VIDEOS : Sea to Shining Sea: Canada by Rail

THE GREAT CANADIAN TRAIN RIDE (International Travel Films, 80 minutes, 1992).

For viewers who may be considering a train trip across Canada, wishing to relive one or just daydreaming, Doug Jones has captured the mystique of one of the most spectacular long-haul rail journeys in the world.

Viewers hear the history of the Canadian Pacific rail line, illustrated with early footage of its inauguration in 1955 and of its recent restoration by VIA Rail.

The film explores every facet of life aboard the Canadian--from dining car, observation car, sleeping accommodations to a ride in the locomotive, as the train plies its 2,800-mile journey from Toronto to Vancouver.

Traveling across the vast plains and through the Rocky Mountains, there are stops and tours of Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Banff National Park, historic Kamloops and the cities of Vancouver and Victoria.

Especially noteworthy are a gambling casino in Winnipeg; the world’s largest shopping center, the West Edmonton Mall, with more than 800 shops and such indoor attractions as a roller coaster and bungee jumping; the new Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatchewan, dedicated to early American Indian culture; the beauty of the Banff-Lake Louise-Jasper area, and a ferry trip to the charmingly British town of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Tapes are available from International Travel Films, P.O. Box 39402, Los Angeles, 90039, (800) 622-0067. Price $29.95.

THE SOLOMON ISLANDS (World Travel Marketing, 60 minutes, 1992).

Barry and Corinne Smedley take viewers off the usual tourist trail once again in this video journey to the Solomon Islands.

This 50th-anniversary visit to a major Pacific battleground will be of special interest to veterans and World War II history buffs.

Viewers follow the Smedleys on their flight from Fiji to Guadalcanal Island where the tour, augmented with early war footage and maps, visits battlefields, a peace park and an American underground command post. It also focuses on the capital, Honiara, with its shops for woodcarvings and postage stamps for collectors, plus stops in the marketplace and Chinatown.

On their island tour, a guide takes the Smedleys to Iron Bottom Sound, where 60 ships were sunk during the conflict; to the Solomon Islands National Cultural Museum, and to a war museum.

The video then heads to Seghe, Munda and Gizo in the Western Province. Highlights include a visit to the area near Vella Gulf where John F. Kennedy’s World War II craft, PT-109, was rammed, and a scuba-diving exploration of a sunken Japanese ship.

The tour of Gizo is followed by a three-day island cruise aboard a local transport ship and a flight to Malaita Island. Its capital, Auki, is noted for its unusual shell money and sacred Skull House.

Although the Smedleys’ videos have a home-video quality, viewers get a realistic view of their destinations, including some history, travel tips and scenes of typical accommodations.

Tapes are available from World Travel Marketing, P.O. Box 124507, San Diego 92112-4507, (619) 560-7687. Price: $9.95.

CALIFORNIA (American Automobile Assn., 1991, 60 minutes).

A beautifully photographed tour of California, filmed at its seasonal best and showing the highlights and environs of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. Side trips take in Lassen Volcanic Park, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Death Valley.

AAA Video Service, 200 Fillmore St., Suite 106, Denver, Colo. 80206, (800) 875-5000. Price: $19.95 for members, $24.95 for nonmembers.