Grey Cup and Canadian Vancouver to Toronto

[thully]

Last year I took a ride on the VIA Corridor to the Grey Cup (Canadian football championship), taking transit both ways to/from Michigan. This year the Grey Cup was in Vancouver, which provided an intriguing trip opportunity - go to the Grey Cup and take the Canadian during off-peak season. I had taken the Canadian before, though it was during the summer peak season. Which meant way better weather in Toronto and Vancouver (the latter of which I spent a week in), but meant I could only access the Park Car after 4pm. That was my only real gripe with the Canadian (besides getting a 3rd dinner seating after a backward time change and early brunch).

As such, I decided to book this at the earliest possible opportunity - was watching for bookings to open last December, and when they did I grabbed a cabin for 1 from Vancouver to Toronto, going the opposite direction of my previous trip. - Also, with VIA’s points redemption values last winter, I was able to book that entirely with points gained from my previous cabin for 2 trip and the Premier status coupons I got as a result.

To get to Vancouver, I ended up flying - while I could take the Canadian both ways or the Empire Builder one way, I figured 4 days was enough for me (and I wanted to save the vacation time). I ended up flying Detroit-Vancouver via Seattle with Delta SkyMiles, arriving on Friday a couple days before the Grey Cup game. Took SkyTrain from the airport, which arrived almost instantly and dropped me at Waterfront station a couple blocks from my hotel.. Got a pretty good for the Grey Cup deal ($259CAD/night) on a hotel that ended up just a couple minutes walk to the Grey Cup Festival. That was a bit fun to explore, but the fact that it was 40 and raining made it feel a bit too cold. I wanted to do the free zip lines they had, but it would mean waiting for hours in that cold - no thanks.

The game itself was pretty good - Toronto beat Winnipeg 41-24, though that score is a bit deceiving (it was a 1 point game in the 3rd quarter). They had the Jonas Brothers at halftime and had more ceremony than your normal game (kind of like the Super Bowl, but not to that extent). I’d say the atmosphere was perhaps better in Hamilton - there everybody in town was there for the Grey Cup and the venue was more intimate. However, I don’t think I’d ever want to do this in a cold outdoor environment - got lucky in Hamilton with mild weather and getting club seats with an indoor lounge, though I have no desire to brave the cold in Winnipeg or Calgary (the next two venues).

 

[thully]

After the Grey Cup, it was time for the main event - riding the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto. Almost all the way home, though instead of taking the VIA Corridor (and some buses unless I got picked up in Windsor). I originally intended to stay in Toronto a while and then take the Corridor home, but then I found out Taylor Swift was in town, making downtown hotels costly. Was going to stay in Oakville next to VIA, but then started looking at flying home as I didn’t want to miss Michigan/Lions games on Saturday/Sunday. Found I could get a decent flight and good hotel deal with Marriott points right next to YYZ, so did that

Anyway, from the morning until departure, today was mostly just getting ready to go. Ended up moving essentials from my suitcase (too large to bring onboard) to a duffel bag, Originally had thought of using a smaller suitcase (VIA seems to allow a 50lb bag with larger dimensions since their last policy change), though wasn’t sure I could fit my medium (larger than airline carry-on) bag in a cabin for 1 - and it was a tight squeeze so just used my large.

After buying a few things for my trip, I got to Pacific Central Station right before the Panorama Lounge was supposed to open. I got there and heard they were going to start check-in soon. Got in line, and was glad I got there early as the line seemed to move slowly (and people were getting dinner reservations - and as I remember you really don’t want 3rd seating). One person pointed out that they didn’t like my Michigan hat - seems an Ohio State fan was onboard. Saw a lot of people wearing CFL/Grey Cup gear - it seems others had the same idea as me. Wonder if anyone is going to Taylor Swift on the other end…

Eventually got checked-in with a second dinner reservations and went to the Panorama Lounge, which ended up being just seating. No snacks/food/drinks like Toronto - honestly seemed like barely a step up from an Amtrak economy waiting area. Seeing that, I left and went to A&W to get something to eat for lunch. Ate and came back, and found I arrived just as they’d started boarding. Lined up and eventually made our way to the train, and found I was in the first car we reached (car 10). Probably the optimal location - Skyline was one car behind, the dining car behind that, and the Park car two cars behind that.

After boarding and orientation from my car attendant (who showed me how easy it is to pull down the bed - that’s a big advantage over cabins for 2), I made my way back to the Skyline car, eventually moving to the Park car, where I am now (they told me to wait until after the celebratory champagne since Prestige was getting oriented there). Glad to be on board this great train again

 

[PaTrainFan]

Last year I took a ride on the VIA Corridor to the Grey Cup (Canadian football championship), taking transit both ways to/from Michigan. This year the Grey Cup was in Vancouver, which provided an intriguing trip opportunity - go to the Grey Cup and take the Canadian during off-peak season. I had taken the Canadian before, though it was during the summer peak season. Which meant way better weather in Toronto and Vancouver (the latter of which I spent a week in), but meant I could only access the Park Car after 4pm. That was my only real gripe with the Canadian (besides getting a 3rd dinner seating after a backward time change and early brunch).

As such, I decided to book this at the earliest possible opportunity - was watching for bookings to open last December, and when they did I grabbed a cabin for 1 from Vancouver to Toronto, going the opposite direction of my previous trip. - Also, with VIA’s points redemption values last winter, I was able to book that entirely with points gained from my previous cabin for 2 trip and the Premier status coupons I got as a result.

To get to Vancouver, I ended up flying - while I could take the Canadian both ways or the Empire Builder one way, I figured 4 days was enough for me (and I wanted to save the vacation time). I ended up flying Detroit-Vancouver via Seattle with Delta SkyMiles, arriving on Friday a couple days before the Grey Cup game. Took SkyTrain from the airport, which arrived almost instantly and dropped me at Waterfront station a couple blocks from my hotel.. Got a pretty good for the Grey Cup deal ($259CAD/night) on a hotel that ended up just a couple minutes walk to the Grey Cup Festival. That was a bit fun to explore, but the fact that it was 40 and raining made it feel a bit too cold. I wanted to do the free zip lines they had, but it would mean waiting for hours in that cold - no thanks.

The game itself was pretty good - Toronto beat Winnipeg 41-24, though that score is a bit deceiving (it was a 1 point game in the 3rd quarter). They had the Jonas Brothers at halftime and had more ceremony than your normal game (kind of like the Super Bowl, but not to that extent). I’d say the atmosphere was perhaps better in Hamilton - there everybody in town was there for the Grey Cup and the venue was more intimate. However, I don’t think I’d ever want to do this in a cold outdoor environment - got lucky in Hamilton with mild weather and getting club seats with an indoor lounge, though I have no desire to brave the cold in Winnipeg or Calgary (the next two venues).

I watched the game. Wonder how different the outcome might have been had Zach Collaros not suffered the freak injury to his hand in the third quarter.

 

[thully]

Last night went pretty well - mostly hung out in the Park Car except to listen to our Skyline car attendant talk about railroading and eating dinner in the dining car. The other passengers onboard seemed to be almost all Canadian - a stark contrast to the summer when you had more of a mix. A lot of them seemed to have attended the Grey Cup and were on their way home - ended up talking to someone about that for a while, reaching the topic of how they should move the season up so it isn’t so freezing cold when at outdoor stadiums. Ended up having a non-alcoholic beer at dinner and after - the Corona they had was surprisingly good. One challenge was tipping I had brought some Canadian cash for that, but found I had to use it to buy the beer (and tip) when the credit card machine didn’t work in the wilderness. I just got more cash in Jasper, but the problem is it’s all 20s (good for tipping a car attendant, not great for a meal or drink).

Sleeping in the cabin for 1 ended up being better than in a cabin for 2 (or any Amtrak roomette or family bedroom I’ve taken - have never done a bedroom or accessible room). It’s very nice to be able to put your own bed up/down, and sleeping in the direction of travel seemed better. I thought the toilet being under the bed would be annoying, though it was so easy to lift the bed I just did that instead of walking down the hall.

Woke up at 6 when I set my alarm, but turned it off. Did get up at 7 since I wanted to make sure I did the continental breakfast - made the mistake of waiting for the brunch last time through Jasper and then ending up eating early and then having a very late dinner seating (ultimately ate in my room to get it earlier) I don’t really like the brunch setup on the day if Jasper arrival, though it will be better this time without a time change between brunch and dinner and a second seating dinner.

Took my shower, and afterward found we were arriving in Jasper very early. Thought we were going to have just an hour, but having almost 3 meant time to explore. Got off the train and it was quite cold (-13C or 8F). Wished I’d worn a second layer. Walked around and saw some fire damage from this summer - was going to Tim Hortons but it was temporarily closed (though I did not see fire damage). Quite surprised to see Jasper is without a Timmies for the time being. Got some more cash from the ATM, and took my reusable mug back to the train - ended up going from there back into Jasper for BeaverTails, which didn’t open until 11. That meant being off the train until 12 as they were servicing it.

 

[thully]

One side note - despite being off-season, this train is still LONG. Only one diner and less cars than in summer, but we still have at least 15 cars or so. I pictured the winter consist being MUCH smaller - like the size of a California Zephyr consist or something like that.

Also, I did notice there is NO Rocky Mountaineer service in the off-peak months - the Canadian is the only game in town on these tracks. Perhaps not totally surprising, but you’d think they’d run a ski train - particularly since they service Whistler.

 

[thully]

One thing I forgot to mention - yesterday I ran into a passenger that was headed to Ottawa same day as Toronto arrival and was waiting to book a ticket when we were close to arrival. That seemed a bit risky to me - was very tempted to do basically the same (book a ticket on the last train to Windsor but refundable, changing to earlier or the next day depending on arrival). However, Taylor Swift in Toronto kind of scared me away from that. It would be kind of nice to get home Friday night…

 

[thully]

The rest of yesterday went good. The brunch yesterday was pretty good - the menu was quite similar to what we had for breakfast this morning. I had the transcontinental - would have probably preferred a regular lunch yesterday, but figured I’d pick something with protein (in this case eggs and sausage - though I ended up not liking the sausage). After that, I talked to some people in the Park car about trains, CFL, and a little hockey and watched the snowy scenery go by. It was kind of neat to see so much snow from this train - was hoping for that as I definitely did not during the summer!

We were stopped by multiple long freight trains for extended periods of time, which is not a surprise on this train but was still annoying. I managed to get the 2nd call for dinner (picking that the previous day may have helped me avoid 3rd), and got the beef tenderloin. For dessert they had two types of cake, but both of them contain nuts which I’m allergic to (though not deathly - I’m OK if it merely contains traces, so maybe I should have asked). This happened the previous time as well, and on both occasions I was offered orange sorbet, which was pretty good. Hoping they do ice cream or something other than cake next time…

Slept pretty well, though not as good as last night - think perhaps the tracks were more bumpy. Showered and got ready for the day, and found we quickly got to our stop of Saskatoon (or so I thought). It took a very long time to actually get into the station after entering the area. Got there before breakfast, but spend a bunch of time just sitting still and then twisting and turning slowly through the CN rail yard until we reached the station after breakfast. The sun is just coming up here despite it being just after 9am - that’s an artifact of Saskatchewan effectively using permanent daylight saving time (it’s actually central standard time, but they are more geographically suited to mountain time).

 

[thully]

Yesterday was a lot of flat land - as I remember from my last time on the Canadian, Saskatchewan looks a lot like Nebraska (though unlike Nebraska, Saskatchewan is served during the day). However, the addition of snow made it more interesting to look at - there were some huge snowbanks, and I saw at least a couple cars buried in the snow.

At lunch I tried this shrimp skewer - the shrimp was good, though I didn’t really care for the other stuff on my plate (it was yellow - think it was potato salad). Dessert actually offered ice cream this time, so I gladly took that. After lunch I was a bit tired, so I ended up putting my bed and taking a nap (doing that myself being a key advantage of the cabin for 1). Slept for a couple hours, and found myself waking up just as we entered Manitoba and the sun was setting.

In the Park car I ended up talking to several other people, including a few other Americans as well as someone who was taking a trip all the way to London and other parts of Europe without flying. After getting to Toronto they were going to take the Maple Leaf to New York, the Queen Mary II to London, and then other trains through Europe, eventually returning via the same way. `

At dinner I tried the sole filet - it seems I was an outlier, as almost everybody else got the prime rib. I felt more in the mood for fish than beef, though. It was pretty tasty - though I do wonder how the prime rib compared. I ended up with the orange sherbet for dessert again, though it wasn’t bad. They offered us either first, second, or third seating for the next lunch & dinner - after initially selecting first, I opted for second when I realized there would be a forward time zone change (to Eastern) after breakfast. Ended up leaving a tip that was basically for the last 2 days at this meal, as our crew was changing after.

After dinner I hung out in my room to watch a few transit-oriented videos I had downloaded when we got a string signal, and then hung out in the Park & Skyline cars some more. Gave the service attendant a tip (since they were changing in Winnipeg as well), and got into bed just as we approached Winnipeg. Would have liked to get out for a little while, but how late it was (after 10 pm) together with the fact that this means a shorter stop meant I skipped it. If we had arrived at 8 and had the full 2 hours I probably would have gone for it - wanted to see the station and a bit of downtown Winnipeg.