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Rocky Mountaineer Railtours: See the Rockies!
See the Canadian Rockies up close with Rocky Mountaineer Railtours from Vancouver to Banff to Calgary. Heralded as "most spectacular train trip in the world", it only travels thru the mountains by day
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OOOO! THE VIEW IS SPECTACULAR!
By Rob DeMone
Publisher of TravelWise Online Magazine
Before the turn of the century the last one CP Rail president William Van Horne spake thusly: If we cannot export the scenery, we'll import the tourists.
Indeed, Willie. Well done.
This summer, celebrating its 10th season, Rocky Mountaineer Railtours will bring more than 30,000 tourists to oooh at the view. Departing Vancouver Sundays through September, the Rocky Mountaineer travels only by day. Wisely so, since none of what is heralded as the Most Spectacular Train Trip in The World should be wasted on night.
The trip runs, quickly told, Vancouver to Kamloops, where it rests for the night, then next day on to Banff and, for some, Calgary.
That's the itinerary.
But the trip is so much more can there be anything more relaxing than train travel? More elegant than a diner car where waiters in bow ties pour wine in crystal whilst you dab crumbs from your lip with linen? More satisfying than debates with someone from the UK on the folly of warm beer, and the state of the coming Euro Dollar? (Such debates leave us both nodding agreement, we have solved everything, and changed nothing...)
And the view rolls by.
From the time she pulls out of Central Station in Vancouver toasted by champagne and The Rocky Mountaineer invites relaxation. And the nature of train travel, where conversations with fellow travelers flow easily, heightens the relaxation.
Over breakfast in Gold Leaf Service the cuisine is exquisite, from steak and eggs to Belgian waffles to salmon and poached eggs, stories are shared of other world travels, while the train jiggles along tracks that trace the swollen Fraser River.
By the time the second seating is back upstairs in the Dome Car, we've left the valleys for the mountains just beyond Hope.
Let spectacular begin.
The Rocky Mountaineer clings to gorge walls, magnificent mountains above, and the ever-present Fraser below. The stewards keep a steady commentary, from the history of the 100-year-old Canadian Pacific Railway, to the villages we pass through, odd names that bring grins from the internationals, like Spuzzum, Skuzzy Creek, Hell's Gate and Jackass Mountain. With each bend in the river comes a new view.
During the day, we leave the Fraser River behind to pick up the Thompson, which we will cross seven times en rout to Kamloops.
With each trestle, it is social and polite to jostle and jockey for position to snap that perfect picture, to capture that which, sadly, cannot be captured. William Van Horne knew, you can't take the view with you. But the memory of such vistas will never fade.
As the train chugs near Walachin, stewards share more local lore, regaling us with the history of this settlement, the dream of one man, doomed when fully two-thirds of the male population didn't return from World War I.
And overhead, through the roof of the dome car, a Bald Eagle soars to keep pace, not 20 feet off the top of the train.
We gawk and coo, and as he peels off over the widening Thompson, we keep watch, fingers crossed that he might favor us with a plunge into those murky waters to pluck his dinner.
And the scenery rolls by. The lush green mountainsides have given way to semi-arid rolling hills, and now multi-coloured and steep cliffs shooting out of Kamloops Lake. Time to rest for the night in Kamloops where Thompson Rivers meet, and from where the spectacular turns it up a notch on the Rocky Mountaineer run.
On Day 2, the mountains get big.
It is another early start, and as we reboard, the anticipation is thick. This is a world famous passage, and today they've come from Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, England, Australia and Texas to see.
In due course, the train chases itself through the picturesque villages of Chase and Salmon Arm, building steam and mustering gumption for the hike up the mountains. By the end of the day, we will climb 5,000 feet in elevation. We will pass through Three Valley Gap, and do a slow roll by Craigellachie, where the Last Spike united the nation by rail in 1885.
We will pass through some of the longest and most unique tunnels in the world the five-mile-long Connaught Tunnel, and the engineering feat of the Spiral Tunnels: Two loops through mountains near the Continental Divide. Built in 1907 at a cost of a then-astronomical $1 million, the Spirals eliminated one of the steepest and most horrifying grades along the CPR.
Bridges help us vault gorges where creeks and streams boil hundreds of feet below. We burst from black tunnels to see snow-covered mountains all around.
It is a moving picture of changing scenes, each rivalling the last and teasing the next, challenging you, daring you to steal a peek to the left, lest you miss a peak on the right.
No worry, round the next bend is another vista that supports the claim of the World's Most Spectacular Train Ride.
Well done, Mr. Van Horne.
TIPS FOR VISITORS: Spend a few extra dollars and treat yourself to the Gold Leaf Service from Kamloops to Banff. The view, the food, or rather the cuisine, is not to be missed. They look after everything, from hotel transfers in Vancouver, Kamloops and Banff, to accommodations in Kamloops and Banff. They've even partnered with a company in Kamloops for a bit of dinner theatre.
IF YOU GO:
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours:
For reservation information, 1-800-665-7245, or
email reservations@rkymtnrail.com.
Check them out of the web at www.rkymtnrail.com
In Banff, Mount Royal Hotel is downtown on Banff Avenue, amid the vibrant shopping district and a nice walk to the Bow River and the stately Banff Springs Hotel (where the golf course will challenge your game, torch your handicap, and reward you only with scenery.) Mount Royal Hotel 1-800-267-3035 mountroyal@ brewster.ca
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