13Aug11: The Maple Leaf (Rail Day 1)

We left Ithaca by van in the morning (Saturday) and drove to the Syracuse Amtrak station. The first rail leg of our journey was Amtrak's Maple Leaf from Syracuse, NY to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since this was a day trip we traveled coach on the Maple Leaf. In Toronto we were to have a two and a half hour layover before boarding the VIA Rail’s Canadian for Vancouver, B.C.

We left Syracuse around 1 pm, pretty much on time, headed west, and got about five miles. Then we stopped. There seemed to be a problem with a track switch. The train backed back into the Syracuse station and we sat there for nearly an hour until the switch was repaired.

Once we got going again there was freight congestion between Syracuse and Rochester. Every time we met an east-bound freight the Maple Leaf pulled into a siding and waiting for the freight to pass. By the time we got to Rochester we were over an hour behind schedule. West of Rochester we managed, somehow, not to lose any more time. Until we got to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

When we got to Canadian customs in Niagara Falls we were over two and a half hours behind schedule, and worried that we would not make our connection with the Canadian, which would not be running again until the following Tuesday. We didn't think the Maple Leaf could make up enough time to get us to Toronto before 10 pm. The train crew speculated that because the train was so late customs would go back to the more streamline system they had been using up until a few months ago and not take everyone off the train. No such luck. In fact Carol and I were chosen for a random luggage search.

While our luggage was emptied out and searched, including laptops and cell phone directories, our traveling companions, Marc and Phyllis, found a VIA Rail agent and asked about our chances of making our connection. No chance if we stayed on the Maple Leaf. Our only chance, and a slim one at that, was to hire a taxi to Toronto. It turns out that the VIA Rail people knew that we were on the Maple Leaf and needed to get to Toronto for the Canadian. They also knew the Maple Leaf was too late for us to make it and contacted Amtrak before we reached Buffalo and asked Amtrak to get us off the train in Buffalo and put us in a taxi to Toronto.  Amtrak refused to do so. Because Amtrak refused to do so we had to pay for the taxi out of our own pockets. With tip it was $US 210.

The taxi driver was very nice and skillful. And fast. At times we were going in excess of 130 Km/hr. Carol kept her eyes closed for much of this ride.  We got us to the Toronto station with less than ten minutes to spare. A VIA ticket agent was there waiting for us with our tickets. Fortunately the Canadian was not at the platform yet, so we had a short time to catch our breath. As it turns out the Maple Leaf did not get to Toronto until after 10:30 that evening.

13Aug11: The Canadian: Day 1 (Rail Day 1)

The second leg of our journey was aboard the Canadian, which took us all the way across Canada, from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, B.C. In Vancouver we were to get on the bus segment of Amtrak's the Cascades to Portland, Oregon, after about a one and three-quarters hour layover.

When the Canadian was finally at the platform the first thing VIA did was load about 150 YMCA kids into the coaches. Then they started loading the sleeper cars. We finally pulled out of the station around 11 pm, about an hour late. On this train we had a double bedroom. This accommodation has two single beds, one over the other. The upper berth slides up into the ceiling when not in use and the lower one folds up into the wall, leaving room for two reclining chairs. The upper berth has about 30 inches between the mattress and the ceiling, so you can barely sit upright. Since the beds go across the width of the car you can see out the window from the upper bed. You are looking down at the ground, but at least you can see something and tell if it is day or night. There is also a private toilet for the room in a small, very small, compartment off the main room. The shower at one end of the car and is shared by everyone in the car. I didn't find this to be a problem since I generally get up around 5 am and there was no competition for the shower at that time. Later risers often had to wait for a turn in the shower.  Our travel companions Marc and Phyllis had the adjoining double bedroom.  Carol had requested this so that during the day the car attendant could open the wall between the two rooms, giving the four of us one big room allowing us to chat or play cards and enjoy the scenery together.. But when we boarded we discovered there had been a bit of miscommunication about the adjoining rooms and discovered the beds were down and the wall was folded away so the four of us were essentially sleeping in one room.  While we found this amusing it was not at all what we had intended.  The car attendant fixed this while we went to the observation car for complimentary champagne. We took our champagne up into the dome of the observation car to try and see the aurora borealis, which was supposed to come that far south that night. Unfortunately between the full moon and the light pollution from Toronto we didn't see a thing and eventually went to bed.  When we returned to our rooms each couple had a private room for the night as intended.

14Aug11: The Canadian: Day 2 (Rail Day 2)

Our ticket price included meals and these were really good. They seemed to be mostly prepared on board and the menu changed every day. Meals were served in a well appointed dining car on real china and glassware with a fresh flower on each table. Dining staff were efficient, courteous, and friendly.  In addition there were snacks, coffee, tea, juice, water and fresh fruit available at all times in the lounge car.  The only thing we had to pay for was any beer or wine we wanted.  Headed west across the Laurentian Plateau. Boreal forest, also known as taiga, on either hand. Beautiful landscape with hundreds of lakes and rocky, wooded hills covered with birch trees, various conifers, and lichens. To our disappointment, though, no wildlife. We soon found out that the Canadian had the lowest priority on the line. We pulled into a siding and waited for every east-bound freight. By the time we reached Winnipeg, Manitoba, the next morning we were four hours behind schedule.

15Aug11: The Canadian: Day 3 (Rail Day 3)

We scheduled to have a four hour layover in Winnipeg, but because we were so far behind schedule it was shortened to about forty-five minutes. Not really enough time to see any of the city. We were able to take a short walk to stretch our legs and enjoy the nice weather, and visit the statue of Gandhi on the grounds where a Human Rights museum is being built. The four of us were concerned about missing the train and headed back to the station a little earlier than we needed to. We spent what felt like a very long time in the station's boarding lounge waiting for them to finish servicing the train and allow us to re-board.

After we left Winnipeg we spent the day rolling through the plains of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, again stopping and waiting for east-bound freights. We saw some horses and cattle, but still no wildlife. That night around Saskatoon I watched a thunderstorm come in from the west, the mountains just visible in the distance.

16Aug11: The Canadian: Day 4 (Rail Day 4)

At dawn we were just coming into Edmonton, Alberta. Shortly thereafter we entered the Canadian Rockies. Unbelievably beautiful. The track mostly follows rivers with the mountains rising on either hand. Still no wildlife for most of us. Marc saw a couple of bighorn sheep through his binoculars, but that was pretty much it. There was a short stop in Jasper, Alberta where we got out and wandered around town for an hour or so. After Jasper we continued on the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies and crossed the continental divide at Yellowhead Pass. Throughout the entire trip on the Canadian we continued to wait for the east-bound traffic.

17Aug11: The Canadian: Day 5 (Rail Day 5)

The western slope of the Canadian Rockies was traversed at night, so we didn't see any of that. You would have to take the east-bound Canadian, train number 2, in order to see those mountains. Arrived in Vancouver shortly after 10:30 in the morning, less than an hour behind schedule. This cut our layover down to about an hour.

17Aug11: The Cascades (Rail Day 5)

The third leg of our journey was aboard Amtrak's the Cascades. This leg was by bus from Vancouver to Seattle, Washington, then by train from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. We stayed in Portland for four days before taking Amtrak's Coast Starlight to Emeryville, California, to get the California Zephyr.

The bus left Vancouver about half an hour late, but there were enough passengers that they split it into two buses. One bus made all the scheduled stops and the other, which we were on, was express to Seattle with no stops except customs. We made good time on the highway. US customs was a breeze, just a glance at our passports and the bags through the x-ray scanner. As we approached Seattle we could see Mount Rainier in the distance. We actually got to Seattle about 45 minutes early, which meant we had about a three hour layover before the train portion of the Cascades left for Portland.

The train left Seattle pretty much on time. The Cascades was another day train for us, so again we traveled coach. The entire time we had the beautiful Cascade Mountains to the east of us, our left-hand side as we headed south. We steadily lost time on the way to Portland. Approaching Portland we saw Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood. This train has convenient monitors situated in each car showing the next stop and expected arrival times.  Based on the information on those monitors we are called our Portland friends, Ed and Sally, to let them know that we would be arriving a little later.  However we arrived in Portland around 9:00 pm, right on time, in spite of the fact that the monitor still indicated that we would not arrive there for at least 10 more minutes.  Lucky for us Ed and Sally showed up promptly anyway.