all that time these long sought-after cars where less than 2000 feet from my front door.  The moral of the story - support your local hobby shop!

Rapido Trains, Inc. Super Continental Line coach painted in VIA's oddball Grey Ghost paint scheme.  VIA only kept two cars painted like this for a few days before painting them in their standard blue with the yellow strips scheme.