S
ometimes a train trip is more
than transportation from
Point A to Point B. My
journey from Banff to
Vancouver on the Rocky
Mountaineer’s westbound route
was be a sublime 594-mile traverse
– all in daylight – across Canada’s
majestic Rocky Mountains.
Prior to the train adventure,
I stayed, as many passengers do, at
the baronial Fairmont Banff Springs
Hotel, known as “The Castle in the
Rockies.” The hotel was built in a
spectacular Rocky Mountain setting
between spring 1887 and spring 1888
by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and
over the years has been expanded,
altered and variously improved; it
is now a property that cossets its
guests and delights the eye.
Along with an eager crowd of fellow
passengers, I boarded the train (which
originated in Calgary) at the historic
Banff station early in the morning. This
was nothing like boarding a crowded
coach flight, struggling to find
overhead space. Here, I walked a red
carpet, was escorted to my seat by
a courteous attendant who carried
my hand luggage and made sure I was
comfortably settled before he went on
to the next passenger. (As for the rest
of my luggage, I would not have to
actually handle it until journey’s end.)
I would enjoy the luxury of the
Mountaineer’s GoldLeaf service, the
equivalent of first class on a plane,
traveling in a glass-domed car with
360-degree views, relaxing in an
oversize seat that reclined and
rotated and being pampered by
unfailingly cheerful attendants.
Beverages and snacks were served
as a prelude to breakfast downstairs
in the dining car. Unlike the microwaved fare and bad coffee served
on other trains, meals for GoldLeaf
guests are actually cooked in a real
(galley) kitchen – and the coffee is
freshly brewed. Breakfast choices,
served with fresh fruit, juices and
baked goods, included a cheese
omelet; scrambled eggs with smoked
steelhead salmon, kelp caviar and
chive crème fraiche; eggs benedict
with Montréal smoked meat and
tarragon hollandaise; buttermilk
pancakes and a granola parfait.
After a thoroughly satisfying meal,
I positioned myself in the viewing
area on the dining level, which
provided a good spot for serious
picture-taking, first of imposing
Castle Mountain and later of the
log-cabin-style train station at Lake
Louise. The station, we were told,
appeared in the film, Dr. Zhivago.
The Continental Divide, the highest
point on the trip (5,332 feet above
sea level) called for more photos of
Red carpet boarding
on the Rocky
Mountaineer
Guests are
welcomed to
GoldLeaf service
with a toast
10
the small monument and wooden
sign marking the boundary between
Alberta and British Columbia.
This was also the signal to put
my watch back an hour, as BC
is an hour behind Alberta.
This itinerary is overwhelmingly
scenic, and my iPhone camera got
little rest as I tried to capture
photos of glacier-fed lakes, rushing
rivers, verdant forests and jagged