By Kathy Cook Hunter
Recently my husband, Ray, and I took a long train ride through Canada. Starting at Vancouver, B.C., we traversed Canada’s Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, lush green-and-yellow agricultural quilts and urban cities.
We call it our “rock n’ roll ride” because sleeping on a VIA Rail Canada train leaves something to be desired when you’re used to quiet nights on a large, soft bed. We chose berth accommodations, less expensive than a compartment and kind of interesting, though nothing like the hilarious berth scenes in the movie, Some Like It Hot.
The ride from Vancouver to Toronto took three-and-a-half days and each night the sleeping got a bit easier as we grew accustomed to the noises and jolts of riding the rails. Sleeping on a fast-moving train was the only negative of our journey and we heartily recommend this trip.
We flew into Vancouver in the morning, arriving at a large cosmopolitan airport filled with diverse people. Vancouver is a melting pot. Our taxi driver, an East Indian, drove us to the train station where we spent several hours before departure of our train, The Canadian.
Our luggage had been checked in, so we had no bags to carry. After grabbing a bite of lunch in nearby Chinatown, we people-watched on the plaza across from the train depot. Later we joined others of the sleeping-car class for entertainment and snacks on a heated patio outside the station lobby. A feeling of light-heartedness was in the air as we anticipated the journey.
VIA Rail passengers aren’t exposed to stringent security measures or checkpoints before or during train travel, and it was a relief not to go through what’s now standard operating procedure for air travel. We were allowed two pieces of carry-on luggage each; restrictions as to size and what items are safe and acceptable inside luggage apply.
Notable, too, was the cost, which we figure was less than air travel. We bought tickets months ahead and were allowed winter rates and senior discounts.
Soon we climbed aboard our car, found our couch-style seats with our bags stowed beneath and as the train pulled away, settled in. We located the restrooms at one end of our car and a shower at the other, signed up for a dinner seating time and went to explore our area’s dome car, one of four on the train, with its lounge and observation deck. Its comfortable seats beckoned when we needed a change of scene, and food and drinks were always available.
Late that afternoon we went forward to our area’s dining car, luxurious with picture windows, pink walls and white tablecloths. We were directed to our tables where we met people from Scotland, England, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, the U.S. and Canada.
We were told our train was 3,000 feet long and carried 450 passengers, and we learned that unless you came to breakfast each morning and signed in for the first 6 p.m. dinner seating, you might have to take the 9 p.m. seating. Needless to say, we were up and ready for breakfast each day.
Food was one of the highlights of the trip. As VIA Rail says, “a superb menu awaits.” Meals are prepared fresh by the chefs on each dining car – our train had four – and breakfast, lunch and dinner are part of your fare. Four entree choices, including a vegetarian meal, were available, and we found them delicious.
The entire staff of 36, led by a gregarious dining room supervisor, was hardworking and congenial. They toiled up to 20 hours per day for three days before a new crew relieved them. Food preparers double as servers and set and bus the tables.
Attendants who were assigned to sleeping cars efficiently converted our couches into upper and lower berths while we were away at dinner, and we soon learned to remove our next day’s clothing and put it aside before our luggage was stowed far back beneath our beds, where it was difficult to reach. A bag of shower accessories and towels was left on the bed each evening. (Gratuities aren’t included in the fare and are discretionary.)
Moving across British Columbia we noticed how it mirrors the greenery of western Oregon. Soon we were climbing the steep Rockies and our speed slowed considerably. Next morning we awoke to the mountains’ grandeur. This was our favorite part of the ride – the snowy peaks, the forests, the tiny villages. Our first stop was a short layover at Jasper, just over the Alberta border, where we strolled through the town, glad to have our feet on the ground and absorb more of the surrounding majestic mountains.
Back aboard and advised to watch for animals, we looked for bears and deer but saw none. We did see was a herd of big-horn sheep hurrying across a bluff next to the tracks.
And so it went, the train hurtling across the land – when it wasn’t pulled onto a siding to allow the higher-priority freight trains to pass – at speeds controlled by the terrain, while we passengers enjoyed ourselves talking with new friends, working jigsaw puzzles and reading.
A few times we stopped to let back-packers off, and we pulled into the stations of large cities such as Edmonton, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. We were told that oil production in Canada’s plains has made it a growing, wealthy area, and we saw oil wells from the train. We missed Saskatchewan the second night while we slept.
Leaving the plains, we entered the huge lake-covered province of Ontario. It was one lake after another surrounded by rocky formations and scrubby trees. There were few towns, just villages and what we assumed were vacation homes. We traveled through Ontario one day and part of another.
At The Canadian’s final destination we gathered our luggage and walked to our hotel near the Toronto station. It was late, we were tired – and we were looking forward to sleeping in a bed that wasn’t rocking and rolling.
