Riding VIA's "Canadian" March 2016

A 15-minute video sketch of a train trip from Vancouver, BC, to Toronto, Ontario, through the Rockies, across the Prairies and Canadian Shield. Beautiful 1950s-era Budd build passenger cars, well kept and nicely upgraded; excellent service and fine meals in the diner.

[@robyoungquist5803]

Now that’s the way to enjoy a winter wonderland ... from the warmth of the observation car with a glass of wine or cup of tea and biscuits ... only to retreat to your bedroom and crisp white sheets lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the train!

[@kharakim]

Much appreciated your including passengers' socializing. So many U.S. train-travel reviews are limited to evaluations of the equipment, the food, and the staff, leaving one to wonder whether Americans stay in their own privatized space when traveling by train, much as they on plane travel. My train travel in the U.S. 75 years ago was most memorable for the interaction with other passengers.

[@amtrakharry]

That was and excellent video folks !!! I loved every second of it !!! :):):) I will be doing a round trip on her in March... :):):) Thank you for sharing it with us...:):):)

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

The whole atmosphere on the train radiates such a relaxed and warm presence, even through the video. I enjoyed every second of this video!

[@merc340sr]

I just LOVE this train. Did parts of it, Capreol to Winnipeg, but my next trip will be Toronto -Vancouver. Can't wait.

[@operamaven1662]

This is excellent and really gives a feel of what travelling on the Canadian is all about. More please!

[@billr2220]

I went on The Canadian a few times. It was great. I highly recomend it!

[@yahulwagoni4571]

All you really need is the Crown Royal, Smoked Salmon, a good book, and the comfy chair.

[@rimodeler7963]

Drake - I enjoyed the video tour across Canada. Love the Budd cars and full service diner. This trip is on my list to accomplish sometime in the near future. Thank you for documenting portions of the run..................nice job! Mike Armstrong

[@scottsheehan9890]

took this train a few years ago from Toronto to Vancouver.train ride was outstanding,food was same.one night had New Zealand lamb chops.couldn't get much better at a good restaurant.hope to do it again one day.

[@Minsc]

"The rail is always roughest when serving meals." Along with lives bumps is always something to enjoy. :)

[@donmac7334]

Very professional presentation...well edited. Thank you.

[@cats0182]

OH those Budd Cars--the Dome Cars, the Observation Car. I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity of riding the original Denver Zephyr and California Zephyr. Those trips still stick in my mind today, decades later.

[@oat138]

Very nice video, wish I could have seen the whole journey. Carol is beautiful and has a wonderful smile....

[@BrucexfromxCanada]

Through the Halliburton Highlands: As might be noticed, when near Vancouver the weather is much warmer, but once in the Rockies it cxan be radically rougher. in the prairies and over (really only a part of) the Canadian shield, it is much clder. (Note: The Canadian, pre-cambrian rock shield underlies more than half of the huge land area of Canada. It is known to contain quartz, Iron Pyriies (AKA "fools' gold") garnets and some other semi-precious stones. when I was 4 1/2 years old I saw this in the open in person,in "Go Home" ON, bout 35 miles by dangerous waters from the small town of Honey Harbour ON. When the train passes east of the Georgian Bay and turns South through the Haliburton Highlands, nearing the end of its trip that area is very pristine and wild but in winter can be very bleak and tough. It also is thehabitat of the Mississauga Rattlesnake Highly venomous and dangerous. Having been sternly warned at the age of 4 1/2 ("if anyne gets bitten by this and doesn't get medical car within 24 hours, they are dead!" Iknew, when suddelly confronted with one, what to do, with no adults resent... The adults heard about it 3 days later! I had saved my own life on the fly in about 35 seconds! Goodbye Mr. Snake! That is one of the many reasons I am alive today to tell my tale! Had an adult been present they likely would have panicked and one or both of us would not have lived to tell the sale! > About 80-100 miles to the South lies Toronto, once passed Lake Simcoe and the cities of Orillia and Barrie, and after having snaked west again to get around the area between the Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, the train will again bend South for about the last 50 miles into Toronto's Union Station. That stretch is much nicer to travel in summer from about late June threough the first 2 weeks of August. After that it can become very windy, the wind can blow night and day non-stop for 7 days with such force that the noise in the trees will not let you sleep! Better off in Toronto. while toronto is actually firther south than rome Italy, iy does not have the mediterranean influence so it can be hot and humid in summer but cold, windy and bitter at times in winter. Near the end the train passes over a river in Toronto. Having lived in Toronto in my time, this looks like the Humber river that flows South through the west side of Toronto and dumps into Lake Ontario.

[@ellenr.3549]

I travelled on this train for Toronto to Vancouver about 20 years ago. I would love to do it again.

[@carlhaluss]

So much better dining experience than the Amtrak video I just watched about one of their Texas services. All beverage containers were either cardboard or plastic, shame on you, Amtrak!. The dining car looked like a fast food restaurant. This looks like a really great and relaxing place to dine, and even white linen tablecloths!

[@divox9pqr]

It would great to feature an up date on this train service as it is resumed post pandemic.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

If you even wondered what high school French is like outside Quebec..... 2:23 lol

[@akumasin9067]

Need this in America I’m so jealous

[@kevinhoward9593]

They had them in the US. Railroads thought that having the streamliner would get more and more people away from the airlines. They didn't. Then again rail travel in the early 20th century wasn't exactly cheap. A roomette on the Broadway Limited in the 60s was $75. which is almost $1000 today. Some trains had extra fares like The Super Chief had a $10 surcharge. that's like $300 today. It was far cheaper to just buy a car then pay half a months pay to take the train.

[@sammy7068]

very nice trip

[@RossJohnsonVIA1]

im doing my 100th trip on the CANADIAN VIA #2 Apr 26/2019 Van-Tor

[@TrainsfanAlex6060]

VIA might like to hear about that. They might give you a plaque or something as a thank you

[@dunweyweydum]

@@TrainsfanAlex6060 Certain he be a Via Preference member - I only have 91 trips to catch up.

[@merc340sr]

The man in the dining car at 13:58 of the video looks like Mr Dressup...

[@kaka7279100]

👍the best.

[@pops1507]

Were on my train? Nope. I did it in July 2016.

[@xanadujohn79]

Will they double track the route with welded rail???? But domes are still the best......

[@RossJohnsonVIA1]

i did my 69th trip last weekend

[@johngta7172]

are meals included in price? how was it ?

[@jdgator95]

nice

[@amjkodaz]

Man I wish Amtrak had domes lol

[@reynaldogarza3775]

Some do but not all .

[@cats0182]

Female Dining Car Crew? Other female crew? Do they have separate Dormitory facilities on the train? Or doesn't it matter to Canadians?

[@cprtrain]

Good video but it is Winnipeg.

[@SirManfly]

i wish more of these videos would show a shot of the cities along the way which are Winnipeg, Edmonton and Saskatoon. sadly nobody ever seems to !

[@StevenSendoff]

real life polar express

[@danmathers141]

No narration?

[@pieroelias3545]

The weather needs to be nicer

[@kevinhoward9593]

Amtrak stopped using real china on their trains decades ago. Its far cheaper to just wrap up the table and just chuck everything out then it would be to waste water by washing the dishes.

[@pops1507]

What does a guy with a camera really need? An indulgent wife.

[@ArturZagaj-Izraelita]

Szok!🤯 A kto za paliwo płaci?🤔

[@joycehewitt3633]

I Wouldn.t like Winter

[@46619TAB]

It's a real shame that both Via Rail and Amtrak discriminate against cigarette/cigar or pipe smokers. A simple solution to boost ridership would be to add a well ventilated smokers only observation car to every long distance train.

[@liftedbrothers8843]

That's why The Canadian regularly stops for smoke breaks when it refuels or resupplies.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

You can just ride on the top of the train. LIke they do in India.

[@robyoungquist5803]

46619TAB ... drive your car and pollute your own vehicle all you want. 😉

[@elviejoraro3952]

The shame is that the smokers would cost the railroads significantly if only in the costs of cleaning all of the surfaces that were contaminated by the tars in the smoke of the misguided souls who insist on polluting not just there own air, but that of everyone around them. Care to guess who would pay for the cleaning? It won't be the smokers/polluters!!!

[@kevinhoward9593]

Amtrak did allow smoking on the Auto Train because it runs non stop, but they since discontinued that. The train does a crew change in Florence Yard, but I don't know if passengers are allowed to get off for a bit.