The more I fly, the more I love train trips.
It’s not just the rail world’s lack of airport security, cattle-car ambience and gut-wrenching turbulence, but also its sense of pomp and circumstance, its Old World civility. Stations are often grand old edifices where smartly uniformed porters will lug your overweight luggage and station staff might even lend a hand as you step up into your car. Read the full story
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
Revelstoke steams into Railway Days this weekend, which is our annual celebration of all things railway. The Revelstoke Railway Museum, located right next to the CP Rail line, hosts the event. James Baring, 6th Baron Revelstoke, was the guest of honour at the 2009 Revelstoke Homecoming due to his historical connection with the completion of the the CP Rail line, which was arguably a significant factor leading to the creation of Canada. CP Rail is a major employer in Revelstoke, with a proud history stretching back over a century.
Yet, despite these and many more connections our community has to the railway, you can’t take the train to Revelstoke. This despite the fact that many Third World countries enjoy better point to point passenger rail services than Western Canada — or Canada in general for that matter. Concerns about reducing greenhouse gases, treacherous winter road conditions and provincial goals to increase tourism in B.C. all support the concept of improving rail service to Revelstoke.
This lack of service to his namesake community did not escape the attention of Lord Revelstoke, who penned a letter of thanks published in the Aug. 5 issue of the Revelstoke Times Review. In the letter, he expresses his hope that he can arrive by train for the next homecoming event in Revelstoke. “I have been studying the Internet booking system which is succeeding in filling every seat on the EuroStar express that runs between London and Paris by balancing supply, demand and price,” writes Baring. “A package offering to the world a skiing break at Revelstoke, arriving by train from Toronto, Calgary or Kelowna, advertised and bookable online all over the world, would be fully subscribed.”
He isn’t the only one with that goal in mind. At their June 30 meeting, the Revelstoke Economic Development Commission discussed the matter, saying it was a “high priority” and asked that Director of Community Economic Development Alan Mason follow up on the item when he meets with CPR officials at a regularly scheduled meeting in September.
Mason says the matter comes up every couple of years and he will pursue it further at the September meeting.
By Aaron Orlando, Revelstoke Times, >>> continue reading
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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Experiencing a world-class train trip is more attractive now than ever before. With the recent decline of the Canadian dollar, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ spectacular rail journeys are even more appealing to U.S. visitors. Guests experience the beauty of the Canadian Rockies while traveling by train between the coastal city of Vancouver, British Columbia and the Rocky Mountain destinations of Jasper, Banff and Calgary, Alberta.
In addition to taking advantage of savings up to 20% in the exchange rate by booking in Canadian currency, U.S. travelers could get even more bang for their buck if they book the Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ Early Booking Bonus before January 15, 2009. The Early Booking Bonus rewards couples with a Fairmont Hotel & Resorts gift card of up to $600 in value when booking a qualifying vacation package of six nights or more departing during the 2009 season.
Great vacation options for the 2009 season include the new Escorted Rail Tours packages. Onboard the exclusive Escorted Tours Lounge, guests have the opportunity to mingle, browse our library and enjoy onboard entertainment features such as wine tastings, photography, natural history and storytelling. All Escorted Rail Tours packages include delicious hot breakfast and lunch selections, transportation, accommodations and welcome and farewell dinners. For food and wine lovers, the Taste of the West package offers a gastronomic odyssey. This seven-night/eight-day journey features sumptuous Western Canadian cuisine along with wine pairings in world-class destinations such as Victoria, Vancouver and Banff. This exclusive culinary experience continues onboard the Rocky Mountaineer train, where travellers dine on regional dishes that celebrate the distinctive character of Western Canada.
The Rocky Mountaineer operates on three different routes between Vancouver or Whistler, British Columbia and the beautiful destinations of Jasper, Banff and Calgary, Alberta. There are more than 70 different vacation packages built around the Rocky Mountaineer two-day, all daylight train trip such as classic rail vacations, full circle journeys and escorted tours through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
For additional information or to book your 2009 Rocky Mountaineer vacation and save, contact your local travel professional or Rocky Mountaineer Vacations directly at (800) 665-7245, or visit www.rockymountaineer.com
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations offers unique Canadian vacation packages and four spectacular rail routes through British Columbia and Alberta. Best known for the world-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 be the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and welcomed its one millionth guest in 2008. In 2007, RMV was honoured with the World Travel Award as “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” for the third consecutive year and named by National Geographic as one of the World’s Greatest Trips.
