Our Trip Across Canada on the Canadian

 

 

Day 0 – Departure from Vancouver

 

We arrived in Vancouver in pouring rain (how authentic!). After a brief prowl around downtown, and a couple of Steamworks ales and a light meal, it was time to head to the train station.

In the good old days, one took leave of Vancouver from the CP Depot in the center of downtown. The old terminal is doing well as a transit hub, but VIA now departs from the former CN station. Gare Centrale du Pacifique has its own charms – including an outdoor waiting room built under the old trainshed.

Around 19:30, the gate opened and we trudged forwards (a long way forwards!) to car 211. Blair Manor is not a car I had any previous connection with, but new friends are always welcome.

We waited patiently until our car attendant, John, arrived to make down our beds. John pressed me into service as the passenger car monitor. Apparently there is a Transport Canada regulation requiring at least one passenger to be able to open the car doors in case of emergency. I was given a brief explanation of how to open the vestibule door. As if I needed one…..my seniority with the stainless steel dutch door dates back to age 6.

Our room was tagged as the car monitor’s room, but we were seldom in it. Fortunately, duty never called.

 

So – what’s it like, this train?

 

Trains have their own architecture. The Canadian was built in the 1950’s, in the same era as Sputnik, the first jet aircraft, and the first television. Its primary constrtuction material was stainless steel, selected for its durability as well as its visual appeal.

The overall effect is a long,winding spaceship that slides through the countryside.

The tooling is a little clunky by today’s standards, but everything is rounded and smoothed, never a hard line or squared corner. Inside, there are lots of funky touches from the fifties. Vents, switch panels, sinks and mirrors all run to a certain taste. To my eye, it’s a timeless style that never grows old.

And it has a smell. Whether it’s brake shoes, or lubricants, or cleansers, I can’t say….but the same pleasant aroma that I recalled from past trips was there to greet me in Vancouver, and every time I entered a car as we walked through the train.

Forty-five years after their removal, the traces of the old Canadian Pacific beaver crests that adorned each car are still apparent. The outlines and bolt holes simply refuse to give up their heritage.

 

    

 

 

The interior decor was ultra-modern in its day, but in hindsight, it adheres to time-worn railroad tradition, as much as striving for modernity.

The sleeping cars’ fixtures emphasize the old-time privacy and serenity of first-class travel. Roomettes have curtained doorways: there is a compartment door underneath, but the curtains overcome any sterile “cabin” feeling.

Each car has a few of the traditional open sections, which fold down into curtained berths at night. Folks who have never travelled in a berth are apprehensive about the absence of a lockable door between them and humanity. Once you’ve slept in one, you get over that concern.

We travelled in Bedroom B, an enclosed double bedroom in the middle of the car. The Bedrooms are among the larger rooms on the train…meaning they are almost as large as a prison cell. Bedroom B had two tiered bunks which folded into the ceiling in daytime. There was a nice sink and private toilet. The room was well appointed, and the two daytime chairs were comfortable – but there wasn’t space to swing a cat, or even take a decent picture.

Apart from sleeping, we spent virtually no time in our room. The train had such nice lounging and dining areas, there was no reason to lock ourselves away in our little cubicle.

 

 

The Dome Cars

 

The highlight of the Canadian are the dome cars. There are two types….the Skyline cars that are spaced through the train, and the tail-end Park Car with its rounded rear lounge. Our Park car, Prince Albert Park, was showing off its new look after two years of interior remodelling. It was pretty spiffy, all right.

These cars are where it all happens – there are nibblies and drinks available 24 hours a day, cocktail service is available. There is an attendant who conducts a rolling program of activities throughout the day. These cars are equipped with big TV’s and DVD players. In the evening, roving musicians perform for the passengers. There is always something to entertain.

Did I forget meals? Nope, they are right in the next car. And they were wonderful.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the dome, the countryside rolls by. We spent most of our time up top. At times, the dome would fill with people, creating a convivial rolling party. At other times, the domes would empty….leaving a wonderful peaceful space for quiet contemplation. Don’t get me to the chapel….just hold a seat for me upstairs.

 

 

Day 1 – Kamloops to Edson

 

On our first night, we rolled not too badly and managed to get a little sleep. We awoke as the train was leaving Kamloops. This first morning was spent travelling up the North Thompson River valley to the top of the Columbia Mountains. The day began with cloud and mist, but cleared as we went north. The Pyramid Falls, and the passage past Mount Robson, were highlights. The dome stayed full, and we got to know our fellow travellers.

Jasper was a rest stop, meaning we had about 90 minutes to explore the downtown. To my annoyance, we were hustled off the platform immediately. After reboarding, we rolled east through the Rocky Mountains and out into the foothills. As the sun set, we left the mountains behind, arriving in Edmonton around midnight.

 

  

Day 2 – Alberta to Manitoba

 

The train was delayed overnight. We spent a couple hours parked in a siding, then rocked and rolled at high speed with little chance of sleep. Some VIA locomotive engineers are more skilled than others – on this leg of the trip the stops, and the switching out of a car in Edmonton, were really rough. Little rest was had on night 2.

When daylight came, we found we were still in eastern Alberta, rolling through dense fog, stopping frequently to meet westbound freight trains.

Then came sunrise, and we came upon our first grain elevators at dawn at Chauvin, AB.

The northwestern prairie is anything but flat. As we sped eastwards, we spotted a moose near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. A solid cloud front was waiting for us at Unity. The rest of the day was spent watching combines and grain elevators fly by.

The moody weather made for wonderful sightseeing from our cozy lookout. Looking forward as oncoming trains and cars appeared, one had the feeling of an Alex Colville painting come to life….would a galloping horse appear in the gauge?

Saskatoon was a major servicing stop, and we took the opportunity to walk the platform and stretch our legs. Soon we were back on board, with plenty of prairie left to cover. Long before we reached Manitoba, it was dark. How quickly the day had passed!

 

   

Meeting the Westbound

 

One memorable moment plays out when the westbound and eastbound Canadians meet. This happens three times over the course of the typical transcontinental trip.

In theory, we should have passed No 1 in the middle of the previous night, somewhere east of Edmonton. As we rolled into Biggar, SK, there in the siding sat Number 1, 9 hours behind schedule itself. Caught by surprise – I figured the train was already in the mountains – I managed a poor grab shot of the trains passing. It sufficed.

The trains passed at a crawl. Like two ships passing at sea, we waved to the folks on the westward train. The crews exchanged good-natured jabs on the radio. There wasn’t much envy for the late train’s crew, who stood to earn a huge amount of overtime if the train remained late all the way to Vancouver. (It did). The loss of precious time at home before the next tour of service was grounds for sympathy – there’s no appropriate compensation for that.

 

Day 3- Northern Ontario

 

We marked sunset around the Manitoba border, and reached Winnipeg by midnight. Sleep came easier on the third night out.

By morning we had reached Red Lake Road, which put us about 4.5 hours behind schedule. Watching the signals from the dome, the most frequently observed colour was yellow….meaning there was a meet ahead at the next siding. An incredible number of freight trains passed us. We were never held up for long, but the cumulative delays kept us from recovering time.

It was another grey morning, but the fall colours in the Canadian Shield were nearing their peak. As the day progressed, the sun came out for a time. There are tunnels on the CN line in Northern Ontario…..have now been there, done that.

At Nakina, there was snow on the ground, and on the depot roof. Arriving, we saw the first sign that we were nearing home. The train ducked under a highway overpass…..we had reached Yonge Street, the longest continuous street in the world. Yonge Street’s other end, at Queens Quay in Toronto, is just steps from Toronto Union Station. We were just 1250 km’s away.

It was another day of chatting, enjoying wine tasting, and just watching the lakes and trees fly by. As dark fell, we made a brief stop in Hornepayne. The light in Bedroom B of car 211 was on, as our new car attendant Amanda made down our beds. One more sleep and our trip would be over.

 

    

Day 4 – Home at Last

 

When the sky lightened for the final time on our journey, we were somewhere south of Sudbury, Ontario. The train had recovered some time overnight, and we had recovered more from our earlier nights’ sleep deprivation.

We rolled southwards through the Canadian Shield and on into familiar territory. Near Bala, we rolled over Lake Muskoka. Some familiar millionaires’ cottages were visible across the lake. At Washago, we crossed the Severn River drawbridge. Then it was only a short passage around Lake Simcoe and into Toronto’s northern suburbs.

I knew I was almost home when we crossed the Don Valley Parkway and rolled under the CP Viaduct. I had hoped for an arriving shot of the CN tower and the Toronto skyline, but the tower was hidden in cloud. Besides, it was time to say good bye to the dome car and return to our b bedroom to collect our belongings.

In no time we were into Toronto Union, down into the station, and out to the taxi stand. For once, the Gardiner Expressway was moving well. We were home, ready to do laundry and make up for lost sleep.

 

 

 

Looking Back

 

I counted the number of trips that I have made on a CP-heritage dome train. My lifetime total now stands at 19.

Some of these were incredibly brief…..the shortest being a 4.5-mile ride from Montreal Windsor station to Montreal West on a Quebec-bound day train. The longest was the fullest ride possible – all the way from Vancouver to Montreal. The first trip to Brandon Manitoba was at age 4, and the most recent just ended….I have been riding this train every few years for my entire lifetime.

I can’t imagine how one would tire of this experience. There are the ritual events: the meets with freight trains, the longer station stops that demand walking the full length of the train, the passing of the opposing passenger train. There are the mesmerising visual details of the train cars. There is the smell of the trains. There is the challenge of walking from one car to the next, through the pitching vestibules with their somewhat grimy and intimidating footplates. There are the people, coming and going, leaving one place and heading for another, always getting to know each other and then wishing each other a safe arrival.

Best of all, there is the climb up those few steps into the dome, to watch the vast Canadian countryside roll by.

A trip of a lifetime? Of all the trips I can imagine, this is the one that gets better every time. Once in a lifetime is not enough.

Here are some pictures from past adventures. See if you can figure out which were from old days, and which are more current.

Hint: the boy has never really grown up.