Ah, the Golden Age of rail travel. Three-quarters of a century ago a couple could arrive at the train station, dusty from a long trip, and check into an opulent hotel owned by the Canadian Pacific or Canadian National Railroad.
The next day, pampered and rested, they would board the train for a romantic and stunningly scenic trip through the Rocky Mountains. Arriving in Banff or Jasper, further sybaritic delights awaited the travellers at a wilderness chateau or resort, also operated by the railway line.
But of course those days are long gone. Or are they? My wife, Krista, and I decided to try and reproduce this civilized and quintessentially Canadian experience, and found that indeed it can still be done.
First of all we contacted Via Rail Canada to survey their range of offerings through the Rockies. The Romance by Rail package quickly caught my eye. This tour offers a romantic overnight journey in a double stateroom aboard the Canadian from Vancouver to Jasper.
This trip was nicely complem
ented by Via’s Skeena, which transports its passengers from Jasper on a two day trip through the Rockies and the Coastal Range of Northern British Columbia. The Skeena stops overnight in Prince George and then proceeds to Prince Rupert. Its Totem Deluxe class provides special cars with one-hundred-and-eighty degree views and meals served at the passengers’ seat.
Next on the agenda was to track down those glorious old railway hotels. Many look more like chateaux on the Loire than simply places to lodge. We discovered that they are all still around, but you now have to look under the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts logo to find them. Fairmont has properties the world over, including the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver built jointly by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific in 1939, and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, which opened its doors under CN’s auspices in 1922. These perfectly complemented our rail schedule.
With our itinerary set, Krista and I took decidedly more modern transport from Halifax to Vancouver via Air Canada. Once in Vancouver we hitched a limo downtown, checking into the Hotel Vancouver.
Entering the hotel’s impressively retro lobby, we imagined ourselves whisked back to the early part of the last century. Indulging in their Gold Service we found the personalized attention even extended to walking their clients’ dogs!
The next day we had plenty of time to tour Vancouver’s historic Gastown, its 19th century ambiance fitting well with our “blast from the past” theme.
Late afternoon found Krista and m
e at the Pacific Central station, sipping complimentary iced tea and lemonade and being serenaded by a rhythm and blues musician. Boarding the train, our attendant Rick led us to the double stateroom that would be our overnight home. Fresh flowers and a bottle of champagne on ice were waiting.
We popped the cork, settled back in our seats and sipped “bubbly” as the train pulled out of the station, passing through the suburbs and into the mountains as the sun set. It was now time to make our way to the dining car, which had the ambiance of a fine restaurant. Krista chose a pasta dish and I supped on excellent sole stuffed with shrimp and scallops.
We Maritimers are pretty proud of seafood, but I have to admit the west coast can give us a run for our money. I perused the ample wine list and, always preferring to drink the native wines, opted for an Okanagan Valley Gewurztraminer. In my opinion this spicy varietal nicely accompanies seafood.
When we returned to our cabin
Rick had magically converted our space into a bedroom complete with an ample sized double bed, the pillows adorned with chocolates. Another bottle of champagne on ice had also appeared. They say that the swaying movement of the train has an aphrodisiac effect. Well, it isn’t called Romance by Rail for nothing…
Morning brought no ringing on an alarm clock, but rather we woke up to the smell of fresh coffee as Rick brought a huge breakfast into our cabin, another “perk” of this package. What a sense of utter relaxation as we ate and viewed steadily more impressive scenery. Waterfalls, mountain lakes and high peaks became almost mundane. And we had no obligations, nowhere to go and nothing to do except contemplate lunch and enjoy the scenery before we arrived in Jasper.
Early afternoon found the Canadian pulling into the rail station of this picturesque mountain town. We grabbed the shuttle to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Situated on Lac Beauvert, this hotel does not share the chateau style seen at the Fairmont properties in Banff and Lake Louise.
One might say that JPL, as the locals fondly call it, is more of a summer camp for the rich and famous, or just those who want to live that way during their mountain holiday. Indeed past visitors have included Sir Arthur Conan and Lady Doyle, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, the Duke of Kent, as well as various members of the Rockefeller and Kennedy clans (and now the Burdens!). One of the staff members told me there was a rumor that Marilyn liked to skinny dip in the hotel pool during her visit.
Jasper is a great place to hike and climb, explore, shop, or simply relax. Worthwhile side trips include a visit to Maligne Canyon, where rushing glacial water has etched a deep gorge, and a cable car ride to the top of Whistler’s Mountain (not to be confused with Whistler in BC). We didn’t see Whistler, or even his mother, but we did get great views of Jasper and surrounding mountains. As twilight set in, the lights in the town slowly came on, sparkling and twinkling far below.
At JPL I hiked around Lac Beauvert, at one point well into the woods, then later was able to watch golfers tee off against a scenic mountain backdrop. Later I rented a kayak and paddled around the lake.
At one point I spotted a large number of white egg-like objects in shallow water, and reaching in, pulled out a brand new Titleist golf ball. I concluded I was a risking a concussion or worse and moved on, away from the golf course.
In retrospect I would have loved to have spent a few extra days at JPL, but the next day the siren call of the Skeena summoned us back towards the coast. Boarding our coach we discovered that our fellow travellers comprised a large group of affable English seniors on a tour.
A couple we befriended was comprised of an American with an impressive knowledge of Canadian history, and his Canadian partner. Somehow we got on the topic of the privacy legislation recently enacted by the federal government in Canada. I roundly condemned the legislation as “complete idiocy framed by a bunch of idiots.” (At least from the perspective of the medical profession.) It turned out that the Canadian half of the aforementioned couple held a fairly high level position administering that very same legislation. Fortunately she had a good sense of humour.
The Jasper to Prince George leg of the train trip provided even more mountain vistas, though somewhat vitiated by smoke from nearby forest fires. We passed Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and also Mount Rider. The latter was named for Sir H. Rider Haggard, the English novelist of such adventure classics as King Solomon’s Mines, who travelled this very track a hundred years before us.
We also spotted a lot of wildlife including elk, deer, black bears and many bald eagles, and laughed uproariously when an Englishwoman confidently announced the elk she was viewing was a moose.
The rail line also took us past many isolated little communities, and the train crew provided a running commentary on their history, population and idiosyncrasies. We made a number of whistle stops to places with such quaint names as McBride, Smithers and Terrace, and were able to get off the train for a breath of fresh air and a chance to enjoy places few would ever get to see.
Krista and I overnighted at the Ramada in Prince George and then continued on through the vistas of the Coastal Mountains and even more wildlife.
Our course took us past large river systems, such as the Fraser, and we frequently passed through tunnels and over impressively high railroad bridges, definitely not for the acrophobic. The Coastal Mountains were impressive and I marvelled at how large evergreens could grow on almost vertical rock faces.
As we neared the coast we passed an old salmon cannery, restored as it was a hundred years ago, and now a museum. Later our genial train engineer actually slowed down enough for us to see an ancient Indian petroglyph. It once warned interlopers away from Tsimsian territory, but now welcomed rail voyagers as they neared Prince Rupert.
As we arrived in Prince Rupert the sun was setting, providing a breathtaking backdrop for our arrival at the end of rail line. This was also the end of the line for our trip. We would have loved to have taken the ferry service up to Alaska or out to the Queen Charlotte Islands as other planned. Instead we caught a flight to Vancouver and then home to Halifax. We’d had a wonderful week enjoying a traditional way of seeing our country and making new friends. And it was great to know that the Golden Age of rail wasn’t really dead.
If YOU GO…
For bookings with Via Rail Canada contact your travel agent or call 1 888 VIA-RAIL/1 888 842-7245. Information can also be accessed at www.viarail.ca.
For bookings at Fairmont properties made from the US or Canada, call 1 800 257-7544 or go to www.fairmont.com.
Photo Credits
“Native Petroglyph” © George Burden
“George Burden standing in front of our Via Trail” © George Burden
All other photos courtesy of Via Rail
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