Photography
Related: About this forumA Trip on The Rocky Mountaineer
Last edited Mon Jun 22, 2020, 10:07 PM - Edit history (4)
Since my very first 'Canada by Train' post documenting our journey on VIA Rail seemed well received, I thought I might post some pics from a different train route through Western Canada.
Canada has two major Class 1 transcontinental railroads - Canadian National (CN) & Canadian Pacific (CP). CP was the first to be built through Canada and was a major factor in the creation of Canada as a country, as completion of a transcontinental railway was a condition of British Columbia joining the new Confederation of Canada.
Of the two railroads, only the CN line still has transcontinental passenger service in the form of VIA Rail Canada's 'Canadian' which traverses the country and the Canadian Rockies on the northern route through Jasper, Alberta.
The CP route, which runs through the Rockies further south through Banff, Alberta has no transcontinental passenger service. However there is a seasonal, regional tour train named the 'Rocky Mountaineer' which runs through the Canadian Rockies from Calgary, Alberta to Vancouver, British Columbia over the tracks of the Canadian Pacific and is the only way for tourists to travel on the CP line through southern Alberta and British Columbia.
A few years back, my wife & I decided to book a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer and thought we might share some pics.
So without further ado, for those interested in taking another scenic land cruise, here are a few pics from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/
Hope you enjoy!
FIRST, A PIC OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER RUNNING ALONG THE KICKING HORSE RIVER, NAMED FOR THE PACKHORSE THAT KICKED & KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS JAMES HECTOR OF THE PALLISER EXPEDITION WHILE SEARCHING FOR A ROUTE THROUGH THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
NOW FROM EAST TO WEST: CALGARY, AB, STARTING POINT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TOUR TRAIN
CANADIAN PACIFIC 2-10-4 'SELKIRK' TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #5931 ON DISPLAY IN CALGARY, AB
ONBOARD THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER, PASSING THE THREE SISTERS AT CANMORE, AB. AS SEEN FROM THE OPEN-AIR OBSERVATION PLATFORM OF THE DOME CAR
TRAVELING ALONG THE BOW RIVER WEST OF BANFF, AB
ROCKY MOUNTAINS EAST OF LAKE LOUISE
CANADIAN PACIFIC STATION AT LAKE LOUISE, AB
VINTAGE HEAVYWEIGHT PASSENGER CARS AT LAKE LOUISE STATION
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER NEAR STEPHEN, BC
PASSING THROUGH THE YOHO VALLEY
TRAVELLING THROUGH THE KICKING HORSE PASS ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER
MOUNT STEPHEN TO THE LEFT
PASSING DEMOLISHED ROAD BRIDGE, KICKING HORSE CANYON
CANADIAN ROCKIES AT LEANCHOIL, BC
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE KICKING HORSE CANYON
PASSING THROUGH THE SELKIRK RANGE AT GLACIER, BC
MEET WITH A CP FREIGHT LED BY CEFX AC4400CW #1057, REVELSTOKE, BC
MEET WITH THE CANADIAN PACIFIC EXECUTIVE TRAIN LED BY CP FP9 #4107, REVELSTOKE, BC
CP CABOOSE AT REVELSTOKE, BC
CROSSING THE COLUMBIA RIVER LEAVING REVELSTOKE
BAR AREA IN THE FRONT OF THE DOME CAR. NEAR SHUSWAP LAKE, BC.
BACK ONBOARD THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER LEAVING KAMLOOPS, BC, AFTER AN OVERNIGHT STAY
PASSING THROUGH THE ARID THOMPSON RIVER CANYON NEAR ASHCROFT, BC
BIGHORN SHEEP
COYOTE, LEFT OF CENTRE IN PHOTO
BALD EAGLE
VIEW FROM BACK OF TRAIN AT A ROCK SLIDE DETECTOR FENCE IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON.
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON
VIEW FROM REAR OF TRAIN PASSING THROUGH A TUNNEL AT LASHA, BC
PAINTED CANYON REGION OF THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON
CISCO, BC, IS WHERE THE CANADIAN PACIFIC & CANADIAN NATIONAL LINES CROSS EACH OTHER
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER DOME CAR, TRAVELLING THROUGH THE COAST MOUNTAINS NEAR BOSTON BAR, BC
CROSSING THE FRASER RIVER AT VANCOUVER, BC
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER PULLING INTO THE STATION AT VANCOUVER, BC
wendyb-NC
(3,300 posts)What fascinating and varied landscapes, I enjoyed the tour.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)Thanks for checking out my pics. It is a great trip, hope to do it again someday under better circumstances than currently exist...
rurallib
(62,373 posts)so enjoyed your other trip.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)Best Regards,
Pete
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)Thanks for sharing!
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)And for checking out my post!
niyad
(113,029 posts)journey. What a lovely way to start the first day of summer.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)Thanks for reminding me, and for the compliment about my pics
Best regards,
Pete
3Hotdogs
(12,319 posts)Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)Thanks for visiting my post
Bayard
(22,004 posts)I'd love to see it in person. Thanks for posting!
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)It is a great trip, would like to take it again sometime. Hopefully the global pandemic situation will change for the better sooner rather than later.
Thanks for checking out my post.
hermetic
(8,301 posts)Banf/Lake Louise area is my favorite place in the world. All your photos are great but for some reason I am loving that first one.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)We really like the Banff/Lake Louise area too. Had the pleasure of staying at the Banff Springs Hotel twice.
rurallib
(62,373 posts)dreaming about doing one someday.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)Thanks for viewing my posts!
yesphan
(1,587 posts)are breathtaking. I haven't been on that train, but I have been to Canmore and Banff. The scenery is beyond words.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)We enjoyed it too, especially the Banff springs hotel
cvs15ensign
(14 posts)After an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, I decided it would be a great road trip to drive back to Calgary before flying home. Got a rental car and drove east, stopping for the night at Whistler, Revelstoke, Kamloops, and then Lake Louise. There were so many white knuckle drives that we never took any photos on our ride. They had cones on the side of the road, I guess to remind you not to drive over the edge! We got to Lake Louise and missed a tour the next morning because I didn't realize the time change we did. Then drove to Banff where we spent another night before making our way to Calgary.
So, the trip you did on the Mountaineer, it travelled only during the day, so you could take in all the scenery? If so, then we could fly to Calgary, take that train to Vancouver and then return all the way to Toronto on the other line?
Love traveling on trains!
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)The Rocky Mountaineer runs during the daylight hours only so you can take in all the scenery, we took it westbound from Calgary to Vancouver, a 2 day trip with an overnight stop in Kamloops with the hotel and transfer included in the price of the tour.
You certainly could do the trip you are suggesting to see both lines, the Rockies scenery on both CN [VIA Rail] & CP [Rocky Mountaineer] is breathtaking.
Our trip on the Rocky Mountaineer was part of a much larger journey where we took VIA Rail's Canadian from Toronto to Edmonton, then Red Arrow Motorcoach Edmonton to Calgary, the Rocky Mountaineer Calgary to Vancouver, and after a few days stopover to explore Vancouver Island by ferry and rental car took VIA Rail's Canadian all the way back from Vancouver to Toronto.
So we basically did the same trip you describe except instead of flying we took ground transportation for the first leg to Calgary.
You can see the complete photo set plus a trip description with links to Rocky Mountaineer, VIA, connecting transportation and hotels on our web page at:
https://northamericabyrail.info/canada-west/the-rocky-mountaineer/
Be aware that Rocky Mountaineer is a seasonal train, and this year's travel season has been postponed due to Covid19.
If someday you get a chance to go, I hope you'll share some pics here on DU if you can, I also like to travel vicariously...
Karadeniz
(22,461 posts)Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)My pleasure, thanks for checking out my pics and always glad to share with someone who appreciates train travel.
Hip2bSquare
(291 posts)Growing up here in Colorado, the Rocky Mountains were my home. These pictures remind me of my childhood and being outside and running around in the woods. I remember just being mesmerized by the miles and miles of pine trees that covered the mountains like carpet... makes me smile!
The pictures are beautiful and by train, even more beautiful. It's special to know the beauty of the Rocky Mountains goes for miles and miles and then kilometers and kilometers and kilometers!!!
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)And for checking out my pics.
I couldn't agree more. Been through Colorado [on Amtrak's California Zephyr] and the scenery just doesn't stop, it's almost as if no matter where you point your camera, you can't take a bad picture.
TNNurse
(6,924 posts)these photos make me very jealous. What a wonderful trip.
TNNurse
(6,924 posts)these photos make me very jealous. What a wonderful trip.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)That's great that you got a chance to see it.
If it's something that you are planning on doing again, I certainly hope that you get the chance, in better times [post pandemic] of course.
Stuart G
(38,410 posts)...If you haven't been to Lake Louise and Banff National Parks in Canada no matter who and why you go, it is worth the trip. The Canadian Rockies are magnificent. Banff and Jasper National Park are right next to each other, and there is a one hundred mile drive right through the park, with mountains on both sides. Lots of places to stop and take pictures...Yes, all kinds of animals and rivers and lakes. Is it worth it?....
....Yes, Yes, and Yes. Incredible is the only word. I went late summer, and there was no crowd and plenty of parking everywhere. I went in 74 and again in late 80s. In late 80s, I camped out, and there was loud barking in the part of the camping area that I had put my tent up in...I asked the owner of the dog what was going on that the dog would be barking that late at night. The owner said that he only does that when another animal was around and the owner suspected that there was a bear near the camping area. ??
....Yes, Yes, and Yes. It is worth the passport, and worth the travel up there. I have never been to the Alps or Alaska, but it the Canadian Rockies are as beautiful as any place I have been to. Been to Yosemite, been to Glacier National Park, and others. Once, in 74, when I went to Banff & Jasper, & someone said take this trail..I didn't want to, but the lady I went with wanted to take that trail.
....It was the "Trail to 5 Lakes"...incredible. About 5 feet from this computer is a picture that I took from that hike of one of the lakes. (in 74) ..Please, if you can go to the Canadian Rockies go, any way you can..go. Like the above pictures, they are beautiful.. If you go, it will be one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen.
....One more point, this road through the middle of these two parks is considered one of the most beautiful roads in the entire world. If you don't believe this, look it up. Look at these pictures again. Look at other pictures on the internet of Banff and Jasper, then make a plan, and go there from wherever you live..go.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)...and for checking out my post!
Cheers,
Pete
Response to Hiawatha Pete (Original post)
Hiawatha Pete This message was self-deleted by its author.
pansypoo53219
(20,952 posts)he would have LOVED these.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)I admit that I am happy with how my Thompson River tunnel pic turned out.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,516 posts)I always enjoy your photos. The scenery is just so good, and all those rivers too! Wow.
Thanks so much.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)My pleasure as always. We really enjoyed this trip and how it follows the river routes.
Thanks for checking out my post.
locks
(2,012 posts)So fortunate to take these wonderful trips and share them.
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)It's my pleasure to share and have an audience! And maybe inspire others to do the same someday, after the pandemic situation improves of course.
AllaN01Bear
(17,944 posts)my late mom and my late grandmother and i wanted to take this train in 1970, but grandma had high altitude sickness, ( lips turn blue from lack of 02.) so we didnt go, i wish amtrak would have kept some of the dome cars on their trains like the r.m does . i cant do the trip as i am medicly banned from altitudes above 5000 feet . heart issues . looks like a lovely trip. thanks for sharing. hope u had a grand time !!
Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)My wife and I certainly did have a good time, though the trip is over we will always have it's memory.
Sorry to hear about you and your grandmother's medical conditions. You must do what you can to stay safe.
Nay
(12,051 posts)Hiawatha Pete
(1,794 posts)And for checking out my pics