Mists and clouds over the Rockies...

VIA Rail's website and documentation is so lacking in confidence that they will adhere to their schedule that they warn all travellers not to book ongoing connections within 24 hours of the scheduled arrival time. In the end, we arrived in Jasper AB after our cross-continent journey more or less on time, which gave us 24 hours until our next departure on the Rocky Mountaineer from the same railway station.

Jasper is a "small town", but compared to Australian small towns, it's rather big, with a population of nearly 5,000, and we found it to be a pleasant and bustling little place surrounded, even this early in the season, by snow capped mountains. We saw a spectacular sunrise as we arrived. Jasper started off as Jasper House, a trading post, in 1813, and was named after the local postmaster.

Near dark in Jasper overlooked by snowy mountains.

Jasper lies on the Athabasca River. It looks as though there's a lot to do in the area, ranging from skiing to glaciers, hot springs, camping, sightseeing and bushwalking, and mountain lakes for water activities in summer. The town is in the middle of the Jasper National Park. But we had no car, and just explored the town. We would have liked to stay longer in Jasper to do some nearby exploring, but the timing of the convention in Waterloo and the end of the season for the Rocky Mountaineer prevented this.

There in Patricia Street we found Snowdome, a large and truly excellent coffee shop + modern coin laundry, so we made use of both services after three days cooped up on the train. The coffee was excellent and the shop well patronised, maybe it's the only espresso in town? And, on the recommendation of another customer in Snowdome, we had dinner at Raven which proved to be as close to "fine dining" as you could hope for in a small place. The menu was unusual and our choices proved to be interesting and delicious.

The Rocky Mountaineer arriving in Jasper the evening before our trip. Love that bell!

Overnight we stayed at The Crimson, a large and busy hotel maybe 600m from the station, so we lugged our luggage along good sidewalks in both directions rather than raising the ire of taxi drivers hoping for a better fare.

Next morning at dawn we first discovered what it means to be a customer of the Rocky Mountaineer, and why it is (a) one of the "world's leading travel experiences by train" and (b) also the busiest privately owned passenger rail service in North America. Even as we approached the station almost an hour before check-in opened (we were afraid that rain was coming) we were greeted with open arms and our luggage whisked away from us. Over the next two days we enjoyed the most fabulous service from this outfit who, like VIA Rail, can't guarantee their timetable, but are so organised and customer focused that it overwhelms you.

Glimpse of Mount Robson (3954m) through the clouds.

Mysterious fog covered valley of Valemount, between the Rockies and the Premier Range.

At this spot near Canoe River, two speeding trains collided head-on in 1950, killing 17 members of the Royal Canadaian Horse Artillery.

We travelled goldleaf class which seats us in those iconic domed viewing cars that are so well known. The problem with these (as on The Canadian's dome cars) is that quality photography is impossible through the tinted and optically imperfect windows, but the goldleaf cars also have an open air vestibule where (if you rug up) you can take better photos, although you still have to deal with the scenery rushing by at 150km/hr and a lot of rocking! Rocky did slow down at a few photogenic locations, while The Candaian would just steam through.

Colorful valley underneath Mount Milton.

Pyramid Falls fall 91m from a lake on Mt Cheadle.

Looking across the North Thompson River, scarred landscape from a long ago wildfire.

Rocky's goldleaf cars were luxurious, and we had electrically adjustable seats reminiscent of modern aeroplane seats, plus seat heaters! And we enjoyed five star service both upstairs in the dome and downstairs in the dining room. Truly splendid meals and beverage service. For two days, we never ventured out of our assigned goldleaf car, each one having its own crew and facilities, virtually like independent starships.

The weather was not kind to us. The spectacular mountain scenery out of Jasper was all but hidden in a cloud of heavy mist. Our journey (one of four run by the Rocky Maountaineer) was called Journey Through The Clouds, so this is probably pretty typical.

Here's a rare field of grain not yet harvested, near the locality of Vinsulla.

Here's a rare field of grain not yet harvested, near the locality of Vinsulla.

Our itinerary was from Jasper to Kamloops British Columbia on the first day, going on to Vancouver on the second day. No night time travel on the Rocky Mountaineer - we overnighted at a hotel in Kamloops (miraculously finding our checked luggage already in the room!).

Our hotel in Kamloops.

As far as we know, the Rocky Mountaineer follows the same track as The Canadian on its journey to Kamloops, and indeed, to Vancouver. After crossing the ridgeline at Yellowhead Pass (1131m) (named after an Iroquois fur trader with distinctive hair) of the Rocky Mountains (which is also the border between Alberta and British Columbia), we skimmed the northern edge of Glacier National Park, then followed the valleys of a number of rivers on the way to Kamloops. We could see the valleys, but not the peaks!

Kamloops is a bigger town than Jasper, population about 90,000. It is at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers which (according to Rocky) leads to its name derived from T'Kemlups meaning "meeting of the waters". We've noted other opinions on this name, though. From Kamloops, our Rocky Mountaineer combined with another which had come from Banff, increasing the number of goldleaf cars from 3 to 5.

From Kamloops, we skirted the 152m deep 29km long Kamloops Lake (there's more of that fresh water again!) and then basically followed the Thompson River, then the Fraser River all the way to Vancouver past a desert of lunar-like landscapes, along sheer, avalanche prone cliffs until it finally gave way to a flat fertile plains of the Fraser Valley, a rich agricultural area which apparently feeds much of Canada.

The Rocky Mountaineer steams past Kamloops Lake.

Used as movie sets, the harsh terrain of Painted Bluffs Provincial Park, opposite Kamloops Lake.

New condo development on the shores of Lake Kamloops.

The Fraser River and its tributaries, including the Thompson, home to one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world, supporting five species of Pacific salmon — sockeye, coho, chum, Chinook and pink. Salmon eggs are hatched upriver in fresh water, but the fish spend most of their lives in the ocean before migrating back upstream to spawn. With trout as well, angling is a most popular recreation along these rivers (and the bears like to fish too), and we saw many fishermen in boats, especially along the calm lower reaches of the Fraser.

How's that for a picture of a painted landscape, along the Thompson River.

A broad curve and a stark landscape near Ashcroft.

Osprey in flight over the Thompson River.

Avalanches cause major difficulties for salmon in the Fraser River. As recently as June 2019, a rockslide blocked salmon from their spawning grounds by causing "a 5 metre waterfall" that the salmon could not pass. Authorities monitor these occurrences closely, and some radical remedies like trucking salmon around the blockages are attempted.

Perhaps forgotten, St. Aidans of Pokhaist Church.

Over the Thompson River at Lower Shawniken.

Rapids in the Thompson River at Little Hell's Gate are popular with canoeists.

Freight trains up to 3km long ply both sides of the Thompson River on competing railway lines.

Avalanche chutes protect the railway lines near the end of the Thompson River.

Along these sections of desert like environment, we saw many osprey and bald eagles, and it was great to see them actually fishing. Apart from this and other birdlife, we really have not seen any wildlife from the Rocky Mountaineer, and not from The Canadian either. We saw no bears, no bison, no elk, only a fleeting glance at a distant moose, so, from that point of view, the train trips were a disappointment. We did see many beaver lodges, and plenty of farmed cattle and horses, and lots of berry farms in the Fraser valley.

The clear waters of the Thompson River (whose dirt silted out in Lake Kamloops) merge with the muddy of Fraser River (no lakes for sedimentation).

Bridges across the Fraser river as competing companies try to exploit the best railway alignments.

Kiki from England, one of the Rocky Mountaineer's fabulous hosts, on her last roster of the season.

Visitor facilities include a cable car at Jaws of Death Gorge, so deep we couldn't actually see the rapids below.

Just a bit of blue sky visible at Hope.

Roaring down the Fraser Valley towards Vancouver, we leave snowcapped mountains behind us in newfound sunshine.

Arrival in Vancouver was an eye-opener. Rocky Mountaineer has its own station, just out of downtown, and dozens of staff members were lined up waving to greet us as we pulled in. We learned that ours was the very last Rocky Mountaineer of the season, which justified an extra big reception, and we imagine they celebrated heartily when we were safely out of sight. And even though we had not booked our Vancouver hotel with Rocky, they nevertheless bussed us and our luggage to it. This is one impressive railway company!

Timber mills on the Fraser River are allowed to leave stock along the banks, out of the way, but we've seen many stray logs even in Vancouver.

The Port Mann Bridge spans the Fraser River. It was the widest bridge in the world (an honour once held by the Sydney Harbour Bridge) until the new Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

The Rocky Mountaineer passes below the 1936 Pattulo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey as it nears its final destination in Vancouver.

The last Rocky Mountaineer of the season pulls into its Vancouver Terminal just off the end of False Creek, to a rousing welcome from all staff.

Prairies and marshes...

The clogging done, we returned to Toronto to prepare for our epic train journey on The Canadian across the country. This gave us a chance to rest our feet, get our washing done, explore the city a bit more, and figure out how to pack for the journey, given that we had to check-in most of our luggage.

Graffiti Alley in Toronto is a snub to the previous mayor who tried to eradicate graffiti from the city.

Incredible 2004 extension to the Ontario College of Art and Design.

The CN Tower on a cloudy but moonlit night.

Originally criticised because it was "too American", the Ontario parliament sits in Queens Park.

Dramatic staue of King Edward VII was originally installed in Delhi, India in 1919, but gifted and relocated to Toronto in 1969.

The Canadian is run by VIA Rail and travels two or three times weekly between Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, a modest distance of just under 4,500km, and taking 3.5 days. The train runs on tracks owned by Canadian National (CN) which makes a lot more money from freight, so (it was explained to us repeatedly) passenger trains have low priority, and often have to wait for goods trains, meaning late arrivals and fictional schedules.

Much of the CN way across the nation is single track, with frequent sidings allowing trains to pass each other. By definition, any train arriving at a siding has to wait for one or more still coming from the opposite direction. This applies whether or not the train is passenger or freight, and we did not see that the priority system affected us in any way. Sometimes we waited, sometimes the other train waited, depending on who got there first. Sometimes the waits were as long as an hour. But the waits did add up, and we never seemed to be on schedule.

Like so many other Union Stations, this Toronto landmark (1925) is an opulent building housing a subway and numerous intercity railways, inclding VIA Rail.

We rarely got to see the engines of The Canadian, but here they are during a brief stop in Sioux Lookout.

It's easy to criticise these freight trains, but how much better they are than transporting the same cargo by road! These trains are mammoth, up to 3.2km long and with hundreds of cars. And they are frequent too - we often saw them back to back on huge sidings. If only Australia had learned how to use its railways effectively, but instead we overload our mediocre roads with great transport lorries. Shortsighted politicians again!

The Canadian speeds by countless marshy scenes like this.

At the start of its journey, The Canadian spends almost two days in Ontario before crossing province boundaries into Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and finally British Columbia. Stops where passengers can stretch their legs and get a breath of fresh air are very infrequent, and (partly because the train is always late) very brief.

Out in the middle of nowhere in western Ontario, our westbound train #1 passes it's eastbound counterpart #2.

Through the endless marshes of Ontario, we were allowed out in Capreol and Sioux Lookout, remote stations in remote towns. Finally, we crossed the border and straggled into Winnipeg in the middle of the night over two hours late, but there were extenuating circumstances beyond the freight train issue. Manitoba was suffering a freakish, early winter storm, depositing heavy layers of slushy snow, and bringing down power lines, one of which, apparently, fell across our tracks. A state of emergency was later declared.

An expert on The Canadian told us that these are the only pine trees which drop their needles but are still considered evergreens.

We enjoyed our only longer stop at Winnipeg because a three hour changeover was scheduled there anyway, but it was comical to see the staff struggling with 200mm of slush on unprotected platforms as they tried to reprovision the train. The Canadian attempts to inject some credibility into its timetable by scheduling long stops at key stations - this allows the train to leave close to time even if it arrived very late.

Our late arrival in Winnipeg, Manitoba was partly due to a freak early snowstorm which caused havoc.

We had a sleeper cabin on The Canadian - a tiny cubicle in which two foldupable lounge chairs are replaced by two spacious and comfortable bunk beds in the evening. We both loved sleeping in thse beds, being rocked to sleep by the motion of the train. Our cabin had a tiny loo and washbasin, with a shared shower down the corridor. We were provided three meals a day of good quality, and there were lounge areas where we could mix or play games with the other passengers, and a tall dome car which was great for relaxing and watching the country-side fly by. Dinner was held in three settings, and it was difficult to get your preferred time-slot.

Every day, the train was refueled, often in a remote location, but it gave us a chance to enjoy a brief burst of fresh air.

The staff on board were excellent. They worked hard for long hours and were cheerful and helpful and knowlegible too about where we were passing. We enjoyed short talks on various subjects, and a young couple played live music. The entire crew changed over at Winnipeg.

Remote town building as seen from the train zipping through Leross, Saskatchewan.

We met many fellow travellers, mostly in the dining car at mealtimes where you are always seated in fours. They were from Australia (of course), Denmark, France, UK, USA, Korea, China and some even from Canada! We met Canadians who like to avoid air travel and use this train regularly. The Canadian services local communities and lets passengers off and on at about 60 tiny whistle-stop towns, but you have to arrange this two days in advance, otherwise the train will just roar through.

The colours of autumn so evident in this snap from the speeding train through western Ontario.

Huge flock of snow geese, maybe raised by the roar of The Canadian thundering by, in Tate Saskatchewan.

Canada is a wide country. From what we saw (daylight hours only, of course) Ontario is mostly forest and marshes, and we were amazed at how many (some very substantial) lakes there were, all contributing to Canada holding of 20% of the world's fresh water. Canada has almost 32,000 lakes over three square kilometers, and uncounted smaller lakes. By Saskatchewan, we were looking at vast flat prairies now mostly devoted to agriculture with wheat being the most common crop. Grain handling facilities and silos were everwhere, but we also saw what we think were potash mines, the province being the world's largest exporter of the mineral. We were granted another brief leg-stretch at the dry and dusty (well out of town) Saskatoon station which had a modest but decent station building and a huge goods yard. Everything in the whole province must come through here. Moving east in Saskatchewan, flat prairies seemed to turn to rolling hills. We missed most of Alberta in darkness, and arrived at Jasper in the Rocky Mountains at our third dawn (and pretty well on time!).

Waterskier on one of Canada's myriad of lakes which collectively hold 20% of the world's fresh water.

The Canadian was doing maybe 120km/hr, but only just fast enough to pass this ute on a dirt road near Watrous Saskatchewan.

Hay bales waiting collection were everywhere, these ones near Perdue Saskatchewan.

Toronto to Jasper is about 80% of The Canadian's cross country journey, and we got off here to a cold but clear morning, and a spectacular sunrise over the mountains.

The Canadian takes a curve through the endless prairie east of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan.