William Self Photography

When I Was a Kid...
I used to write letters to companies like GO Transit and The Toronto Transit Commission, begging them for photos, maps and anything else they had in relation to their transit systems. They would never disappoint me which is probably the reason that my love for the rails has carried into my adult years.

The Via Rail Canadian

I recently had the opportunity to cross Western Canada, traveling from Vancouver to Toronto on the VIA Rail Canadian. The journey takes a full four to five days to complete.This would be our daughter Norah's first voyage of any kind at nearly five months in age. I'll have to quiz her memory of the trip when she gets older.

All Aboard!
Our mid-August journey began at Vancouver's Pacific Central railway station, pulling out of the station just over an hour before the sun would set. A full week later we pulled in to Toronto’s Union Station to complete our trip. We did make a couple of stops along the way to break things up, which I’d recommend to anyone planning the same journey.

We stopped in Jasper for a few nights, renting a car and making a trip down the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise and back. The second stop we made was in Winnipeg where we caught up with old friends.

Trip Highlights

The Dome Car: Riding up in the dome car was a real treat, especially when traveling through the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta. The dome car offers incredible 360 degree views and a very social atmosphere for passengers. Here we chatted with fellow Canadians, Americans, Australians and more as we drank up the scenery.

VIA Rail’s Staff: A great group of people if you ask me! Very helpful, courteous and entertaining - even when the train was running six hours behind schedule at one point. They were exhausted but held it together and were extremely professional despite the circumstances.

The Diner Car: Due to space constraints, table space is shared between passengers. As a result, dinners were very conversational and we met a lot of interesting folks who didn’t seem to mind that I talk with my mouth full.

Our Cabin: Our two person cabin was tiny, but had everything we needed including a toilet. It was nice having our own private space to retreat to when we needed sleep or had to change a diaper.

Canada: From BC to Ontario, I was continually impressed with what I was seeing from the window of the train. The train travels predominantly through remote parts of the country which is the real treat. Views of the great mountains, the prairie plains and the boreal forest were completely unobstructed by man-made crap. I was reminded that Canada really is very much a wilderness.