Toronto to Jasper

I’M ON THE TRAIN – oh sorry, I’m not using a cancer ‘phone so I don’t need to shout. I am on VIA rail Train 001 “The Canadian” which travels from Toronto to Vancouver. I will not be taking this all the way though, because I get off at Jasper and take the Rocky Mountaineer into a sightseeing wonderland.

The start to the morning was pretty uneventful as my alarm woke me at 6:00 in time to shower, breakfast and get to Toronto Union Station by 8:00. The train was late leaving so I had a chat to some Germans, Australians, a French Canadian & a Scot whilst waiting in the queue. The train left at 9:45 – 45 minutes late, but hey I’m English and have travelled on C2C & One trains so I know delay very well – one just puts up with it. The main thing is I am in my little compartment on the right train and can relax – which I am doing now.

The compartment is great – a self contained little room with toilet, basin and fold down bed, this should be interesting. I will share a little interesting information I have learned as we roll thorough the Ontario countryside. All the railway tracks in Canada are owned by Canadian National (as in the CN in CN Tower) and VIA and the other passenger operators merely rent the tracks, or more correctly the use of them. Does this sound familiar to you British? The difference being CN only haul freight, which has priority over the rails, so, if you are on a passenger train and a freight train is coming through (or the other way) the passenger train will stop, or pull into a siding, to give way to the freight train.
Having had my first meal in the dining car I am going to have an afternoon nap in my sumptuous seat. The whole train has been refurbished in the old 1930’s art deco style and looks fabulous. I will get some pictures of the dining car when it is empty.

As the old blues song goes: “Well the train I ride is 25 coaches long” – OK so I have misquoted and forgotten to mention the 3 engines pulling it! This is one female parent fornicating train! I didn’t realise just how long it was when I got on it because a very helpful member of VIA rail looked at my ticket and pointed me to car 114 (that’s Train #1, car #14) and as I had all my baggage arrayed around my person I just got to it and got on. It was only at our first stop – for refuelling at 17:30 - and I got off to stretch my legs and take on nicotine, that I realised just how long this thing is. I will journey back to the dome car at the very end of the train tomorrow and get, well attempt anyway, a picture or two of it.
Having one’s own cabin is definitely an advantage bordering on a necessity. It has its own toilet & basin and a door one can shut, not to mention one’s own bed which can be folded down and utilised on demand – great.

The scenery is reminiscent of Scotland but bigger and more of it! There are trees and lakes & wetlands & bogs & more trees. The scenery hasn’t changed in two days yet – it is all beautiful & lovely, but unchanged – mind you we are still in Ontario.
Last night’s sleep was fun as I turned in early because I was tired. I had remembered to put my watch back an hour as we were passing from EST to CST (Eastern to Central Standard Time) and this will happen again a little further on in the journey when I get into Mountain Standard Time (MST).
At times it was like sleeping on a roller coaster and one was bounced about and jostled for periods before it would become all smooth & peaceful again. I found it quite fun actually, but still managed to get to sleep.
When I woke up this morning, with the early morning sun slanting through the trees, I wondered if we had stopped secretly in the night as the scenery was exactly the same – forests of trees interspersed by lakes & wetlands. This is a countryside one could get lost in so easily – especially without a compass! (Which I have – thank you Brian & Grace.)
I am now awaiting our next stop...

Which was Sioux Lookout and rather fresh and overcast it was. I strolled to the end of the train in order to get some photographs and get on the last car to ride in the dome car for a while. I managed to get some impressive photos of the train winding round some bends and I’m sure I’ll get even more when we hit the Rockies part of the trip.
We stopped in Winnipeg for a crew change and refuelling. As we were only here for 30 minutes I didn’t get chance to see much but the station and just outside it. I am now back on the train and awaiting dinner. The dining car (well there are two of them) is full silver service and serves superb meals. I hope the photograph I have included does it some justice. As we are now in Manitoba – we crossed the Ontario/Manitoba border at 15:15 CST - the scenery didn’t change dramatically, but apparently it will.

Well, it did – open wheat fields as far as the eye can see and very flat. Tonight we gain another hour as we move from CST to Mountain Standard Time (MST) – I am even more grateful for my multi-time zone gadget although the crew announcements keep one very well informed as to the time changes. I had dinner with a really nice Aussie couple from Perth – Madeline & Ross. They had come from Edinburgh where Ross had been playing at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival. They gave me a list of all sorts of places to visit in and around Perth, so I will have to check them out. It was also refreshing to meet people who had an intelligent sense of humour and we spent most of the time chuckling at wry observations we exchanged mainly centring on Americans.
Had a reasonable night’s sleep, well as good as one gets sleeping on a roller coaster, noise I can cope with but being bounced up & down and/or side to side is a little more difficult.
We reached Edmonton at 9:50 MST but as the stop is only for 20 minutes one doesn’t get any time to see anything but the station. During the night we had passed through Saskatchewan and entered Alberta – so please don’t ask me what Saskatchewan was like because it was dark and I didn’t see it! The next stop is Jasper, where I alight and get a night in a non-moving bed, hopefully, before the Rocky Mountaineer tour really starts.
Spank had a final swing around my cabin and seemed to particularly like the luggage rack!
Our departure from Edmonton was delayed due to a freight train, but once that had passed we were rolling again
Arrived in Jasper at 16:45 MST and it is stunning. The sky is clear and blue, the sun is shining and hot (25C) and I cannot begin to describe the panorama which is apparently real – it looks so striking one might believe it isn’t real and has been made up by a big picture postcard company.

[One could almost imagine it had been invented by the Disney Corporation – but then you realise it is real and not made of plastic or cartoon!]

I could quite literally take a million photographs of it and still not do it justice. The main reason isn’t just its vastness it is the way it changes as the sun moves across the sky. As the angle of light changes – so does the scenery. Shadows deepen, rock faces are illuminated and all the hues & colours shift. It is simply amazing and has to be seen to be believed! I was wandering around Jasper – a lovely little town in itself – with a stupid grin on my face just looking at the mountains. I have taken lots of photographs; in fact I have lots of photographs to review from Niagara to Jasper, some will be rubbish and discarded; they were taken from the train and one can’t help it if some bloody huge freight train interrupts the lovely view one had a minute earlier. By the time the freight train has gone – so has the view!
I will attempt to get some pictures ready for the next post – that will be whenever I next have Internet access. The only problem is; tomorrow I go to Lake Louise via the Columbia Icefield – so I will have even more photographs to review!

[The only detrimental thing I can say about Jasper is that all the blokes have minute penises! Following the theory of penis size to size of car & engine within ratio then they must be measured in millimetres as they all drive fuck-off huge great 16’s with minimum 6 litre engines. Is that really necessary to get up & down a mountain? I suppose it is if one wants/needs to run over a moose or a bear – and I mean run over it, not just knock it down! I think these could be the sort of people who go hunting with armour-piercing bullets just in case the local wildlife has kitted itself out in the new Kevlar winter pelts which are coming into fashion!]

I have hurriedly managed to catch up with the blog because I have got Internet access from the hotel, and it has gone dark so I can’t look at any more stunning scenery, and I began to worry myself as the “idiot 16’s” soap box started to unfold itself.
I have a full day tomorrow so I am going to sleep in a stationery bed now. Night night.

P.S. Couldn't resist posting these pictures.