Video Travelogue - “The Canadian” Vancouver to Toronto Oct 27-31 2023

[Marbleski]

Here is my Video Travelogue showing a detailed look into the daily routine of travelling 4 nights aboard Canada’s long distance Train. I show you the meals, sleeping arrangements, dome cars, activities, bathrooms, shower and scenery.

I flew from St. John’s Newfoundland - the eastern most City in Canada to Vancouver one day prior to departure. Basically, from the shores of the wild Atlantic Ocean to the calm Pacific Ocean. Time change is 4.5 hours.

My destination was to visit Canada’s Capital City Ottawa … I just took the long about way to get there.

I stayed in lower berth 3L in Car 216 which as you can see in the video is a great location. The berth is very private as it is across from the shower. Car 216 is the closest sleeper car to Dining Car B. It is also next to Skyline B - the Activity/Dome car.

I booked online and was automatically assigned sleeper car 210 which was closest to the front. The berths in this car and many others closer to the front were full. I took the chance they would fill up Car 16 last. I may have been correct as my car only had two of the six berths sold. Passengers in Car 216 Dine in Car B, which caters to the Prestige passengers, so it makes since that the better chef and service staff are assigned to second diner.

Our train consisted of two engines and 19 cars. Total length was a whopping 1,842 feet. The length sure made for nice views and video clips of the train as it twisted and turned among the majestic mountains, rivers and lakes.

Just hit the link below and come along for the ride. The video is stored on YouTube.

 

[Matthew H Fish]

Interesting! I watched the whole thing, and commented on the video (for the algorithm), but I will ask the same question here:

It looks very luxurious, and the scenery is beautiful, but how is spending so much time on one train? Even the longest US routes right now are about 2 days, and when I've taken the California Zephyr or Empire Builder like that, I certainly felt cooped up around the second day. So what was it like for you, was it as nice as it seemed on the video, or were there low points of the trip?

 

[Marbleski]

Interesting! I watched the whole thing, and commented on the video (for the algorithm), but I will ask the same question here:

It looks very luxurious, and the scenery is beautiful, but how is spending so much time on one train? Even the longest US routes right now are about 2 days, and when I've taken the California Zephyr or Empire Builder like that, I certainly felt cooped up around the second day. So what was it like for you, was it as nice as it seemed on the video, or were there low points of the trip?

Not one minute of doubt. The only issue was we arrived two hours early and the last morning was rushed. I did the trip with my oldest son in May 2022 and could not wait to go again. That trip was late so it was about 6 hours longer. I was hoping it we would be late again this time.

I really like trains and we don’t have them in my province. I’m like a big kid when I see a train when I travel. My dad worked with the railway and we lived next to the tracks. So I grew up with trains. Unfortunately the last train to run in our province was Oct 1988. Since then no trains for me lol. So every chance to ride or see a train I’m like a kid in a candy store.

There were some on our train that were ok arriving early. On the other hand there was a 83 year old gentleman from the Seattle area who was disappointed he had to spend a night off the train in Toronto before making the return trip back to Seattle.

My wife was so impressed with my video that she finally agreed to make the trip. I have us booked for fall of 2024. If she backs out I hope one of my adult boys will take her place or I will go it alone.

Glad you enjoyed the video. I have a longer version I will eventually post. It’s basically the same video with much longer clips of the scenery.