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Riding VIA Rail Train #1 "The Canadian" from Toronto to
Vancouver.
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Jasper to Kamloops via Yellowhead Pass. Through a tunnel of trees.
It has become an obsession. I want to see what our locomotives look like, up
close. VIA has thus far done a tenacious job keeping me at bay. I WILL prevail
as
Jasper draws nigh.
0600
Early morning sunny skies past Hinton, Alberta, reveal the Rocky Mountains
starting to make their presence known.
Up in the dome, there's a good crowd on hand as the sun climbs above eastern
peaks.
Looking westward, the rugged Rockies look almost impassible as we close in on
our long servicing stop. Sunlight was short-lived, and now the scenery has
clouded up.
Bridges are crossed and freight trains overtaken until we eventually reach the long
platform in Jasper, Alberta. 0800/0930. Okay, time to catch me some elusive motive power.
To reach the sequestered locomotives, Mark and I walked past/through the depot,
turned left onto Connaught Drive, past the CN steam locomotive, past the public
washroom, turning left again and walking through the public car park, then
across the unoccupied storage track (safely stepping over the rails) and THERE are
the
three GMD F40PH-2D locomotives!
Three locomotives? That's right. 6448/6432/6459. As we walked down Connaught
Drive, I could see VIA 6448 being moved from the aforementioned pocket track
onto the main, then backing down and coupling to our train.
Those heretofore forbidden F40PH-2D steeds. I have
captured them at last. My torment is over.
TRAIN HYPE!!!
Walking back to the station, we now had time to focus on this old timer.
CN 6015
is a Class U-1-a, 4-8-2 Mountain type, steam engine, built by Canadian
Locomotive Company in 1924.
Reaching the station, we realized we couldn't get back onboard! The platform was
fenced off and CN Police were patrolling it. They were cleaning out old laundry,
collecting trash from the journey and....washing the dome glass! This brought
back old memories for my brother and I from the 1960's.
After church, D.O.D. would sometimes drive us into Vancouver and we would
observe Canadian Pacific "Wash The Canadian" in the coach yard, which came to be
a sort of family joke.
Thus, here's Mark and myself watching a workman giving the upstairs of Skyline
Dome #8512 a jolly good cleaning.
Mark wanted to take home the little yellow tug pulling its baggage and detritus along the
platform and I wanted that guy's cool VIA shirt. Size 3XL, please.
Back on board, we headed straight to the diner for "brunch". I had the eggs du
poutine which was not too shabby and later on, we were offered a tray full of
yummy Hors d'oeuvres in the dome lounge. Outside, the rain was falling and skies
were gloomy, but "Nothing helps scenery like bacon and eggs".
At some point, (I didn't see a sign or hear an announcement), we made our way
through Yellowhead Pass and crossed over into British Columbia (and the Pacific
Time Zone).
Here we are following the shoreline of Moose Lake and later on, I got this grab
shot of an eastbound as we crossed a river. Notice how far apart the two
mainlines are (double track).
The picture on the left, I took in 1988 and is, indeed,
Mount Robson. The
picture on the right was taken May 2025. Whaddiya think? Could that be the
tallest Canadian peak in the Rockies?
Past Valemount, BC, we passed a CN eastbound overseas double stack with
a BC
Rail Heritage Unit #3115 GE ET44AC pushing on the rear. We are 30 minutes late
at 1130.
I'm up in the dome now. No signal. We're in a canyon of trees so no way to tell
Mark I'm saving him a seat.
She's back! May strikes a provocative pose as she once more entertains us with
history and trivia. With her shiny blue scarf and fractured French-English, she
is just ADORABLE.
"It's Number Two!!", I yell out as the Eastbound Canadian passes us on the
double track. Seconds later, an announcement is made over the P.A. system. GMD F40PH-2D's 6441 and 6420 (a wrapped "love the way" unit).
Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn't have phrased it that way.
Waterfall. Both on the mountainside and our dome's glass. I like Mark's picture
better.
Another surprise is what appears to be an equipment move of
Rocky Mountaineer
tourist train equipment. Baolu and I rode it from Vancouver, BC to Banff, AB in
2009. The experience was...mixed.
Somewhere around Lempriere, BC, we pick up the muddy North Thompson River to
follow south.
There is a continual parade of trains as we work our way towards Kamloops. It's
remarkable how the dispatcher weaves us through all this traffic.
The weather is also starting to clear up.
ONE. We are one. Are you ONE, Herbert?
At last, Kamloops North, BC, is reached -- 45 minutes early. Spare Rocky
Mountaineer equipment can be seen in their shops across the way, including some
ex-Southern Pacific commuter bi-levels from a Quebec tourist line.
VIA has set up the usual barriers next to the fuel truck and the basic passenger
depot will suffice for the few Canadian trainsets that pass by (two westbounds,
two eastbounds each week).
Mark and I use this opportunity to visit the two coaches and dome car assigned
to VIA #1. The coaches SMELL wonderful -- most likely recently reupholstered in
leather. Skyline Dome #8506 is the coach section's penthouse view.
Also visible outside are Monte Lake and Riverside Park from the
Kamloops
Heritage Railway; a pair of orange CN MOW hoppers; and blanked out windows on
Chateau Cadillac. Our two Chateau-series cars have been heavily modified to
contain luxury suites more worthy of the $10,000 price tag for Prestige Class.
Once back on board, Mark and I enjoy our final dinner on the trip. Vegetable
Beef soup, dinner roll, an absolutely scrumptious Rack of Lamb, and a marvelous dessert of some sort, caps
off our VIA Rail culinary experience. 10 out of 10 in the dining car this trip. Well
done!
We depart OT at 1900. At 2000, I turn in for the evening.
 
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