On and On and Up and Up!

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

We’re up at five am after a sleepless night in the not-very-gorgeous hotel at Kamloops, to assemble for buses to go to the station to climb back on the Rocky Mountaineer passenger train. We are seriously tired but today we’re to be in the first sitting for breakfast, which will surely lift us. There’s nothing like a few calories to gee up a flagging body. We leave our luggage in the lobby, confident, now that it will arrive at tonight’s destination before we do.

Today’s journey promises to be much more dramatic, since we’ll be travelling to and within some of the very best scenery along the route.

While we are breakfasting- enjoying treats from the same delicious menu as yesterday- we rumble out of Kamloops station past sidings and rolling stock. Some of the engines here have snow plough equipment on the front.

Soon we’re back out into rolling countryside, which becomes wilder and more rugged as we progress, the hills becoming higher, the gorges deeper. Sometimes we cross a river on a spindly bridge, the open sides dropping away in a breathless swoon of steep drop.

At last we’re high enough for proper mountains and at last, white tops, clouds swirling above- the fringes of pine trees ending where bare rock does not allow.

During the afternoon- and following another gourmet feast of lunch- some of our fellow passengers succumb to a snooze and I find myself briefly snatching the odd five minutes as lack of sleep catches up with us. But the scenery is becoming more spectacular as we roll on and I’m reluctant to miss anything.

We’re near to a town called ‘Field’ when the train does a spectacular thing. In order to gain height and pass through the mountains, it must enter the mountainside and run up a succession of three ‘loops’ in the darkness. Each loop provides a little more height. Of course, we’re unable to see anything at all until the train emerges from the final loop, but we do get a brief glimpse of the entrance, below us as we exit the mountain. These are the ‘Spiral Loops’. What an amazing feat of engineering!

We’re much nearer to the snowy mountain tops now, the sunshine punctuated by some showers and we have the sense that we are really here- right in the Canadian Rockies.

A delicious afternoon snack comes around- a choice of salty nuts or chocolatey nuts and raisins. It’s a welcome treat when we’re flagging from tiredness. To descend the steps to the footplate feels much chillier now that we’re higher up. The afternoon is ebbing away and there’s late sunlight as we draw towards Lake Louise, where some of the passengers are to be disgorged. Lake Louise is a hot tourist spot- as we are to discover later on in the trip!

But we stay as the twilight descends and at last we’re slowing down for Banff, where our train journey is to end. There’s a last farewell from the four staff who’ve looked after us for two days and a welcome comittee waiting beside the tracks to pipe us in! Then we’re stumbling down off the train and up into buses again.

It’s dark and I feel stretched with fatigue. The bus is to take us to the Rimrock Hotel, which we’re dismayed to learn is up and out of the town. We’d been hoping it was near the centre and walking distance. When the bus pulls up, however, we’re given bus passes for the shuttle that makes frequent trips to and from the town.

At last we’re into the hotel, which is, even from glancing round at the lobby, a vast improvement on last night’s! Having found our vast, comfortable room and checked that our luggage is there, we go down to the lounge area and collapse into a sofa before ordering a bowl of fries and a drink- some soporific calories before bed.

Once i’ve showered I clamber into the huge, luxurious bed and sleep and sleep and sleep…

Grace is the alter ego of novelist and short story writer, Jane Deans. To date I have two published novels to my name: The Conways at Earthsend [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conways-at-Earthsend-Jane-Deans-ebook/dp/B08VNQT5YC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZHXO7687MYXE&keywords=the+conways+at+earthsend&qid=1673350649&sprefix=the+conways+at+earthsend%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-1 and The Year of Familiar Strangers [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Familiar-Strangers-Jane-Deans-ebook/dp/B00EWNXIFA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EQHJGCF8DSSL&keywords=The+year+of+familiar+strangers&qid=1673350789&sprefix=the+year+of+familiar+strangers%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-1 Visit my writer Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jane%20deans%2C%20novellist%2C%20short%20fiction%20and%20blog or my website: https://www.janedeans.com/

Long Train Running On and On

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

The Rocky Mountaineer is the only passenger train to run on this route- into the Canadian Rocky Mountains, but it is a very well rolled route for goods trains- and they are incredible. Sometimes we rumble past one coming the opposite way, sometimes we must pause for one to pass and, on occasions when the line splits into opposite sides of a valley, we see one from a distance, snaking along on the other track, These trains are huge chains of containers- up to 30 and can be 3700 metres long, taking many minutes to pass by. They are interspersed with two or three engines as they ascend and descend in a slow and stately manner. I wonder what they are carrying? Once or twice we pass one with open trucks full of coal- a slightly depressing sight!

Having breakfasted, we return to our upstairs seats and it’s not long before the top deck stewards are coming round to take drinks orders. Basically, you can have anything you like. The two British couples in front odf us, who have hooked up now are making the most of the largesse and digging in by working their way through the cocktail menu.

The landscape has become progressively wilder, although not yet mountainous. There are huge, tumbling rivers, hillsides coated with conifers, deep gorges- sometimes spanned by a spindly bridge. The waters are a deep, greenish blue and often churning with sediment. Sometimes, when the Rocky mountaineer rounds the bend in a cliff we get to see the front of it- an impressive view.

I’m up on my feet for some of the time, attempting photos, although I’ve discovered that photography is not easy on a train. At times I descend to the footplate at the rear of our carriage, which we are permitted to do, with warnings not to stick any part of ourselves out! But it’s no easier to snap views from here-

It’s early afternoon before we’re called to lunch, which is, again a culinary masterpiece. You have to be impressed by the quality of the meals being served from such a tiny kitchen.

The remainder of the afternoon passes with views, anecdotes from the staff, drinks and snacks and dodging about to try and photograph things. After a long day of clear skies, sunshine and great landscapes, as the sun begins to sink in the sky I remember that we’ve had a very early start and in spite of sitting around most of the time we’re feeling weary.

We roll into Kamloops. It’s getting dark- and late as we clamber off on to the tarmac at Kamloops Station and on to buses. We’re not going to be seeing anything of the town due to the late hour. We’re bussed up and around into an area where there are some hotels then the coaches begin to pull in and disgorge passengers. We arrive to ours. One of the great things about the Rocky Mountaineer is that your luggage arrives independently [by road] and is placed in your room, ready for your arrival. There is no checking in, so we can get our key and go directly there. This is easier said than done, though, as finding the way there is tricky in our [by now] addled state.

In spite of not eating an evening meal I’m too tired to eat, wanting only to shower and sleep, but Husband goes down to the bar in search of some sustenance while I shower. I’m not altogether thrilled with the hotel, since when I return to the bathroom before turning out the light there’s a huge lake in there, meaning I must use every available towel to clean it up. Then the sheets on the bed don’t feel crisp and nice as they should.

All this adds up to a sleep impoverished night- a night which will end at 5am in order for us to assemble in the lobby at 6am. Horrors!

Long Train Running

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Grace Lessageing

Our bus pulls into Vancouver station, along with the rest of the coach convoy. But there’s no platform. We’re facing the tracks, upon which sits a magnificent, gleaming, golden train, its tall carriages stretching both ways as far as the eye can see. In spite of the early hour and my tiredness I feel a frisson of excitement to see it, this iconic train: The Rocky Mountaineer. This is to be our conveyance for two whole days.

On leaving the bus, we must locate our carriage- marked on our boarding cards. Outside each, tall, double-decker carriage there are two stewards waiting to welcome us by the footplate and we must clamber up the iron steps to enter the ground floor. Inside, looking along the carriage, there is a panelled ante room lined with sofas and beyond, a dining compartment where window tables are set for four with pristine white tablecloths and gleaming cutlery. It’s a heartening sight!

There’s a semi-spiral set of stairs up to the seating area, reminding me of the double decker buses of my childhood. We locate our seats, which are large and comfortable. Before the train sets off we’re given information and instructions. There are four stewards in the carriage- two up and two down in the dining car. In addition to this there are kitchen staff in the tiny galley area, producing breakfasts and lunches. Each carriage is self-contained in this way- it’s a massive operation!

We move off, a slow rumble through the outskirts of Vancouver, past sidings and rolling stock, here and there passing elevated railway tracks, warehouses and retail parks, It’s not long before the first diners are summoned- and we must wait- except that while we are waiting, coffee and warm, delicious cherry cake is served to us, which revives me, although I’m hoping it doesn’t spoil the appetite for what is to be a very posh breakfast.

After a while we’re in the countryside, crossing a bridge over a wide river, a ‘skytrain’ winding above us, or following alongside the river. The travel is punctuated by snippets of information from the upstairs stewards, who regail us with stories and facts from time to time. There’s also an upstairs kitchen area from where drinks and snacks are dispensed, served to us in our seats whenever we like, however I’m not inclined to embark on cocktail consumption at this hour of the morning.

The passengers in our carriage consist of many British with a smattering of other non-Canadians; near us are an Australian couple, a German couple and a pair from a village a few miles away from us in the UK.

When we’re called down to the dining area we filter along to fill up tables. Besides the tables for four there are two odd tables for two, either side of the aisle. The German couple slide into one booth and we sit in the other. This becomes the pattern for the remainder of our meals. I’m a little disappointed not to be able to socialise so much, although Husband points out that the chatting couples are so interested in their conversations they’re missing the scenery and the sights- which is correct.

Breakfast consists of a fruit and yoghurt starter and a choice of main course, all immaculately presented and accompanied by tea or coffee and fruit juices. It is all delicious. Outside, the rolling countryside slides past…

Anecdotage

Views from the Descent

Tag Archives: The Rocky Mountaineer

On and On and Up and Up!

Long Train Running On and On

Long Train Running