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A RAILWAY JOURNEY ACROSS CANADA BY TRAIN
SUNDAY 20th JULY 1997
The flight from Manchester to Toronto was not as interminable as expected. The in-flight films were dire so I listened to the two one-hour long selections of classical music (three times each!) and read a book set during the construction of Ribblehead Viaduct and Blea Moor Tunnel. There were amazing views of Greenland as we passed to the south of it - mountains, cliffs and enormous glaciers, as well as icebergs.
From Toronto I flew on to Halifax in the company of a retired aero-engineer who gave me a running commentary on the journey and some of Canada’s problems. On the far side of Lake Ontario could be seen Buffalo in the USA and the entrance of the Niagara River into the lake. The plane flew over Maine and the Bay of Fundy to approach Nova Scotia from the South-East. I was able to see the long spit on the North coast of Nova Scotia. From Halifax airport I took the shuttle bus to the VIA station which was a five minute walk from my hotel. After a walk in the town the jet lag caught up with me and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
MONDAY 21st JULY 1997
The hotel was very close to the container depot so I walked to an over bridge over the yard entrance and watched a pair of Canadian National locomotives switching. There were no container ships at the berths but I heard that two had been loaded the day before. Then I went to confirm my reservations at the station. Halifax station has one train in and out six days a week to Montreal. Only one of its five platforms is in use, although there is also a VIA maintenance depot by the station. The main concourse has been tastefully restored and evokes the atmosphere of another age. Afterwards I walked along the waterfront- very interesting with a museum of naval history and several preserved ships.
Then I took the ferry across the harbour to Dartmouth - this is the oldest ferry service in N.America. The weather was very pleasant and the 15 minute crossing enjoyable. There were plenty of naval ships in the dockyard (Halifax is the principal naval base of Canada). Opposite the ferry terminal was the CN Dartmouth freight yard with one of the two surviving Montreal Locomotive Works M636 CoCos stabled there.
Back
in Halifax I walked through the town to the Citadel - ramparts, ditches and
barracks - a little like Berwick-upon-Tweed, but still in use as a military base. I
was just in time to see and hear the twelve o'clock gun being fired and the
guard being changed. It was almost as if I were in Edinburgh with soldiers
playing pipes and wearing kilts! Later in my trip I heard all about the Halifax
explosion of 1917, which killed thousands of people when an ammunition ship blew
up in the harbour.
Back
at the station I phoned home to mark the start of THE JOURNEY from coast to
coast. My berth was in the sleeping car next to the “Park” dome and bar car
at the end of the train - most convenient. The train was made up of 11 rebuilt
Budd cars built originally by the Canadian Pacific in the 1950s and now totally
rebuilt for the 1990s. I ensconced myself in the dome before departure, which
was on time at 13.30.
The
journey across Nova Scotia was initially along the shores of Halifax harbour and
then through forests, past lakes and across cattle ranches. The soil was a reddy
brown and coloured all the rivers.
The
first stop at Truro showed that the “Ocean” is a real train, not a tour
train, with numerous people boarding and alighting - a pattern which was
repeated for the rest of the journey and explained the length of the train.
During lunch in the restaurant car, the westbound “Ocean” passed us running
late due to have to switch in and out cars at Moncton.
Near
Sackville, Fort Beaesejour was passed - built by the French but promptly
captured by the British. The line came down to the Bay of Fundy on the approach
to New Brunswick - an area of marsh and deep channels. The sea here has one of
the largest tidal ranges anywhere in the world.
The
train stopped at Moncton for half an hour to refuel the locomotives from
North
of Bathurst it became dark. Along the Baie des Chaleurs it is quite densely
populated. The train was put in a siding to allow a freight to pass and then
reversed out before pulling forward, thus saving the conductor a long walk to
change the hand operated points. At
Campbelltown a running-gear check was done on the coaches during the stop. At
Matapiedia the section of the "Ocean" from the Gaspé peninsular line was added during a long and
complicated switching process. The train left 60 minutes late with 19 cars and 2
locomotives.
TUESDAY 22nd JULY 1997
The countryside is mainly arable and to my surprise the line was still single track. Closer to Montreal there were several hills rising above the plain - volcanic plugs. The approach to Montreal was through the inevitable urban sprawl of houses, motorways and industry. The railway crosses over the St. Lawrence on a long single-track bridge before entering the awful underground platforms of Gare Centrale. In Canada platforms in large stations are not for lingering on! An Amtrak train to New York was ready to depart behind a F40PH. The station concourse was reached up escalators and was more like an airport, although without enough seating.
MONDAY 22nd JULY
I bought tickets for Deux Montagne, attempting to speak in French but
receiving an answer in English. The trains are made up of three two-car emus
sets in unpainted metal. The line from Montreal Gare Centrale runs through the Mount Royale Tunnel, the
reason for its electrification early this century. It is only in the last three
years that the original locos and coaches have been replaced. It has been
reelectrified
and totally rebuilt at 25 KV AC. The line runs through the suburbs for about 10
miles and has a respectable off-peak service and appears well used.
Back in Montreal I walked across to the Windsor station, the old CP
terminal, which is now used by the suburban diesel services to Dorion. The train
was a three car double deck push-pull set built in the 1950s and propelled by an F
unit in the silver and blue livery of the STCUM (Montreal passenger transit
authority). I alighted at Dorval where the CP and CN main lines parallel each
other. There is a VIA station on the CN and a suburban station on the CP.
I spent about five hours there with 24 trains passing. A French Canadian
enthusiast was there as well so I gleaned plenty of information from him. The
traffic was a mixture of VIA, STCUM and heavy freights, these latter largely on the CP.
I returned to Montreal and walked to the student hostel, about 10 minutes from the station. Montreal, as the first large American city I had seen was less intimidating than I expected because the eyes concentrate on the street level and not on the towers. The most obvious difference then is the width of the streets.
WEDNESDAY 23rd JULY 1997
I caught the 10.00 Montreal to Toronto. The coaches were refurbished 41xx series Budd cars purchased from Amtrak and refurbished. The cars came from a wide variety of US railroads. The run was pleasant and punctual taking 5 hours 40 minutes.
West of Montreal the line passes through farming country. In places the line has a new alignment due to the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Some parts of the countryside become wider with bare limestone and forests. The whole line is double track and signalled for bi-directional running. In fact the train overtook several freights. There are also frequent 4 track sections with long loops and cross-overs. Once in Ontario the line parallels the CP single track main line for considerable distances. The line also runs along the shores of Lake Ontario for many miles.
On the approach to Toronto new stations have been built for the GO Transit
suburban line (Government of Ontario). Union Station in Toronto has a low
overall roof and at platform level appears largely untouched since steam days.
There are 13 tracks in this rather gloomy train shed. The access to the tracks is from
two separate
terminals. VIA's is from the magnificent early 20th century booking hall whilst
GO Transit's is from a low level concourse linked to the subway system.
I took the subway, nicknamed “The
Rocket", to the student hostel where
I was staying. My room was on the 15th floor with an excellent view across the city. The subway has two interconnecting
lines and appears clean and safe even late at night. The cars are unpainted Budd
type vehicles.
I returned to Union station to take the 17.19 GO Transit service to Hamilton, formed of eight green and cream double deck air-conditioned cars and an FS9PH diesel. In the large VIA depot west of the city was the 19 car rake of the next day's "Canadian" to Vancouver, as well as a large number of stored RDC single car units formerly used on branch services. Most are likely to be sold to US cities for new suburban services.
The line west of Union station is multiple track, with large number of double slip points, gradually reducing to 4, then 3 and eventually 2 tracks in the outer suburbs. I travelled as far as Burlington, a three platform station vvith bus station. After an hour watching trains there I returned to Toronto.
THURSDAY 24th JULY 1997
I caught the 07.50 Toronto to Chicago services which was made up of
Amtrak
Superliner double deck coaches and a VIA F4OPH-2. The lower level has seats,
a baggage area and toilets. The corridor connection is on the
The
route to London was via Guelph through rolling farmland. At Guelph station there was a
preserved CNR 4-8-4 steam loco. Arrival
in London was at 10.55, after passing a Sarnia to Toronto
VIA train in a loop west of Guelph. A connecting service to Windsor was in
the platform just ahead of the Chicago service. I talked to the conductor who,
on discovering I was a railfan, gave me a child's card press-out model of a VIA
train! He told me that most freight on the line was at night, but that one had
just been given the
I decided to walk across the town to the CP tracks. I arrived at a level
crossing half a mile away to find a CP maintenance crew in their truck so I asked
if anything was due. They said they were waiting for a freight to pass in the
next ten minutes. It was a westbound behind a Norfolk Southern lease
West from London to Windsor the line crosses flat farmland. At Chatham there is a flat crossing and
an interchange with the CSX - a Chessie System GP40 was standing in the yard.
Further towards Windsor the line runs along the shore of Lake St Clair, an area
obviously popular for boating holidays.
On arrival at Windsor, where the station is a modern one situated in an industrial areas - mainly distilleries, I walked down to the St. Clair River to look across the water and photograph the tower blocks of Detroit.
The return to Toronto was at 18.00 and the only items of real note were three brand new BNSF locos at London. There was no sign yet of the Class 66s for EWS. The train arrived in Union at 22.00 on time. There had been a large amount of freight going west to the USA just as the conductor had said.
FRIDAY 25th July 1997
I took the LRT tram along the waterfront from the stop under Union station to Spandia Avenue. A new tram route was being opened that weekend along this street, after ten year’s construction. Workmen were putting the finishing touches to the works. I went onto the bridge overlooking the west end of Union station and took photos of commuter trains with the CN Tower and Skydome basketball ground in the background. This is probably the only worthwhile place to take photos of trains at Toronto Union. A visit here in the morning rush-hour was definitely worthwhile with almost continuous action.
At 10.05 I took the Amtrak train bound for New York. The stock was the
strange looking North East Corridor curved-sided Metroliner coaches with very small
windows. At Hamilton the line runs along a bay of Lake Ontario before heading
through freight yards, and past the derilect old CN station at Hamilton and
through steelworks, all at a maximum of 30mph.
At
Initially this is past the great gorge with whirlpools in it and then after the main highway bridge comes the American Falls and then the Horseshoe Fall itself. The area was less tacky than I had expected with parkland almost reminiscent of a place like Harrogate. I read an account of how until recent years the falls have been cutting back by 1 metre every year, although following water extraction for hydro electricity this is now reduced to about 30cm a year.
Standing at the wall by the crest of the falls the power of
the water is awesome. Upstream of the falls are rapids and the extraction inlets
for the HEP plant.
SATURDAY
26th JULY 1997
I went
down to the waterfront by LRT again and looked at the ships and pleasure steamers. After
that I had a walk
around part
of the
central business district. It’s strange to walk by grills in the pavement and feel
a blast of hot air
from the
air-conditioning
The train departed late at 11.07 with 19 cars, including a baggage, 4 coach class cars, 4 dome cars and 10 sleepers. The route was out via CN to Snider. As the route from here is now closed we backed up on a spur onto the main CN east-west freight route before heading off to Doncaster and then onto the Bala sub-division towards Washago. At 13.00 running along the shores of Lake Simcoe. The train stopped at Washago at 13.30 and then crossed over the swing bridge over the Severn River- this flows up to Hudson Bay.
The train entered the
Canadian Shield a vast area of bare rock, low drumlins and trees. At 15.25 we
passed the holiday resort of Parry Sound with the CP line running
At 17.30 crossed two vvide rivers., the Pickerel and French
River one after the other. At 18.10 the train entered a very rocky area which is
believed to have been caused by either a meteorite or volcanic activity. The
area around Sudbury is notorious for its nickel mining and slag heaps . The
train stood at Sudbury Junction for a few minutes, a really appallingly
god-forsaken spot.
At
Capreol, where there was a 20 minute stop, I was having dinner so
couldn’t get out. There was a preserved CNR 4-8-2 on the platform. The station
is a division
point with loco depot and yards and several freights were
waiting to follow
or cross us. The countryside continued to be rocky with bogs and beaver lakes in
the forests.
SUNDAY 27th JULY 1997
I woke at 6.00 with the train still running through the Canadian Shield but now two hours late. Apparently an old lady had died during the night and the train had been delayed waiting an ambulance. At Longlac we passed the eastbound “Canadian” running two and a half hours late. The town is apparently multi-lingual and there is a long lake . A freight only branch line diverges here to run to Lake Superior.
The train was
travelling faster and the sun was out. At Armstrong there is a railway division
point and the train was watered here. To do this the train vas moved forward no
less than eight
At Sioux Lookout there was a scheduled 20 minute stop for loco refuelling
but this was considerable extended due to waiting an eastbound freight. The town
here is a real one-horse affair, dust roads, lots of Indians and no phone at the
station so no chance to phone home as planned. West of Sioux country changes to lake country with a floatplane seen
landing on one. The line then climbs into a more rocky and
Concerns
After Elna comes the changes to the prairies. The line runs straight and the countryside opens up with the occasional farm and road, although it is still heavily wooded. On the approach to Winnipeg the line crosses over one of the flood channels for the Red River.
The buildings of Winnipeg are visible although
it is still 15 miles away.
All the passengers were required to leave the train for the crew change and cleaning of the train. I went to see the locos being refuelled and to see the first of many long grain trains I would see in the next few days. The station has four platforms with the main concourse being in the subway.
There
are two services from Winnipeg each running three times a week - the The
"Canadian” and
the “Hudson Bay” to Churchill. The empty stock of the "Hudson Bay"
passes through on the
avoiding lines behind the station. I went out into the street to look at
Winnipeg close up. Unfortunately time didn't allow me to wander very far. Despite large buildings it has more of a frontier feel to it
than the eastern cities.
SUNDAY 27th JULY
On departure I
went straight to the restaurant car for dinner. We’d
change the two very pretty waitresses for two very attentive
young men, both students working for VIA in the vacation. Nothing seemed too much
trouble for them. At Portage la Prairie there is a complex rail interchange with
the CP and CN lines to Edmonton and Churchill. The main line is well laid,
fairly straight and there are frequent loops and grain elevators. The train’s
speed was now noticeably higher probably about 70mph.
MONDAY
28th JULY
I woke up as the train pulled out of Saskatoon still 2 hours late. Despite what everybody thinks it is clear the prairies are not always completely fiat. There are snow fences along the line in places. It was rather misty to start but this was soon burnt off by the sun.
The prairies soon gave way to rolling countryside
and lakes. There were numerous cattle ranches in this area. The train crossed
from Saskatchewan into Alberta and by Wainwright was only an hour
and 15 minutes late. Around Cockerel is evidence of the oil industry with
nodding donkey oil pumps. The Winnipeg crew obviously had a sense of humour
because at 8.00 there was the sound of a cockerel crow over the loudspeakers!
The line crossed over the 2911 foot long trestle bridge over the mile wide Baffle River valley as it climbed to the summit at the head of this valley. The entry into Edmonton was through yards, industrial areas.
The line to the VIA station
is a single track that leads into the semi derelict platforms of the former CN
station . Once again the station had a well laid out and pleasant concourse for
just six trains a week. The Edmonton area LRT electric line parallels the VIA
tracks before going underground in the city centre. It uses 2 car light-weight
emus and has some rather futuristic looking stations. I phoned home from
Edmonton, the first time the time zones permitted it. The train backed out of
Edmonton to rejoin the CN main line past the enormous freight yards. VIA has
apparently decided to build a new station here to replace the existing city
centre terminal.
West
of Edmonton the line begins to climb slowly towards the Rockies through forests
and over trestle bridges spanning creeks. Gradually the view opens out and the
mountains can be seen in the distance. Most of the line is double track. Vast
forests stretch as far as the eye can see. I saw at least one forest fire in the
distance.
As the
train entered the Jasper National Park the dome car filled up. The steward tried
to organize a competition to spot the bears/goats/moose/elk etc. It all became a
little too American for me. And yes, we did see mountain goats, elk and moose
but no bears. The moose even come down into the rail yard at Jasper and cause
problems for the drivers when they get in the way of trains. Our train was just
30 minutes late arriving in Jasper. As I left the station the maintenance and
cleaning crew were giving the train their
My
hotel was just across the street from the station so, after having a shower, I
headed back for a few hours train watching and spent the rest of the evening
discussing American and British railroads with various rail fans on the platform.
TUESDAY 29th JULY
I spent most of the day in and around the station. There was plenty of traffic although it tends to come in batches, three or four trains in an hour and then nothing for an hour or so. I felt so hot and tired by mid afternoon that I went back to the hotel for a sleep! I went out again in the evening and had a pleasant time watching trains.
WEDNESDAY 30th
JULY 1997
I spent the morning watching trains again and then went for the “Skeena” to Prince George and Prince Rupert. It should have left at 13.00 but the air-conditioning in the first class was faulty so another car was attached meaning we left 45 minutes late. The normal formation was a 2nd, first and bar/dome car.
The
train was relatively quiet due to a large number of cancellations by tour firms.
There was a fishing dispute between British Columbia and Alaska which had caused
the blockading of ferries from Prince Rupert and this had scared off a lot of
tourists. We followed a coal train uphill and, unfortunately, there was single
line working. We were, therefore, held for two eastbound freights before
eventually overtaking the coal train. The weather was poor with rain and low
cloud. There are wire fences on the climb to Yellowhead Pass (3700 feet ) to
warn of rock
falls. There were several recent landslides visible. Yellowhead Lake was passed
and after Redpass Junction most of Mount Robson, the highest mountain in Canada,
could be seen. At Redpass there is a very large triangular junction with the
Vancouver line. The legs of the triangular extend over many miles.
At
Raush Valley the train drew into a siding behind a westbound grain train. After
crossing an eastbound freight both the grain and the “Skeena” set off
together a few hundred yards apart at about 30mph in the same single line
section! Was this against regulations I wonder, or just a desperate measure to
prevent another 30 minutes delay? We eventually overtook the freight at McBride.
The area along the line was unbelievably empty with no sign of
THURSDAY 31ST
JULY
1997
The “Cariboo Prospector”, made up of two British Columbia Railway Budd RDC railcars, left Prince George BCR terminal at 07.00, but was then held in the yard for a northbound freight so eventual departure was nearly 45 minutes late. Initially the line is through farming country with numerous timber mills. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all included in the fare and came on airline style trays, although of slightly better quality.
The landscape through to Quesnel remained a mixture of forest and farmland with two more large pulp mills being located there. An engineer riding to Williams Lake said there are 3 freights a day on the line in each direction. They load up to 10,000 tons and generally have two lead locos plus one or two mid-train radio controlled helper locos.
In places on this northern section the train travelled at up to 60mph. The Fraser River at this stage was to the west in a broad valley. At Alexandria the train was put in a dead end siding to allow a northbound freight to pass us, and then reversed out of the siding! A viaduct at Deep Creek was 312 feet above the creek- the train stopped briefly to allow passengers to enjoy the view - despite being late.
Williams Lake, (pop 28000) is a major centre with yet more sawmills. Here a large numbers of passengers joined, many of whom clearly had not had a bath for some days! After another delay for freight traffic the train set off and started its climb into the Cariboo. The line climbs from 1765 feet to the summit at Horme Lake of 3788 feet. The steep part comes after 100 Mile House/Exeter where the grade lasts for 16 miles.
The Cariboo is a vast silty deposit scarred with canyons and
streams. At Kelly Lake there is a turning Y for the daily excursion trains from
Lilloet. The lake itself is in a deep ravine. Between Arden and Polley the line
descends in to the Fraser Canyon and is the longest and most gruelling climb in
North America with an
The rock falls in the Fraser canyon are
notorious. The Canyon is utterly awesome with bare rock or silt valley sides.
almost sheer in places and with trees growing out of the bare silt. The track is
2000’ above the valley floor at the start of the grade. At Pavillion ,half
vvay down the grade, is British Columbia‘s oldest general store established in 1862. Huge
areas of the canyon floor were being used for growing the Chinese herb gin-seng . The
crops were covered with black netting. There are two passing loops in the canyon
and both are signalled from Lilloet, for safety reasons I presume, as there are
sheer drops from the trackside. We passed or overtook freights in both loops.
One Canadian woman asked if I was “trainspotting” when I took a particularly
interest in one of them, something she'd heard British rail fans did! At the bottom of the canyon stands, for drying salmon,
caught in the river by Indians, could be seen. In fact one of the flagstops
hereabouts is called Indian Reservation. The railway crosses the lower part of
the canyon on a girder bridge vvith sharp curves at either end.
The train arrived in Lilloet 2 hours late. BC Rail had dispatched the other RDCs, that were scheduled to be added here, earlier, so our train was able to omit a lot of the stops onwards to Vancouver. The conductor came through the train to ask which stops were required. During the stop at Lilloet, which again wasn’t shortened from the scheduled 20 minutes, I asked the driver if he would be able to make up any time. His reply was no because of the heat kinks in the rails. Indeed it soon became obvious that we were only maintaining the schedule from Lilloet by virtue of omitting the stops.
Downhill
from Lilloet the line ran along the shores of lakes reminiscent of Norwegian
fords, with several hydro electric plants . Approaching
Whistler, mountains with considerable amounts of snow became visible. Mount
Garibaldi was the highest seen at 8787 feet. The line then descends steeply
through the narrow and spectacular Cheakamus gorge, a narrow rocky ravine with
waterfalls and cataracts.
The
crew were changed at Squamish for the last hour and a half to Vancouver.
In the workshops here could be seen several more RDCs. Then suddenly around a
corner we came in sight of Howe Sound, the first sea water since Halifax - I’d
done it and crossed North America from coast to
FRIDAY
1st AUGUST
I took
the Skytrain to the Pacific Central Station. Skytrain is an automated subway and
elevated railway using magnetic induction to control the trains. It’s very
modern and well used. The city portion is in tunnel but the majority is on an
elevated concrete structure. Some stations are island platforms, other stations
have two or three platforms. The trains are 2 or 4 cars long and are white, blue
and red in colour.
The
Pacific Central Station is the former Canadian National station now used by VIA and Amtrak
trains as well as the Rocky Mountaineer tour trains . There
is also an adjacent Greyhound and local long distance bus station. The ticket
offices are all in the same concourse. It’s a very pleasant terminal but a
pity
I arrived just in time to see the "Canadian" arrive a little late. It should have come in tail car first after turning on a Y but due to a road accident on a level crossing it had to come in locos first. There’s a VIA maintenance depot adjacent to the station and a surprise was a derelict Budd railcar. There are five platforms with one of these being inside a fenced area for customs examination of the Seattle service. The other tracks were filled with VIA and "Rocky Mountaineer" coaches.
Then I
went by Sky Train to Scott Road which is just over the enormous suspension bridge
built for Skytrain across the Fraser River. Vancouver is an enormous suburban
sprawl although quite pleasant. All the buildings are light- white,
pastel shades and light grey. The street names are hung over the roads at
intersections and the whole city is built on an enormous grid iron pattern with
streets running straight for miles. The street signs have the house numbers on for that
section of road.
I
returned over the river to Columbia station and walked around trying to find
somewhere to watch trains in the New Westminster area. The single track bridge
over the Fraser had an opening span in the single track trestle bridge. I saw a
tanker train and a pair of Burlington Northern switchers. Unfortunately there
was no where to see traffic pleasantly - too many trees and highways with no
pavements to walk on. I went on to the road bridge over the river hoping this
would give a view of the railway but the sidewalk was on the wrong side to see
the railway.
I
decided that it would be more profitable to go across to Vancouver Island a
little earlier than planned. I returned to the station in time to see the
arrival of the train from Seattle with an Amtrak diesel pulling a rake of
Spanish built Talgo coaches. Unfortunately I couldn’t photo it because it was
in the security compound.
I took
the bus to Victoria ,which went via the airport and then on the Seattle motorway
through the Fraser River Tunnel before heading west to the Ferry Terminal at
Tswwassen. Across the bay could be seen the Roberts Bay coal,
In the water in pens were logs waiting to be processed for the saw mills. On either side of the sound mountains towered, most still covered with snow and ice. The line hugs the shores of Howe Sound all the way to Vancouver. By now, however, it was nearly dark and I was tired so I didn’t take too much notice. I knew I’d see the line in daylight from the "Royal Hudson" special train a few days later. The views coming into Vancouver with the lights of the city and the floodlit Lions Gate Bridge were pretty spectacular.
We
were put in a siding again to be passed by yet another freight before arriving
in North Vancouver nearly 2 hours late. Even then BC Rail hadn’t finished with
us, as the evening dining car special train was occupying the main platform so
we had to pass it and then set back into the platform.
I took
a taxi to the hotel. The taxi driver who having found out who
I was and that I was travelling alone suggested that I ought to find a
"nice" girl and that he could help me find one!. He didn ‘t seem to impressed when I said that it was too much trouble and went
quiet. I felt for the first time a little overwhelmed by a North American city, wide roads, tall buildings, bright lights and roaring traffic etc.
but experience of travelling alone has taught me that tomorrow is always a new
day so I didn’t let it bother me too much. Sleep and a nice bed are good
healers!
FRIDAY
1st AUGUST
From the car ferry could be seen Mount Baker in Washington state - an extinct volcano covered in snow and 10778 feet high. The sea was beautifully calm and I spent the whole of the time on deck. The journey through the islands must rank as one of the most beautiful I’ve ever made- narrow channels, mountains, blue seas etc. On docking near Victoria the bus headed straight downtown and dropped me off right outside the hotel door.
I went down to the VIA station of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo line and saw the two car Budd RDC train come in from Courtenay. The raiilway and road cross the harbour on a lifting bridge . Float planes were continually landing and taking off from the harbour, including a small airliner. In the evening I went for a walk around the town - the whole place, as the guidebooks say, is more English than an English town. The architecture is pure Victorian and if it were not for the roads it could be in the UK. I walked around the park and saw a display of country dancing, but decided not to join in despite the notice inviting people to do just that. Then I wandered round the harbour and listened to a Scottish piper- I even left him a dollar!
SATURDAY
2nd AUGUST
I took
the Victoria to Nanaimo train leaving at 08.15. On the outskirts of Victoria was
a small roundhouse and some evidence of freight traffic. The line is owned by
CP. The train passed the naval dockyard at Esquimalt before starting the climb
from Langford to the summit at Malahat 650’ above sea level.The
line crosses the Niagara Canyon (260 feet deep) which uses a bridge originally on
the CP mainline to Vancouver at Cisco in the Fraser Canyon. Next comes the
crossing of the Arbutus Canyon on a curved trestle 220 feet high. The line then
descends 900 feet to Duncan. Here there were dozens of totem poles and Indian
products on sale. At Chemainus the line reaches the coast and there is B.C.'s
largest sawmill. The factory used to have extensive logging lines and a steam
loco is preserved by the line. Several large ships were anchored in the bay.
Just before Nanaimo the line runs through a former coal mining area with speed
restrictions due to subsidence.
On the approach to Nanaimo a line to the ferry terminal branched off to the east. Another freight only line to the west went off into the forests. The conductor told us at Nanaimo that we had ten minutes to go to the cafe across the street for coffee! He told me that the freightcars carrying mainly timber products came over on the train barge from Vancouver and there is a six days a week freight service. There are apparently 3 GP9s for the heavy timber trains, one for the main line pick up freight and on used at the ferry terminal. The passenger service only operates because a treaty require it to be operated in perpetuity.
At Parksville tank cars are kept for fighting forest fires. The line crossed over the 1045 feet long French Creek trestle. I phoned home from a rail employee’s mobile phone at Courtenay, the Bell phone being out of order - now that is customer care. We left after a 30 minute turnround at 13.15. 1 left the train at Nanaimo and walked into the town to catch the coach back to Vancouver. On the coach I heard a considerable amount of "native" language being spoken by people of obvious Indian extraction.
Because of the holiday weekend (B.C.Day) the ferry was delayed because of heavy traffic so the bus had to wait about 40 minutes. The ship was "Queen of Oak Bay". The view across the Strait of Georgia to the B.C. mountains became progressively more stunning as the ship neared the mainland. Several cruise ships were seen - Vancouver is a major cruise port for sailings to Alaska.
SUNDAY 3rd AUGUST 1997
I walked from the hotel down to the harbour to board M.V. "Britannia" for the sailing to Squamish. In the harbour was the "Ryndam", a Holland America cruise liner. The boat sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge and up the Howe Sound. It was a beautiful day and too hot to be on deck for long so stayed at the very front of the observation deck. At Squamish the boat sailed up the river to tie up against a timber wharf.
The "Royal Hudson" steam
train was already stabled there and loaded straight off the roadside. The big
4-6-4 ex CPR No 2860 was being serviced as the boat arrived and loked
magnificent in the sun. I went for a walk around Squamish, the impression being
of low buildings and wide streets. After a phone call to home I joined the train
travelling in coach “Porteau” an ex CNR vehicle built in
The
train backed up onto the main line before heading off down the Howe Sound to
Vancouver. The Stewamau Chief rock outcrop above Squamish is apparently the
largest piece of granite in the Commonwealth apart from the Rock of Gibraltar!
It was pleasant to see the Howe Sound in the daylight as I hadn't really enjoyed
it at the end of the long trip from Prince George. The line passes the largest
copper mine in the world, now closed and set up as a museum. In North Vancouver
the large yards of the B.C.R. came before we pulled into the station. On the
other track the staff were preparing the coaches for that evening’s Dining Car
Special, which goes up to a loop near Squamish and where the guests can eat and
dance the evening away.
I took the bus to the Seabus terminal and then across the harbour on this strange craft. It’s a very fast double ended ferry with one enormous enclosed deck and automatic doors on either side which allow very fast loading from the undercover bus station.
On arrival at the Waterfront terminal in Vancouver the former CPR
station, I had a surprise. The West Coast Express commuter line was operating a
Sunday evening service to Mission at 18.00. 1 checked return service
possibilities and decided to go to Port Coquitlam and return by bus. The CPR
terminal building has been nicely restored as an interchange between Seabus,
Skytrain, West Coast express and local buses.
The West Coast Express trains are made up of new air-conditioned double deck coaches pulled by F59PH1 locos and are owned by BC Transit, the bus and ferry operator. The CP line closely follows the river called the Second Narrows past container, grain and sulphur terminals. CP, BN and CN locos were all seen in this area.
Further out the line becomes more suburban. There are bus terminals at every
station. The station at Port Coquitlam was next to the CP yard but although
I’d thought of staying there for a while I felt rather tired so decided to
return to Vancouver straight away by bus. The yard was obviously vast and there
appeared to be no place I could easily watch traffic. The bus route passed the
sulphur loading dock at Port Moody. Conveyors could be seen loading a ship
directly from the hopper wagons which were lettered “Sultrans” and come from
Albertan mines. The run into the city centre was through one of those inner city
areas
MONDAY
4th AUGUST
I
took the airport bus out to the airport, far too early, but I couldn’t think
of anything else worth doing in the time I had. I boarded the 12.00 flight to
Toronto, a Jumbo Boeing 747 and watched the Rockies, and the plains and lakes
pass by underneath. Finally I boarded the 21.15 flight to Manchester and slept
fitfully through the night
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