TED & SYLVIA BLISHAK'S UPDATES
ON
AMTRAK, ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, AND VIA RAIL CANADA
May 7 to May 15, 2006
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
Jasper National Park to Vancouver
Day 7. May 13, 2006
It’s less than mile walk from the Lobstick Lodge back to the Jasper VIA Rail station, where we arrive at 7:20am, just as the sun peeks over the snow-capped Rockies, and “our” Fraser Discovery Route train is backing in. They have taken off one of the two Gold Leaf Domes, which may return to Vancouver via Kamloops on the other Rocky Mountaineer train set that is sitting in the yards. Meanwhile, this train set, with a new load of passengers, heads back to Quesnel today.
Tasha is at her post by her Red Leaf coach. We take her photo. She is a remarkable car hostess, and seems like an old friend now. As the train pulls out at 7:45am, we wave at the departing passengers. The Rocky Mountaineer ground staff who remain here in Jasper gather to give the train their traditional wave-off.
Tasha and a happy passenger
Downtown Jasper is just across the street, and we stroll through town seeking breakfast. Since this is still the off-season, we find some restaurants closed, but Spooner’s Coffee Bar is open. They have several flavors of coffee ready. Ted trys the Backpackers Special, a strong blend that gets the blood flowing, while the proprietress prepares two scrambled egg, smoked salmon, and cream cheese spinach wraps for us.
VIA No 1, the westbound Canadian, is scheduled out at 3:30pm, but we have to check out of our room by noon to await a 1:45pm Brewster bus transfer to the station. This is just enough time for lunch in the Lobstick dining room. However, we are disappointed to find out that they, like several other nearby hotel restaurants, do not serve lunch. On the other hand, if you are staying in one of the few hotels in town, there are several restaurant choices at lunchtime.
There is a food mart about a half mile away, where we pick up some cold cuts, cashews, and lemonade, walk them back, and enjoy a picnic on the front porch of the Lobstick. We observe other hapless tourists wandering around looking for a place to have lunch.
Our Brewster bus picks us up at 1:50pm, and the driver collects our pre-paid voucher and transfers us to the Jasper VIA Rail Station. Our Canadian travel partner, Brewster Vacations, the company that booked this entire trip for us, is willing to create customized journeys – such as the one we are on -- and is not limited to the independent packages offered in their brochure. They are able to put VIA and Rocky Mountaineer together in the same package, and all the details, such as transfers, sightseeing, hotels and trains are put together in an easy to follow itinerary.
We arrive at the VIA station where eastbound Canadian #2, just in from Vancouver and running three hours late, is being serviced. The waiting room and platform are overflowing with folks waiting to board either this train, or its westbound counterpart.
In addition to the usual benches in the waiting room, the Jasper station provides outdoor benches, tables, and chairs adjacent to the tracks. We pick a sunny table and observe the action as passengers detrain, luggage and laundry is unloaded, ice and water are put aboard, the retention tanks are emptied, the windows are washed, and ongoing passengers and their luggage are boarded. Preboarding is offered to the elderly or handicapped, as it can be a lengthy walk to the head end coaches and sleepers. No 2 does not pull out until 3:00pm, instead of the scheduled 12:20pm, headed for Toronto.
 Locomotive Lineup at Jasper |
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 Jasper Station Outdoor Seating |
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 Skeena Totem Deluxe Dome |
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This is almost a lab class in what problems are created by late running passenger trains. A few minutes later, No. 1 westbound appears, but since track 1 has been taken by the eastbound train, the westbound train is forced to enter the station way out on track 3 where it stops briefly, then starts again and disappears out of sight, then backs into Track 1 at 3:40pm. The station agent announces that boarding calls will be made in about 45 minutes. Trash and laundry are off-loaded, as are passengers, a new engine crew gets on, and the entire service stop routine is repeated.
Two very long freight trains pull out heading west. We use the extra hours to advantage, while Ted, bundled up in his jacket and hood, types today’s report with leather-gloved fingers. Sylvia takes a number of photographs of all the VIA trains – some will appear in this report, while others may be used for our ads in Trains Magazine.
Although our Vancouver bound train was scheduled to leave at 3:30pm, we are not boarded until 4:30. We are greeted on car 111, by both the train manager and our car attendant, shown to our room, and advised that champagne and canapés will be served in the Skyline Dome as soon as we leave Jasper. We choose the early sitting for dinner at 5:30pm and proceed to the dome, two cars behind us, and just ahead of our diner. (Due to the length of the train and the passenger count there are two diners on the train today. During the busy summer season there can be three.)
Art deco stair, Skyline dome
Jacques, our lounge car attendant, does not wait for departure, and begins pouring the bubbly as soon as his guests arrive. Champagne in hand, we continue to observe operational problems as VIA Rail’s Skeena from Prince George rolls in from the west. Since now we are occupying Track 1, Skeena pulls into Track 2 to await further instructions. After a lengthy delay, Skeena backs out of the yards and enters a sidetrack on the street side of the yard, about a quarter mile west of the station. A bus is dispatched to pick up the passengers. Then Skeena backs out onto the main line again to reenter the yard on Track 2 again, sans passengers. Eventually it finds it way to a wye on the far south side of the yard, and we observe its turnaround for tomorrow’s westbound journey to Prince George and Prince Rupert.
All of these operations are performed as if for the first time, resulting in even more delays. We are still in the station at the first call for dinner, and are able to observe another lengthy westbound freight leave the yards ahead of us. We keep hearing from the crew, “CN freights have first priority over us, we are squeezed in whenever there is some space on the tracks.” It is beginning to sound just like traveling on Amtrak. They finally find space for us on the tracks at 6:00pm and we roll out of town two and a half hours behind schedule, overtaking and passing that last CN freight about a half hour later.
Dinner consists of soup, salad, entrée, and dessert. Ted has roast bison, Sylvia the red snapper. We each try a British Columbia wine, Ted the Merlot, Sylvia the Sauvignon Blanc, both excellent. The chocolate cake dessert is out of this world, as it was the last time we rode the Canadian.
We sit with a couple from Toronto who were solicited to immigrate to Canada in the 1950s. “We thought the streets would be paved with gold,” they said,” but it was difficult at first, learning the language and finding work. But we’ve never regretted moving here.”
The good-natured gentleman, who is about to turn 80, is now retired and enjoys growing his own mint for mint tea, and burning his own CDs. “I play the guitar, then I go back and record the same piece on the piano, and run it a third time as I sing. It all comes out surprisingly well, you don’t have to be a professional musician to get good results doing it this way. I send the CDs to my grandchildren – with the hope that they will become interested in playing their own musical instruments.”
We listen to a bit of his views on Canadian politics. “Every country has its problems, and ours is Quebec. We would never have dreamed of coming to Canada without learning English, and we don’t agree with their preference for speaking French.”
We retire early to our bedroom, which has been made up for us while we dined, and are soon sound asleep on VIA’s soft mattresses under feather-light Canadian duvets.
NEXT: Day 8. May 14, 2006: The Canadian to Vancouver, with connections to Seattle.
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