THIS TRAIN RIDE SOARS
Rocky Mountaineer’s new route between Seattle and the Canadian Rockies offers world-class views and amenities
If there’s one thing to know about taking a scenic train journey, it is this: It’s about space, not time.
Lewis and Tachie Rhodes might be new to excursion train travel, but they realize this instinctively.
“We’re excited about the scenery,” says Lewis Rhodes, a retired engineer from Montgomery, Texas. “It’s a real pleasure to sit back and watch the world go by.”
That world is more easily accessible to many Americans this summer with the first regularly scheduled departures of the Rocky Mountaineer between Seattle and the Canadian Rockies. The Canada-based excursion train launched its new Coastal Passage itinerary, with service from Seattle connecting to an option of three different routes that burrow into the rugged and wondrous Canadian Rockies.
But first, settle in and enjoy a few hours of classic Pacific Northwest scenery.
Departing Seattle’s King Street Station, gritty industrial pockets surrender to tidy waterfront cottages and glimpses into the commercial doings of small towns. Award Winning BBQ. We Buy Cars for Cash! Furniture World.
Half an hour into the ride, the staff in the GoldLeaf cars (the top of three levels of service) distributes hot towels, followed by wine (a selection from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley) and cheese (a sharp Canadian cheddar).
By the time late lunch/early dinner is served below in the dining room, the Rocky Mountaineer’s blue- and gold-trimmed cars are passing by the Peace Arch marking the international border. The staff distributes little Maple Leaf flags. Someone breaks into song: O Canada!
It’s almost 9 p.m. when Vancouver’s über-contemporary glass-and-steel skyline pops into view. You could have driven the 120 miles in less than half the time it took to get here via this train.
But as anyone onboard will tell you, speed isn’t the point.
A NIGHTLY STOP
The Rocky Mountaineer stops each night — so as to take full advantage of daytime views — and passengers are delivered to hotels, where they find their bags magically waiting in their rooms. On this itinerary, passengers who boarded in Seattle stay two nights in Vancouver, then overnight again midway in Kamloops, before disembarking in Banff. Rates start at $2,582, including four hotel nights and 21⁄ train days.
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Amenities differ according to class of service. In GoldLeaf, double-decker cars have 360degree views up top and whitetablecloth dining below. Menus sport a choice of four or five freshly prepared entrees. And alcoholic drinks are gratis. SilverLeaf passengers travel in singlelevel cars with oversized windows and are served premade, heated meals at their seats, with a complimentary glass of beer or wine. RedLeaf service offers standard rail cars with box lunches and a non-alcoholic drink with lunch.
What’s consistent across all levels is a knowledgeable, affable staff, who deliver not only food and drink but commentary, too.
As the 21-coach train hugs the Fraser River on Vancouver’s outskirts during the first of two full rail days, host Ted Spence takes the mike. “The only wildlife you’re going to see here are hipsters,” he quips.
That’s likely to change soon enough. A moose sighting would be the “be all, end all,” he continues. “And we’re all looking for bear. But there’s complimentary alcohol, so a lot of people may only think they see a bear.”
The passengers, especially in the GoldLeaf cars, appear to fall squarely into “active retiree” status, though a few skew younger. A lively group of Australians who have tacked the train trip onto an Alaska cruise occupies the back half of one car. Americans and a few Brits and South Africans fill the front half.
Cinnamon scones and coffee arrive at the seats as a prelude to breakfast in the dining car. By 11:20 a.m., the first drink orders are being taken. A late-afternoon lunch of short ribs, plank-baked cod, mushroom-encrusted chicken or barley risotto emerges from a galley kitchen in which miracles are performed.
It’s the realm of a staff of four that turns out meals for two of six GoldLeaf coaches on this 21-car train. Tight quarters require making a few concessions in the creation of this movable feast. But not many, says the railway’s executive chef, Frederic Couton. For instance, they don’t fill pots to the brim or use dramatic garnishes — too much motion.
“Other than that, it’s pretty much the same,” Couton says. “There are kitchens in Vancouver that are smaller than these.”
The sun is low in the sky when the train pulls in for an overnight stay in Kamloops, a city of 85,000 that’s four highway hours from Vancouver and six from Banff. A pair of Kamloops Mounted Patrol members are on hand to greet the train, their horses poised daintily on a tiny platform.
“We’re still waiting for that moose!” a voice cries from the rear of the car.
STUNNING VISTAS
If the setting was merely gorgeous approaching Kamloops, it is epic as the train pushes east, farther into the Rockies toward Banff. Jagged, snowcapped peaks rise operatically. Waterways flow an ethereal, milky green.
On the Adams River east of Kamloops, millions of sockeye salmon return to spawn, turning the waters red and attracting fast-food-seeking bears. But that won’t happen until October, Spence explains. Meanwhile, popular Shuswap Lake has some clothing-optional beaches. “So you might see a bear, or just a bare bum. Keep your eyes open. Or closed,” he continues as the train hugs the shoreline.
There have been plenty of bighorn sheep, goat and elk sightings along the way. But the coveted bear remains elusive for most, until finally, somewhere short of Banff, a cry rings out. The train slows, and there’s a rush to the windows, cameras poised, as a black bear lumbers away from the tracks into the trees.
The Rocky Mountaineer continues east, rolling into Banff around 8:30 p.m., a little behind schedule. Not that there ever really was one.