Passenger Trains > Threading the needle - A trip on the Canadian

Around Christmastime, I decided I wanted to go somewhere special for my wife's birthday in February.  Recently, we have enjoyed several trips to Canada - in the winter time) and since she is a big NY Rangers fan, I started plotting.  The Rangers were to be in Winnipeg on the 11th.  Now what?  The Canadian only runs twice a week in the winter so I doubted we could work that in somehow.  Lo and behold, If we flew into Toronto, boarded the Canadian the next morning, we would arrive in Winnipeg about 24 hours in advance of game time - Perfect!  Trip booked. (A 2 out of 7 chance that the dates would work - and they did!)
In the days/weeks leading up to the trip, we started hearing of protesters blocking train traffic and in fact, prior to our departure, they had in fact closed all VIA trains east out of Toronto.  Trains west were still operating west, but obviously getting dicey.  Unbeleivably, there were Canadian cancellations that same week due to washouts in BC.  I kept up-to-date and it seemed our trip still could be ok.  Our trainset - I beleive  - ran empty from BC to get to Toronto to load our days train.  Geez.  We arrived at CVG airport at 4:30am to fly to Toronto to find the Air Canada gate empty, no notes, no emails, no phone messages, but apparently the flight CANCELLED.   You have got to be kidding.    After a few hours of working through alternatives, we settled on the hope that the next flight to Toronto - 10 HOURS LATER!!  would still get us to Toronto by evening.  It did.  We missed out on our 2nd trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but we were able to ride the rail system from the airport to our hotel at the Toronto Blue Jays stadium (where your room overlooks the baseball field) and have dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Just enough time to enjoy the evening without being rushed or tired. 

We boarded the Canadian the next morning and the trip went perfectly.  Ran early/ontime the entire way.  Good food in the galley and awesome views in the dome car.  I took many photos on both my cellphone and a stand-alone camera.  The photos here are from the camera.  Unfortunately, it is too time consuming for me to download the photos from my phone to computer - but if I get to it, I may upload them here.  

After leaving the greater Toronto area and snaking through 1000 miles of the northern Ontario wildernes, it really did feel like riding the Polar Express to the North Pole.  Very few towns, and endless woods and lakes.  It was a fascinating ride and I would do it again any chance I could get.  Here's some photos from 2 days slipping through a winter wonderland.  

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Our train made it to Winnipeg and eventually Vancouver, however the next WB Canadian only made it as far as Winnipeg before it was annulled due to the protestors.

Amid all of this was concern over the Corona Virus - and in fact a planeload of Chinese landed in Toronto the same time as we did and it was a little unnerving going to baggage claim among hundreds of Chinese wearing masks.  We made a point to stay clear of all people and wash our hands as soon as we could.  

Incredible that our train trip went as smooth as it did in the face of so many obstacles.  Really amazing and we are certainly very appreciative.  A few more photos:



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/20 09:58 by P.

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The e/b Cannadian passing on the main.
 

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Absolutely breathtaking scenery.  There were 3 tunnels in western Ontario as well.  

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Great pictures and commentary. Glad everything worked out for you.

Kim Heusel

The kicker is that we rode in the sole coach on this train and was only 1 night - but 2 full days.  I slept better than I do at home usually - and it was a very affordable ticket.  We often travel sleeper on Amtrak, but we were trying to watch the budget and felt one night in coach is certainly do-able.  Perhaps the next time we ride, we will ride west from Winnipeg or Saskatoon to experience the Rocky Mountains.  The sleeper fares are quite high on this train, so until child-rearing expenses subside, or the economy gets back where it was a month ago, a coach ride on the Canadian might be just the ticket.  I highly recommend it!

 

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Great images and story about my favorite train!!  So glad you made the trip.   I had a booked trip west from Winnipeg in March.  Ssadly, I cancelled at the suggestion of my RN wife and VIA staff at Winnipeg account the corona virus.  So I especially appreciated your piece.

Turned out to be a good thing I cancelled as my #1 was the first westbound cancelled accoount virus. I would have driven the 500 miles from the UP of Michigan only to find no train!! Or if I had gotten to Vancouver, there would not have been an eastbound #2 back to Winnipeg.  So I remain grateful for the wisdom or my wife and VIA staff.  Oh, I confess that I did not accept cancelling with ease!!!

However, there will be another day for my next ride on the Canadian!!

PS  Very much enjoyed the pictures from the dome of the sunsets.

First, sorry about your Rangers. Four cups to our 11. Maybe better days ahead hopefully for you guys and my Wings..  Such wonderful  customer service from Air Canada. I've never flown them but have heard other similar horror stories from my many Canadian friends. No excuse for not notifying you about the cancellation and re booking you on the next flight out or even  a different carrier. Delta is refunding all tickets for canceled flights due to the virus.And not just for Medallion members. Meanwhile I'm stuck with a $499 AC voucher that I'll probably never have the opportunity to use even though my flight was canceled. Shameful treatment. 

Hope you enjoyed the game in Winnipeg. Such rabid fans in the smallest arena in the league. A very different experience than MSG.

Good news indeed about your riding in coach experience......as a parent, I know about family budget crunches.  Now, in our empty nest years, money is not so scarce, and those Pullman beds are affordable, just in time to comfort the aging body.
My most recent trip was a Nov 13 departure from Toronto, bound for Vancouver.  There had been an early snow/freeze across the northlands, the scenery looked much like what is shown here......a winter wonderland.  In my expereience, all elelements of VIA service are excellent....from telephone and station services to the wonderful on board staff.
Being a Californian, I now make all my east coast trips at least one way via this great train.  Sadly for me, those trips are not very frequent.

AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

If you are thinking about booking a sleeper on the Canadian, you should sign up for VI A's weekly emails with specials that (usually) come out on Tuesdays. In addition to weekly specials they will let you know about other special deals that will be coming up. I booked for the westbound Moonlighters trip which would be leaving Toronto on March 11 back when VIA offered deep discounts of 40 percent during the "Black Friday" weekend following Canada's Thanksgiving. That, combined with a good exchange rate made it quite affordable. But often during the off-season you can find 25 percent discounts on the VIA website. I rode last year for the first time going eastbound with the Moonlighters with a Boxing Day discount. And you're right. The scenery is terrific, and the food is great. Real food, served on real china in a real dining car. Can't get that on Amtrak - at least not east of the Mississippi - and no china!
 

The current schedule of the Canadian is similar to the Pre-2010 schedule and I like the westbound timing better as I feel day two has (even day 1 starting out) has better scenery to it - daylight at least between Sioux Lookout and Winnipeg when on time. This is a nice scenic section of the Canadian Shield compared to what was the daylight running in the Hornepayne area between 2010 and the mot recent change of the westbound train. 

I spent a short week at Parry Sound.  Well worth a stopover if you have the time!

Has Canada now prohibited entry from the United States?

Posted from Android

CP8888 Wrote:
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> Has Canada now prohibited entry from the United
> States?
>
> Posted from Android

I believe that is the case, yes. As to the hockey game- the game was sold out, and the crowd was very quiet compared to the crowds at other hockey arenas that I have been at. Of course, the Rangers won handily. They have the best sound system that I have ever heard in an arena. Very nice.

Nice shot at the old CP Perry Sound Station. This is directional running territory so only the westbound Canadian stops there. The e/b Canadian stops at the CN Station across town.