Rocky Mountaineer
Our chosen itinerary was First Passage to the West and we did it from Banff to Vancouver. We flew into Calgary and spent some time in the Rockies before joining the train. There is much popular opinion that says you should begin in Vancouver and climb into the mountains as this gives you increasingly spectacular views rather than starting at the top and descending to the plains, but this is what fitted best with our plans. There’s an Avis service at Banff station, so it was easy to drop off our car before our early check in. The station had plenty of staff to take care of our luggage and we were serenaded with gentle live music before we boarded the train. We were told where our carriage would be and were greeted on the platform by our stewards who were to look after us throughout the journey. Once we were settled in and on our way with a glass of perfectly chilled champagne, we were called down to breakfast. As this was a celebration treat for us we had opted for the Goldleaf service and dining is on the lower level of the dome car in the silver service restaurant. Breakfast was a leisurely gourmet affair and set the scene for the rest of the trip. We could return to our glass roofed dome carriage upstairs or go to the exclusive outdoor viewing platform at any time.
We left the glaciers and snow-capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies passing through the remarkable tunnels that form part of the rich rail history of the area. Highlights included Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven, the descent through Rogers Pass, Kicking Horse Canyon and, of course, the Spiral Tunnels. All of these areas have a fascinating history brought to life by our stewards whilst being served from the open bar. A wonderful lunch was served downstairs and as the afternoon progressed, we realised that we had shared our tracks with several goods trains. They can be very long and take a while to pass us so it makes the arrival time in Kamloops very fluid. So much so that on this occasion, it was decided that we would have an equally wonderful dinner on board instead of at leisure in Kamloops as we were going to arrive in so late. All of this was arranged with ease and the staff took it in their stride. It doesn’t happen very often, but with the open bar and a great crew, we didn’t hear one complaint.
Our luggage was waiting for us in our room in Kamloops but there was little that we needed. After a freshen up and an early night we were collected again to join our train in the morning which had grown overnight to almost twice the length it was when we left it. Two journeys converge in Kamloops and the platform allows the coaches to line up alongside, so we walked directly from our coach to our carriage in a very slick process. Day two followed a similar itinerary of champagne, breakfast, storytelling with open bar, lunch, more storytelling all the way until our arrival into Vancouver. The translucent blue waters of the river became white water at Hell’s Gate in the Fraser Canyon. As we journeyed through winding river canyons, the rock sheds and pristine forests to the Coast and Cascade Mountains and the lush green fields of the Fraser Valley we were also on the lookout for wildlife. I know that bears are often sighted, but not seeing one was the only minor disappointment with our trip. To be fair, it’s the beginning of their hibernation season, so we had to be content with bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and eagles!