Everydaymatters
Engineer
Because of track work and multiple cancellations at my "home" station, I ended up changing my routing and dates several times. My final itinerary was to leave on October 19th from Bloomington, Illinois by bus to Galesburg. It seems that few people take a vacation in late October, and I wanted to see how it would be. This late in the season, I expected none of the colors of fall and everything would be rather drab, but I had to experience it.
The California Zephyr arrived and Rasheed was a great SA. I have mobility problems and use a walker. Rasheed was very accommodating in taking meals to my room. The scenery was outstanding. Much of the landscape which could not be seen when the trees were covered in leaves was visible. The mountains, which I had seen dozens of times in warmer weather, were amazing in full view.
After we arrived in Sacramento, I dropped my backpack and suitcase with the agent and sat in the "sleeper class lounge". The Sacrament station is still in reconstruction, just as it was three years ago when I last visited. The lounge was partitioned off and had more comfortable seating than the general waiting room area. I asked the agent what he would recommend since it would be around midnight when the Coast Starlight was to arrive. He actually closed his window and took me on one of those trollies to the California Railroad Museum. After visiting the museum, I walked on the wooden sidewalks to Old Town Sacramento, but it was very hot outside and I didn't spend much time there.
My second train was the Coast Starlight to Seattle. Landon, the SA, was not vey savvy on how to get tips. Basically, other than helping with the luggage by putting it in the vestibule, he did nothing at all. He didn't even direct people to their rooms. Once again, the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Seattle and I took a cab to my hotel.
On the fourth day of my trip I took the 7:45 a.m. Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver. The border crossing was done inside the station in Vancouver. Although the line into the station seemed long, it went fast and after checking our passports and a short interview, we walked directly into the station. That same day, October 23, I boarded #2 The Canadian for the trip across Canada. Once again, the views were amazing. There are four nights and three full days on this train. The first day was all mountains, the second day was flat land with farms and many lakes. The third day was all forests.
The Park Car had the atmosphere of a warm, friendly living room, where people congregated and chatted, knitted, or read. Mostly we were talking to each other. Coffee was always available. Up the stairs was the dome. Adjoining the "living room" there was an area with a never ending supply of apples, oranges and bananas, as well as cookies and crackers.
Although I had trepidations because I was a woman traveling alone, I had reserved a lower berth. This actually turned out to be perfect and I would definitely do it again. The daytime seating is made into a bed at night. Heavy curtains are placed on a frame in the upper bunk and extend down to the lower bunk. Even though there was no upper bunk pax, the bunk had to be made in order to place the frame for the curtains. The bed was wide and comfortable, made even more comfortable with a duvet. There are three berths per section and the other two lower berths were occupied, but all of the upper berths were empty.
Passengers were given a plastic VIA bag with towels, soap, shampoo and conditioner. There are both ladies' and men's washrooms, which are much roomier than Amtrak's washrooms. They were the about double the size of a small two-piece bathroom in a residence.
The dining cars on The Canadians have five-star chefs and offer different menus each day. Breakfast begins at 6:30 and you reserve your time for lunch and dinner while having breakfast.
On arriving in Toronto, I went directly to my hotel for my three night stay. The next morning brought damaging winds and heavy rain and I just hunkered down in the hotel. This turned out perfectly because after seven days of being in constant motion, I still felt like I was on a moving train. The next morning I went to the Royal Ontario Museum and after spending the entire day there, I still didn't get to see everything I wanted to see.
On the 11th day I boarded the Maple Leaf for my trip home. The border crossing here involved everyone getting off the train and being checked inside a small building and re-boarding. We did not have to take our suitcases with us. One man was escorted of the train with his luggage and we never saw him again. There was a twelve hour wait in Buffalo-Depew for my sixth train, the Lake Shore Limited, which was late and did not board until 12:30 a.m. The last time I had taken the LSL I had boarded in Boston and there was no diner. I was happy to be able to have breakfast in the diner. Upon arriving in Chicago on the last day of October, I had another layover of several hours for my bus back to Bloomington.
The highlights of this trip were the amazing scenery that was visible without the hindrance of foliage, the train itself on The Canadian, and the wonderful people I met along the way.
The California Zephyr arrived and Rasheed was a great SA. I have mobility problems and use a walker. Rasheed was very accommodating in taking meals to my room. The scenery was outstanding. Much of the landscape which could not be seen when the trees were covered in leaves was visible. The mountains, which I had seen dozens of times in warmer weather, were amazing in full view.
After we arrived in Sacramento, I dropped my backpack and suitcase with the agent and sat in the "sleeper class lounge". The Sacrament station is still in reconstruction, just as it was three years ago when I last visited. The lounge was partitioned off and had more comfortable seating than the general waiting room area. I asked the agent what he would recommend since it would be around midnight when the Coast Starlight was to arrive. He actually closed his window and took me on one of those trollies to the California Railroad Museum. After visiting the museum, I walked on the wooden sidewalks to Old Town Sacramento, but it was very hot outside and I didn't spend much time there.
My second train was the Coast Starlight to Seattle. Landon, the SA, was not vey savvy on how to get tips. Basically, other than helping with the luggage by putting it in the vestibule, he did nothing at all. He didn't even direct people to their rooms. Once again, the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Seattle and I took a cab to my hotel.
On the fourth day of my trip I took the 7:45 a.m. Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver. The border crossing was done inside the station in Vancouver. Although the line into the station seemed long, it went fast and after checking our passports and a short interview, we walked directly into the station. That same day, October 23, I boarded #2 The Canadian for the trip across Canada. Once again, the views were amazing. There are four nights and three full days on this train. The first day was all mountains, the second day was flat land with farms and many lakes. The third day was all forests.
The Park Car had the atmosphere of a warm, friendly living room, where people congregated and chatted, knitted, or read. Mostly we were talking to each other. Coffee was always available. Up the stairs was the dome. Adjoining the "living room" there was an area with a never ending supply of apples, oranges and bananas, as well as cookies and crackers.
Although I had trepidations because I was a woman traveling alone, I had reserved a lower berth. This actually turned out to be perfect and I would definitely do it again. The daytime seating is made into a bed at night. Heavy curtains are placed on a frame in the upper bunk and extend down to the lower bunk. Even though there was no upper bunk pax, the bunk had to be made in order to place the frame for the curtains. The bed was wide and comfortable, made even more comfortable with a duvet. There are three berths per section and the other two lower berths were occupied, but all of the upper berths were empty.
Passengers were given a plastic VIA bag with towels, soap, shampoo and conditioner. There are both ladies' and men's washrooms, which are much roomier than Amtrak's washrooms. They were the about double the size of a small two-piece bathroom in a residence.
The dining cars on The Canadians have five-star chefs and offer different menus each day. Breakfast begins at 6:30 and you reserve your time for lunch and dinner while having breakfast.
On arriving in Toronto, I went directly to my hotel for my three night stay. The next morning brought damaging winds and heavy rain and I just hunkered down in the hotel. This turned out perfectly because after seven days of being in constant motion, I still felt like I was on a moving train. The next morning I went to the Royal Ontario Museum and after spending the entire day there, I still didn't get to see everything I wanted to see.
On the 11th day I boarded the Maple Leaf for my trip home. The border crossing here involved everyone getting off the train and being checked inside a small building and re-boarding. We did not have to take our suitcases with us. One man was escorted of the train with his luggage and we never saw him again. There was a twelve hour wait in Buffalo-Depew for my sixth train, the Lake Shore Limited, which was late and did not board until 12:30 a.m. The last time I had taken the LSL I had boarded in Boston and there was no diner. I was happy to be able to have breakfast in the diner. Upon arriving in Chicago on the last day of October, I had another layover of several hours for my bus back to Bloomington.
The highlights of this trip were the amazing scenery that was visible without the hindrance of foliage, the train itself on The Canadian, and the wonderful people I met along the way.
