(Scroll down for images)
Routes shown:
The Canadian (Toronto, ON – Edmonton, AB) -1st leg of trip
The Rocky Mountaineer (Calgary, AB – Vancouver, BC) -2nd leg of trip
Alberni Pacific Railway (Port Alberni, BC) -3rd leg of trip
Plus return trip on The Canadian (Vancouver, BC – Toronto, ON)
The Canadian (Toronto, ON – Edmonton, AB):
‘The Canadian’ is VIA Rail’s Western transcontinental train. For a description & pictures of the Canadian please see page on The Canadian.
There are rental car or Red Arrow Bus Lines/Co-Op Taxi Edmonton connections between Edmonton & Calgary for passengers wishing to connect to the Rocky Mountaineer tour train after an overnight stay at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary.
The Rocky Mountaineer (Calgary, AB – Vancouver, BC):
The ‘Rocky Mountaineer‘ is a tour train that operates over a portion of the Canadian Pacific (CP) mainline on a 2-day journey from either Calgary, Banff, or Lake Louise, AB, to Vancouver, BC, via Kamloops, BC, where an overnight stop-over is made (passengers can overnight in a hotel included in the price of the tour). The train began operation in 1990.
Equipment on the Rocky Mountaineer includes ex-Canadian National coach cars plus custom-built dome cars with dome seating above & a dining area & open observation platform below. Both types of cars offer meal service. Motive power consists of 3,000 hp General Motors GP40-2 diesel locomotives.
The route of the the Rocky Mountaineer is a scenic one. From Calgary the train departs west on the CP line through the front range of the Rockies, past the Three Sisters mountain range & along the Bow river to Banff, where more passengers entrain, & on past Castle Mountain & Morant’s Curve (named after CP photographer Nicolas Morant who took many pictures at this location), past Lake Louise station, over the continental divide near Stephen, through the famed Spiral Tunnels & on to Field, BC & the Kicking Horse Canyon, over Stoney Creek Bridge, over the Columbia River at Revelstoke, past Mara Lake at Sicamous before arriving at the overnight stop at Kamloops. The next day finds the train passing through the Thompson & Fraser river canyons on its way to the Pacific Coast at Vancouver, BC.
The Rocky Mountaineer is the only way for tourists to travel on the CP line from Calgary to Kamloops. For the remainder of the westward journey to Vancouver, the train travels on the Canadian National (CN) line. Details of the tour can be found at RockyMountaineer.com
Note: The Rocky Mountaineer has its own station in Vancouver. Rental cars are available in VIA Rail’s nearby Pacific Central Station for passengers wishing to continue by car & ferry to Vancouver Island. Accommodations are available at The Best Western in Port Alberni and Best Western Tofino on Vancouver Island.
Alberni Pacific Railway (Port Alberni [Vancouver Island], BC):
The Alberni Pacific Railway is a steam-powered tour train that operates from Port Alberni to McLean Mill.
Equipment on the Alberni Pacific Railway includes ex-CN transfer cabooses converted into enclosed coaches or open-air observation cars. Motive power includes an ex-Campbell River Timber 2-8-2 tank engine built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1929. This steam engine produces 29,100 lbs of tractive effort.
The route of the Alberni Pacific Railway is a pretty one with the train departing the yards at Port Alberni, over grade crossings & trestles on a journey rising from sea level to almost 365 feet on its way to the McLean Mill National Historic Site.
For great scenery & the opportunity to ride a steam train on Vancouver Island, ride the Alberni Pacific Railway in Port Alberni.
- LEAVING TORONTO IN THE DOME OF THE PARK CAR ON THE WESTBOUND CANADIAN
- MEET WITH A FREIGHT LED BY CN C44-9W #2625, FOLEYET, ON
- THE CANADIAN PASSING A LAKE, GOGAMA, ON
- DOWNTOWN WINNIPEG, MB, FORT GARRY HOTEL TO THE LEFT
- CP PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE STATION
- GRAIN ELEVATOR, RIVERS, MB
- CROSSING A TRESTLE IN THE QU’APPELLE RIVER VALLEY
- LEAVING THE TRAIN AT EDMONTON VIA STATION
- DOWNTOWN EDMONTON
- CALGARY, AB
- CANADIAN PACIFIC 2-10-4 TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #5931, CALGARY, AB
- THE BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL
- VIEW FROM THE BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL
- BANFF, AB
- AERIAL VIEW OF ROCKY MOUNTAINEER ROLLING STOCK FROM PALLISER HOTEL, CALGARY, AB
- CALGARY TOWER, BASE OF WHICH IS BOARDING LOCATION FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TOUR TRAIN TO VANCOUVER
- THE THREE SISTERS, CANMORE, AB, AS SEEN FROM WESTBOUND ROCKY MOUNTAINEER
- TRAVELING ALONG THE BOW RIVER
- CP STATION, BANFF, WHERE MORE PASSENGERS ENTRAINED
- MOUNTAINS WEST OF BANFF
- ALONG THE BOW RIVER
- MOUNTAINS EAST OF LAKE LOUISE
- CASTLE MOUNTAIN
- THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER AT MORANT’S CURVE, NAMED AFTER CP PHOTOGRAPHER NICHOLAS MORANT
- CP STATION, LAKE LOUISE, AB
- HEAVYWEIGHT PASSENGER CARS AT LAKE LOUISE STATION
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER WEST OF LAKE LOUISE
- PASSING SIGNALS NEAR STEPHEN, BC
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER NEAR STEPHEN, BC
- THE LOWER SPIRAL TUNNEL, THROUGH WHICH OUR TRAIN WILL PASS
- THE YOHO VALLEY
- THE KICKING HORSE PASS, NAMED AFTER THE PACKHORSE THAT KICKED SURVEYOR JAMES HECTOR
- MOUNT STEPHEN
- ENTERING THE LOWER SPIRAL TUNNEL
- KICKING HORSE RIVER
- CP STATION AT FIELD, BC, CREW CHANGE POINT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER RUNNING ALONG THE KICKING HORSE RIVER
- LEANCHOIL, BC
- THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER ENTERS A TUNNEL IN THE KICKING HORSE CANYON
- PASSING DEMOLISHED ROAD BRIDGE, KICKING HORSE CANYON
- THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE KICKING HORSE CANYON
- CROSSING A TRESTLE IN ROGERS PASS
- CROSSING THE STONEY CREEK BRIDGE
- GLACIER, BC
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER EAST OF REVELSTOKE
- MEET WITH A FREIGHT LED BY CEFX AC44CW #1057, REVELSTOKE, BC
- MEET WITH THE ROYAL CANADIAN PACIFIC TOUR TRAIN LED BY CP FP9 #4107, REVELSTOKE, BC
- CP CABOOSE, REVELSTOKE, BC
- CROSSING THE COLUMBIA RIVER LEAVING REVELSTOKE
- IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER DOME CAR, VICTOR LAKE, BC
- MARA LAKE, SICAMOUS, BC
- KAMLOOPS, BC, BACK ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER AFTER AN OVERNIGHT STAY
- BIGHORN SHEEP
- COYOTE, LEFT OF CENTRE IN PHOTO
- THOMPSON RIVER, SAVONA, BC
- HOODOOS, ASHCROFT, BC
- BALD EAGLE
- VIEW FROM BACK OF TRAIN AT A ROCK SLIDE FENCE IN THE BLACK CANYON, THOMPSON RIVER & CP LINE TO THE RIGHT
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER IN THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON
- PASSING THROUGH A TUNNEL AT LASHA, BC
- PAINTED CANYON REGION OF THE THOMPSON RIVER CANYON
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER CROSSING THE FRASER RIVER & CP LINE AT CISCO, BC
- A LOOK BACK AT THE CISCO BRIDGES
- HELL’S GATE CANYON & AIR TRAM, NARROWEST & FASTEST FLOWING PART OF THE FRASER RIVER
- LOOKING ACROSS THE FRASER CANYON AT A TUNNEL ON THE CP LINE
- IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER DOME CAR, TRAVELLING THROUGH THE COAST MOUNTAINS
- CP ES44AC #8868, THORNTON YARD, PORT MANN, BC
- ROCKY MOUNTAINEER CROSSING THE FRASER RIVER, KING GEORGE HWY TO THE LEFT, VANCOUVER, BC
- PULLING INTO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER STATION, VANCOUVER
- LION’S GATE BRIDGE, VANCOUVER, BC
- INNER HARBOUR, VICTORIA, BC
- TRAIN STATION IN PORT ALBERNI, BC, VANCOUVER ISLAND
- ALBERNI PACIFIC 2-8-2T TYPE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #7
- ALBERNI PACIFIC STEAM TRAIN WITH #7 ON THE POINT
- FORMER CANADIAN PACIFIC RS-3 #8427. PORT ALBERNI, BC
- A CAB RIDE ON #7, ENGINEER TO THE RIGHT
- FIREMAN
- GRADE CROSSING
- ON A TRESTLE
- SMOKESTACK
- OIL IN THE FIREBOX
- CLEAR TRACK AHEAD
- MCLEAN MILLS STATION, END OF THE LINE
- MCLEAN MILLS, LAST OPERATING STEAM-POWERED SAWMILL IN NORTH AMERICA
- BACK ON THE STEAM TRAIN, #7 COUPLED TO THE OTHER END, BOILER FACING THE COACHES
- RETURN TRIP IN COACH
- CROSSING A TRESTLE
- PULLING INTO THE YARDS IN PORT ALBERNI
- TOFINO, BC
- BEST WESTERN TIN WIS HOTEL, TOFINO
- VIEW FROM HOTEL, TOFINO, BC
- ON THE FERRY FROM NANAIMO TO VANCOUVER, PASSING OTHER FERRY RETURNING TO NANAIMO
- THE EASTBOUND CANADIAN AT VANCOUVER CENTRAL STATION
- PASSING MOUNT ROBSON, HIGHEST PEAK IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES, ON THE CANADIAN
- THE CANADIAN SKIRTS THE SHORES OF MOOSE LAKE
- MOUNT FITZWILLIAM, AS SEEN FROM THE CANADIAN
- EASTBOUND CANADIAN BEING SERVICED AT JASPER, AB
- PASSING ROCHE MIETTE ON THE CANADIAN
- MEET BETWEEN EAST & WESTBOUND CANADIANS, HORNEPAYNE, ON