Canada, November 2019: Part 2
Tuesday, 2 June 2020 18:57![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
I spent eight nights in Canada in November, four of which were on a train: I rode The Canadian on a five-day trip across the country from Toronto to Vancouver!
Part 1.
The Canadian, Day 1 (Sunday, 17 November)
Toronto was bright and sunny again in the morning, as I walked to the station from my hotel, with the CN Tower (which is next to Toronto Union Station) guiding my way. It was chilly again, and snow still lined the streets. I'd done my reconnaissance the day before, and as a sleeper train passenger was able to use the VIA Rail business lounge while we waited to board. I was checked off the list and introduced to the train manager, and sat reading, slightly nervously, until we were summoned to the platform at the far end of the station.
Having been here yesterday for my GO Transit train to Niagara Falls, I knew roughly what to expect; the platforms weren't raised, but the train had steps up into the carriages. I'd been assigned a berth at check-in and found my carriage reasonably easily. We had a carriage attendant too, and he showed me where everything was in my roomette, and how to lower and put away the bed, which was hinged to flop down onto the regular seat, with a shelf just above the footrest/toilet (!!) to let it sit horizontally.
It became clear over lunch that this really was designed to be a fairly luxury train trip, not only from the demographics of people around, but also from the quality of the food. The dining car really had the feel of an old fashioned train, and the food was generally a very high standard (in particular the non-vegetarian food, from what I could see; though the vegetarian option was generally good if a little repetitive.)
The scenery was stunning and, having tried a few different locations, generally settled on the dome car to do the sightseeing from. I completely lucked out with the weather this trip too; for the end of November we barely had anything but clear skies.
The first couple of days we were travelling through the Canadian Shield, a huge geographic feature full of frozen lakes, pine forests, and rocky outcroppings.
I think the first day was my favourite in terms of scenery—and like most of the trip, this was a 25-hour day due to the time zones. The train operated on Train Time, which was essentially at the train manager's whim, chanding during the evening, for the most part, rather than observing the geographic boundaries.
Dinner each day was a curious affair; the dining car was nominally enough for every passenger in two sittings, and you could choose your sitting, though it caught me by surprise that even in the off-season (and it was definitely a very quiet train!) that guests were sat together in arbitrary groups of four at each table. Having expected to turn up and spend dinner reading, conversation with the other passengers was quite a shock! Fortunately everyone was polite and actually by the last day it was quite nice to have a bit of social (especially when there had been something to talk about during the day!), and it meant you had been introduced to at least some people if you fancied a chat during the day.
Once it got dark, the dome car wasn't as much of a draw, other than a quiet place to read, as even the low-level sodium lights caused a reflection in the window. However, my room was able to be nearly pitch black apart from a couple of luminescent safety cards, so I got a good view out of the left side of the train, illuminated by the train's side lights, when I woke up during the night.
Toronto was bright and sunny again in the morning, as I walked to the station from my hotel, with the CN Tower (which is next to Toronto Union Station) guiding my way. It was chilly again, and snow still lined the streets. I'd done my reconnaissance the day before, and as a sleeper train passenger was able to use the VIA Rail business lounge while we waited to board. I was checked off the list and introduced to the train manager, and sat reading, slightly nervously, until we were summoned to the platform at the far end of the station.
Having been here yesterday for my GO Transit train to Niagara Falls, I knew roughly what to expect; the platforms weren't raised, but the train had steps up into the carriages. I'd been assigned a berth at check-in and found my carriage reasonably easily. We had a carriage attendant too, and he showed me where everything was in my roomette, and how to lower and put away the bed, which was hinged to flop down onto the regular seat, with a shelf just above the footrest/toilet (!!) to let it sit horizontally.
It became clear over lunch that this really was designed to be a fairly luxury train trip, not only from the demographics of people around, but also from the quality of the food. The dining car really had the feel of an old fashioned train, and the food was generally a very high standard (in particular the non-vegetarian food, from what I could see; though the vegetarian option was generally good if a little repetitive.)
The scenery was stunning and, having tried a few different locations, generally settled on the dome car to do the sightseeing from. I completely lucked out with the weather this trip too; for the end of November we barely had anything but clear skies.
The first couple of days we were travelling through the Canadian Shield, a huge geographic feature full of frozen lakes, pine forests, and rocky outcroppings.
I think the first day was my favourite in terms of scenery—and like most of the trip, this was a 25-hour day due to the time zones. The train operated on Train Time, which was essentially at the train manager's whim, chanding during the evening, for the most part, rather than observing the geographic boundaries.
Dinner each day was a curious affair; the dining car was nominally enough for every passenger in two sittings, and you could choose your sitting, though it caught me by surprise that even in the off-season (and it was definitely a very quiet train!) that guests were sat together in arbitrary groups of four at each table. Having expected to turn up and spend dinner reading, conversation with the other passengers was quite a shock! Fortunately everyone was polite and actually by the last day it was quite nice to have a bit of social (especially when there had been something to talk about during the day!), and it meant you had been introduced to at least some people if you fancied a chat during the day.
Once it got dark, the dome car wasn't as much of a draw, other than a quiet place to read, as even the low-level sodium lights caused a reflection in the window. However, my room was able to be nearly pitch black apart from a couple of luminescent safety cards, so I got a good view out of the left side of the train, illuminated by the train's side lights, when I woke up during the night.
The Canadian, Day 2 (Monday)
I might have had a toilet in my room—though I avoided using it in favour of the "public" toilets in the train—but I didn't have a shower, which opened at 0700 and, probably due to the 25-hour day, I was awake in time to get the first go at that. It was surprisingly good, with a single button to release well-pressured pleasantly-warmed water for a good amount of time, somewhat like a swimming pool shower. No mirror (I suspect this improves throughput!) but we have one in our rooms above the basin. Using the basin was a little bit of a crapshoot, given that it was fairly shallow and the train could jiggle at any moment, but I survived.
Shortly after breakfast we stopped at Sioux Lookout, and we were able to alight onto the chilly platforms for a half-hour. I walked the whole length of the train, and discovered the Bullet Lounge car at the rear, with its directly rear-facing window and second dome section.
A member of staff came out to greet me and it turned out that for this trip, there were not enough Prestige (first class) passengers to warrant closing it to the rest of the train like during the peak season. Just keep going through the dining car!
We were The Canadian's Route #1 (ie, East to West), and we passed a Canadian #2 at a passing point shortly before arriving at Sioux Lookout, containing probably the only people I'd seen except for the ones in my own train until that point. In terms of the weather, this was the only "bad" day, but still merely overcast with the scenery still visible. Rocky outcrops and cuttings started to mix in with the forests and lakes, which looked freshly bleak in the different weather
We had a shorter than scheduled stop in Winnipeg, and it turns out the staff changed over here, so along with taking on quite a few new passengers, we had a totally different staff complement. (This new lot weren't as good as cooking, but otherwise fine—and they did seem slightly better at organising us at dinner, as I was sat with other solo travellers this time, which was easier for conversation.)
With it dark before dinner, I spent most of the evenings reading. During the trip, I read a sci-fi anthology, a compilation of a web comic, To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher (wrong continent, but felt apt in the snow), Horse Destroys the Universe by Cyriak Harris, and I think I even started Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, at least before I returned home from Vancouver.
I might have had a toilet in my room—though I avoided using it in favour of the "public" toilets in the train—but I didn't have a shower, which opened at 0700 and, probably due to the 25-hour day, I was awake in time to get the first go at that. It was surprisingly good, with a single button to release well-pressured pleasantly-warmed water for a good amount of time, somewhat like a swimming pool shower. No mirror (I suspect this improves throughput!) but we have one in our rooms above the basin. Using the basin was a little bit of a crapshoot, given that it was fairly shallow and the train could jiggle at any moment, but I survived.
Shortly after breakfast we stopped at Sioux Lookout, and we were able to alight onto the chilly platforms for a half-hour. I walked the whole length of the train, and discovered the Bullet Lounge car at the rear, with its directly rear-facing window and second dome section.
A member of staff came out to greet me and it turned out that for this trip, there were not enough Prestige (first class) passengers to warrant closing it to the rest of the train like during the peak season. Just keep going through the dining car!
We were The Canadian's Route #1 (ie, East to West), and we passed a Canadian #2 at a passing point shortly before arriving at Sioux Lookout, containing probably the only people I'd seen except for the ones in my own train until that point. In terms of the weather, this was the only "bad" day, but still merely overcast with the scenery still visible. Rocky outcrops and cuttings started to mix in with the forests and lakes, which looked freshly bleak in the different weather
We had a shorter than scheduled stop in Winnipeg, and it turns out the staff changed over here, so along with taking on quite a few new passengers, we had a totally different staff complement. (This new lot weren't as good as cooking, but otherwise fine—and they did seem slightly better at organising us at dinner, as I was sat with other solo travellers this time, which was easier for conversation.)
With it dark before dinner, I spent most of the evenings reading. During the trip, I read a sci-fi anthology, a compilation of a web comic, To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher (wrong continent, but felt apt in the snow), Horse Destroys the Universe by Cyriak Harris, and I think I even started Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, at least before I returned home from Vancouver.
The Canadian, Day 3 (Tuesday)
We left Winnipeg still just about within the Canadian Shield (and I was asleep before we left anyway), so it was a surprise to wake up the next day with totally different scenery; farmland and prairie in all directions, and barely any snow, which had disappeared entirely by lunchtime.
The last couple of days had passed very quickly, with me feeling conflicted between just staring out the window at the changing scenery and reading some of the books I had been enjoying, the choice was a bit easier on this leg. The landscape was beautiful, but wasn't changing at the same pace, which made it easier to get engrossed in a book.
We'd been making extremely good time, and it turned out this was because the drivers of the freight trains, which usually get priority on the Canadian railways, had been striking. We had an extended stop in Saskatoon, waiting in some good yards for several hours, and then went on our way again.
I started paying more attention to what the other passengers were up to to pass the time. I was one of only a few people reading books; others were doing newspaper crosswords, one was crocheting a cardigan. Outnumbered by the older generations, most of the younger people (by which I mean about my age), had headphones on, and one was playing on a Switch (Luigi's Mansion, my diary notes).
One of the highlights of the trip came when the train had stopped, presumably at a light, though we were on a single-track section. I was in the Bullet Car, at the rear of the train, and a few other passengers spotted an elk, I think, out of the left side of the train. I got my camera out, as did they, and everyone got some nice photos:
The elk lost interest in the train and the train passengers lost interest in the elk, but I kept an eye on it, and tracked it as it went through some foliage and then sauntered onto the track behind us.
I didn't have the best lens for it (a choice of my 24 mm prime lens or my 12-18mm zoom lens, of which I picked the former – I must get a longer lens for similar journeys!) but I managed to get a shot through the somewhat dirty back window that came out fairly well with a bit of cleanup:
A couple of passengers realised what I was shooting and I showed them the photo I got after the elk had properly wandered off. Over dinner that evening everyone was asking me about it!
About 90 minutes after the elk, and accompanied by an announcement by the staff, we crossed the Fabyan Trestle Bridge, which I think we were told was the longest railway bridge in Canada. Here's a photo of a bridge:
Coming up to Edmonton we passed through many goods yards, and it started snowing! The sodium lights lit everything up prettily. We had to wait to enter the station for another Train 2 to leave, but still had some time to go out and dance in the snow a bit before bed.
We left Winnipeg still just about within the Canadian Shield (and I was asleep before we left anyway), so it was a surprise to wake up the next day with totally different scenery; farmland and prairie in all directions, and barely any snow, which had disappeared entirely by lunchtime.
The last couple of days had passed very quickly, with me feeling conflicted between just staring out the window at the changing scenery and reading some of the books I had been enjoying, the choice was a bit easier on this leg. The landscape was beautiful, but wasn't changing at the same pace, which made it easier to get engrossed in a book.
We'd been making extremely good time, and it turned out this was because the drivers of the freight trains, which usually get priority on the Canadian railways, had been striking. We had an extended stop in Saskatoon, waiting in some good yards for several hours, and then went on our way again.
I started paying more attention to what the other passengers were up to to pass the time. I was one of only a few people reading books; others were doing newspaper crosswords, one was crocheting a cardigan. Outnumbered by the older generations, most of the younger people (by which I mean about my age), had headphones on, and one was playing on a Switch (Luigi's Mansion, my diary notes).
One of the highlights of the trip came when the train had stopped, presumably at a light, though we were on a single-track section. I was in the Bullet Car, at the rear of the train, and a few other passengers spotted an elk, I think, out of the left side of the train. I got my camera out, as did they, and everyone got some nice photos:
The elk lost interest in the train and the train passengers lost interest in the elk, but I kept an eye on it, and tracked it as it went through some foliage and then sauntered onto the track behind us.
I didn't have the best lens for it (a choice of my 24 mm prime lens or my 12-18mm zoom lens, of which I picked the former – I must get a longer lens for similar journeys!) but I managed to get a shot through the somewhat dirty back window that came out fairly well with a bit of cleanup:
A couple of passengers realised what I was shooting and I showed them the photo I got after the elk had properly wandered off. Over dinner that evening everyone was asking me about it!
About 90 minutes after the elk, and accompanied by an announcement by the staff, we crossed the Fabyan Trestle Bridge, which I think we were told was the longest railway bridge in Canada. Here's a photo of a bridge:
Coming up to Edmonton we passed through many goods yards, and it started snowing! The sodium lights lit everything up prettily. We had to wait to enter the station for another Train 2 to leave, but still had some time to go out and dance in the snow a bit before bed.
The Canadian, Day 4 (Wednesday)
The excellent Seat 61 had mentioned that coming up to Jasper was worth trying to see, so I woke up very early (before 0400) and sat watching the stars from my room's window. My room had a left-facing window which gave me a beautiful view of Orion with four of the Pleiades visible. I saw three shooting stars, probably from the Orionids.
Alas, the views of the Rockies on the approach to Jasper, described as "stunning" by Seat 61, were shrouded in darkness; I suspect this is a peak-season-only treat, unless the train is delayed, which the strike had (bizarrely) seen to it that we weren't. We make our own luck though, and laying in bed in a gently rocking train, watching the Orionids, was no small substitute.
We arrived early in Jasper, and I took breakfast before sunrise (more elk talk; some even asked if the photos were online yet!), then I went out for a walk around this small town while the train was refuelling. This is quite a common stop-off point for hikers (I could see myself coming back here to do so), and a lot of people join the train here too for the trip through the Canadian Rockies.
To my delight, there was a Tim Horton's, and it was open before 0800, so I got myself doughnut #2 of the trip. It was -6°C outside.
After some beautiful sunrise views of the mountains, I went up to the bubble in the Bullet Lounge, which was usually deserted, but this time I only just got one of the last window seats, which were entirely gone by 0918. Half an hour later, we pulled out of the station.
For this section, we had a train crewmember come up to the dome to tell us what we might be seeing today. In short: lots of pretty. They also let us know that the reserved Prestige seats, the four front seats, were no longer reserved, so free to use by everyone. Nobody made a beeline for them, so I took one myself!
I'll just leave the rest of the day to be a photo collection, I feel it captures the mountains well. They were picturesque, but didn't quite usurp the first day for beauty for me, though there was more variation. Meanwhile, day-trippers are quite a different type of person to the other passengers who had done the whole of the trip! It wasn't too annoying, and I got to meet a lady who had done almost the exact same Central America holiday I had, except in reverse. Going from Guatemala to Mexico across the same river crossing must have been as bizarre a step-up in quality as it was a step-down for us. But I digress.
It was really sad realising that this was the last sunset I would have on board, and I watched the landscape slowly lose its colour as night fell. The last I saw of the countryside was of the train going over a curved bridge, lighting up the trees with shadows of girders.
While the train was quiet I took a few minutes to walk through the whole length of the train, from my roomette in the frontmost sleeper carriage (though there were some coach class carriages further forward), back through the train to the bullet car and dome. (Link if the below embed doesn't work.) (Slightly loud.)
The excellent Seat 61 had mentioned that coming up to Jasper was worth trying to see, so I woke up very early (before 0400) and sat watching the stars from my room's window. My room had a left-facing window which gave me a beautiful view of Orion with four of the Pleiades visible. I saw three shooting stars, probably from the Orionids.
Alas, the views of the Rockies on the approach to Jasper, described as "stunning" by Seat 61, were shrouded in darkness; I suspect this is a peak-season-only treat, unless the train is delayed, which the strike had (bizarrely) seen to it that we weren't. We make our own luck though, and laying in bed in a gently rocking train, watching the Orionids, was no small substitute.
We arrived early in Jasper, and I took breakfast before sunrise (more elk talk; some even asked if the photos were online yet!), then I went out for a walk around this small town while the train was refuelling. This is quite a common stop-off point for hikers (I could see myself coming back here to do so), and a lot of people join the train here too for the trip through the Canadian Rockies.
To my delight, there was a Tim Horton's, and it was open before 0800, so I got myself doughnut #2 of the trip. It was -6°C outside.
After some beautiful sunrise views of the mountains, I went up to the bubble in the Bullet Lounge, which was usually deserted, but this time I only just got one of the last window seats, which were entirely gone by 0918. Half an hour later, we pulled out of the station.
For this section, we had a train crewmember come up to the dome to tell us what we might be seeing today. In short: lots of pretty. They also let us know that the reserved Prestige seats, the four front seats, were no longer reserved, so free to use by everyone. Nobody made a beeline for them, so I took one myself!
I'll just leave the rest of the day to be a photo collection, I feel it captures the mountains well. They were picturesque, but didn't quite usurp the first day for beauty for me, though there was more variation. Meanwhile, day-trippers are quite a different type of person to the other passengers who had done the whole of the trip! It wasn't too annoying, and I got to meet a lady who had done almost the exact same Central America holiday I had, except in reverse. Going from Guatemala to Mexico across the same river crossing must have been as bizarre a step-up in quality as it was a step-down for us. But I digress.
It was really sad realising that this was the last sunset I would have on board, and I watched the landscape slowly lose its colour as night fell. The last I saw of the countryside was of the train going over a curved bridge, lighting up the trees with shadows of girders.
While the train was quiet I took a few minutes to walk through the whole length of the train, from my roomette in the frontmost sleeper carriage (though there were some coach class carriages further forward), back through the train to the bullet car and dome. (Link if the below embed doesn't work.) (Slightly loud.)
The Canadian, Day 5 (Thursday)
Vancouver! Sun rose during breakfast onto a cityscape surrounded by mountains as we trundled towards Grand Pacific Station. I moved to the Bullet Car when it turned out that we would be reversing into the station, and I was the only person there except for a guard who was hopping out of the train every so often to manually change the points, who guided the driver in over walkie-talkie, giving distances in car-lengths.
We filed out of the train and platforms into the smallish concourse, and, failing to be able to connect to the station wifi, I left the station to continue the next part of my Canada holiday.
I'd highly recommend the journey to anyone who might enjoy it; off-peak definitely worked out for me, though it would have been a different story in bad weather! I personally loved having the train feeling empty, and just having a few familiar faces by the end (I ran into one of them later in the day in Vancouver while I was exploring, and we had a brief chat, which was nice and also weird seeing someone outside of the train!). There was space for everyone to spread out and not trip over each other; if it had been as busy as on the Rockies day, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. As it was, it was unforgettable!
Vancouver! Sun rose during breakfast onto a cityscape surrounded by mountains as we trundled towards Grand Pacific Station. I moved to the Bullet Car when it turned out that we would be reversing into the station, and I was the only person there except for a guard who was hopping out of the train every so often to manually change the points, who guided the driver in over walkie-talkie, giving distances in car-lengths.
We filed out of the train and platforms into the smallish concourse, and, failing to be able to connect to the station wifi, I left the station to continue the next part of my Canada holiday.
I'd highly recommend the journey to anyone who might enjoy it; off-peak definitely worked out for me, though it would have been a different story in bad weather! I personally loved having the train feeling empty, and just having a few familiar faces by the end (I ran into one of them later in the day in Vancouver while I was exploring, and we had a brief chat, which was nice and also weird seeing someone outside of the train!). There was space for everyone to spread out and not trip over each other; if it had been as busy as on the Rockies day, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. As it was, it was unforgettable!
A full, curated, photo set is here.
Part 3.
