I got up
around
Once the bus arrived at Laurier, I caught an orange line train to Sauve. Once I got there, I went through the secondary exit and checked in with Doug Shields. While waiting for the bus, I photographed an STM Nova LFS articulated.
Two minutes later, our charter bus showed up. It was STM Classic #11-087 which I had seen two days earlier passing in front of my hotel. The night before, I heard we would be getting 11-087. I photographed it.
We all boarded the bus and were soon off. There were 35 people on the charter plus the driver.
Our first photo stop was where bus routes 80 and 193 go. We took some photos of 11-087 and some LFS articulated buses.
We got back on and headed off. Moments later, TTS member Adam Zelka handed out the TTS’s newsletter.
Our next photo stop would be the
building where the FHTCQ keeps their collection of
historic buses. The first bus I saw in the warehouse was former STM Classic
13-068 which has been retired and had grass covering its front! I would later
learn that the bus doesn’t have an engine and has to be towed around. I
photographed the Classic.
There
were also three fishbowls in the garage. Fishbowl 14-008 was painted in the original
STCUM livery. Another bus was suburban fishbowl 33-008. 33-008 also ran with
STCUM. The third bus was former Metropolitain Provincial 35 foot suburban
fishbowl #7296. The bus was former Atomic Energy of Canada bus #143. I
photographed all three fishbowls.
The
FHTCQ also has former STM Classic #55-001. However, it wasn’t in the warehouse
at the time. They also had former STM fishbowl #25-085, but they put it up for
sale. I then went outside and photographed our charter bus.
A
few minutes later, everyone got on the bus and we headed off. Our next photo
stop was at Rosemont Metro station. We took some pictures of the bus.
At
Rosemont, a woman tried to board our bus thinking 11-087 was in service. We
told her we weren’t a service bus. Meanwhile a CP freight passed on a nearby
railway line, but I was unable to get a shot of it.
We
got back on the bus and headed off. Off in the distance, we caught a glimpse of
Classic 55-001, but it turned before we could get a shot of it.
Our next stop was the Laurier Metro station. I took some pictures of 11-087.
11-087 was moved around the corner where we took more photos.
There was a brief rain shower here, but it soon let up. We got back on the bus and headed off. Soon, we passed by my hotel and then went up the mountain. The bus seemed to be struggling going uphill. Our next photo stop was the end of the route 11.
Our next photo stop was a few minutes later.
We got back on the bus and headed down the mountain. We passed by a bus garage with lots of STM Nova LFS’s. We stopped next to another bus garage with Nova LFS’s. We got off and took some photos.
I could see
a rollercoaster from La Ronde behind me. I wouldn’t have the time to visit
there on this trip. We got back on the bus and headed off. Along the way, we
got a good look at La Ronde. We stopped in front of
Some highway coaches passed. I photographed them as well.
We got back on the bus and headed off. Moments later, we stopped because we realized one person had been left behind; Darcy from the TTS! We got out and took some photos hoping Darcy would catch up to us.
Darcy
didn’t come, so Kevin Nicol stayed back so he could help Darcy get to the lunch
stop which was the next stop. The rest of us got back on the bus and we headed
off. Leaving Darcy behind reminded me of a charter on a TTC bus 10 years ago
where one of my friends got left behind. We didn’t realize he was gone for 30
minutes! I won’t reveal who it was, but I can say he’s appeared in some of my
previous trip reports and it isn’t my friend Bill who missed the Texas Eagle on
my
As we headed to the lunch stop, we saw STM Classic 12-012 in service on route 55. However, I didn’t get a photo of it. We also passed a Coach Canada Nova LFS.
Our lunch
stop was in the middle of downtown
There were
a few places to have lunch, though my two big contenders were
I also photographed 11-087 some more.
By now Kevin and Darcy had rejoined us. I found out that Darcy got left behind because he thought the stop by City Hall was the lunch stop!
After, we got back on the bus and headed off up the mountain again. We passed three Nova LFS articulated buses and then stopped in front of a hospital for a photo stop.
While we were there, an articulated LFS passed. We got back on the bus and headed off. Along the way, we passed the articulated bus that passed by the charter. I took some photos of it.
Our next photo stop was the Mont-Royal station on AMT’s Montreal- Deux Montagnes commuter line. There were four LFS articulated buses there. I photographed them and 11-087.
I also went to see if I could see any commuter trains pass, but none came. We got back on the bus and headed off. As we left, we passed a wedding.
Next we stopped at Parc Metro station. During weekday rush hours, AMT’s green line serves Parc, but not on weekends. I took some photos.
Someone pointed out an old STCUM bus stop sign. Parc was where we took our group photo. After the official group photos were taken, I quickly took one.
We got back on the bus and headed off. I photographed the STCUM bus stop sign as we passed.
This was the end of the charter. 11-087 took us back to Sauvé Metro station where I took one last photo of our charter bus.
I stuck around for a few minutes and filmed 11-087 pull away. The rest of the day was our leisure. I decided to try to ride Classic 12-012 which I had seen earlier on 55. I then realized I had lost my three day pass. I thought it was a good thing after all I had put $19 on my Opus card the day before. I got on the Metro and rode the orange line south to Jean-Talon where I transferred to the blue line. While there, I remembered the blue line has the longest wait times of the metro lines. The train finally arrived and I rode one stop west to De Castelnau. I then went to wait for a route 55 bus to see if it was 12-012. Shortly after I got there, I saw a Classic arrive. However, it was 13-074. I photographed it but didn’t ride.
I waited around for awhile. I saw a few LFS’s on 55 and I photographed an out of service articulated returning to the garage.
I saw a first generation LFS and photographed it.
After awhile, I saw another Classic coming north on route 55. I hoped it would be 12-012, but it was #14-057. I photographed it.
I decided it was time to give up. I walked back to the Metro and rode to Jean-Talon. I then rode an orange line train to Barri-Uqam. From there, I rode the Green line to McGill.
At McGill, I walked to the Eaton Centre and had dinner in the food court. After, I rode the green line to Place des Arts and waited for a route 80 back to my hotel. When the bus arrived, I photographed it.
When I got
on, the driver said (in French) that the bus had to detour because of a fire.
However, I wasn’t affected too much though the fire department had shut down a
lot of
I went back to my hotel and stayed there for awhile. About an hour later, I decided to go out looking for an ATM machine and get some cereal for breakfast the next day. I went out and walked a few blocks north. Someone pointed out to me a rainbow which I photographed.
I then
found an ATM and withdrew some money. A few minutes later, I looked up in the
sky and the rainbow was gone. I went into a store and bought some cereal and
milk before I returned to my hotel. I watched some TV including
Click here to read about the
second charter and the trip to Exporail: RTL Classic to Exporail
