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,Short
Lines, Dinner Trains, Wine Trains and
Interurbans
by
Jerry
W. Bird
 Each
time we visit Calgary's Heritage Park and take the
train, or recall how we used to wave to Northbound
passengers as the "Royal Hudson" steamed by our
favorite seaside side retreat of Dundarave in West
Vancouver, the nostalgia returns. As we are pleased
to report, elegant “Dinner Trains” are
gaining popularity in British Columbia, as they
have in Seattle and Napa Valley.
The
Pacific Starlight Dinner
Train
operated by BC Rail offered us a delightful evening
that capped off a special day that started with a
morning excursion to the community of Squamish on
Howe Sound, and a visit to the West
Coast Railway Museum.
VIA launches Icewine Train
excursions
TORONTO - The
Niagara Icewine Train is the newest themed train to
be offered by VIA Rail Canada. Every weekend until
the end of February, 2004, customers can take an
"Ice-Break" during the Niagara region's most
breathtaking season. Complete rail, hotel and tour
packages are available from Montreal, and
hotel/tour only packages are available for those in
closer proximity to the region.
Montreal - Niagara Falls
train/hotel/winery tour packages
The Ice-Break
packages are available for purchase through
CAA-Quebec. This package is being offered for seven
weekends - from January 16th until February 20th,
2004. Included in this winter getaway is hotel
accommodation, breakfast, transfers to/from the
hotel and a winery tour featuring Inniskillin,
Jackson-Triggs, Vineland Estates and Château
des Charmes. Customers can choose from a variety of
hotels that suit their budget needs. Packages from
Montreal also include round trip transportation to
Toronto in VIA 1 Class, VIA's premier service
between the two cities, an overnight stay in
Toronto and round trip travel between Toronto and
Niagara Falls. Transfers from the station in
Niagara Falls to the hotel are also included in the
package price. The entire package from Montreal is
priced from CAN $850 per person, inclusive of tax
and based on double occupancy.
For further
information on the packages available or to make
reservations, please contact CAA-Quebec at
1-877-904-1696.
Other options (Toronto and
Southwestern Ontario)
Customers wishing
to create their own itinerary for the Icewine
festival can choose from a number of daily
departures. VIA offers a variety of fares and
discounts to travellers. For example, the ten-day
advance purchase, round trip, adult fare from
Toronto* to Niagara Falls is CAN $40.66 (based on
availability). And with the cold winter
temperatures upon us, and highways covered with
snow, VIA's got the warmest seat in the house to
get you to the Niagara Icewine Festival
(http://www.grapeandwine.com) in Niagara Falls. So
sit back and leave the driving to VIA, they'll get
you there safely and in comfort. Passengers can
prebook winery tours (pickup and transportation
included from the station or your hotel) by calling
Niagara Airbus at 1-800-268-8111. Train tickets can
be booked at 1-888-VIA-Rail (1-888-842-7245), at
kiosks in major Corridor stations, at
www.viarail.ca or through a travel
agent.
10-day advance
purchase adult round-trip fares to Niagara Falls
from other cities (CAN$):
* London -
$85.60
* Windsor (Detroit)
- $115.56
* Kingston -
$130-54
* Ottawa -
$173.34
Catherine
Kaloutsky, Public Affairs
VIA Rail Canada
(416) 956-7683
Okanagan
Valley Wine Train has Grape
Expectations
 Like
a cruise ship on rails! From Mothers Day ( May 9)
through to Halloween (Oct. 31), Fun Trains Canada's
new Okanagan Wine Train will offer visitors a
scenic trip through the heart of Wine Country, from
Kelowna to Vernon and return. Tour operators Pat
and Bob Nagel, who own the new line, will provide
on board tastings served by their winery partners
Calona, Summerhill, Sumac Ridge ad Gray Monk. The
company has acquired 22 cars from the old Super
Continental, which ran across Canada for two
decades ending in the 60s. The six-hour excursion
will include dinner and a stage show. More
information and prices to come.
Via
Rail Canada's new Silver and Blue Trains' food
service menu also reflects a definite return to
elegance in dining as we discovered last year when
the railway hosted us at the famous Pacific Station
(formerly CN) in Vancouver. We were pleased to hear
about the 139 new coaches being added to the fleet,
including state of the art dining and kitchen
cars.
Down Memory Lane: The dining was a much
different experience on the old White Pass &
Yukon Railway. It's cavernous dining hall at
Lake Bennett
served some 350 rail passengers at a single
sitting, according to my mother, who worked there
during her summer holidays. The food was served in
heaping bowls on long camp tables, resembling a
legendary Viking feast. On arrival, one had to step
lively to avoid being trampled by the ravenous
horde of passengers who swarmed the wooden landing,
with my 6-year old self taking the lead.
Wine and
'Spirit' in Seattle: Another leaf from Bird's
book of great Seattle
memories
is the "Spirit of Washington", a superb dinner
train that rattles and rolls from suburban Renton,
across a large trestle bridge, then along Lake
Washington to the winery at Woodinville. Every
dining coach is a classic, conversation piece and
no two are even the least bit identical. Ask the
Seattle CVB folks for more details at 206-431-4444.
I honed my writing skills in Seattle, working with
Neil Strother on his newspaper Seattle Northwest
Prime Times, which has since been sold. Neil is now
a top editor in the Internet Media field; we will
link you to some of his articles first chance we
get.
 Stop
at Railroad Park, California:
Well,
what do you know Railfair in Sacramento, Ca has
come and gone. But there's still plenty of reason
to visit the California Railroad Museum in the old
town village. Send E-MAIL
for details.
Railroad Park is a
motel complex that features an acre or more of
antique railway cabooses, gathered from across the
USA. Returning from a "Railfair" meeting in
Sacramento, we were stranded at Dunsmuir (near
Mount Shasta) in the midst of a raging snowstorm.
As
serendipity would have it, that brief overnight
interlude became a treasured experience. The
scenery was awesome, especially next morning, when
the blizzard was gone, and sun rays lit the
towering peaks. If
you drive to Railfair, you'll go right by her
door.
Box
Car Willie -
who appeared in our last edition, courtesy of
Delberta Murphy, is our fond souvenir of Railroad
Park, one of the most unique hostelries in all of
America. Located at the town of Dunsmuir in the
shadow of Mount Shasta, California, it became our
"shelter from the stormy blast" -- landing there in
the eye of a blizzard, not knowing whether we'd be
stranded on the highway or stuck with no
accommodation. Well, it turned into one of the most
enjoyable episodes in my career, complete with home
cooked dinner, karaoke, camaraderie and the most
snug night's sleep ever. Talk about stress relief
-- each individual unit in Railroad Park, is an
authentic boxcar rescued from one of America's
railways, great and small. The interior finish is
in knotty pine, and as cozy as you would ever
imagine. Delberta and family proved to be gracious
hosts--- and we yearn to return. (Editor) For
booking details contact Air Highways Travel
Club (604) 681-0718 , E-Mail:
airhwy@dowco.com
A
touch of San Francisco?
Return
to the interurban and street cars. Comeback
includes Vancouver, Richmond and other BC Centres
restore famous street cars. Watch for the story.
Railway
Castles
In my book of
fondest memories, a Christmas - New Years fortnight
at the Banff Springs Hotel, and a week at Chateau
Lake Louise rank high. Here in the Canadian Rockies
this pair of European style castles reek of
elegance from the grand old days, when the world's
rich and famous arrived by train, making these
grand resorts
their private playground. Much of that magnificent
aura still remains, and both resorts are included
in our Rocky Mountain high.
Other railway landmarks, such as Quebec's Chateau
Frontenac, Ottawa's Chateau Laurier and Toronto's
Royal York are also on the agenda. As a focus of
our "Adventure Rails" is a Grand Tour by Rail.
Originating from Vancouver and Seattle, it will
include Amtrak, Rocky Mountaineer, Vancouver
Island's Esquimalt-Nanaimo route, BC Rail's Cariboo
Express, Via
Rail from Prince Rupert to Jasper and Edmonton,
Alberta Prairie Steam Train, Ontario Northern's
Polar Bear Express. After visiting Niagara Falls,
we'll travel Via Rail's corridor route, from
Toronto's Union Station to Montreal, Quebec City
and the heart of French Canada.
See Canada's
Castles- Railway
Hotels
Greater
Vancouver, BC: For a great view of four cities,
get elevated with
SkyTrain
Remember
the grand department stores of yesteryear, where a
petite, uniformed elevator operator sang out the
stops as you rose at a stomach- churning rate?
"Third floor - lingerie - perfumes - toiletries
..."
Now imagine a shopping area with 19 stops, offering
a world of choice; snacking or fine dining,
sightseeing or business, sports events, education
or worship, photo opportunities or people
-watching, movies, live theater and shopping for
everything, from a cardigan to a Corvette. One of
our features on the return of Interurban Trains as
a 'pollution solution' in our cities.
Continued
Vancouver
is Riding a Railway
Renaissance
Vancouver,
Canada's "Cosmopolis" of the Pacific is blessed
with great connections. Home port for Alaska-bound
cruise ships, gateway to four continents by air,
and the top-of-the-world by highway, Vancouver is
again a hub of passenger rail activity. With
British Columbia's tourism industry topping 5.5
million, this rail travel revival provides a
double-whammy for enterprising tour operators. The
Canadian National Railway station, a landmark on
Main Street near Chinatown, holds many memories.
From this grand dowager of terminals, I took leave
for Montreal to begin a new life in the Royal
Canadian Air Force. Earlier as a 10-year old bound
for Saskatchewan, I boarded the train -- suitcase
under one arm, goldfish bowl cradled in the other.
Minutes later, the train lurched suddenly, spilling
the bowl's entire contents into the aisle. By some
miracle my finny friends survived. Today's
terminal, renamed Pacific Central Station, is an
inter-modal facility, serving The Rocky
Mountaineer, Via Rail's Blue & Gold service to
the Atlantic Coast, and major motor coach lines. An
eagerly awaited Amtrak link to Seattle will open
new avenues for rail-cruisers. Outside the
terminal, you can board an elevated SkyTrain to
historic New Westminster, and Surrey.
Letters
to the Editor
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