Canadian Railroads > More on the Legendary Canadian

I posted my trip report recently and had some additional thoughts some may be interested in.

I mentioned that it takes many people to take care of the many details to make the trip happen. Sitting on the patio outside after checking in at Vancouver I viewed this happening.  Staff was loading many carts of linens.  Someone came by with a full cart of shower bags to be loaded which someone had to assemble earlier.  And food and beverages of all sorts some cold came by headed to the two dining cars. Coffee , teas, milk, juices, syrup for the pancakes and much more.  My wife asked for cinnamon and yes, they had it in the diner.  Huge details!   And mechanical people were doing their thing.  And all this and more had to be put together by staff before coming out to the train.  A major operation.

Another item of interest was that the windows were spotless even at Winnipeg where I boarded.  And they were washed at Jasper.  And a guy on a lift raised up to the dome windows to wash them.

In the sleeper in addition to the route guide was  Guest Directory for Sleeper Plus class listing all features of the train, activities available, dining and bar hours, and much more.

I noted that the dining car SM arranged with the head in crew to slow the train down during dinner hours.   A great idea for relaxed dining and I am sure for the benefit of the servers.  I have often wondered how servers can manage to carry out eight cups of soup on a tray without incident.

Finally, the consist of my train was as follows thanks to another TO person:

6412
6440  power
6456
8600 Baggage
8104 Coach
8102 Coach
8512 Coach Skyline/Dome
8311 Burton Manor
8324 Dunsmuir Manor
8328 Grant (crew)
8506 Sleeper Plus Skyline and activity car
8409 Fairholme/ Diner/ A
8341 Thompson Manor
8332 Laird Manor
8336 Jarvis Manor
8315  Carlton Manor
8329 Hearne Manor
8507 Sleeper Plus Skyline
8408 Empress / Diner B
88206 Chateau Dononville Prestige
88227 Chateau Dollard Prestige
88706 Glacier Park - open to Sleeper Plus after 4 PM
8401 Acadian Diner - deadhead
8307 Blair Manor - Buffer

How about that--four domes, two diners!  One classy train!  I propose that in the next Amtrak legislation Gardner should be required to ride this train to see how it is done!

Eliot








 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/23 14:56 by viatrainrider.

I certainly agree with you about Gardner, although if he walked up to The Canadian I'll bet he wouldn't recognize it as a passenger train.

-John

jcaestecker Wrote:
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> I certainly agree with you about Gardner, although
> if he walked up to The Canadian I'll bet he
> wouldn't recognize it as a passenger train.
>
> -John


Thats because it really ins't a train. It's a "Land Cruise". A train ment for transportation would run seven days a week.

PHall Wrote:
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> Thats because it really ins't a train. It's a
> "Land Cruise". A train ment for transportation
> would run seven days a week.

So the remote train service to Churchill MB is a land cruise becuase it does not run 7 days a week. Tell that the residents of Churchill who depend on that train albeit running only 3 days a week

WP17

WP17 Wrote:
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> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Thats because it really ins't a train. It's a
> > "Land Cruise". A train ment for transportation
> > would run seven days a week.
>
> So the remote train service to Churchill MB is a
> land cruise becuase it does not run 7 days a week.
> Tell that the residents of Churchill who depend on
> that train albeit running only 3 days a week
>
> WP17

At one time it was a daily train.

PHall Wrote:
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...
>
> Thats because it really ins't a train. It's a
> "Land Cruise". A train ment for transportation
> would run seven days a week.

It isn't a train? It has locomotives,  a baggage car, coaches, sleeping cars, dining car(s) and dome cars. It sure feels like a train to me on my one or two trips a year.  

Of course it would be of more use if it ran daily. The Canadian takes about $50 million  a year out of VIA's budget. We are lucky it runs at all. 

As for providing transportation, many of the people I meet on board - both in coach and sleepers - are using it for a purpose, not merely going for a train ride on a "land cruise."  Some people are going to or from Vancouver to take an ocean cruise; some are going to family functions and some are even travelling on business. In addition there are people who cannot or will not fly. For sure, the lack of daily service is a deterrent for some people. But if one is determined to avoid flying it can be done. There are many people who will not fly long distances such as across the Atlantic. Cunard's  ocean liner Queen Mary 2 makes crossings every two weeks at best or even just once a month. But every year thousands of people adjust their plans to be able to travel without flying.

There is a conversation I overheard at an adjacent ticket wicket at Toronto Union Station a few years ago that I won't forget.  A tourist from Australia told the agent: "I have to get to Vancouver; do you have a train soon?" Agent: "Yes, today. But there is only a Prestige cabin available." Tourist: "That's fine."  Agent: "It will cost you $10,000 plus tax."  The woman pulled out her credit card and said: "It is more comfortable than flying."  

Thanks DrawingroomA.  There are of course many who wish the train would run daily or at least three days/week.  While it is true that I ride the train just for the fun of it,   I could say that for me it is a good mental health thing.   I have visited with Canadians who are going places for reasons other than a land cruise.  Like the lady going to visit relatives in Hornepayne.  Or another going from Armstrong to Winnipeg for medical treatment.   I would suspect that many on the train in mid winter are Canadians going places for reasons than a land cruise.

In the coaches, there are lots of riders going to local destinations.  To the vast majority of passengers in the sleepers, the journey is more important than the destination.

Chris Rye

The reason the Canadian is routed on the CN rather than the CP over 30 years ago is remote tranportation access, not that today's Transport Canada lost a wink of sleep over Greyhound's demise, which largely coincided with the CP.

Posted from Android

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> The reason the Canadian is routed on the CN rather
> than the CP over 30 years ago is remote
> tranportation access, not that today's Transport
> Canada lost a wink of sleep over Greyhound's
> demise, which largely coincided with the CP.
>
> Posted from Android

Agree with above, as "remoteness" was a key determining factor and main reason given. But it was also noted and commented on that the "southern transcon route" - which would have been CP - had better public transport (e.g. bus) than the CN route. So now with Greyhound and buses gone, that side of the argument goes away. Hmmmm.......

Greetings, all:

I will be traveling on the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver, starting on Sunday, Dec. 3.   I downloaded the "Route Guide" that VIA has produced for this route, but this document isn't very detailed. (I have attached a sample page--the Guide is a .pdf so cannot be uploaded to TrainOrders in its entirety).

The VIA guide just lists some basic historical information about some of the towns the train passes through, as can be seen from the excerpt.  I am more accustomed to route guides I have seen in the US, with listings of sights visible from the train, keyed to milepost numbers, or minutes from a station, etc.

Is there a good source of a more comprehensive Route Guide for this terrific train?  I want to ensure I don't miss any of the points of interest visible from the train!
 
Thanks, Patrick

 

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