Canadian Railroads > Trip report - Train #1 Canadian - Part 1

Being recently retired, the wife and I have a long list of "things to do" that we couldn't do
for the past 35 years, being a business owner and in charge of baby sitting employees. One of these
is to make a trip across Canada by train on The Canadian.

I live in Tyler, Texas so we flew Tyler-DFW, then DFW-Toronto. Tyler is a town of a bit less than 100,000
folks barely large enough for regional jet service to Dallas or Houston. Here is a photo of the entire
airport, sans baggage check-in. One can get here 15 minutes before departure and have time for security
and bag check in. In 30 minutes we are in Dallas with access to flights anywhere in the world.

Landing in Toronto we took the 192 bus to Kipling Station subway, then the subway into Toronto depositing us
inside the VIA station. Total travel time Airport-VIA station 55 minutes and $6 fare total for both of us.

Upon arrival at the VIA station we first saw a TV monitor so I figured this would tell us something about the train.
Upon closer inspection, it was the dreaded blue Microsoft Windows screen of death. I thought uh oh, this is not good.
The station area is under remodel construction so things are kind of in disarray. I looked for the Property Brothers
but did not find them here at this late hour.

We wandered around the VIA station looking for VIA and all we could find was a baggage handler. He stored our bags
as we had 3 hours before train time and directed us to the passenger lounge, which oddly was unmarked save for
a small sign visible only upon approaching the door. A desk and sign upon entry said something to the effect
"check in here before seating" but there was no one to be found. The lounge was nice, light and spacious and
there were drinks and snacks available and plenty of seating.

We decided to get a bite to eat (there are fast food joints in the subway area of Union Station) but we chose to go
across the street to the Fairmont Hotel and had some fish & chips in a pub there, and a bottle of Molson Canadian.
This is similar but not quite the same as the Molson Golden we get here in Texas.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 09:01 by WrongWayMurphy.

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Here is a view of the grand hall at the station under going reconstruction. There was an art exhibit
in the center with some of the most confusing pieces I have ever seen. They made no sense to these
two meat and potato Texans. I guess we aren't in tune with our artsy alter-egos.


Just before departure we checked in with the sleeping car attendant and made meal reservations
with the dining car steward for the next day. We then were escorted to the train for an on time
departure of 10 pm.

It was very cold under the train shed. We both hoped the cars would have adequate heat
(it turns out they did). We climbed into car 122 Lorne Manor and after placing our bags in room D
we went to the rear obs dome car Revelstoke Park for champagne and snacks. All I could think about
was the small size of the room, and shagging limitations of same.

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The next morning we were treated to a nice breakfast, and a day spent in the obs dome.

We were rather surprised by the size of the train and sparseness of passengers.
The train consisted of, in order, two locomotives, one baggage car, one coach, one dome lounge,
one dining car, three Manor sleepers (only two used, one kept for reserve), and a dome obs car.

There was never an issue of seat space in either the dome or obs portion of the last car, which
is where we spent most of the next 4 days.

The first day in Ontario was snowy and frigid. Unlike Amtrak and others with sightseeing cars
that allow viewing out the side windows, the greatness of the short domes is viewing towards the
front of the train, watching signals and oncoming traffic. Conversation among the passengers was
engaging and fun. About half were Canadians and half Americans. There was only one Euro couple
that we met on board. I found out real quick that about half of the pax in the dome were foamers
like myself. Needless to say, the wife was tuned out to our banter, but the train talk was riveting!

I was really surprised at the number of meets with freights we made. Usually we were in the hole waiting
on a freight, but occasionally we were waited on (pic 6) by a freighter, though in these rare cases we
still took the passing track and freights held onto the main track.

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The front dome seat on CZ or DZ was highly prized and
badly missed by those of us who remember.

I missed meals on the train so not to give it away.

Looking forward to your reports, am heading from Vancouver to Toronto on Feb 3.

Tom

Looking forward to your next installment. Occasionally, I am required to work out on track with CN's signal crews. In December, 2012, the eastbound Canadian passed through Fenwood, Saskatchewan on a very cold winter's day. Two images are attached.

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Great Shots!

FWIW the art exhibit is going over the heads of most Torontonians, too, based on newspaper reviews. The one cool piece is the chrome-plated porta-John, which sure fits in with the construction motif. You can see it in the very back of your shot of the Great Hall.

At the other end of the Great Hall, just to the right of where you were standing when you took the shot, there is a big pile of construction material on skids that has been there for a couple of weeks. I have caught a number of people admiring it, as if it was part of the art exhibit. They sure look surprised when a construction worker comes along and removes something.

Looking forward to your next installment!

- Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 12:18 by crs1026.

Don't think for a minute the chromed can didn't escape my lensfinder :~)

I also took notice that the fire system was down (spending 35 years in fire protection I notice these things)
not that the fire hose pin rack would ever get used, save for maybe the extinguisher.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 12:37 by WrongWayMurphy.

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WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>........
>
>
> but we chose to go
> across the street to the Fairmont Hotel and had
> ................

Please, please tell me the hotel you refer to as the Fairmont is still called the Royal York.

Prior to the acquisition of the Fairmont chain by CP Hotels and the rebranding, the Royal York -- like other CP hotels across Canada -- had a small shop on the lower level with all sorts of CP memorabilia, posters, silver plate, and so forth. All disappeared after the rebranding of the hotels.

Neil

WP17 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >........
> >
> >
> > but we chose to go
> > across the street to the Fairmont Hotel and had
> > ................
>
> Please, please tell me the hotel you refer to as
> the Fairmont is still called the Royal York.
>
> Prior to the acquisition of the Fairmont chain by
> CP Hotels and the rebranding, the Royal York --
> like other CP hotels across Canada -- had a small
> shop on the lower level with all sorts of CP
> memorabilia, posters, silver plate, and so forth.
> All disappeared after the rebranding of the
> hotels.
>
> Neil

It's still referred to as the Royal York, but the Fairmont brand is still also present.

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WP17 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >........
> > >
> > >
> > > but we chose to go
> > > across the street to the Fairmont Hotel and
> had
> > > ................
> >
> > Please, please tell me the hotel you refer to
> as
> > the Fairmont is still called the Royal York.
> >
> > Prior to the acquisition of the Fairmont chain
> by
> > CP Hotels and the rebranding, the Royal York --
> > like other CP hotels across Canada -- had a
> small
> > shop on the lower level with all sorts of CP
> > memorabilia, posters, silver plate, and so
> forth.
> > All disappeared after the rebranding of the
> > hotels.
> >
> > Neil
>
> It's still referred to as the Royal York, but the
> Fairmont brand is still also present.

The addition of "Fairmont" to the hotels' names has made some of them sound rather strange - to my ear anyway - such as "Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth" in Montreal and "Fairmont Le Château Frontenac" in Quebec City. There was much concern in Victoria when Fairmont said that the traditional "Empress" sign was to come down and be replaced with "Fairmont". That didn't happen and the hotel is known as "The Fairmont Empress" in small brass plaques but the traditional sign remains in place.

There are still shops in many of the hotels and some limited memorabilia from the Canadian Pacific days (now mostly reproductions) are available. Sadly, in the restaurants almost all the silver cutlery (whether it was badged CP or plain) has been replaced with stainless steel. One exception is the Gold level lounge at the Empress. There is still a mixture of plain and badged silver (some even has the old "multi-mark"). I commented on this to the head concierge who told me the management wanted the lounge to have the same stainless steel as the restaurant but he objected, claiming the CP heritage was important.