The Great Canadian Epic, Part 1: By Train Across Canada

From the days of my youth, I've been fully aware of the extraordinary tales attending the construction of Canada's major railways from Atlantic to Pacific -- the unremitting toil of the workers, the tragic confrontation of the "new" Europeanized Canada with the "old" societies of the First Nations, the struggles of the barons of finance, the gigantic political upheavals, all combine to paint an unforgettable portrait of a nation in the making by means unlike those of any other country in history.

For the railways truly were the making of Canada.  Without railways, the United States might have continued existence as primarily an east coast country, but the Canada we know today would more than likely never have come into being at all.

This great epic tale has been told in immense and fascinating depth and detail by Canadian historian Pierre Berton in his books The National Dream and The Last Spike.  It's been summarized more succinctly, but with no lessening of the epic impact, by folk singer Gordon Lightfoot in his immortal song The Canadian Railroad Trilogy which, as the title implies, is really three songs combined into one in a cyclical structure almost like a symphony.

And yet, these works of art -- powerful as they may be -- cover only one part of the whole story, although that the biggest part.  Berton, Lightfoot, and many others have immortalized the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.  However, there's much more to be said on this theme, and many authors have done so -- although usually in professional, scholarly research works.

I've already indicated in an earlier post the broad outline of the story of the Intercolonial Railway from Quebec to Nova Scotia, which I travelled in July (read that one here: Tracking Our History ).
Now, after years of waiting, the time is at hand for me to embark on the greatest rail journey in North America and second longest in the world: VIA Rail Canada's flagship train, The Canadian, running through five days and four nights from Toronto to Vancouver.

For me, this is going to be the trip of a lifetime, and a golden opportunity to experience the vast breadth and variety of Canada's landscapes without having to concentrate on the road ahead of me.

 The Canadian at Jasper Station, 2007

One glance at this picture is enough to tell you that this train does not consist of the latest products from the high-tech world of modern railroading.  In fact, these cars are the same ones purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1954-55 to launch their new deluxe transcontinental train The Canadian.  Sixty years later, and after millions of dollars in upgrades and refurbishments, they're still on the rails, not only making the lengthy east-to-west journey but providing much of the ambience of an upscale hotel or a cruise ship along the way.  The sleeper cars, dining cars, and Park dome cars still bear the same evocative names from across the geography and history of Canada as in 1955.  And the train is still called The Canadian.

The irony is that this magnificent train no longer runs on Canadian Pacific rails.  The CPR, in fact, tried to kill off the service in the 1970s because of declining profitability, but even more because the need to operate the passenger service played havoc with freight operations on the steep grades of the Kicking Horse and Rogers Passes west of Banff.  In 1978, VIA Rail Canada was formed by the Canadian government to take over passenger rail services -- including The Canadian.  Since 1991, VIA Rail has operated the train much farther north, on the Canadian National tracks through the lower and easier Yellowhead Pass.  The train also follows the more northerly route across the Canadian Shield (between Sudbury and Winnipeg) pioneered by the National Transcontinental and Canadian Northern Railways in the early 1900s (read my comments about the history of those lines here: Into the Mists: Canada's Pacific Northwest )

And that brings up the second main reason why the train now crosses the more northerly route across Ontario.  Look on any highway map where you can see the railway lines marked in.  The CPR line runs more or less parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway from White River to Winnipeg, leaving only the Sudbury to White River stretch without alternate transport.  The CN line runs parallel to no major highways from Capreol (just north of Sudbury) all the way to Winnipeg, and almost that entire length is dotted with small settlements and wilderness outposts that have no road connection.  Again, as with several other lines in B. C. and Quebec, the Canadian government mandates the operation of this service to continue rail access to these remote points.  The parallel CP track has a daytime VIA Rail diesel car service from Sudbury as far as White River to serve the same purpose.

As originally created by the CPR, the train ran daily with a consist of up to 16 cars including 2 scenic domes, the first of their kind in Canada -- one in the mid-train and one at the end.  The much longer train today runs in the peak summer season with multiple mid-train dome cars, as well as the rounded-off end dome car.  That's possible because the service today operates only twice a week all year round, with a third weekly frequency added from May to October.

It's a four-night journey if you travel the full distance.  There are two classes of service: Economy service in spacious coaches, or Sleeper Plus service in -- where else? -- sleeper cars.  The coaches have more legroom than normal rail coaches, with a pull-out leg rest/footstool at each seat.  Snacks, meals and beverages can be purchased from the cafe and take-out counter in the adjacent Skyline dome car.

Sleeper Plus service offers a choice of accommodations, with meals in the dining car included in the fare (and beer or wine available at a reasonable charge).  There are a few of the traditional upper and lower open berths screened with curtains, bedrooms for one person (formerly called roomettes), bedrooms for two with upper and lower beds, and a limited number of bedrooms for three with one upper and two lower beds.  Each bedroom has private washroom facilities, and there is one shared shower compartment per car.  Sleeper Plus passengers have exclusive access to the Park dome car (these are named after Canada's National Parks) at the end of the train, the Skyline activity cars, and to the special Panorama car with a full-length dome top which joins the train between Edmonton and Vancouver.

So here, with a little help from the internet, is a photo gallery of pictures of the train's interiors.

[1]  The Park Car's round-ended Bullet Lounge at the rear end of the train:

VIA Rail photograph

[2]  The dining car (these are named after famous Canadian railway hotels):

VIA Rail photograph

[3]  The bedroom for two, day and night views:

VIA Rail photograph

[4]  The bedroom for one, night view:

[5]  The Skyline car's cafe and scenic dome:

VIA Rail photographs

The newest twist is a specially adapted Prestige Sleeper Class car containing extra-large bedrooms with an actual double bed and private shower in each, including a special concierge service -- and a fare two and a half times higher than the regular bedrooms!

VIA Rail photographs

The photos accurately capture the "cozy" dimensions of the bedrooms.  You definitely have to pack the minimum possible, and it has to go into a couple of really small bags in order to still leave you room to move around.  Storage space is minimal -- and that's an understatement.

In a mild fit of extravagance, I have decided to take the four-night westbound trip in a bedroom for two, which is more costly than the smaller bedroom for one -- but also more spacious.  The true extravagance of the Prestige Sleeper class is beyond me, since I have yet to win the lottery!  My return trip is on my VIA Preference points, and I didn't have enough points for the double bedroom so I have had to settle for a bedroom for one.  As all VIA tickets allow one stopover at no extra charge, I will be stopping for 3 nights in Jasper on the way back, as well as spending 3 nights in Vancouver at the western end of the journey.  So I'm going to have plenty to write about and share!

BUT -- not on the train.  The Canadian still has no wifi service aboard at all.  Wifi is available at stations in Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Jasper, as well as the two terminal points of Vancouver and Toronto and that is it.  And, as I learned on my trip down east in July, when the train gets into remote areas away from main cities and highways (as this one certainly does), cellphone service can be difficult or even impossible to pull in.  So I can write -- but posting will be sporadic.

Reality check: do you really need to spend thousands of dollars on the scenic rail trip of a lifetime just to bury your nose in your phone all the way?