Now Passengers Can See the Light on Dazzling Canadian Rockies Trip

Dawn comes to the Canadian Rockies like a beautiful overture as the Rocky Mountaineer excursion train rolls west across Alberta. Passengers sip their morning coffee and watch in wonder as the Rockies pass in review.

First, a blush of pink in the sky behind the mountains. The pink turns to crimson. Then, as if on cue, deer and elk prance through the emerald forest next to the tracks.

A day later, the train will be twisting through British Columbia’s Fraser River Canyon, a gorge boiling with wild, thundering waters.

And then, at sunset that evening, the Rocky Mountaineer will coast to a stop in one of the Northwest’s fairest cities, Vancouver.

The two-day Calgary-to-Vancouver trip offers almost 550 miles of dazzling scenery. And travelers can see all of it in the daylight. Along the way, passengers are booked for one night into one of three motels in the British Columbia trout-fishing city of Kamloops, 260 miles northeast of Vancouver.

Canada’s nationwide VIA Rail system used to speed through some of its most scenic stretches after dark. There were schedules to keep, and deficits were bulging. No time to slow down for the scenery. The idea was to get from point to point as quickly as possible.

But in January, 1990, crushing financial problems caused VIA to give up the Calgary/Vancouver passenger route. It seemed for awhile as if one of North America’s favorite railroad journeys would fade into history.

Then the Canadian government decided to offer the Rockies route to the private sector. There were more than 20 bidders. The winner, announced last March, was Mountain Vistas Railtour Services, which has since become the Great Canadian Railtour Co. Ltd.

The new Rocky Mountaineer train departed Vancouver just 10 weeks later, in late May. In all, more than 15,000 passengers rode the route during last year’s 20-week season.

This season, departure dates extend from May 26 to Oct. 11.

The Rocky Mountaineer does more than travel between Vancouver and Calgary by way of Kamloops. There are options:

--Eastbound, the train “separates” after the overnight at Kamloops. One train heads for Calgary, with a stop in Banff, the Canadian Rockies’ holiday center. Passengers can leave the train at Banff or Calgary. The other train goes from Kamloops to Jasper National Park.

--Westbound from Calgary, the train collects passengers at Banff and then heads for Kamloops. The train from Jasper, meanwhile, travels to Kamloops. There the two join for the final run to Vancouver.

The splendors of Western Canada are served up to passengers in a series of spectacular panoramas as the train winds in and out of river valleys, climbs steep mountain passes and glides through the shadows of jade forests. Large windows frame close-up views of snowy peaks and wildlife.

A herd of elk splashes across the Bow River near Banff--so close to the train that passengers can see puffs of vapor from the animals’ mouths. And then a low-flying formation of Canada geese turns like a fighter squadron over the river and climbs into the misty sky.

“What will they do for an encore?” asked one passenger.

The question was answered in spectacular fashion in the Yoho Valley, about 12 miles west of Calgary.

That’s where the train eases down a cliffhanging grade and descends through two spiral tunnels toward the town of Field. The upper tunnel burrows more than 3,000 feet into Cathedral Mountain, then turns 288 degrees, passing under itself and emerging 56 feet lower. The lower tunnel cuts almost 3,000 feet through Mt. Ogden, turns 226 degrees and emerges 45 feet lower.

The looping descent in the darkness of the tunnels gives travelers an idea of what space travel must be like at times. There is no way to clamp on to a sense of direction.

Reality returns at Field. Motorists pull off the Trans-Canada Highway to photograph the Rocky Mountains and surrounding scenery. Some wave at the passing Rocky Mountaineer passengers.

Travelers are treated well on their rail journey. Car attendants deliver blankets on cool mornings. At meal times--breakfast and lunch each day--there is light fare, served airline-style at the seats. Breakfasts are typically continental--orange juice, bran muffin, sweet roll, cheese and crackers.

The first day, lunch was a choice of cold salmon or roast beef, served with a green salad and carrot cake. The second day was a mix of turkey, ham and beef slices, with potato salad, dill pickles, roll and a lemon tart.

There is no charge for soft drinks, fruit juices, coffee and tea. Alcohol is available but costs extra.

The stretch between Calgary and Kamloops meanders through tall timber and lofty mountains. Between Kamloops and Vancouver, the tracks are bounded by desert-like sagebrush country and canyons bellowing with the roar of rowdy rivers.

It’s a haunting region, where rails crisscross the trails of fur traders and gold-rush stampeders. Such landmarks as Deadman’s Creek and Rattlesnake Hill are reminders of pioneer times.

Some 14 miles northwest of Kamloops, there is a plaque commemorating one of North America’s funniest train robberies.

In 1906, Bill Miner, a notorious stagecoach and train robber, was getting along in years when he decided to try one more heist.

Miner and two partners held up a Canadian Pacific train, right there at Mile 14.5. But they uncoupled the wrong car and inside found only $15 and a bottle of pills. And during the confusion, one of the thieves let two of their horses go. The trio rode off on one horse, but that sight soon attracted the attention of a police officer. Miner’s outlaw days were over.

It’s actually a treat to interrupt the 550-mile trip in Kamloops, a city with a population of about 65,000. You can stretch your legs, take a shower in one of the three hotels that are used to house passengers, and enjoy a meal out somewhere.

Back on the rails, about 100 miles south of Kamloops, passengers crowd the vestibules between cars to watch the clear waters of the Thompson River merge into the muddy current of the Fraser River.

The booming of the rivers below, churning with whirlpools and rocky rapids, is so noisy that the crashing waters drown out the sound of the speeding train.

And it is there, right in the walls of the Fraser River Canyon, that tracks from two rail lines--Canadian Pacific and Canadian National (VIA Rail purchased rights to travel over both)--along with the Trans-Canada Highway all vie for space in a maze of zigzag crossings. At one point, the two railroads change sides of the canyon like partners at a barn dance.

Later, as the Rocky Mountaineer nears Vancouver and the Pacific Coast, the terrain changes suddenly from white-water canyons to the gentle green farmlands of the Fraser River Delta.

The finale is the high-rise skyline of Vancouver, glowing in the embers of a red-gold sunset.

The Rocky Mountaineer is home.

GUIDEBOOK

Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer

Rail schedule: The Rocky Mountaineer will offer 30 departures in each direction this year, leaving from Vancouver or Calgary/Banff, between May 26 and Oct. 10. Passengers may book one-way tours or round trips.

Passengers stay overnight in one of three motels in Kamloops, British Columbia, about midway between Calgary and Vancouver--the Coast Canadian Inn, The Dome or The Stockman’s. All are clean, with no frills. Lodging in Kamloops is included in tour fares.

Fares: Vancouver to Calgary--$425 Canadian per person, based on double occupancy (for the Kamloops motel), one way; $760 round trip. Fares for singles are $465 one way, $850 round trip. Children (ages 2-11) with parents are $300 one way, $500 round trip.

Vancouver to Banff or Jasper--$390 Canadian per person, double, one way; $695 round trip. Singles are $435 one way, $795 round trip. Children are $265 one way, $475 round trip. There is no charge for children younger than 2. Toddlers are not entitled to a seat, but will be served meals.

Package includes two light breakfasts and lunches served aboard the train, one night’s lodging in Kamloops and bus transfers between the train and the Kamloops motels.

No smoking is the rule in the passenger cars. Barring dangerous forest-fire conditions, smoking is permitted on the vestibules between cars.

Luggage: Each passenger is allowed one carry-on bag aboard the train. All other luggage must be checked to the final destination. Passengers will not have access to checked baggage during the overnight stop in Kamloops.

For more information: Contact the Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd., Suite 345-625 Howe St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6C 2T6, (800) 665-7245 or (604) 278-7757.