[?]

A Winter Train Trip to Canada 12/10-30/1999 Part 1

Following the completion of my 1999 North American Rail Pass and reclaiming Canada for my sobriety, I started to plan my first true winter rail journey. With memories of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) that were seen over Saskatchewan still strong in my mind, I wanted another opportunity to see them in their full glory and it would also allow me to see how people live and survive in the zero degree Farenheit temperatures of Manitoba. Moreover, I would be able to finish riding VIA Rail's Western Canada routes, except Vancouver Island and finally, I would reclaim BC Rail for my sobriety after my three-drink trip during Expo '86 in Vancouver. If everything worked correctly, the century would end with the passing of 500,000 rail miles somewhere on the Coast Starlight on the way home.

In the United States, a trip to AAA usually took care of the hotels, but for Canada I had to call the Provincial Tourism Boards to request the information be mailed to me. Armed with a phone card, I then called each of the hotels that I chose and to get to Canada, I redeemed some of my Alaska Airline rail miles for round trips on the Coast Starlight and Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver. A Canrail Pass from VIA took care of all the rest, except for BC Rail, which required a separate call.

With everything in place, I just lived my life, rode the San Diegan trains daily and worked hard, coaching the McFadden Intermediate Junior Varsity Boys basketball team to a record of 5-2, the best boys' record of my coaching career. I also went on a diet and power-walked, losing 27 pounds. I had to borrow a camera at the last minute when mine was not returned from the repair shop then the days passed and I packed for my first Christmas away from home and for the unique winter wonderland of snow and ice of Canada.

My eyes were wide open and I was fully awake when Train 769 arrived at Santa Ana, with Marisol, the conductor, greeting me at the door and it seemed as though she was always the conductor when I was starting a long trip. I chose a seat in a California Car and after my ticket was lifted, visited with Cynthia in the café car before taking a cup of tea back to my seat, where I listened to Jethro Tull's "Under Wraps" for the journey to Los Angeles. Since there was a Union Pacific business train on Track 12, we were brought into Track 8, so with the Coast Starlight sitting on Track 10, I just had to walk down into the station tunnel then up the ramp where I was almost run over by a Red Cap and his cart.

I boarded the Starlight and sat back to enjoy the ride but since we waited for the Sunset Limited to arrive, departed Los Angeles thirty-five minute late. At Glendale, my friend Mike Norton boarded on his way to the Bay Area so he joined me in the Pacific Parlour Car where Larry was our Parlour Car Attendant and always excellent. I sat at a table enjoying the view and after Ventura, saw dolphins surfing the waves. We enjoyed a nice lunch but since I was battling a cold, went to the room and napped; it always amazes me what a short nap can do to recharge my batteries.

I returned to the Parlour Car short of Point Conception and enjoyed the views to Casmalia, where I returned to my room, then at San Luis Obispo, Mike and I detrained for some fresh air on a very chilly Southern California day. Once on the move again, we enjoyed the climb over Cuesta Grade and at Paso Robles, I had a nice chat with Larry then after the Starlight's trek down the Salinas Valley, I had a New York strip steak and a Turtle cake for dessert before returning to the theater in the Parlour Car to watch the highly comical film "Bowfinger". Mike found me before he detrained in Oakland and I spent the rest of the evening watching "Runaway Bride", which ended at midnight, so with the train stopped at Martinez, I called it a night.

12/11/1999 I awoke the next morning north of the Cantara Loops with low clouds hiding the views of Mount Shasta. The Parlour Car's nice comfortable chairs were the spot to watch the Northern California and Southern Oregon scenery pass then I detrained at Klamath Falls on a very cold morning to two passengers smoking marijuana right on the platform. One word: "Stupid!" Departing an hour-and-a-half late, I returned to my room to listen to some music all the way to Chemult, where I went to the Parlour Car for a better view of our crossing of Cascade Summit. The landscape was very dramatic and a forebearer of what was to come in Canada. I went downstairs and watched "Bowfinger" again before detraining for fresh air at Eugene then observed Larry lead the wine tasting in the Parlour Car and at Portland, Santa Claus was in the station. We departed there a mere thirty minutes late and crossed the Columbia River into Washington. Last night's dinner was so good, I repeated it and have never had a bad meal on this train. That evening, I watched the end of "Bowfinger" yet again before returning to my room for some music then at Tacoma, I thanked Larry for his service to me on this trip and when we arrived in Seattle on time, we had to pull past the station due to all the construction for the Sounder commuter trains.

I walked the five blocks to the Hotel Panama which did not have my reservation or room for me and the night man with the keys would not be there until 10:00 PM, so the on-duty man sent me to four neighbouring hotels, none of which had any rooms. I returned and called the Pioneer Square Hotel but they had no rooms so I just waited it out. Just then, the owner called and after I talked with her, she came down and I had a room with a view on the top floor. I tried the television which received only one channel with a horrible picture before went to sleep, vowing never to stay here again.

12/12/1999 The next morning, I walked through a slight rain storm back to King Street Station while formulating a plan to stay somewhere else on my return through Seattle. The Sixth Avenue Inn would not take the time to make a reservation but in the Seattle Coupon Book, I found the number of the Kings Inn who took care of me. Feeling a lot better, I received my Cascades seat assignment in what was a very busy station with a Portland-bound Cascades, mine to Vancouver and an Alki Tours Snow Train to Leavenworth, which followed us out of Seattle by fifteen minutes, all preparing to leave.

With the Snow Train in front of the station, the passengers for the northbound Cascades had to walk in the rain south of the station on a stub-end track. When we departed, we reversed south of the Kingdome before we pulled forward past the station into the tunnel directly under downtown Seattle. Emerging along the waterfront on a very rainy and dreary morning, we made our way through BNSF's Interbay Yard and across the Ballard Locks then along Puget Sound, the wind created very large waves that crashed onto the rocks along the righ-of-way. At both Edmonds and Everett, there were large crowds waiting to board the Snow Train. This trip's film was "Tea with Mussolini" which passed the time nicely into Canada and almost to New Westminster. The weather had improved and the sun was shining as we neared Vancouver, where it was announced that the Skytrain was on strike, which caused a change in my layover plans. Since I had gone down to San Diego the night before I started this journey, I had now ridden the entire West Coast operations of Amtrak once more.

Getting money out of the automatic teller machine in the station amazed all the people who, for whatever reason, could not work the machine before I did. I bought stamps for the postcards I would send later before putting my bags in day storage with VIA. I walked through the former Expo '86 site, which brought back many special memories, to GM Place and picked up a Vancouver Canucks hockey schedule then continued my stroll along False Creek to the former Drake Street roundhouse and Canadian Pacific 4-4-0 364, which pulled the first passenger train into Vancouver on May 23, 1887. The engine was inside protected from the elements and looked fantastic. I enjoyed my walk back to Science World on this bright sunny day with a strong west wind keeping it cool and watched two IMAX films: "The Mysteries of Egypt" and "Olympic Glory" and I learned a lot from the first and the second one bought back many memories. Back to Pacific Central station, I bought a phone card, called home and retrieved my luggage to wait for my next train.

Pacific Central Station was built as the western terminus of the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway, who went bankrupt in 1917 and merged with Canadian Government Railways to form Canadian National Railways. Designed by architects Pratt & Ross, the beaux-arts style structure echoes the Canadian Pacific Railway station on Cordova Street and was opened in 1919 to serve the Canadian National Railway. Prior to 1912, this area consisted of tidal mudflats that were infilled to allow expansion, in particular for heavy-industry and railways. Pacific Central Station was not the first railway terminus in the area. The Great Northern Railway terminus (Union Station) opened in 1917 and was later demolished in 1965. The majority of the land where it stood remains vacant and is the planned site for the relocation of St. Paul's Hospital.

Pacific Central, then the CNR station, officially opened in November 1919. A Vancouver Sun newspaper article from the scheduled November 1st opening day estimates the cost of the station as one million dollars. Amenities included a lunch counter and a barbershop and a ticket office sold tickets for both rail and steamship passages. The first train that arrived in the station included a large group of CNR officials and reporters from the prairies who travelled to attend the formal opening and banquet that marked the occasion.

Since 1993, the station has included intercity bus services, as well as operating as a terminus for VIA Rail and Amtrak. The building's frontage is mainly unchanged, with a neon sign reading "Pacific Central" added in the 1950s. The exterior is made of granite, brick and andesite, a volcanic stone from a quarry on Haddington Island off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. The building retains many historical features, including ornate classic interiors with ceiling mouldings and skylights, a smooth stone facade and strong Doric columns supporting the entrance.

While I started the queue to board the eastbound Canadian, any movement that I made opened the automatic doors to the platforms, much to the amusement of the other passengers behind me. After all the Silver and Blue passengers boarded, I led the way to the coaches and chose a full window seat on the right, then stowed my luggage overhead and walked back to the Skyline dome car for a farewell-to-Vancouver ginger ale. The Canadian departed on schedule and I was on my way to Winnipeg. We arrived at Port Coquitlam early and had an extended wait for departure time then blankets and pillows were distributed to all coach passengers and since I was tired from an exciting day, called it an early evening so I could be up early for the Canadian Rockies in the morning.

I awoke up as the train passed through Vavenby and walked back two cars to the dining car for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, grapefruit juice and tea. Since this was an off-season Canadian, all passengers were allowed to use the diner, while the Skyline Car is just a snack car, with Jennifer the attendant on this trip. It was really a joy for me to be able to eat my meals in the fine dining car. Fed and satisfied, I went to the Skyline's dome for a morning of viewing and photography with my mother's camera that she let me borrow. The clouds hid the mountain peaks until near Blue River where they lifted and things improved.

The dome was a very social place and I met people who had been both to Lynn Lake and Churchill and were all amazed that someone from balmy Southern California would go there in the dead of winter. When I was asked why, I responded that I had never been there before and everyone was satisfied. It is always interesting to meet people, hear their stories and find out where they are going and why.

At Blue River, we again waited on time before travelling the beautiful Canadian National's Albreda Subdivision to Jasper, Alberta. I took many pictures from the rear of the dome for the opposite views of my westbound August trip. The winter landscape was just breath-taking and if Mount Robson had been clear, it would have been perfect, but its top was hidden. Still, some mountain is better than no mountain. Crossing Yellowhead Pass, other than the snow, the only difference from August was that Moose Lake did not have its turquoise color, instead being a dark black as the sun tried to break through and did not succeed until we arrived at Jasper, thirty minutes early.

VIA turned the passengers loose and almost everyone detrained to explore Jasper while a cleaning crew made the train spotless again. They take so much pride in their operations, which is just one of the reasons that I love their service. I photographed our train, led by F40PH 6465 then found a camera shop for future needs, the hotel for my return stopover through here, a KFC for lunch and a market for cookies for the Lynn Lake segment. 'Be prepared' is the motto from my Boy Scout days. I returned to the train to eat lunch before writing about my continuing adventures this trip.

Departing Jasper on time, I photographed from the front seat of the dome as I listened to Bad Company and the day turned out to be perfect with the sun shining brightly and the top of the peaks clear. At the east end of the yard, the city put out food for the local elk population and many of the animals were watching the Canadian leave, then a few minutes later, a pair of big horn sheep were standing on the rocks on the south side of the train paying tribute to the Canadian by posing perfectly. With the mountains in the ever-changing views, I took time to thank God for my continuing sobriety on his great Earth and I felt so thankful for just being able to experience all of this and for the fact that I am still alive. Nature was one of the greatest gifts that God gave to this world, after of course, Jesus Christ. This is truly God's Country.

We waited at Devona for our westbound sister train for fifteen minutes before we caught up to an eastbound Canadian National freight that we could not get around until Swan's Landing. We left the mountains behind and proceeded down into the foothills to Hinton where I returned to my seat to listen to "Rod Stewart Live" and read Michael Crichton's "Timeline", this trip's book, and read for over an hour before returning to the dining car for an excellent roast beef dinner. Since I do not like either soup or salad, I was given a glass of grapefruit juice and two rolls then had chocolate milk with my meal and for dessert, a delicious piece of chocolate cake along with tea. VIA runs such a passenger-friendly dining car where diners are not rushed and a relaxed atmosphere prevails. When the Canadian arrived in Edmonton, I stayed aboard for a change as there was little to do in the station and besides, it was nice and warm inside the train.

We departed and as we sped east, I listened to Deep Purple's "Live" prior to calling it a night, or so I thought. I am always surprised that people continue talking in loud voices after the lights are turned out. The woman across from me was getting into everyone's conversation and her husband stood directly above, arguing with her to be quiet and this showed the true advantage of having a sleeper, or at least having a set of ear plugs. Soon, however, although it took a lot longer than normal, the car's inhabitants settled down and only the sound of the rails was heard. That was until about twenty-five miles west of Viking, Saskatchewan, when ballast started to hit the undercarriage of the car and people started screaming that we had derailed and I calmed them down, explaining that we still had head-end power and were still on the rails, since the coach ahead of us and the Skyline were in line and there was no violent rocking motion of our car.

Next, there had been a bang as if we hit something like a shopping cart, but not out here in the middle of nowhere. I told the passengers that the head-end power would be off while the crew inspected the underside of the train and since there was nothing that we could do, we might as well all go back to sleep. The girl behind me spotted a meteor shower in progress, so I watched the best meteor shower I had ever seen which included a great number of fireballs. It was quite the show.

That was not the only show going on. A woman started telling a story of a Canadian that had hit a car east of Viking and after hearing this five times, I opted for my Walkman to drown her out. The meteor shower helped pass the time nicely and after a forty-minute delay, we continued into the night and the next morning, I learned that the train had hit a clump of ice on a grade crossing and it bounced its way under the train, raising the ballast before breaking an air hose in the sleeping car section. What a night! The only way it could have been better would have been a show of the Northern Lights but alas, no performance occurred.

12/14/1999 I slept late and went to the dining car for a repeat of yesterday's pancakes, but this time with bacon. As we travelled east across Manitoba, it was funny how much it reminded me of Montana. The sky was switching between clear and mid-level clouds and at this point in my journey, I was passing the time until tonight's new route by reading and listening to music. We arrived at Winnipeg on time and I started the nine-hour wait for my next train.

Since photography was not allowed on the platform, I had to walk around the building and outside to find a suitable location for a picture of the train then climbed up an embankment and was rewarded with a great view. I then decided to find the hotel that I would be using on my return visit before I walked to Portage Place in search of a film. With no matinee playing, I found an Arby's with a five roast beef sandwiches for five dollars deal, so I took them up on that and walked to another movie theater but again had no luck, so I returned to the depot and ate two sandwiches within its warming confines. I then visited the railroad displays at Forks Market and walked through all the shops before returning to the depot. The outside temperature was a warm -17 degrees Celsius, or 1.4 degrees Farenheit. I then had the idea of upgrading to a sleeper on my return from Churchill and I obtained the last roomette for my two-night journey back from the tundra along Hudson Bay. I made several phone calls back home to California before doing word fill-ins, read more and listened to music, making the time pass quickly until I boarded my next train.

This train, formerly known as Northern Spirits, is a twice weekly passenger train operated by VIA Rail and is the only dry-land connection between Churchill and the rest of Canada. The service, which runs through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, travels on the Canadian National Railway line north to The Pas, where it transfers to the Hudson Bay Railway, passing through Wabowden, Manitoba, with a spur from Sipiwesk to Thompson, and Gillam on its way to the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay.

I boarded the Hudson Bay's first coach and since all the seats were in groups of four, selected one in the middle. The Lead Service Attendant came through and took my ticket before we departed so I set myself up for a night of sleep on this new route, then we departed Winnipeg on time and as the train curved out of the station, I noticed that we were being pulled by two FP9As. With their unique sounds and whistles, I fell right to sleep but woke up occasionally to look for the Northern Lights but they were not to be seen.

12/15/1999 I awoke to a long pre-sunrise morning and changed into my winter clothes then purchased a tea to go along with the cookies I had bought in Jasper and enjoyed both as I waited for the sun to rise, which it did as we pulled into The Pas.

I stepped off the Hudson Bay into a clear and sub-zero (-25 degrees Celsius or -13 Farenheit) climate and placed my bags into a locker in the station then photographed our train and the cars used on through-Lynn Lake Mixed which was my next train before walking around town to find a post office for more stamps then located the Rupert House where I would be staying on my return. I hurried back to the warmth of the station, listened to Olivia Newton-John, read more of "Timeline", retrieved my luggage and waited patiently to boarding VIA Train 291. Departure time came and went, unlike the train and I felt as though I was back in Juarez, Mexico waiting for the mixed train to Casa Grande, but when someone opened the door and a blast of cold air was felt, it returned me to the reality of The Pas. The station was full of Indians who were all ready to board and once our train arrived, I boarded VIA combination coach-baggage 5648, ex. Canadian National 4648, exx. Canadian National 3207, nee Canadian National 5648 built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1954, which was actually in Canadian National paint. This was also the non-smoking car, while the smoking one was VIA café-coach 3248, ex. Canadian National 5464, nee Canadian National 3248, also built by Canadian Car and Foundry in 1954; most passengers boarded this car. We then waited for our locomotives and 28 cars of freight to arrive.

We departed at 12:30 PM, an hour-and-a-half late and after crossing the Saskatchewan River, the engineer opened up the throttle on one of the former Canadian National, now Hudson Bay Railway, M420s and a loud bang occurred with the engines losing power. We reversed slowly into the yard at The Pas to perform an engine change which was done quickly. The conductor informed me that Canadian National still owns the tracks from the south into The Pas and the Hudson Bay Railway operates all trackage to the north. The Lynn Lake Mixed is operated by the Hudson Bay Railway for VIA and is called an essential service since it goes into areas with no roads. We departed once againm this time at 1:23 PM.

We proceeded out of town and made our way up the Churchill Line as far as Flin Flon Junction, where we curved off which allowed for an excellent view of our train and went out into the forest. Just before Milepost 9, we crossed the 54th parallel, as posted on an adjacent highway sign then passed the first of many frozen lakes as we made our way to our first stop at Cranberry Portage, a good-sized town for this part of Manitoba, whose 1929 Canadian National station was still standing. Further north, we reached Sherritt Junction, where we left Hudson Bay Railway's Flin Flon Subdivision for its 184.6 mile Sherridon Subdivision to Lynn Lake. It was also here that we left the highway behind.

After being flat since The Pas, the landscape changed to hilly as we neared Optic Lake. Just north of there, our engineer saw someone flagging the train too late so we had to reverse to pick up the passenger who went into the smoking car. The locals took no interest in me but the friendly train crew stopped by occasionally to keep me company. By 4:00 PM, the sun had already set so the train continued north in the extended twilight period that led into the long December night and the conductor informed me that most of the passengers would be getting off at Pukatawagan. As the journey continued into the night, I finished "Timeline" at 7:49 PM CST, an excellent book which taught me more about the Middle Ages. We arrived at Pukatawagan where every passenger in my car detrained and as we sat there, I curled up for a nap as our projected arrival in Lynn Lake was 2:00 AM.

Just as I nodded off, a couple boarded my coach and were in a shouting match as they tried to carry on a conversation with each other. She had a cheque to cash but had left her identication at home so would not be able to cash it in Lynn Lake. After about ten minutes of heated discussion, she decided not to go and walked off the train with him following saying angry words to her. The brakeman came through saying "It is one freezing night. Ever been anywhere this cold before?" I responded with "Colorado with a minus fifty as a wind chill." "Well, Chris, I think you picked the coldest night of the year to visit Lynn Lake!" We both had a good laugh at that as tonight, I knew that I would break the all-time low temperature record. After we were on the move north for thirty minutes, frost was forming fast on the windowsill and the inside temperature of the car dropped as the outside temperature plunged, which caused me to add more layers of clothes.

12/16/1999 Midnight came and went so I started another day of my life on a train. One nice feature was that the roof of the smoking car was equipped with floodlights to make night-time viewing possible and provided a nice distraction of having something to see out of the window instead of absolute darkness. I ventured out on the rear platform for a minute of frozen star-gazing and what an incredibly clear sky it was as I could almost touch the stars as they looked that close. Back inside, I watched the trees pass, listened to music and stayed warm as we approached Lynn Lake. Prior to our arrival, the crew called a taxi for me but the driver was home asleep so I would ride with the crew to their bunkhouse and then be taken to my hotel. I was told that all the switching would be done tonight so cars were spotted cars at several industries before we arrived in Lynn Lake at 2:25 AM and everyone detrained and the train was plugged in for the night to keep it from freezing. We were told by the van driver that it was -42 Celsius, or -43 Farenheiht, out and should drop a few more degrees by morning.

After the van dropped the crew at their quarters, it took me to the Lynn Lake Inc. Hotel where I had a room reserved and I obtained the key and went across the street, first to the wrong building but I found the correct one. I carried my bags upstairs to an outside walkway and found Room 60 at the far end, in this absolutely frigid weather. I opened the screen door, put the key in and after many attempts, the door would not open and realizing that this could only be happening to me and keeping a Monty Python sense of humour about these events, I walked back down the stairs across the street to the lobby, rang the bell to get in and this time received two keys. Back across the street, up the stairs to try both keys, lose once more and repeat the returning process and I was back at the front desk, where I was assigned a new room.

I tried the key and it worked but had to retrieve my bags from the complete opposite end of the outside hall before I had a nice hot waterfall shower but made the mistake of turning off the cold water first, so I was scalded, thus teaching me an important lesson, "Get out before you turn off the water!" I went to bed thanking God for these experiences, my sobriety and life in general before I fell fast asleep. Later that morning after sleeping late, I had an excellent lumberjack-sized breakfast before I was taken back to the train in the van for my return to The Pas. Last night's low temperature was a new record of -42 Celsius.

When the van arrived at the train, I put my bags in the vestibule of VIA 3248 on a sunny and clear -25 Celsius, or -13 Farenheit day. As I walked by the locomotive, the engineer asked me if I wanted a cab ride down to Hone and I said "Yes, let me just store my bags and grab some film!" By the time I did that, the locomotive was reversing down to the switch of the wye, so I climbed off at the switch and waited for the engine to come around before I climbed aboard Hudson Bay Railway M420 3533, for the start of my return to The Pas.

This was not my first cab ride in this type of locomotive as I rode in one on the Nacozari trip in Mexico. We pulled down, uncoupled and picked up ten gondola cars full of nickel ore for the plant at Flin Flon then I went outside for a picture of the train while the air line charged. However, I left my gloves on the cab heater and when I grasped the railing to climb down, my bare hand froze to it and I quickly pulled it off and learnt an important lesson - never go outside without your gloves on.

I put my jacket sleeves over my hands and climbed down to take the picture then climbed back up with my hands in the sleeves and opened the cab door the same way. Just as I walked in, the engineer was holding my gloves saying "Miss these, did you!" I said "Yes, I surely did". He said "Do not feel bad. The first three times I climbed off the engine here in weather like this, I did the same thing." We both laughed hard at that one. We proceeded south towards the afternoon sun, which was at thirty degrees in the sky and the tracks twisted and turned their way across the hilly landscape. We were travelling through the Tiaga, whose trees are so thin that they are not good for much, except with billions of these trees, they must produce a large amount of oxygen for our planet.

Our engineer was very talented at handling this mixed train and we talk about derailments, excess speed on S curves, winter train operations, hockey, and of course Canada, including the Quebec separation issue. I had expected that topic to be more on people's minds than it was. We also discussed voting, something that Canadians do in larger numbers than Americans in the States.

As we approached Hone, I thanked our engineer, climbed down and waited for the train to pull forward to pick me up. I climbed in though the combine's baggage door and took the seat where my baggage had been riding then went up to the next car and brought a microwaved pre-cooked hamburger, which took care of lunch and dinner and was extremely good. The train crew ran a miniature café service with reasonable prices but it was not listed in the VIA timetable. I put on my headphones and watched the countryside that we had passed last night in the dark now in full daylight, part of the magic of train travel. A late train north made for a later start south, so I was able to see most of the line in daylight and enjoy it all with a cab ride followed by a great meal and it was this way until Pukatawagan, where the car filled with passengers and in the last of the twilight, we crossed the triple bridge crossing of the Churchill River.

From here to The Pas, it was another night time journey, this time with the car's light going from their usual brightness to total darkness to sub-light then back and forth between all three light conditions. When it was dark, I can see out of the window perfectly, when it was bright, I could write and in the sub-light, I could do both, as well as listen to music in all three, with Supertramp's "Live in Paris" in this case. Now, when was the last time that I was on a train without any head-end power? That was a year ago when I was on my last Copper Canyon excursion with Bananafish Tours in Mexico with my colleague from McFadden Intermediate, Anna. I wished she could be sharing this adventure with me now but she hated cold temperatures and these were far below cold. As the lights faded into total darkness once more, I would not miss the days of wheel-driven power when they are gone.

Around 7:30 PM, we rounded a curve and by the trees along the tracks was a huge bonfire lighting up the whole forest around it. The train stopped and our conductor went out to investigate, finding that it had been lit by two people who had been dropped off by a four-wheeled vehicle and had been waiting for us. So the fire had two purposes: to signal the train crew and to keep the passengers warm and alive until we arrived. We continued in a basically southward direction with no landmarks or mileage markers visible and I was literally in the dark to our train's true location. It was not until we picked up two people and I saw the twin antennas that I knew that we had just left Sherridan and I thanked God I had brought plenty of music with me as these have been two of the longest train riding days. Was this the slowest trip? The only other one that could even come close in 1987 when it was five miles of five miles per hour on the Eureka Southern in the Eel River Canyon in California. With that thought, we were three more hours away from The Pas and about an hour-and-a-half later, we passed through Flin Flon Junction before arriving in Cranberry Portage where most of the passengers detrained.

12/17/1999 Midnight passed as the train set out a string of section cars (online workers' living quarters) waiting for their next assignment. I had now been on this stretch of railroad for three calendar days. As we approached The Pas, the crew informed me that they were going to die on the law at 1:20 AM and that a new crew would be waiting at a grade crossing at Prospector, so if all went according to plan, we should be in The Pas by 1:45 AM. The crew change took place and in no time we were moving again as our former crew had jumped into a taxi for town while I rode the 10.2 miles to The Pas and I was all packed and ready to go, but first we had to set out some cars at the plant outside of town before we arrived at the station at 2:16 AM. I detrained, walked the five blocks quickly in a very strong wind chill breeze, talked my way into the Rupert House (they locked their doors at 2:00 AM), received my room, showered and hit the sheets for a very well-deserved rest.

A knock on the door came about 8:30 AM and I turned on the cable television to the Canadian Weather Channel and there was The Pas' current weather, a -17 degree Celsius (1.4 Farenheit) air with a -31 Celsius, or -23 Farenheit wind chill factor. I showered, dressed and checked out of the Rupert House before walking back down to the station where I learned that my train would be here in ten minutes. As I sat and waited, I thought back to the last two days and what I had accomplished by riding the Lynn Lake Mixed Train round trip, while others rode the train one way, the bus and even with a Canrail Pass. I met so many friendly and interesting people with a train crew who treated me special for just who I am, the days and nights were long but I survived them with pride and was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I heard a horn which signalled the arrival and start of my next train journey with more new rail mileage.

After the service manager swept the large amount of snow off the steps, I boarded VIA coach 8105, nee Canadian Pacific 105 built by Budd Company in 1955. I stored my gear before photographing the train which had a pair of FP9As on the point while on the rear behind the sleeper was VIA's only other combination baggage car 5649, nee Canadian National 5649, the sister car to the one I rode on the Lynn Lake Mixed which the crew dropped off at The Pas before we left town. I did not even feel cold out in the current temperatures as that -42 degree Celsius air in Lynn Lake adjusted my body to the cold. The service manager took my ticket and I walked back to VIA dining car 8417 "Wascana", nee Canadian Pacific 16517 built by Budd Company in 1955 for a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Gone was the china of the Canadian, replaced here with plasticware but even without the china, it was an excellent way to start my journey. As I finished, I glanced at the dinner menu planning what I would have this evening then returned to my seat and listened to David Bowie "Live" and watched the countryside pass at a much greater speed than the last two days. It felt so good to be moving faster than 40 miles and hour and the 90 miles and hour that the San Diegans travel were a whole world away back home in the California sun.

We passed the industry where the cars had dropped off earlier this morning and saw that they had already been unloaded. It was trying to snow as we passed through Flin Flon Junction and the start of my new trackage then further north, the snow really came down and with the activities of the last few days catching up with me, I curled up in my seat and slept soundly for the next two hours. I awoke at Dunlop refreshed and alive looking out at a forest of Tiaga trees that were prevalent in this area of Manitoba. I continued listening to my tape to Wabowden where after our station work was complete, we reversed into a siding to let a southbound freight pass with Hudson Bay Railway M420 3543 and M420B 685, which was the power of our train to Lynn Lake before the motive power problems in The Pas. A small world indeed.

Around Milepost 160, the Tiaga trees took complete control of the landscape and the tri-legged telegraph poles had almost sunk completely into the ground, since it costs more to remove something in this area than just to let it sink into the earth, where it came from in the first place. Maintenance crews have to contend with unstable track conditions, which are the direct result of frost-heaving and sinkholes that occur along the tracks. The permafrost can be discontinued, which can also lead to problems then after the spring thaw, beavers dam the streams, which flood the tracks and crews have to eliminate the dams that these creative animals build. It was a place where railway construction was done with a trial and error method and the permafrost caused many new building techniques to be invented. Track, without a bed of ballast, would sink straight into the earth if built directly on the ground. It was a completely different world than the one I live in Santa Ana, California.

Before Thicket Portage, we passed another log reloading station then as the gentle snow fall returned, we were lined into the siding at Hockin to let our sister train go by on its way south then pulled through the siding instead of reversing, which surprised me. At Thicket Portage, thirty passengers boarded bound for Thompson, the most so far today. The baggage man called them 'Thompson short hauls' and said that I would have some company for a change. I had heard horror stories of the locals who rode the train from Thicket Portage and Thompson, as well as on the Lynn Lake train. The Lynn Lake train had been peaceful and quiet with the exception of one little child coming into The Pas, but I believe that was caused by the lateness of the hour. On the Hudson Bay, the Thompson short hauls were more spirited as well as louder and the children were more or less out of control. At one point, they were carrying each other on their shoulders until the service manager came through and stopped that. Later, they were climbing over the back of the seats and swinging from the luggage racks. After expending all their energy, they settled down and the rest of the ride into Thompson was quiet.

We passed the first of the thermo poles, designed to keep the ground under the tracks frozen year-round to avoid the summer maintenance headaches with the thawing of the earth from its winter permafrost conditions. At Thompson Junction, we curved off the Churchill line almost due north and proceeded up the branch line to the City of Thompson, arriving there at 5:15 PM for an hour-and-a-quarter layover. While the train was laying, the crew returned the interior to VIA's high standard of cleanness before the through-passengers reboarded.

While I was off the train, I called home hearing my own voice on the answering machine and when I walked back to the closed train, the attendant would not let me in because it was going to depart to pick up some piggyback flats for Churchill since there are no roads leading there and the train acts as a land bridge. So instead of being mad about being stuck outside, I made the best of it by walking the snow-cleared platform for exercise and made thirty round- trips of a distance of twenty-five yards each for a total of 1,500 yards in the -19 Celsius or -2.2 Farenheit air. When the train returned, I reboarded with the next group going back to Gillam and surmised these passengers must be called 'Landing River short hauls'.

A good walk always gives me a good appetite so I went straight to the dining car where I ordered the pork chops and had one of the best meals on a train. We departed Thompson on schedule and retraced our route south to Thompson Junction where we returned to the Thicket Subdivision of the Hudson Bay Railway to run to Gillam and then the Herchmer Subdivision to reach Churchill sometime tomorrow morning. The passengers who were going to Landing River were very similar to the Thompson group, with the exception of the older children, who were better behaved. The little ones did whatever they pleased or cried when they did not get their way. A lady behind me played a hand game which kept her children thoroughly amused, while another passenger was playing Tetris on a hand-held video game with the volume up so loud everyone in the car can hear, so I turned up my music to drown them all out. These large groups of passengers had gone into Thompson to do Christmas shopping as the train was the safest and easiest way of getting into town this time of year. Once they detrained at Landing River, peace and quiet reigned once more and the VIA crew cleaned the car again.

That was the case until Gillam, where an ice hockey team from Churchill boarded and made so much noise they woke up everyone. As their leader approached me, I said "Oh no, not again." He replied, "There are people sleeping in here so let us move to the other car" which they did. One woman, though, said out loud to anyone who would listen, "I paid to ride this train!" and when she left, the car went back to its quiet night time state and everyone went back to sleep.

12/18/1999 I slept off and on checking for the Northern Lights with my now usual results before waking up twenty minutes outside of Churchill and started to prepare for my arrival. I had dreamed of coming here for years after seeing the Revelation video "To the Northern Lights", which showed a winter visit that made me want to come here this time of year. The last few miles were in the long morning dawn period through the last of the Tiaga trees then out onto the tundra near Hudson Bay. I had been waiting for this moment to listen to Jethro Tull's song "Tundra" from the Under Wraps album and would not have to worry about leaving my snowshoes out in the tundra because I did not own a pair. We passed the wye used for turning the train before it returns to Winnipeg then south of town, passed the remains of the Canadian Forces Station Churchill, a former research and signals intelligence station established in late 1950 by the Royal Canadian Navy. As with many military facilities, its specific purpose and activities were not fully disclosed to the public. In general, the station monitored military communications in Canada's northern region, particularly the interception of Soviet radio signals during the Cold War, and conducted research on the ionosphere including measurements of the intensity and duration of the aurora borealis. Named HMCS (His Majesty's Canadian Station) Churchill, the facility housed about 100 naval personnel and their families, including Churchill’s only dentist, a naval officer attached to the base.

Arriving by train in the tundra was the one climatic zone in North America that the Aurora in Alaska could not take me to, so I finally made it. We arrived in Churchill at 9:05 AM, just as the sun was rising on the southeastern horizon.

I detrained, set my luggage in the waiting room, walked outside to the front of the train, crossed the tracks and was rewarded Hudson Bay on one side and the rising sun on the other. I went back inside and checked my bags in for the day in the station's baggage room then as I returned outside, on the wall was a polar bear warning sign. I went back in to inquire and learned that the last of the polar bears had left town two days ago. The town was built on the bear's migration route so every year they pass through town on their way to the ice that forms on Hudson Bay where they live off seals and the like. They spend normally about a month's time in and around Churchill. The town has very strict rules about being outside when they are there and because of this, polar bear attacks on man are in the zero range. This year through late November, the weather did not allow the ice to form on the bay because of its warming effects to the atmosphere. The bears arrived in their usual way, had an extended wait and the town was under Polar Bear Alert for almost twelve weeks, hence the sign was still up.

I walked down the ice-covered street to Gypsy's Bakery for breakfast, as recommended by the service manager. I called my good friend Jeff Hartmann in Long Beach, California to see how he did on his final exams at Long Beach State University. He scored an "A" on the final and a "B" on the mid-term and I was really proud of him and all the effort that he put into his studies. Since it was -25 Celsius or -13 Farenheit, a couple gave me a ride to the Tundra Motel which happened to be closed, so I walked to the Churchill Motel and booked a day room for $41.60, Goods and Services Tax (the national tax, separate from a provincial tax) included, for my visit until tonight's train to Winnipeg.

Across the street was a trading post where I bought postcards to send to friends then had a three hour nap before watching a Pittsburgh Steelers/Kansas City Chiefs football game and wrote twenty-one postcards as Kansas City won. I walked back to the station and ran into a member of the train crew who suggested that I visit Town Center. The sun set at 3:52 PM on the shortest daylight day I had ever experienced then called my brother Bruce and Mrs. Angle, the excellent science teacher I work with at McFadden Intermediate before walking to Town Center, an impressive complex with a library, hockey rink and gym then visited the Eskimo Museum next door followed by the post office. I ate an early dinner at Gypsy's Bakery prior to walking across the street to a gift shop for a T-shirt with polar rears, Northern Lights and Churchill before returning to the warmth of my hotel room. I called lifetime friend Bruce Fenton in Victor, Idaho then watched a Canadian news station before watching a Hockey Night in Canada hockey game and other programs that were available via satellite TV. I packed and braved the night's frigid air for the walk to the station where I retrieved my luggage and waited for the boarding of the southbound Hudson Bay around 9:40 PM.