How to travel on trains in Canada, where to go by train, and what to do when you get there. Vancouver, Jasper, Winnipeg, Toronto and more
An overview of crossing Canada by train between the end of may and beginning of June 2013. The trip began in Vancouver, stopped at Jasper and Winnipeg and ended in Toronto. There were bears, trees and cities, beautiful people and maple syrup. A life-defining trip.
Up a flight of stairs in Winnipeg’s Union Station is a battered old museum. The Winnipeg Railway Museum is charming in the way many volunteer put-together collections are and well worth a visit. Learn the history of Canadian railways here
On the first leg of a journey from Vancouver to Toronto by train, Fabien, the man in charge of looking after the welfare of passengers on board, was sitting strumming his guitar. He played a few songs and talked about his job.
All kinds of people ride The Canadian train. Some travel not only because they enjoy travelling by train, but because they don't like to fly. I spoke to a lady in her 50s who has travelled across Canada by train since she was a teenager.
Railway Hotels can be found worldwide. Often remnants of a time when rail travel was the way to travel, hotels like the Fairmont in Vancouver were built to accommodate the glamorous train travellers when they stopped over or reached their destinations. This castle in the city was built chateaux style.
These were thoughts I had before my first trip to North America. It was going to be a blog defining, eye opening trip filled with trees, bears and maple syrup. But I didn’t know that yet. Maybe I could have guaranteed the trees and maple syrup.