Now don’t scowl or roll your eyes when I suggest that you take a train trip. Wed to autos, travelers scoff at riding Amtrak or any other train on their vacations. What they overlook is the joy of taking a train just to marvel at the scenery it offers.
When the bottom line is scenery, there are train trips and then there are extraordinary train trips.
In the extraordinary category falls the Rocky Mountaineer, which operates in Canada between Vancouver and Banff or Jasper, Alberta. It’s a two-day, 585-mile journey that runs from ocean, along rushing rivers, through dense pine forests and the most magnificent mountains you can imagine — the Canadian Rockies — all in the comfort of a dome car with picture-perfect windows.
Add to the scenery a couple of scrumptious breakfasts and lunches and you’re in railroad heaven. And just so you don’t miss one bit of scenery on this mountain odyssey, the whole trip is done in daylight. There’s an overnight stop in Kamloops, B.C., where travelers stay in motels and can enjoy a buffet dinner and show at Two River Junction.
If all this sounds a bit unusual, well, you haven’t ridden the Rocky Mountaineer, which bills itself as “the most spectacular train trip in the world” and covers a treacherous route pioneered in the early 1880s and completed in 1885.
Our late October experience started at Vancouver’s Pacific Central Train Station where a hearty “A-l-l-l-l A-b-o-a-r-d” signaled us to climb aboard a blue and white Mountaineer dome car for a 7:30 a.m. departure. We took assigned seats — room for 70 — in comfortable, earth-tone upholstered reclining seats with drop-down trays.
The diesel-driven Mountaineer crept out of the station and in minutes paralleled an unattractive section of the Fraser River and passed several bridges carrying Vancouver-bound traffic.
On-board attendants provided commentary. They talked about the Cascade Mountains and the productive farmland in the Fraser River Valley as the train slowly moved east into the countryside.
It wasn’t long before passengers in the dome car were beckoned for breakfast in a lower level dining car — four to a table — and a menu that offered a choice of items that included scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, sausage, a Belgian waffle and diced country potatoes; or poached eggs with smoked salmon on an English muffin; or eggs Benedict; or Alberta steak and eggs.
As we dined, we could follow the Mountaineer’s progress, though announcements were barely audible over the din of chatting diners. Later, we could also follow the train’s progress through the tabloid-sized Rocky Mountaineer newspaper, which carries a milepost map of the trip and descriptions of points of interest.
Back in our high-level seats, we gazed from side to side, absolutely mesmerized by the route’s ever-changing vistas — the forested river valley, the prosperous looking farms, stands of fading golden aspen and the distant rugged mountains.
A knowledgeable car attendant talked about the Cascades, which include volcanic Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier in Washington, and extend to the skiing paradise of Whistler Mountain north of Vancouver. She told of the 1850s gold rush that lured 30,000 fortune seekers into the rugged Fraser Canyon and made the town of Yale the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco.
By the time lunch was announced, the Mountaineer was headed north along the Fraser River toward the intersecting Thompson River, where it would curve eastward again.
With a river panorama unfolding outside, we dined on our choice of dishes, including an array of Pacific Rim seafood and chicken pesto, filet of B.C. salmon, pork tenderloin, roasted lamb loin, beef strip loin, baked chicken breast and a vegetarian creation.
As the afternoon progressed, we learned about First Nation salmon fishing practices along the Fraser (gill netting) and glimpsed their blue- or orange-tarped shacks and drying racks; and the daunting Cariboo Wagon Trail followed by fur traders, gold miners and pioneers. The Rocky Mountaineer newspaper described such places as Chilliwack, Hope, Yale and Hell’s Gate, narrowest part of the churning Fraser, Canada’s premier salmon river.
By 5 p.m., the Mountaineer pulled into Kamloops, a city of 82,000 and a center for forestry, ranching, mining and tourism. Passengers were bused to their motels. The evening’s entertainment ($36 for an adult, $21 for children) took place at a hall called Two River Junction and included a dinner buffet with more food than you can imagine, and a short musical, “Tales From the Rails,” a story about train robber Billy Miner.
Our second day started with a 6:15 a.m. transfer to the Kamloops CN Station for a 6:30 departure for Banff. And before you knew it, it was time for another elaborate breakfast.
Now the train followed the South Thompson River. Fog and mist partially obscured the Shuswap Lakes area, dotted with summer cottages boarded up for the winter. Gradually the weather cleared as the train glided toward Craigellachie, where, in 1885, the last spike was driven to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Now heading northeast, the Mountaineer approached craggy peaks in the Selkirk range, which soar to 9,000 feet. The train passed beneath barren snowsheds that protect the tracks and, above, additional snowsheds that protect critical segments of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Our attendant pointed out 9,492-foot Mt. Macdonald and the exit of the intricately ventilated, 9.1-mile-long Mt. Macdonald Tunnel, completed in 1988, used by westbound trains. The Mountaineer used the 5.1-mile-long Connaught Tunnel, completed in 1918, so passengers can see more of remote Rogers Pass and the gracefully arched, 484-foot-long Stoney Creek Bridge beyond the shorter tunnel and a dizzying 325 feet above the river. Passengers stepped out on the dome car’s vestibule to photograph the bridge, smell the pine-scented air and spot a waterfall.
Later in the afternoon at 10,464-foot Mt. Cathedral , the Mountaineer passed through the complicated Spiral Tunnels, a 1909 engineering feat that enables trains to follow a figure-eight pattern while descending 50 feet in a short distance, decreasing the grade from 4.5 percent to 2.2 percent.
At Stephen, the train crossed the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains at 5,332 feet above sea level, highest point of the trip, passing from British Columbia into Alberta. Passengers soon were riveted by the view of 11,365-foot Mt. Victoria Glacier, and then the granite mass of Castle Mountain, with its improbable turrets. The marvelous journey ended at 6 p.m. in Banff.
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours, a private venture that operates on both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific tracks, offers two types of service: GoldLeaf, which features the dome car and more extravagant dining at a higher price, and RedLeaf, which uses a coach car with reclining seats, picture windows and meal service at your seat. GoldLeaf costs from $723 per person, double, to $891, depending upon the season; from $763 to $931, single. RedLeaf costs $358 to $475 per person, double; $398 to $515 single. The Mountaineer operates from April 18 to Oct. 20.
Additional information about Rocky Mountaineer Railtours is available through travel agents, on the Internet at www.rockymountaineer.com or by phoning 800-665-7245.
Other scenic rail trips to consider:
The Sierra Madre Express, which operates from the Sonoran Desert to the 8,000-foot rim of Mexico’s Copper Canyon, provides views of a vast wilderness during its eight-day, seven night 1,300-mile excursion. Tours, which run from September to May, begin and end in Tucson, Ariz. Prices start at $2,545. Check out www.sierramadreexpress.com or phone 800-666-0346.
The American Orient Express operates a series of five regional itineraries from March through November aboard beautifully restored vintage rail cars, including posh sleeping cars and a dining car that serves gourmet meals. Prices start at $2,490. For details, go to www.americanorientexpress.com or phone 888-759-3944.
