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A Winter Train Trip to Canada 12/10-30/1999 Part 2

I boarded VIA sleeper 8228 "Chateau Vercheres" and found my Room 6 was a lower roomette and started to store my bags on the armrest when I remembered something from my last ride in these sleepers - to store your bags under where the bed comes out of the wall in front of you. I was quickly set and made the bed up after the attendant took my ticket and settled in for a night of off-and-on sleep. We departed Churchill a mere few minutes late and the sleeping car really rocked and rolled for a while as we proceeded south toward Winnipeg on a star-filled night.

12/19/1999 The next morning, I woke up wondering where we were and a few minutes after 8:00 AM, we arrived at Gillam so I would be able to see the whole Thicket Subdivision in daylight. I had a nice pancakes and bacon breakfast as the Hudson Bay travelled through Nonsuch, named after an English ship that traders sailed to Hudson Bay in 1668, whose mission was to explore the bay's potential as an access point for the fur trade. The success of the voyage led to the creation of the Hudson's Bay Company and the commercial domain of Ruperts Land.

Outside, it was a cold and gray storming snowy day with a freezing wind blowing, a good day to be on a nice warm train in a sleeping car with peace and quiet, unlike what I experienced on the previous train. I sat in my room and listened to music while watching the snowy countryside pass by. Approaching Thompson, the train was wyed then reversed into Thompson dropping off three piggyback cars before going the rest of the way into the station.

As I was detraining, a man was going to take a taxi cab in search of some liquor and his plan was either to get back on the train here or take the taxi to Wabowden and catch the train there; the things that some people do for a drink. I was very glad I was sober and I trudged through the five inches of new snow from the last time I was here to photograph the rear of our train then waited for a coach door to open as the onboard crew were once again cleaning it. I reboarded and walked through the train feeling really proud of what I had accomplished, 1,796 days of sobriety. We departed at 1:20 PM, a hour-and-twenty minutes late but I did not mind.

We retraced our way to Thompson Junction and curved back onto the Thicket Subdivision, after stopping to have the snow swept away from the switch points; one of the joys of winter railroading. With the wind blowing as it was, this could have accounted for some of our delays last night. My tape player decided to give up the ghost so I would not be able to listen to any more music until I visited Radio Shack in Portage Mall in Winnipeg. With the rest in the room yesterday and the sleeper on the Hudson Bay, I would have five days of rest before my next overnight trip on the Canadian to Jasper. My sleeper was so peaceful and quiet that after Thicket Portage, I walked through the coaches and was glad to be out of that war zone since the car has been trashed by the locals and the VIA crew was about to start cleaning. Darkness started another long night as I played a few word fill-in puzzles before going to the dining car at 5:30 PM for a repeat of the grilled pork chop dinner, which again was excellent. I returned to my room for a little more reading and word fill-in puzzles before we arrived at The Pas and I pulled out my bed and went to sleep one last night on the "Chateau Vercheres".

12/20/1999 I slept late as I had checked for the Northern Lights on and off again with my now famous same results then had my usual breakfast as we returned to the Canadian National mainline at Portage La Prairie. The sun came up through some mid-level clouds that gave the illusion of three suns rising; what an interesting solar system that would be in which to live. It was another clear and very cold day as we approached Winnipeg but the whole journey to Lynn Lake and Churchill had been an amazing and I learned and saw how man has adapted to life in the Tiaga and tundra environments. I lived and adjusted to it, thanks to good planning and the correct selection of clothes and had met many special people and had wonderful experiences. Our female chef stopped by my room for a few minutes and shared some knowledge of Winnipeg with me. This dream trip was completed in a few more miles with a 9:00 AM arrival after we stopped for fifteen minutes due to a frozen switch and for once in my life, I was ready for a three-day and two-night stay off a train. The chefs last duty was to sweep the snow from the vestibule stairs so I could detrain safely, proving that VIA gives excellent service to the passenger right to the end of their trip.

As I took this photograph on the platform, it made me realize just how hard the wind was blowing, then I made my way into the warmth of the Winnipeg station before venturing outside onto the frozen streets of the city and walked past the Fort Garry Hotel to Smith Street then turned right up the St. Regis Hotel. My room was not yet ready as it was still only mid-morning so I did my laundry and dried it in a machine that seemed to take forever, but since I had nothing but time to spare, it did not matter. I stored my luggage and went to Radio Shack to replace the tape player and by the time I returnedl, my room was ready so I watched a little television before refreshing myself then walked to Eaton Place for dinner and watching more television. Back outside once more for two blocks in the -25 Celsius air, I found a small theater and saw "End of Days" then returned to the hotel on a very frigid night and slept soundly.

12/21/1999 My day started with breakfast in the hotel's café where I read in the paper about BNSF's and Canadian National's plans to merger. I dropped some postcards off at the post office then walked along the Red River before I ducked into a store to get out of the frigid air. Back at the hotel, I watched television throughout the afternoon and before dinner, rented "Lost in Space" and "Rush Hour" to watch later that evening. I went to The Keg for an excellent steak dinner along with a Keg sundae then visited the Fort Garry Hotel before walking across the street to the VIA station where I met Daryl O'Dain who gave me a tour of the Winnipeg Railway Museum on Tracks 1 and 2 of the station. I returned to my room, watched the films then turned in for the night.

12/22/1999 I awoke on my last rest day still full from last night's dinner and arranged a 3:00 PM checkout so I lounged around the room and watched television before checking out and walked back to the station on a -13 Celsius afternoon, not even feeling cold. I stopped off at the post office for stamps for my 1,800th day of sobriety tomorrow in Jasper then set my luggage to be first in line to board the train, had a smoked hot dog from the station café and waited for my late westbound Canadian to arrive.

The Canadian finally arrived at 7:02 PM following a forty minute servicing stop for fuelling and cleaning, the Silver and Blue sleeping car passengers boarded, then families with small children, followed by the rest of us. Being first in line gave me a choice of seats and I chose a full window seat on the right and was joined by a delightful lady whose main hobby was riding roller coasters. Anytime in the future when I hear Jethro Tull's song "Big Dipper", I will think of her. She was going home to Melville, Saskatchewan for Christmas with her family and liked Monty Python, so we spent a wonderful evening together in the dome waiting for the last and largest full moon to appear. Not only was it the last full moon of the century, it was also at its closest point in its orbit to Earth, making it appear to be 10 percent larger. Moreover, it was also the first full moon in 120 years to fall on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The moon was spectacular and we returned to our seats for some shut-eye. Just before Melville, we said our goodbyes along with 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'. My next seatmate arrived, a gentleman going to Viking to see his ex-wife, children and grandchildren. I twisted and turned by him with the saving grace of a hotel room in Jasper on Day 1,800, which it now was.

Sunrise from the coach's vestibule after I arose for my usual breakfast, this time in the Skyline Car, as we were now a peak-consist Canadian. My table mate was a former Burlington Northern employee on a Canrail Pass who I met in Winnipeg while we waited for the train. I enjoyed music the rest of the way into Edmonton, our next servicing stop.

I detrained for a picture in above 0 degree Celsius, or 32 degrees Farenheit, which felt so warm. We departed Edmonton at 11:27 AM, an hour-and-twenty minutes late then I had lunch in the coffee shop of the Skyline of Beef a la Jus (French Dip) as we crossed a landscape devoid of snow. I mainly listened to music and watched the Alberta landscape pass by the window with the two high bridges east of Hinton being crossed with both of their streams in ice waiting for the spring thaw. As I looked out at the scenery, I wondered at which milepost we would return to a full winter scene with no patches of brown. That occurred at Milepost 167, six miles east of Hargwen, but when we returned out into the sunlight, the brown returned. As we approached Hinton, I marvelled at the difference nine days made, with the sub-freezing temperatures of Manitoba to the slightly-above zero degree Celsius here in Alberta that the warmth of the sun has melted the snow.

We departed Hinton and crossed the high bridge outside of town then entered Jasper National Park and would follow the Athabasca River all the way to the Municipality of Jasper. At Entrance, we took the siding for the first time to let a Canadian National freight pass and I had been really impressed with the railway's dispatchers as they had kept us moving across their railway with minimal delay. As we neared the next station and my destination, our engineer had to sound the horn repeatedly to make the elk, moose, deer and big horn sheep move off the tracks and out of our way and his great skill resulted in not a single animal being harmed. We arrived at Jasper where I detrained an hour and twenty minutes late.

I walked to the Astoria Hotel, stopping for film along the way then checked in then after leaving my bags in the room, bought 15 postcards for Day 1,800 and walked to Kentucky Fried Chicken, where I learned that the Canadian version does not offer mashed potatoes and gravy but chips and I guessed it was because of the English heritage of fish and chips; just another of the small differences between Canadians and Americans. I returned to the hotel and watched television as I wrote the postcards and mailed them on the way to an even smaller theater than in Winnipeg to see "Toy Story 2" then went to bed thinking what a great Day 1,800 it had been.

12/24/1999 The next morning was Christmas Eve and I arose late before having a fulfilling breakfast in the hotel's coffee shop then went for a long walk, ending up at the west end of the railyard. It was a beautiful clear day and I returned to the room for a while before checking out and walking back to the VIA station to await the next train.

My two-car train consisting of a lone coach and VIA sleeper-buffet-lounge-dome-observation car 8702 "Assiniboine Park", ex. Canadian Pacific 15502, nee Canadian Pacific 15402 built by Budd Company in 1954. I boarded the coach, had my ticket taken then was off to the dome just as we departed Jasper on time. Unlike the Skyline's dome that had table seating at the forward end, the Park Car's dome was all forward-facing seats so I chose one on the right, hoping that Mount Robson would be visible today. We proceeded up Yellowhead Pass on a beautiful clear December day.

The view from the dome was breath-taking and I so do love wintry scenes. We passed Moose Lake, which was uncharacteristically unfrozen for this time of the year, so a few passengers told me. As we left the route of the Canadian at Red Pass Junction, I was ready for the upcoming new route and mileage. The Skeena follows the Fraser River from its headwaters at Yellowhead Lake all the way to Prince George and travelling on the west side of Yellowhead Pass, the train passed through the clouds but they were not blocking the peaks to the north and I hoped this would continue. We exited a tunnel and our lounge attendant informed us Mount Robson should be seen anytime now. As he finished his sentence, I spotted the peak and felt lucky to have done so as it is only visible a few days of the year.

At Tête Jaune Cache, the Skeena rolled onto the rails of Canadian National's Fraser Subdivision for the rest of the journey to Prince George. This is dark territory, as were the lines to Lynn Lake and Churchill. The railway entered the Rocky Mountain Trench, a valley with the Canadian Rockies to the north and the Cariboo Mountains to the south, with the Fraser River and the railway running in the bottom between the ranges. The mountains were absolutely beautiful, adding to my first snow-covered Christmas Eve.

Passing through Dunster, I spied the combination post office/general store in one building, an oddity for Canada, so I was told. We crossed the Raush River on a bridge that was the second largest on the Skeena's route and later, the curved Eddy Bridge before arriving at McBride. Eighteen miles west of town, the Skeena passed through the only tunnel on the Fraser Subdivision as we continued to follow the Fraser River northwest and the peaks, in an almost silvery sunlight, were awe-inspiring, especially Mount Rider. This area reminded me of the the Alaska Railroad. We managed to avoid hitting the moose which had become active nearing dark and as the sunlight left the peaks, the clouds to the southwest turned an amazing reddish tone.

I went downstairs for a hot dog for dinner and later again to ask if the dome light could be turned off for better viewing. The response was "No problem!" and by the time I was comfortably seated, the dome became dark. Listening to The Eagle's "Take It To The Limit" now had a special memory. There was no other experience like riding a darkened dome car where the only light is the locomotive's headlight and the stars above. We passed through Crescent Spur, Loos and Dome Creek before we paused at Penny. Once on the move again, out, in the middle of nowhere, there was a block signal that went from yellow to green and about a mile later, another one at the bridge where we crossed the Fraser River on the Hansard Bridge, a joint railway/highway crossing of the river. When a train receives a green signal, crossing gates go down and the train crosses. When the highway gates are up, that means there are no trains and cars can cross; it was one of the most unusual uses of a bridge I had come across.

The train passed through the brightly-lit sawmills of Upper Fraser before we crossed the Fraser River one last time and arrived at Prince George's VIA station twenty-five minutes early. All in all, a great day of train riding and the joy of knowing that I was going be back in the dome of "Assiniboine Park" tomorrow, Christmas Day 1999.

I walked the five blocks from the depot to the Downtown Hotel where I found the door was locked with a sign saying the person went home for Christmas Dinner and would be back at 8:00 PM. Since there was nothing I could do about it and thankful for the warmer temperatures of this Christmas Eve, I planted myself by the door under the hotel's carport and waited, using my time to write about today's trip. It was funny that just as I was getting up to walk around, the manager arrived and said that she did not know what time the train reached its destination and I told her that we were twenty-five minutes early. She apologized and gave me a room with a 6:45 AM wake up call then I slept soundly after a phone call home.

12/25/1999 In the morning I walked back to the VIA station to continue my journey on the Skeena.

Since it was Christmas Day, I must confess that this whole trip is a Christmas present to myself and was my first Christmas away from home and my first White Christmas, so now I understood its allure. As I stood on the icy platform waiting for the train reverse in, I thought about the fact that this was my fifth sober Christmas and what a waste those other Christmases were. To quote Tull, "The Christmas spirit is not what you drink!" I was completely grateful to God for my sobriety and thankful for every sober day of my life, including today, Day 1,802.

We departed a few minutes late and I went straight to the observation area and turned a chair facing the rear window and enjoyed a cup of tea along with the rear view for the next hour as dawn ended then finished the last of those chocolate chip cookies I bought in Jasper several days ago. The ride bought back memories from my first Trans-Canada trip when on the return west due to a Canadian National derailment near Sioux Lookout, the Canadian was rerouted from Long Lac Junction to Winnipeg via Thunder Bay on Canadian Pacific Railway and I sat in the same way from Kenora to Winnipeg. I listened to Blackmore's Night as the train started its climb from the Fraser River Valley along the Nechako River for ninety miles to the divide near Houston, then down the Skeena River's drainage to the coast.

Our first stop of the continuing adventure to Prince Rupert was at Vanderhoof, where I met a family on the train who was going there by car, but from Prince George and waved at me and the train as we departed. We proceeded west through Fort Fraser, along the frozen Fraser Lake as the train was crossing the Nechako Plateau as far as Houston. We played hopscotch with the Endako River, crossing it eight times before Burns Lake. Since Vanderhoof, I had been sitting in the dome car and our F40PH locomotive was spitting oil anytime that it was run above Run 8, so the dome's windows were being dotted with oil. While Run 8 is the highest gear on most locomotive's throttles, the F40PH has a Run 9. A farmer was rolling out the hay for his cows in a field so someone else was working on Christmas Day besides VIA, since Canadian National shut down this piece of their railway for the holiday. The Skeena passed Burns, Decker and Rose Lakes before it left the path of the Endako River, crossing over the watershed divide and followed the Bulkley River west, crossing it eleven times. We stopped in Houston, famous for the world's largest fly-fishing reel in a park viewable from the station then off to the west was the beautiful Eagle Peak while the train travelled northwest towards Hudson Bay Mountain and Smithers, our crew change point and refuelling stop for the Skeena, which gave passengers a stop for fresh air and pictures.

Leaving Smithers, the two glaciers Kathlyn and Twin Peaks came into view and the sun was behind the train brightly lighting up the scenery into an unbelievable postcard scene with Blunt Mountain dominating the north as the Skeena passed through Moricetown. The tracks ran along the side of the mountain crossing Boulder, Porphyry (curved bridge) and Mudflat Creeks, all on high trestles as the Bulkley River lost elevation far below in the valley to the right. We then passed Bulkley Canyon siding before entering the canyon of the same name and travelled through three tunnels, the first one 2,069 feet in length, the longest on the this train's route, before stopping in New Hazelton for a moment before turning towards the southwest in its journey to Prince Rupert.

The Skeena crossed over the Seely Gulch trestle bridge 200 feet above the stream then stopped suddenly just short of a snow-filled cut. Our engineer detrained and started looking at one of the axles of our locomotive and I surmised that the hot axle alarm must have gone off and since he had to work under the train, he turned off the head-end power. I sat and patiently waited, meeting Mark from Terrace and we spent the next hour discussing a variety of topics such as railroading, politics, medical plans, British Columbia and the local area. Our train manager contacted Canadian National, who had to take someone away from their Christmas dinner before he could call VIA to obtain permission to move the train. As the sun finally set, we were on the move again with the Seven Sister Peaks silhouetted against the brilliant backdrop of the sky. We then crossed over the Skeena River on a long bridge with the community of Kitseguecla lit up and it was another evening of the headlight view from the darkened dome. The Kitselas Canyon, with its four short tunnels, was even impressive in the dark then all but three passengers detrained at Terrace, where I bought a Totem Class polo shirt as a souvenir. Totem Class is the first class service on this train in the summer months and is a reserved seat with all three meals as well as access to the dome car. Since I was riding in the off-season, I had the best of it all, the seat in the dome.

I was asked by the lounge attendant if I would like to have a turkey dinner since the engineers' wives had prepared them dinner and made extra for everyone left on the train since they knew that nothing would be open in Prince Rupert when we arrived. I sat at a table in the lounge area and while waiting, wrote the tales of today's then enjoyed a large plate of turkey with gravy, a dinner roll and a can of Coca-Cola. It was an excellent Christmas dinner on the first White Christmas I had experienced and thanked everyone involved with my meal and wished our engineer 'Merry Christmas' over the radio. It was a Christmas I will never forget. I returned to the dome for the rest of the journey to Prince Rupert and looking out into the darkness, wondered what I would behold on my return in the light of day tomorrow. As the Skeena passed the industrial shoreline of Prince Rupert, the dome's lights were turned back on and I went to sit in the beaver tail section of the car as the train was wyed in the Canadian National yard prior to our on-time arrival. Our lengthy delay was made up due to the lack of freight trains this Christmas Day.

As we approached town, a Canadian National yard worker told me of a BC Rail strike that might be taking place, so I dragged my bags up the hill to the Crest Hotel in a very heavy mist with a strong smell of salt in the ocean air. I started to think of my options of getting back to Vancouver if the strike was really on then checked in and received a harbour-side room which would have been nice if my stay was not all under the cover of night. I called home, freshened up and tried to sleep but had so many ideas racing through my head that I could not. I arose and looked at the VIA timetable which showed that Train 6 was scheduled into Jasper twenty minutes after Train 1, the Canadian, left for Vancouver. If only Train 1 could be an hour late like it has been before and I prayed to the Lord putting it all in his hands and asked for rest, then received as a solid eight hours of sleep. Deep inside my mind, I knew that everything works out if you let it.

12/26/1999 On this Boxing Day (a national holiday in Canada and England), I awoke and prepared myself for the day then checked out and had a very easy time with the hill on this foggy morning. Once at the station, I discussed options with the agent and I could take the Skeena towards Jasper tomorrow and if Train 1 was on time, I would get off at Tête Jaune Cache and take a taxi ten miles to Valemount where I would board the Canadian to Vancouver. The good news is that I would get more rail miles and save a night in a hotel in Vancouver; although the bad news was no BC Rail meant not being able to reclaim it for my sobriety and no RDC ride. At this point, only God knew. I walked outside around the Canadian National station from Kwinitsa and saw the statue of a whale with its baby laying across its tail. Returning to the station, I boarded the eastbound Skeena for Prince George.

The train departed on time still in the darkness of the long winter night and passed the ferry docks where the cruise ships dock on their journeys along the Inside Passage, then past Ridley Island where coal and grain trains empty their cargo for ocean-bound voyages to Pacific Rim countries. Smith Island came into my dawn view as we ran along Chatham Sound in Telegraph Pass before we paralleled the Skeena River up what I would call a fjord. Skeena means "Water of the Clouds" from native Tsimshaind or "River of the Mists" from the native Gitksan.

The Coast Range peaks played hide-and-seek with the low clouds this morning and wee ran along the water's edge to Tyee siding, where the highway cut between the water and the tracks with the mountains looming very close then passed through Kwinitsa where that depot in Prince Rupert used to be. There were many waterfalls along the cliffs until the Pacific tidal zone and the river narrowed as the Skeena changes from an inlet stage into a river stage of development. At this point, I have no hesitation in saying that this was the most beautiful train ride along an inlet in all of North America. It has the best of Anderson and Seton Lakes on BC Rail and Knik Arm on the Alaska Railroad; VIA's Skeena is one of the best train rides in North America.

We travelled through the lone tunnel on Canadian National's Skeena Subdivision before it lived up to its name as we travelled thought the mist at Exstew siding. With all the clear days I have had, this is a nice change as I enjoy all types of weather when I travel. The sun made an appearance after we departed Terrace with passengers boarding so my coach was three quarters full. The Kitimat Subdivision diverged from the mainline in Terrace for its namesake city and a few minutes out of Terrace, the Skeena entered Kitselas Canyon with its four tunnels. From the observation area of the Park Car, you could see through the last one then the tracks curved a little and after passing through the other three, you could look back and see through them; quite impressive. Later, the Seven Sisters made a brief appearance with five of the them exposed out of the clouds. At Kitwanga, I saw the totem poles the town has displayed in a park, with another one by the station which had been graffitied.

A few minutes later, we passed Kitseguecla across the river before the train stopped on the Skeena River bridge to allow everyone a great view of our only crossing of its namesake river. A little after noon, we stopped on the Seely Bridge for another viewing period, after which it passed through New Hazelton and entered Bulkley Canyon and we retraced the route of yesterday through the tunnels, across the bridges to Moricetown followed by another tunnel and straight out onto a bridge.

Hudson Bay Mountain escaped the clouds long enough for a single picture before we arrived at Smithers and I called BC Rail and the strike was on with an offer of a twelve-hour bus ride to North Vancouver. I told them of my disappointment and that I would give VIA my business for the rest of the trip. BC Rail would be in my future plans. The Skeena continued its trek east and soon we arrived at Houston then it occurred to me, why not take a bus directly to Vancouver from Prince George, a realistic option, the cost should be within my budget and it would give me almost two days in Vancouver. I had been on a ten-hour bus ride from Tucson to Los Angeles off the Sunset Limited due to a freight train derailment near Yuma and I survived that.

As we retraced our route back to Prince George, we passed the frozen Rose and Burns Lakes in the last light of the afternoon and the sun set with a magnificent pinkish sky before the Skeena waited on time at Endako. More options were given to me such as taking the bus to Jasper and catching the Canadian there for Vancouver but that hinged on what time the bus leaves tomorrow. Another passenger's suggestion was to fly West Jet since they were having an 88 cent sale one way to Vancouver (yes, I do mean 88 cents), which would mean no changing hotel plans, getting a full night's sleep and being in Vancouver in two hours.

Back to railroading reality. We had been moving so well all day, only passing one freight way back at Andimaul on the Bulkley Subdivision this morning but were now delayed by a slow-moving drag freight at Encombe which caused our fast-moving Skeena to cool her wheels for ten minutes. After it passed, I returned to the rear and watched the signals fade in the distance for the rest of the journey to Prince George. I said goodbye to my crew of Lorne Luster, the senior service attendant, and Van Johnson, our service manager, thanking them both for a great three days on the Skeena and sorry that it could not be four, then detrained, ready to make a decision on how to get back to Vancouver. Even with all the problems that the BC Rail strike was causing, I took the time to think that I would do the Skeena again in a heartbeat and what a fantastic train ride it was.

Inside the station, I called Greyhound and for $48.69, I could ride to Jasper on a 7:15 AM bus. Jill, the VIA agent, sold me two more extra days on my Canrail Pass for $66.64 and it was wise of me only to use the pass for ten days, keeping the extra two I could buy in case of an emergency such as this. I called the main number for Days Inn but they could not cancel my reservation in Vancouver then taxied to the Downtown Hotel, went to the Keg Steakhouse a block away and called home to my mother who would call the Days Inn direct for me. I had a decent steak dinner as the portions were a lot smaller than in Winnipeg and returned to the hotel for a good night's rest.

12/27/1999 I awoke at 5:45 AM and watched television prior to the taxi taking me to the bus station where I bought my ticket to Jasper and waited to board, wondering why the rail connection was not better in Jasper. I should be on a train, not a bus, but was thankful that there was a bus to take me to a train.

The difference between long-distance bus riders in Canada versus those in the United States was very evident as everyone was friendly. We departed on time and drove east on the Yellowhead Highway, passing the VIA station with the Skeena in front and the road to the airport, both options which I passed on. A mere forty minutes out of Prince George, we made what the driver called a drink stop or a better term was a smoker's stop. When I came out of the store, I noticed that there was an express trailer being pulled by the bus. Music and puzzles, along with the scenery, filled my time and near McBride, the railway came into view. We stopped in McBride for fifteen minutes which was long enough for a walk to a store for doughnuts and chocolate milk for breakfast. We continued our merry way before embarking on a side trip south to Valemount, a stop on this route and where I would have ended up if I had done the Skeena/taxi plan. The bus then made its way over Yellowhead Pass with no chance of seeing Mount Robson as it was buried under the clouds before we continued down the east side under clear skies to Jasper, arriving there ten minutes early. All in all, not a bad bus ride but seeing the tracks along the way had me thinking that I should be on them and not the highway. Well, everything works out if you let it!

To say that I was glad to be back in Jasper for the third time on this trip would be an understatement. Who would not want to keep coming back to one of the most beautiful spots in the Canadian Rockies? I locked my bags in a two dollar coin locker then called home to make sure that the Vancouver hotel room for tonight was cancelled and while it had not been completely straightforward, but my very resourceful mother managed to take care of it. I bought the now-usual postcard and mailed it then had lunch at A&W since that chain is not the the area of Orange County where I reside. I walked over by the grade crossing hoping for a train, when from the trees I heard a snort and looked over to see a herd of elk contentedly sitting in the shade and kept my distance as these are very wild animals.

Canadian National 4784 West arrived and after it cleared the crossing, I walked back to the station where I retrieved my bags and repacked then for Customs tomorrow and waited for the westbound Canadian, the final VIA train on this Canrail Pass.

I was boarded early a chose a window seat on the left to take me to Vancouver and Amtrak. Today had taken a lot out of me and I did not feel that well so I and napped while the train was being serviced and the cleaning crew did their duties in a quiet manner and three sleepers were added to our consist. I awoke when I heard a train approaching, which was the Skeena and spotted Lorne in the Park Car, who waved and exchanged greetings from a distance and Van, at the rear door, did the same thing, so knew I had made the Canadian as we all had hoped. It was nice having friends look out for one when so far from home.

We departed Jasper twenty minutes late and I went back two cars to the Skyline Car and had a grilled pork chops dinner once more in the coffee shop under the dome. During the meal, the Canadian entered Canadian National's Robson Subdivision, the same way the Skeena goes to Taverna, but we stayed on it until Charles then returned to Canadian National's Albreda Subdivision and its usual routing. In other words, we went the lower grade routing, something I had not experienced, or expected, and was new mileage. With that little bit of new trackage, I felt so much better and happy about everything.

I met a fellow traveller from my eastbound trip and we talked about where we had each been and everything we had seen. He went east to Ottawa, while I went north and west and of course lived through the very cold temperature in Lynn Lake. We had a lengthy stop at Valemount and after Pyramid Falls, I turned in sleeping next to a former Canadian National conductor going to Kamloops. I twisted and turned to Kamloops, where forty people detrained from my coach and I had a set of seats to myself the rest of the way to Vancouver and stretched out across the two and fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the night.

12/28/1999 I awoke east of Matsqui and had my usual breakfast, the last one on VIA of the trip then enjoyed the rest of the ride from the dome into Vancouver. We curved off the Canadian National main line onto Canadian Pacific's Mission Subdvision, which took us across the Fraser River to Mission City, where we waited for a westbound West Coast Express commuter train. Once he cleared, we proceeded down Canadian Pacific's Cascade Subdivision to Port Coquitlam and stopped briefly at the station. On the move once more, we made our way to MacAulay where we curved onto Canadian Pacific's Westminster Subdivision, taking that to Sapperton where we were lined onto BNSF's New Westminster Subdivision for the rest of the journey. The Canadian was wyed prior to our on-time arrival at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver on the very tracks we departed from to start this whole Canrail Pass trip in December.

The Canadian at rest at its destination.

As we were approaching, I saw Skytrain running so that option was once again available. I had my first McDonald's breakfast of this trip as I was still hungry then after VIA returned all the passengers' checked luggage, I stored my bags for the day in their baggage room and walked to the Downtown Historic Railway on the south side of False Creek. Within ten minutes, I had found the car barn with British Columbia Electric Railway 1207, a 1905 double-truck, double-ended interurban car built by the railway's New Westminster Shops in 1905, locked up inside. I walked the whole length of the line under their overhead wire looking for any information on the line, but could find nothing.

I returned to Science World to check on films but they were playing the same ones I had already seen so went across the street to the Skytrain station and bought an all-day pass and rode to Waterfront then strolled over to Canada Place and visited the Canadian National IMAX Theatre for two 3D movies - "Siegfried and Roy" and "The Nutcracker". The first one was fantastic and I had never seen "The Nutcracker", so seeing it in 3D made it extra special and these two were the best 3D film I had seen. I returned to Skytrain, rode one stop to Burrard and walked three blocks to the Virgin Records Megastore then walked back to Skytrain and rode out to King George and the end of the line, riding in the front of the car. We went through some pea soup fog and the crossing of the Fraser River was with zero visibility which was very eerie. I went back to Pacific Central Station, reclaimed my bags and upgraded to Business Class on Amtrak Cascades then went through pre-Customs check and out into the caged area where they keep the train during its layover.

I boarded Car 1, Seat 3c, a single seat, before I went back to the Bistro Car to see what was on the dinner menu and settled on a hot dog then caught up on my writing while listening to Rod Stewart and reading the Seattle Times. We departed on schedule and I was on the inland side of the train for the first time with the journey being very peaceful, quiet and relaxing as the Business Car seat was wider and could sway. Our Fraser River crossing occurred in dense fog and later there was an excellent view of the Peace Arch at the border. At Blaine, Customs agents boarded and took thirty seconds with each passenger in my car; I had expected it to be more intensive with bags searched since the various problems I heard about at the border. After Bellingham, the film "I'll be Home for Christmas" with Jonathan Taylor Thomas was shown, which was enjoyable and played to Everett, after which the Talgo took me the rest of the way to Seattle, following a delay at the drawbridge at the Ballard Locks. We arrived in Seattle five minutes late.

I was off the Amtrak Cascades and into to a taxi which took me to the Kings Inn, which was on 5th Street, above which the Monorail runs. My room was ready and with a nice hot shower, I had a good night's rest.

12/29/1999 A wake-up call and some television started my day then I checked out and rode a taxi back to King Street Station to wait for the last long-distance train of this whole trip, the Coast Starlight.

I received the first boarding pass after having a nice chat with our conductor before starting the line at door number one and was the first coach passenger to board. My car attendant was Phil Garcia, a former Custom Class Attendant on my San Diegan trains, who gave me one of his seats so that tonight I could have both seats to stretch out. We departed on time and I chatted with Phil, the conductor and Adam, the attendant from the car behind us, almost to Tacoma then went for a cup of tea in the lounge car, only to find Steve Shum, yet another former San Diegan Lead Service Attendant, working the lounge. I went upstairs and watched the Tacoma Narrows pass while waiting for the first call for lunch, where I had a Mount Shasta steak sandwich and ice cream with chocolate syrup.

We crept through Ruston and Nelson Bennett Tunnels as there was some type of track problem and the rest of the journey to Portland was uneventful. As the Starlight crossed the Columbia River into Oregon, I was one state closer to home then detrained at Portland for a walk and snacks while the train did its station work. South of Portland along the Willamette River, the sun finally broke through on what had been a completely overcast day to this point and it made the river south of Oregon Falls really pretty. South of Salem, we returned to the dense fog so I went to the lounge car and watched the end of "Bowfinger" for a few more laughs then had a 5:00 PM dinner reservation and dined with a pair of sisters going to Klamath Falls. I had a Willamette Valley tenderloin and a caramel Turtle ice cream cake for dessert; an excellent and most fulfilling meal. Jeff Byron, our Dining Car Steward, ran the most consistently-fine dining car on the whole Amtrak system. To eat in a car led by him is one of the true pleasures in life.

With night underway, I picked a star in the sky to the south and would use it to know my location and direction in the night. So as long as the star was in view, I knew we were going southeast. When we looped back northwest at the Salt Creek Bridge, the star would vanish from view and when the star returned, we were at the top of the elongated "S" curve and proceeded southeast once more on the way to Cascade Summit. It was a beautiful star-filled Oregon night and after Chemult, I called it a night.

12/30/1999 I awoke in the Sacramento River Canyon as I was officially back in California with an even more spectacular winter sky then fell back asleep and woke up again as the train went around the new connection south of Marysville onto the former Western Pacific route to avoid the nightmare passage of Roseville Yard which played havoc with my last trip south and the Starlight's on-time performance had dramatically improved since the rerouting in October. I enjoyed the ride on tracks I had ridden previously during Union Pacific steam excursions, then at Haggin, we turned off the former Western Pacific and resumed the normal route into Sacramento, where I detrained for a USA Today and to see my brother Bruce, who was not working this morning. We departed on time and went to Oakland without delay on this beautiful sunny morning along the Carquinez Straits and San Pablo Bay and it was foggy enough across the bay to block out San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

At Amtrak's Oakland Yard, two cars of express was added to the rear prior to our arrival at Jack London Square station, where I met Steve Donaldson, a fellow member of the Orange County Railway Historical Society, who was going to ride with me to San Jose. Steve and his wife moved to San Carlos in August and planned to meet me on this train by taking a Capitol Corridor train up from San Jose. We had a nice ride together and caught up on a variety of topics while he pointed out historical points along our route. "Time flies when you are having fun!" is a true statement as all too quickly, we arrived at San Jose and I had to bid Steve goodbye as he detrained and the Starlight continued the on-time journey.

At Gilroy, I napped until Salinas and since the train was oversold, passengers had to ride in the lounge car, then a slow order south of Salinas cost us time. The Salinas Valley was a good place to put on headphones and I listened to Rush's "Different Stages" while the film "Runaway Bride" was shown in the lounge car. We departed Paso Robles thirty minutess late and had been passing under a dry front, one of the problems that California had with La Niña, the same weather system that caused the polar bears to leave Churchill many weeks late. Our trip down the Cuesta Grade was swift as we met the northbound Coast Starlight at San Luis Obispo where I caught some fresh air as they watered the train.

Leaving San Luis Obispo a mere twenty minutes late, a historic moment occurred when, at Milepost 256.9, a tenth-of-a-mile east of the trackside detector, I passed 500,000.0 rail miles since 1980 and felt that I accomplished something few people have ever done. I continued south on my way towards a million miles, one tenth at a time then had a 4:30 PM dinner reservation so I could have the Pacific Ocean at sunset outside my window. I had the same meal as yesterday it was just as good. As I ate, I met Lee Jackson, another very good former San Diegan Custom Class Attendant, who was working the sleepers then was treated to a beautiful red Pacific high cloud sunset. I returned to my coach seat for the music of Journey as the Coast Starlight made its eastward turn at Point Conception on its way to Santa Barbara, where I hopped off for my last fresh air stop. We left there a mere twenty minutes late and passed through Seacliff without any delays then stopped at Oxnard, Simi Valley and Glendale before the arriving at our final stop of Los Angeles, eighteen minutes early.

While I waited to board this train, I ran into Lawrence Dixon, one of my favourite Amtrak conductors, who was here to cut off the express cars and with his quick work, Train 586 departed on time and took me home to Santa Ana, ending my Winter Train Trip to Canada.

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