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Here you go – here’s Part 1 of 2 of my epic, FOUR DAY trip from Toronto to Vancouver on VIA Rail’s Train 1, the Canadian. This is one of the world’s greatest train journeys and is an essential bucket list item for any self-respecting rail enthusiast. Who knows how long the original Budd 1955 rail streamliner cars will continue in service? I am absolutely delighted I got to experience a train so classic it was listed as a historic experience back in my 1980s rail annuals I read as a young boy. There is SO MUCH MORE to come in Part 2, including the unbelievably perfect Rocky Mountain scenery as well as more details about the logistics of travelling on The Canadian.
The pandemic taught me to do things while you can – just like all the British Airways 747s disappearing overnight, the Canadian now – as of 2023 – has killjoy buffer cars behind its iconic bullet lounge. Boy, am I glad to have done this in the summer of ’22 – memories to last a lifetime!
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30 Comments
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Here you go – here's Part 1 of 2 of my epic, FOUR DAY trip from Toronto to Vancouver on VIA Rail's Train 1, the Canadian. This is one of the world's greatest train journeys and is an essential bucket list item for any self-respecting rail enthusiast. Who knows how long the original Budd 1955 rail streamliner cars will continue in service?
Follow me on Twitter: @paul_winginit ¦ https://twitter.com/paul_winginit
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Absolutely fabulous. Thank you.
Loved this video,it is my dream to embark on one of these long,scenic trips and this video is making me more enthusiastic.
Nice video Paul, it reslly bringns out the experience of the Canadian. I have travelled it both ways 10 times in the past 11 years, missing only 2020 when it was annulled due to the Pandemic. 2021 was surreal, I was on the first #2 after it was reinstated, and the first run was a ghost train – only four passengers, however we enjoyed the same impecable service!
2 hours in Winnipeg? As a Garry I know what that would be – Fort Garry and Garry Memorial Park! 😀
Great video but viewers should be aware that the Canadian level of service changes in the winter. I got off train yesterday and we only had 9 cars available to passengers, plus 3 baggage cars and 1 buffer. The lounge car didn’t exist and the only on board activity was the beer tasting, and only on day 2.
Excellent video Paul. It was interesting to see how you presented this and your commentary, as we were also on this trip, often sitting behind you in the dome car.
Two things to add to what everyone else has said:
– Despite the bilingual translation, the comparison between the Pullman-style berths on The Canadian and a typical European couchette is like the difference between sleeping at your parents' house over the holidays and staying in a youth hostel. Pullman berths have always been considered first-class accommodation ("Sleeper Plus" in VIA Rail parlance), the curtains are heavy and do offer meaningful privacy at night, and they feature real mattresses that are at least as comfortable as those in the bedrooms (and, having experienced all of them, waaay more comfortable than a European couchette). There's even some suggestion that the simplicity of the accommodation means that the lower berths are the widest non-Prestige beds on the train
– The curtain at 13:55 may seem redundant, given that the single bedrooms have a door, but the reason for its existence is pretty clever: there's quite a bit of extra material in the curtain, so if you need to use the toilet in the middle of the night, you can open the door and step into the hallway while still being shrouded by the curtain, which should give you enough space to retract (and then later re-extend) your bed
This video is amazing i have a ton of questions
1. Does it stop at several towns and they let you get off the train for a bit?
2. You say beer festival is included? In all tickets or this just happened to be happening during your travel?
3. I have hard time seeing, do all tickets come with beds? Your cabin did not show a bed only chairs, how do you sleep?
4. Communal washrooms and showers means it is shared?
5. What type of ticket did you get, there is pratically no details online, trying to see if economy fares also come with this travel arrangement or certain tickets only?
I am excited for part 2
It's so hard not to be dismissive of its utter magnificence and just absorb the magnitude of what you are actually experiencing 👍🇦🇺
I have done this trip 50x (25x each way) since 1964. It used to take only 72 hrs Montreal-Vancouver now takes 84 hrs or more depending on how many Freight trains it has to wait for on sidings. On one trip in the 1990s we were delayed 8 hrs in Northern Ontario because a forest fire was burning right beside the tracks. I also spent entire month of May 1987 traveling by rail in Australia & 2 wks in June 1990 traveling UK with a 1st class Brit Rail pass (had High tea on the Cornish Riviera going to Penzance). I even to train to Tilbury Dockside to get on the "Royal Princess cruise ship (the one christened by Princess Diana). I flew to London via PanAm (also long gone like Brit Rail). Cheers from Vancouver. Yes,I'm a "train-a-holic"
I heard that there was a time in that fair land when the railroads did not run.
I can't help it… Everytime I see a Via Rail video Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" plays in my head.
Riding on Amtrak's City of New Orleans someone in the observation car was playing the iconic song, and yes I sang along.
Did you use surfshark whilst on this train, as you said there is no wifi, could you charge your phone elsewhere on the train as there's no power sockets in your room?
Hi, what does ‘by request’ mean in terms of stations how does that work?
I am one of your Canadian friends and I approve of this video!!! ❤
I had the opportunity to ride the Canadian eastbound before they remodeled the Park cars and introduced the Premier class. It was during the winter, so it was a much shorter train: only 3 sleepers between the Park car and dining car. Needless to say, I spent the most of the waking hours of the trip in the bullet nose section visiting with the other passengers. It was an amazing trip, and your video shows a lot of the experience of enjoying the scenery, food and drink, and relaxing with new friends.
my favourite way to travel across Canada
Did this trip in parts 6 years ago in their winter. Was supposed to be 2230 departure. Ended up leaving at 0300. Loved the trip. Being Australian and our summer the snow was a welcome change
Bucket list added. Such a nice train.
This is very nice and comfortable train service.
Paul, did you not know, the best place to be in a thunderstorm is a metal box (it act's as a Faraday gage) you would all be perfectly safe INSIDE the box. Looking forward to part two.
21:53 the woman in the pony tail is my mom
We took this trip in 2009 and loved every minute of it. Great video!! Makes me want to go again in a heartbeat. ❤️
Ya gotta watch "the last rain across Canada" with Murray Sayle. It is a fantastic documentary.
So exciting to see you in Winnipeg!!! You must come back one day and take the train up north to Churchill to see the polar bears.
Great vid as per…thanks so much for posting…love all ur posts, all facts included..spot in..waiting for ur next flight one 😉
Having taken trains across the U.S., I'd like to try The Canadian someday. I appreciate the fact that it uses vintage equipment, and having driven across Canada's western provinces, I can vouch for the scenery! The food on Amtrak has actually gotten pretty good, but the problem is that it stays the same, day after day. On the whole, the atmosphere aboard this train reminds me more of the Alaska ferry I took from Ketchikan to Bellingham than of any Amtrak train!
I hope to ride this train one day!
I just love an intense thunderstorm. This would have been my highlight, for sure.
I was in Southern Ontario for the first 2 weeks of June last year (so only a few days before this trip began) and the weather was similar. The evening before I left was still 36C at 7pm. I took the train from Windsor to Toronto to fly back to the UK, we ended up delayed by an hour as it was too hot for the train to travel at normal speeds.
This looks like an amazing trip so far and I'm looking forward to the next part. I'm saving for the Indian Pacific right now for 2025, but I think this will be on the list to save up for afterwards, I'd love to see more of Canada.