DAY ONE, Thursday, 29 July: Orange County to Toronto
THE PROCESS of traveling by air has become a feat of endurance and today’s experience only reinforced one of the reasons our family much prefers rail travel. But we eventually made it to Canada, arriving in Toronto a half-hour late and with all baggage intact. Clearing Canadian customs was a breeze and the bus ride to town was pleasant enough albeit slow with rush-hour traffic.
UPON ENTERING the stately Fairmont Royal York Hotel, we felt enveloped by the timeless luxury of the place. We were quickly and graciously checked in by Andrew, who couldn’t have been more solicitous. Our room, on the fifteenth floor, had been upgraded to a suite with a king bed, enormous bathroom, an entirely separate sitting room with sleeper sofa, an entrance hall and (happily for our family of four) a separate powder room. Decorated in rich fabrics and stocked with copious amenities, the room proved to be a spacious and welcome retreat for our traveling family. After dinner we enjoyed a swim in the hotel’s huge indoor pool. This was a great way for the kids to burn off their pent-up energy.
THE ROYAL YORK upon opening in 1928 was billed as the largest hotel in the British Empire. Through the years it has hosted countless dignitaries and royalty. We walked around the Mezzanine, which is lined with captioned photographs documenting the hotel’s storied history. Situated directly across from Toronto Union Station, the Royal York is the perfect accommodation prior to beginning an adventure aboard The Canadian.
DAY TWO, Friday, 30 July: Toronto.
WE ALL slept in-hallelujah! After grooming, we headed downstairs to the Royal York’s deli where we encountered a friendly staff and a light breakfast of cereal, bagels, fresh fruit and muffins. Then it was off for a day of sightseeing. We were able to switch our Grayline 2-Hour City Tour to their hop on-hop off tour. Doing so gave us more flexibility.
WE OPTED not to scale the 1,815 ft. CN Tower, as the admission fees are as sky-high as the tower itself.
DAY THREE, Saturday, 31 July: All-aboard The Canadian
AFTER AN easy checkout, the Royal York bellman rolled our pile of luggage across the rainy street and right into Toronto Union Station. From there a VIA Rail attendant comes and takes it all away for us, dispatching the large pieces towards the baggage car and schlepping the rest to our paired double bedrooms on the train. Now this is what I call service! We pause in the comfortable lounge provided by VIA for their first-class (Blue and Silver) passengers. A short time later we’re directed to board the train.
WE MEET our car attendant, Verne, a very nice man who has worked for Via Rail for 27 years. He’s been an attendant for the last seven years and clearly enjoys his work. Our double bedrooms A & B have been converted into a suite with the dividing partition removed, creating a spacious cocoon for our family.
TIP: At check-in inside the station, I was advised to immediately make dining car seating reservations upon boarding. This advice proved to be wise, as the most popular second seating goes quickly.
IN THE rear Park Car continental breakfast has been set up and other passengers are beginning to file in. Our train pulls out at 9:02AM and our 2,237-mile journey to Jasper has begun. At 11AM champagne flows as a “welcome aboard” salute. Ann manages somehow to receive a bottomless glass. Everyone’s very happy in our domed aerie.
AT LUNCH Ann has vegetable lasagna, Joel a baguette with brushetta, Katie a grilled cheese sandwich, and Robbie the inevitable hamburger. Three of us enjoy roasted red pepper soup as a starter. The dining car is handsome with its fresh linens, flowers, indirect lighting, and etched glass. The staff is pleasant, efficient, and obviously pleased to be of service.
WE’RE SOON traveling through the Canadian Shield country.
These remote, unspoiled lands are thickly wooded with countless lakes and streams. Gazing at the unspoiled beauty, Robbie sees a house right on the shore of a lake. “That’s my house, only I don’t live there!” he exclaims. Who says kids don’t enjoy beautiful scenery?
HORS D’ORDEARVES are passed around the Park Car. These gracious attendants just keep feeding us! The Park Car is one of 18 dome lounge/observation/sleepers built by the Budd Manufacturing Co. in 1955 for the Canadian Pacific Railway as part of an order of 173 stainless-steel cars. Spending millions, VIA has wisely chosen to completely restore and modernize the fleet, permitting travelers to journey back in time aboard a vintage streamlined train.
Dinner in the Diner - VIA's Silver & Blue Class - Onboard the "Canadian" |
PROMPTLY AT our 6:30 seating time, we are called to the 48-seat dining car. Upon entering, we see that the car has been transformed into a swanky restaurant with dark blue and white table linens, chair covers, and polished silverware. Slabs of prime rib are dispensed to our table after a course of French onion soup and salads.
OUR BEDS have been made up in our cozy suite. Later in the evening, Verne informs us and apologizes that our sleeper has run out of water. Evidently the tank has a slow leak. The next sleeper back is water-challenged as well as its air pressurizing system has failed. At any rate, he directs us to use the facilities in the Park Car and brings us ample bottled water for teeth brushing and washing. The problems are corrected at the next crew change point sometime in the middle of the night.
DAY FOUR, Sunday, 1 August: On route, Toronto to Jasper
SHOWERING IS always an adventure on a train, but it’s always refreshing. VIA has converted one of the former open sections on each sleeper into a generously sized shower and dressing compartment. This is one very welcome improvement over the original 1955 configuration.
THE COUNTRYSIDE looks much the same as late yesterday. Vast green forests are occasionally punctuated by pristine, still blue lakes reflecting the clear skies. The only evidence of man is the railroad; no roads, no houses, nothing to suggest habitation.
A WELCOME breakfast of hearty fare fills the void. We decide to leave one of the two lower beds made up; this proves to be a great strategy as doing so facilitates napping intervals for each of us throughout the day. Lunch consists of hearty open-faced roast beef sandwiches and another grilled cheese sandwich for Katie.
AT WINNIPEG we bid farewell to the train staff that have pampered us so well since Toronto. A new team takes over seamlessly, preparing & serving another delicious dinner of rack of lamb, baked chicken and a pizza for Robbie. The entrees are preceded by yet another great soup, this time beef and barley. Desserts are sumptuous, Chocolate Torte, Tiramisu Cake, Fruit & Cheese Plate, etc.
AFTER DINNER, Fred in the Skyline dome activity car hosts a lively game of “Name That Tune.” Our family does well enough to earn VIA key chains for Robbie & Katie, and, joy of joys, a bottle of champagne for Ann & Joel.
A NOTE about the sleeping compartments. The double bedrooms on the Canadian are, like all such accommodations, studies in efficient design. One feature we didn’t like was the lack of a couch by day; instead these rooms have two heavy chairs. We learned that folding down one or two of the four chairs created more space. VIA thoughtfully provides earplugs to assist the sleeping process. We drop off quickly.
TRAVEL TIP: Upon leaving Toronto, Katie, our 10-year-old budding interior decorator, attached a floral hair ribbon and happy face key chain to one of our two bedroom doors. With a total of ten identical sleepers on the train, these colorful accessories proved to be an invaluable navigational tool for us. (We noticed a few other passengers later used the same technique, minus Katie’s panache.)
DAY FIVE, Monday, August 2: Arrival at Jasper, AB
JOEL woke at 4:30 and was showered and dressed by 5AM. The procedure for the dining car seating times is whoever shows up first for breakfast is assigned first seating for lunch and dinner. As we’re getting off in Jasper, a first seating is desirable. We eat like royalty; Joel’s especially taken with the fabulous blueberry pancakes.
LUNCH IS once again a great experience, with Ann and Joel enjoying Cobb salad pitas and the children equally happy with their selections. Then it’s back up to the dome as we’re beginning the serious climb across the Rockies.
THE TRAIN pulls into Jasper at 2:30, only about a half-hour late. As we wait for our checked bags and the Jasper Park Lodge shuttle, we watch a crew thoroughly cleaning all the train’s windows. Another thoughtful touch by VIA.
THE CHECK-IN process at the Lodge is efficient and our Lakefront Suite is soon revealed to be a beautifully located accommodation directly facing Lac Beaufort. It is one of eight units in a contemporary two-story building. A large living room with fireplace is up front with a bedroom and cavernous marbled bathroom behind. An alcove area contains two large closets, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven. All the comforts of home, as they say.
TRAVEL TIP: Discovering the lodge’s restaurants to be costly and booked up, and annoyed that simpler options like the Lodge’s two delis close promptly at six, we conducted some research and found two pizza restaurants in Jasper that gladly deliver right to your room.
DAY SIX, Tuesday, August 3: Jasper
AFTER A restful night’s sleep in a stationary bed and a quick continental breakfast from the lodge’s takeout, it’s off to river rafting. Picked up at the lodge, we are conveyed south to just below the dramatic Athabasca falls. (On the way through town we see the elegant American Orient Express stabled just outside the Jasper depot.) The raft ride down (up?) the river is spectacular with ever-changing vistas of the surrounding mountains. The glacier-fed river runs clear and cold, about 38°. Tired after our adventure, but exhilarated as well, we are returned to the Lodge just after noon where we grab a quick bite, change clothes, and head out to the on-property stables for our two-hour horseback ride. Our four horses, Jack Pine, Joker, Socks, and Buddy take us past lakes, along the river, and through lush forest areas.
AFTERWARDS, Ann and Robbie enjoy a refreshing swim while Joel and Katie rest in the quiet oasis of the room. A light room service dinner is a perfect alternative after all our outdoor adventures.
DAY SEVEN, Wednesday, August 4: Jasper
TODAY OUR mission is to experience Maligne Lake, as pristine a place as can be found on the planet. Our cruise is pleasant with the guide pointing out the various glacier types found in the Canadian Rockies.
DINNER TONIGHT for Ann and Joel is at the Lodge’s premiere dining spot, the Edith Cavell restaurant. Edith Cavell was a British nurse who in WWI was executed as a spy. The tallest mountain in Jasper National Park was re-named for her in 1916, and the Jasper Park Lodge honors her memory with a most beautiful room overlooking Lac Beauvert and Mount Edith Cavell. Ann orders the Alberta beef filet and Joel has a bison rib eye. Although the dining room is handsome, the view spectacular, and the food preparation flawless, we find the service sub par for this quality venue. Despite the restaurant being not particularly busy, we are slow to be greeted at our table, we have to request our water glasses to be refilled (twice), our entrees are switched, and throughout the waitress is trying too hard to act “proper.” Ann comments that it must be very difficult for the Fairmont to staff the Lodge for the busy summer season, drawing on university students and the like rather than career professionals. Robbie and Katie, meanwhile, are contentedly occupied in the room with another town-delivered pizza and a movie on the laptop.
DAY EIGHT, Thursday, August 5: Jasper and Beyond
AS THE cliché goes, we bid a reluctant farewell to our Canadian Rockies base of operations, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
THE CANADIAN arrives at 2:30, about a half-hour late. After the train is serviced, we board and find our double bedroom suite (E&F), partition removed and ready for our final segment aboard this splendid train. The 20-car consist today is led by Engine #6434, decked out in promotional Spiderman 2 livery.
OUR SLEEPER to Vancouver, Bell Manor, is much closer to the middle of the train; it’s a long hike back to the rear Park car. We ensconce ourselves in the adjacent Skyline dome car. Another champagne reception follows, with attendant Denis leading the dome occupants in an earnest rendition of “Day-O.” We are treated again to magnificent vistas of the Rockies as we traverse the Yellowhead Pass. Soon the skies darken and we are amid a dramatic rainstorm. But the drama remains outside as we glide along in stainless steel sheathed comfort.
SADLY, little Katie develops a migraine headache confining her to the bed our attendant Dan has hastily made up. The VIA staff couldn’t have had more sympathy, dispensing ice for a compress, preparing a fruit and cracker tray, and continually asking what else they do to help. In the dining car, lead Janet offers to have the chef whip up a sandwich or anything else for Katie if the normal dinner selections won’t suffice. Ann and I end up eating in shifts, and Katie eventually falls fast asleep. She doesn’t wake until the next morning, and is once again bright and bouncy.
DAY NINE, Friday, August 6: Vancouver and Washington
EARLY RISERS are treated to a magnificent sunrise By 6:30 the diner is open serving an expanded continental breakfast that includes hot and cold cereal options, fresh cut fruit, yogurt, muffins, etc. The staff, as always, is cheery and pleasant. As with every previous meal in this handsome dining car, you don’t go away hungry.
THE TRAIN backs into Pacific Central Station (the former Canadian National depot) only five minutes off the published arrival time of 7:50 AM, a remarkable feat for a transcontinental rail journey. VIA willingly stores both our checked and carry-on baggage until our return later this afternoon. In addition to the Canadian, this station is also the terminus for Amtrak’s Cascades trains from Seattle. As it’s still too early for serious sightseeing, we pass the time in the waiting room catching up on postcard writing.
VANCOUVER IS a rainy place this morning. We walk outside and ascend to the nearby SkyTrain station. Soon we are whisked to the Waterfront station that is married to the former Canadian Pacific depot. This gleaming edifice was the starting point for the eastbound Canadian when it was under the auspices of the CP Railway.
A SHORT walk to the Gastown historic district permits us to souvenir shop and lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
DECIDING IT’S just too wet to slog very far, we hire a cab to take us to Science World. We encounter a huge entry queue. Obviously, the locals have come out in droves on this abnormally rainy August day. Joel has no choice but to stick it out with Robbie, as there’s a temporary exhibit on James Bond that mustn’t be missed. Recognizing Ann and Katie’s lack of enthusiasm for all things 007, Joel suggests they take a cab to the Hotel Vancouver and enjoy tea in peaceful and pleasant surroundings. Unlike the other classic Canadian Pacific-built hotels, the Hotel Vancouver was a collaboration of both CP and Canadian National, each archrivals for passenger business. But the depression was in full swing and it was decided that for this property alone CP and CN should combine resources. The result, opened in 1939, was far more modest than previous efforts, but remains today, after a multi-million dollar renovation, a sparkling jewel in Vancouver’s crown.
THE FAMILY reunites at Pacific Central Station and retrieves our stored luggage. We are first in line to clear customs and take our business class seats on the Cascade. In the Bistro car we are reminded of the difference between VIA’s on board staff and some of Amtrak’s counterparts - the lounge car attendant projects an unmistakable message that he doesn’t want to be there and that serving passengers is a bother for him. At the international border the train stops and US customs agents board the train, bringing a sniffing dog with them. They’re efficient, but it takes quite some time before the train again moves forward.
THE TRACKS hug the shoreline for much of the journey. The views of Puget Sound are beautiful with the clouds parting to let the early evening sun beam through to the waters below. We arrive in Mount Vernon, WA at 8:35, twenty-six minutes late. Grandpa is waiting for us; we pile luggage and family into the car and head for Camano Island that will be our home for several days.
DAYS TEN, ELEVEN, AND TWELVE, Fishing and family reunion.
DAY THIRTEEN, Tuesday, August 10: Camano Island, WA
DROP ROBBIE & Katie off at their Aunt Ellen’s home in Snohomish. Ann & Joel enjoy a light lunch, antique shop, and later check-in at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle. A lovely farewell dinner at Anthony’s on the pier.
DAY FOURTEEN, Wednesday, August 11: Coast Starlight
SEATTLE’S DOWNTOWN King Street Station is in the midst of a long-awaited restoration. The circa-1950s acoustic ceiling tiles have been removed revealed the sumptuous original elements.
JOEL IS traveling alone on this leg, leaving Ann and the children a few extra days with Grandpa and Grandma. After depositing my carry-on bags into Sleeping Car #1121 (Wyoming), Bedroom D, I settle into one of the comfortable swivel chairs in the Pacific Parlor Car. A continental breakfast of sorts has been laid out, but it pales next to that offered aboard The Canadian. Gone are breakfast cereals and the fresh fruit, one of several economy moves that will be noticed elsewhere on the train.
AT 9:58 AM the Coast Starlight’s 1,389-mile journey to Los Angeles begins. The Pacific Parlor Car is one of two lounge cars that flank the dining car. It dates back to 1956 when the Santa Fe first re-equipped their all-coach Los Angeles to Chicago long distance train, the El Capitan. In 1980 Amtrak followed Santa Fe’s bi-level concept by taking delivery of a fleet of first-generation bi-level cars known as Superliners. A second order, the Superliner II series, arrived in 1995. The Coast Starlight is equipped with these newer cars.
TRAVEL TIP: A good way of passing time is to prepare regional maps highlighting the train’s route. It’s fun to follow along by observing town names and finding your exact location on the map. This also serves as a good icebreaker as you meet people on the train. Also useful is marking up a timetable with actual arrival & departure times at each stop; fellow travelers seem amazed when you can tell them exactly how late the train’s running.
WE TRAVEL between Seattle and Portland on Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks. The BNSF has a reputation of being Amtrak-friendly, and today’s experience backs that up. We arrive at the first station stop, Tacoma, nine minutes early! Pity the train must wait until the published time to depart. We make Portland at 2:01, four minutes early. Our lead is lost however as we pull out at 2:34, nine minutes late. It’s peak travel season and it takes extra time for the hordes of passengers leaving and boarding the train.
WE’RE NOW on Union Pacific trackage, where we will remain for the balance of the journey. UP’s reputation for handling Amtrak trains is just the opposite from BNSF’s. On departing Portland we’re informed that due to the high outside temperature, our train will be restricted to 50 MPH until Albany, OR. Just north of Salem we go into the hole (siding) for 41 minutes to wait for a northbound freight. Nevertheless, the passengers in the Pacific Parlour Car are unfazed; the afternoon wine tasting is in full swing. The Parlor car attendant, Richard Talmus, has an obvious passion for wine and his detailed spiel is entertaining and informative. Meanwhile, children are enjoying a first-run Disney film in the theatre downstairs.
IT TURNS out Richard is a 31 year veteran with Amtrak and is passionate about his job. He conducts a detailed travelogue about the coastal waterways along which the Coast Starlight is traveling and points out several notable landmarks along the way. He also announces that in addition to today’s feature-length movies (Brother Bear and Shrek 2), he has brought, with Amtrak’s permission, two short historic videos. The first, from 1939, is a Southern Pacific-produced short subject on the Coast Daylight. The second is about a History channel program on classic streamliners. Both are excellent. Richard deserves the highest praise for his spirit and passion.
THE NORTHBOUND Coast Starlight passes by at 4:55, which implies that it’s running about three hours late. This, sadly, is not untypical. A retired Union Pacific employee quips that “you can’t spell ‘stupid’ without having UP in the middle of it.”
A SHORT three-minute unscheduled stop north of Albany slides our schedule back a total of an hour and sixteen minutes.
DINNER TONIGHT is a lamb shank, well prepared and presented. The dining car is booked solid since the train is full in this peak travel month. I am joined by a mother and daughter traveling from Portland to the Bay Area. Another senior lady from Portland strikes a note a concern with the mother and daughter when she states that she regularly travels the Coast Starlight and estimates that the train has been very late due to derailments at least one in three trips. UP’s record may not be sterling, but I don’t believe their batting average is that bad!
MY SLEEPING car attendant is Anthony Williams. He is a 25-year Amtrak veteran, but fairly new to this particular assignment. His former job as a Service Manager was eliminated in a recent round of budget cuts, but due to his seniority he was kept on. He doesn’t mind his new assignment, however, and cheerfully attends to his duties.
TRAVEL TIP: Gone are the little baskets containing shampoo and lotion from the sleeping cars. If you plan to shower on board, bring your own! Route guides and stationery are also victims, but the vase with fresh carnations remains.
DAY FIFTEEN, Thursday, August 12: Coast Starlight
I ARISE just after 5AM. We are in Chico, a little over an hour past the published time. We pull into the next stop, Sacramento, at 7:56 for a seventeen-minute stop during which the train is watered. The former site of the Southern Pacific Sacramento shops has mostly been cleared away for redevelopment, The shops were once the largest employer in the West, capable of building steam locomotives from scratch and maintaining the huge fleet of rolling stock tackling the many SP routes surrounding Sacramento.
LATER AT Oakland the scheduled 15 minute stop stretches to 32 minutes, including a lengthy period when the electric power is shut down. A defective bi-level California (commuter) car is being coupled onto the end of our train to return it to LA for warranty service. Several cases of bottled water and wine have been delivered to the parlour car and I help Richard schlep them upstairs. Unlike the Sightseer Lounge cars, in the ex-Santa Fe cars all supplies must be taken upstairs and then back down again at the end of the trip. Richard admits this can be challenging at the end of four days out, like tonight.
BY SAN JOSE we pass the two-hour late mark. The remainder of the journey is pleasant and peaceful. We arrive at Los Angeles Union Station at 10:30, one and half-hours off the published time. But I’m grateful-the crew told me earlier that on their last journey the train was 21 hours late! Amtrak actually stopped the train at San Luis Obispo and bused passengers to LA. Ouch!
I’VE MISSED my connecting train to Fullerton, but an Amtrak bus efficiently whisks me down the freeway and by 11:15 I’m home. A magnificent, memorable rail-focused vacation!
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