Look out to the left, the captain said, and you can see killer whales. Now that’s not the kind of invitation you expect when you’re on a car ferry, especially if you are more used to the hop between Dover and Calais, when there is normally nothing to see… except other ferries.

But this was Canada and I was on a 90-minute crossing from Swartz Bay near Victoria on Vancouver Island to Tsawwassen, about 15 miles south of the city of Vancouver on the Canadian mainland.

For me, the sight of whales is one of those things that always thrill me to my boots (like the sudden and occasional views of Concorde we used to get). But, clearly, they are no big deal to Canadians, since few of my fellow passengers bothered to stir themselves from their breakfasts to catch a glimpse of the passing pod.

People are just used to things being on an epic scale here, and not just the wildlife. Vancouver Island, for example, may look like a dot on the map – inviting comparisons with the Isle of Wight – yet it is nearly 300 miles long and some 50 miles broad at its widest point.

Standing out on deck, gazing east, I strained for my first sight of the Rockies. On the horizon is what looks like a sweep of steepling peaks but as you approach, these turn out to be modest foothills. Beyond lurk the real mountains. So, even on these first tentative steps towards the country’s heart, you begin to grasp that this is a place created on a vast scale. It’s the world’s second biggest country, roughly 36 times the size of Britain, but is home to 33million people – half the UK’s population.

I had arrived in Canada via the ‘back door’ after taking another ferry, the high-speed service from Seattle to Victoria. One minute I was in fast-paced America – Seattle is home to Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft – the next, I was in Victoria, taking the five-minute walk from the sedate ferry terminal to the even more sedate Empress Hotel.

It’s a journey of just a couple of hours up from the US, but Canada is light years apart from the States in most respects. Victoria, the state capital of British Columbia, feels more like Torquay. Actually, given the ever-present Scottish heritage that surrounds you in Canada, you are reminded more of, say, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.

In America, you never feel able to drop your guard but in Canada I felt instantly as if I had never left home.

At the excellent Empress Hotel, for example, they serve a regular lunchtime curry buffet as fine as anything you can find on a British high street. And at any time of day you can always be sure of a real cup of tea.

The Empress Hotel, by the way, provides a worthy introduction to the chain of magnificent ‘railway hotels’ – now under the Fairmont banner – that stretches right across Canada. Like the country itself, these hotels are built on a grand scale in a style described as ‘chateau-esque’.
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By Frank Barrett, Mail Online, >>> continue reading

Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

As Calgary’s glass towers disappear into the distance, prairie gives way to rolling foothills and the Rocky Mountains take over the landscape, I stand on the back of Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mount Stephen car on the same platform where world leaders and royalty once perched.

The distinctive black-topped maroon passenger car, built in 1926 for $72,522, is outfitted with leather armchairs and plush couches, and is where, according to CP lore, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mackenzie King talked strategy before the Quebec Conference in 1943 when the Allies plotted the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France. On the walls hang pictures of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their 1939 Canadian tour, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh during their coast-to-coast trek in 1951, as well as Churchill with King on that historic ride, each person standing in the same place I have settled in.

On this excursion, three diesel locomotives power the 12-car train, which includes a recently completed museum car that tells the 128-year-old story of CP, and its inseparable link to the development of Canada as a nation. We are bound for Field, B.C., 220 kilometres west, in Yoho National Park or, more chiefly, the Spiral Tunnels carved through the indefatigable Kicking Horse Pass. Construction of the Spiral Tunnels is credited with helping goods and people move more quickly – and safely – across the spine of the continent.

“In the railway industry, it’s known as the holy place of railroading,” says Doug Welsh, a retired 33-year veteran of CP, who is along for the ride.

When British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871, it was on the condition that prime minister John A. Macdonald agreed to tie it by rail to the rest of fledgling country. CP plugged away at the project, but faced a significant challenge on the steep western slope of the Rockies. The railway could have found an easier route by looking farther north, but it didn’t want to chance abandoning territory to tenacious American railroaders to the south.

Under pressure to complete the transcontinental railway, CP was excused from the railway rule of track that the grade not exceed 2.2 per cent. Trains were not supposed to climb or descend more than 2.2 feet for every 100 feet of track (the railway still operates exclusively in imperial measures), but CP would be allowed a 4.5-per-cent grade. What was supposed to be a temporary fix, which was completed in 1884 and became known as Big Hill, lasted 25 years.
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By Dan Walton, Globe and Mail, >>> continue reading

Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

The province of Alberta is full steam ahead in its preparations for the 2010 Games.

In addition to renting six luxury dome cars on the Rocky Mountaineer to shuttle guests between Vancouver and Whistler, the province will also have a home base in each location for its guests.

And so the clubhouse of the Whistler Golf Club will be transformed into a mini Alberta House of sorts – a business/hospitality centre where guests of Alberta can gather after a day in Whistler before getting back on the train and enjoying a five-course meal on the way to back to Vancouver.

“It’s a VIP experience,” said Russ Tynan, executive director of Alberta’s Olympic and Paralympic Secretariat, created over one year ago. “That’s what we’ve touted it to be. It’s about business development.

“This is about businesses and colleagues needing to connect with the right people and establishing long-term relationships, and how better to do that than… attending a world class celebration in a great place.”

Tynan explained that the province readily jumped on board with plans for 2010 after an official invitation from B.C. and Olympic organizers. The invitation was extended across Canada.

Alberta, however, has the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics under its belt and understands what kind of benefits can come from being a part of 2010.

“We’ve been fortunate,” said Tynan. “We were given the opportunity 20 some odd years ago to host the Olympics and we understand how the world’s attention will shift and so we know that invitation we got is pretty magical and pretty special and so we’re not going waste it.”

The province has committed $6.6 million in new funds for the program. Other funding will come from existing programs.

The world will know the province is at the Games as the train will be wrapped in messaging with the name “Alberta” as it travels through Sea to Sky country.

The top of the line Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service dome cars and lounge cars will be used for the occasion.

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By Alison Taylor, Pique Newsmagazine, >>> continue reading

Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

Limited time offer: Book by 25th September 2009

This fantastic offer allows you to sit back and relax and experience one of Canada’s most exciting three-hour rail journey – the Whistler Mountaineer – a breathtaking train trip between North Vancouver and Whistler in Glacier Dome.

Until 25th September, 2009, book a Rocky Mountaineer two-day rail journey or vacation package, and receive a round-trip journey onboard the Whistler Mountaineer train for FREE, plus a CA$50 Rocky Mountaineer souvenir credit.
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Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

WHISTLER, British Columbia — As I ride to the top of Whistler Mountain in a gondola, I see mountain bikers stirring up dust clouds beneath me. To my left, a zip-liner streaks past me between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.

Not far away — though out of my sight range — I know skiers are plying their summer sport on Blackcomb’s glacier, and below me, golfers are enjoying what many, including Golf Digest, say are the best courses in Canada. (The bears think so, too; they often show up on the fairways).

This little mountain town is a perpetual motion machine. But the most popular sport, by the numbers, is the one I’m practicing: rubber-necking. Whatever brings you to Whistler, you’ll wind up gaping at the mountains, trees and rivers.

That’s what makes the Whistler Mountaineer the perfect way to get to the village. The train trip takes three hours, when you can drive it in about two, but who wants to be concentrating on curves instead of the landscape? So my husband and I booked the Mountaineer for the trip up and, a day later, back.

As the trip starts, one of our car’s two guides pours mimosas so we can toast our trip. We’re then served breakfast: fresh fruit, a cheese omelet, Canadian bacon, potatoes, coffee and juice. Thus stoked, we stare out the window.

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By Helen Anders, statesman.com, >>> continue reading

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (July, 2009) – Rocky Mountaineer is proud to announce that two of its rail journeys have been selected by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) as the most exciting and scenic train experiences in the world. SATW, the world’s largest organization of professional travel journalists and photographers with members in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, recently conducted a poll on the “Top 10″ train rides. Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer took the number one spot along with the Whistler Mountaineer, coming in at number eight.
“It is truly an honour for our Rocky Mountaineer train to be recognized and singled-out as the best in the world by SATW, a prestigious organization with members who are highly respected for providing expert travel advice,” says Randy Powell, President of Rocky Mountaineer. “Having both of our trains selected in the “Top 10″ is an amazing acknowledgement and gives us further indication that we are providing our guests with premier travel experiences.”

Both the Rocky Mountaineer and the Whistler Mountaineer trains continue to delight international writers, editors and producers alike, offering an exceptional onboard experience, sumptuous Western Canadian cuisine and stunning views that only the British Columbia coast, interior and Canadian Rockies can deliver.

The Society of American Travel Writers, comprised of more than 1,300 writers, photographers, journalists, film producers and public relations professionals, aims to promote responsible journalism and encourages the conservation and preservation of historic sites and natural wonders worldwide. Holding several travel related opinion surveys each year, this talented and respected group provides insight and expertise on destinations and attractions across the globe.

Rocky Mountaineer offers unique Canadian vacation packages and four spectacular rail routes through British Columbia and Alberta. Best known for the internationally-acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train, a two-day, all daylight rail journey through Canada’s West and the Canadian Rockies, the company also offers trips onboard the Whistler Mountaineer train, a daily three-hour experience between North Vancouver and Whistler, BC. Since its inception in 1990, the company has grown to become the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and welcomed its one millionth guest in 2008. Rocky Mountaineer has been honoured with three World Travel Awards as “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” and was recently named by National Geographic as one of the “World’s Greatest Trips.”
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For more info, visit  >>> Rocky Mountaineer
For more info, visit >>> Whistler Mountaineer