translinkfan
Oiler (New Member)
'Bout them Alcoa's!
Posts: 48 
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Post by translinkfan on Nov 29, 2015 2:10:28 GMT -8
Who does Rocky Mountaineers transfers in Vancouver?? Traxx Coach Lines out of AB (whom I was working with at the time) did all the hotel transfers in Vancouver (their BC yard is in Richmond), Whistler, Jasper, and Banff. For the Kamloops overnight stop it was Thompson Valley Charters I think. I mostly helped swamping on the "Whistler luggage" bus as we dubbed it. 0630 at the Vancouver station to pick up GSR's, then out by 7 to do pick ups at hotels, then make it to North Vancouver for an 0800 departure. Then load all the luggage from the other 2 coaches (whistler train required easily 3 coaches) into one coach. Then once the train leaves, up to whistler we go to meet the train at approximately 1130-12, if the train was not delayed. Then luggage was pre-sorted to 2 other buses and then hotel drop offs happened. By about 1300 it's off duty time. Then by 1400 we start it all backwards. Really long day but the GSR's I've befriended made it all the while! I also did a couple of Banff/ Jasper train transfers too, those easily needed 4-6 coaches. Only good thing was that it was all local transfers in Vancouver. Thank god the luggage is trucked to and from Vancouver to Alberta. Simply just pre-luggage drop offs to hotels, then back to the station for passenger pick up to hotels! Sorry for the long tangent, thought I'd give a glimpse of the behind the scenes to moving RMR passengers around! Guess while I'm at it, here's some images from my Traxx days: We would all gather and wait for our GSR's to come and off we go to start the day!  TRAXX Coach Lines 834, 812, 860 by Dannny29, on Flickr This was prep for the Bannf, Jasper train return. We would whip around the back where station workers would have our luggage sorted ready for drop off. Once we had our luggage, to the hotels to offload them. After we would return to pick up the passengers!  Traxx Coach Lines Prevost H3-45 #891 by Dannny29, on Flickr Note the Williams truck.  Traxx Coach Lines Prevost H3-45 #810, 832 by Dannny29, on Flickr Ready for luggage!  Traxx Coach Lines Prevost H3-45 #891, 832, 810 by Dannny29, on Flickr  Traxx Coach Lines Prevost H3-45 #832 by Dannny29, on Flickr |
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 26, 2016 11:06:04 GMT -8
West bound Rocky Mountaineer excursion train (originating from Banff & Kamloops) crosses over Fraser River bridge @ Cisco on CN's Ashcroft Subdivision - 17 June 2016. That is Canadian Pacific's 1911 bridge just downstream from the CN bridge. It rests upon stone pillars erected before 1885 for the original CPR bridge here. That original cantilever type bridge still lives on. After it was removed from Cisco, it was re-erected over the Niagara Canyon, just north of Victoria, on Vancouver Island's E&N Railway.  © WCK-JST by Jim Thorne, on Flickr |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 26, 2016 11:25:46 GMT -8
West bound Rocky Mountaineer excursion train (originating from Banff & Kamloops) crosses over Fraser River bridge @ Cisco on CN's Ashcroft Subdivision - 17 June 2016. That is Canadian Pacific's 1911 bridge just downstream from the CN bridge. It rests upon stone pillars erected before 1885 for the original CPR bridge here. That original cantilever type bridge still lives on. After it was removed from Cisco, it was re-erected over the Niagara Canyon, just north of Victoria, on Vancouver Island's E&N Railway. Thank you sir. I enjoy the photograph. I also am reminded that I need to get back to that roadside berm, to enjoy Cisco Bridges again, in person. |
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Post by Mike on May 21, 2018 20:43:52 GMT -8
RMR 610, the eastbound Rocky Mountaineer train destined for Banff, passes between the two tunnels east of Yale on CP's Cascade Sub. May 21, 2018.  RMR 610 - Yale Tunnels by Michael, on Flickr |
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 27, 2018 10:31:55 GMT -8
Did you find the level of service on the Rocky Mountaineer deliver as advertised in their travel promotion ads? What appeared to be the percentage out of country tourists compared to B.C. tourists such as yourself? Hope you had a wonderful time?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 27, 2018 10:44:47 GMT -8
Did you find the level of service on the Rocky Mountaineer deliver as advertised in their travel promotion ads? What appeared to be the percentage out of country tourists compared to B.C. tourists such as yourself? Hope you had a wonderful time? The level of service was as good as advertised, and resulted in that feeling that we received good value for the high price of the trip. Sometimes a high-priced item doesn't deliver, but in this case we got what we paid for. From the chatter in the station on the morning of the trip, and the bus ride there, there were plenty of Australians and Americans on the trip. There were over 700 passengers on our train on Day-1, but that included both the Vancouver-Banff people and the Vancouver-Jasper people. On our particular rail coach, there were Americans, Germans, Chinese, and a few BCers and Albertans. But us Western Canadians are a rare breed on that train. After the two days of our train trip, we rented a car in Banff and spent nights in Banff, Lake Louise, and then a weekend in Calgary, followed by an anti-climactic WestJet flight home. So it was a bunch of mini-trips all in 1 (Train, Banff, Lake Louise, and downtown Calgary). We planned this as a trip of a lifetime, and I think that's what it turned out to be, in spite of cold and gloomy weather at Lake Louise and Calgary. It's a good thing that I love video and photo editing, because I've got lots of that work to do. I will post here as the items get done. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 27, 2018 12:06:08 GMT -8
Here are some photographs from the Vancouver station of Rocky Mountaineer, from the morning of our departure: The station is a pleasant and comfortable gathering place, with a nice high ceiling (so the large crowd doesn't make you feel crowded), and the live piano adds to the classy atmosphere. This isn't the passenger waiting room at Duke Point...  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr I don't need to wear my Tilley hat, because my grey beard is proof that I'm old enough for this train.  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Some of the GoldLeaf (1st class) coaches, being readied for the day  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr "J" coaches are destined for Jasper, and "CB" coaches are destined for Lake Louise and Banff. But we all traveled as one overall consist on day-1 to Kamloops  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Lots of luggage to be handled (this isn't all belonging to my spouse). Upon arrival at Kamloops and Banff, our luggage was already in our hotel room.  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Part of the station ambience  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr The piper playing before we do the "All Aboard" call  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr ============== |
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 27, 2018 12:34:35 GMT -8
Thanks for the super response 'LLM', much appreciated.
It is good to hear that Rocky Mountaineer is delivering the level of service as advertised. Europeans are usually quite savvy as to quality of services delivered and its good to hear that we, in the 'colonies' are living up to expectations.
Yes, the design and ambience of the 'Mountaineer station is in keeping with the overall level of 'service adventure' as advertised.
Great baggage service! The train to hotel room service sure beats the heck out of lugging ones' baggage from the train station to the hotel.
It does sound like you made the trip in the 'seasonal' nick of time as Eastern B.C. and Alberta is almost into the snows of Winter.
Good to hear that your trip of a lifetime went so well!
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 27, 2018 15:32:09 GMT -8
Good to hear that your trip of a lifetime went so well! Is this the "trip of a life time" for LLM, or is he still holding out for RCP  ?? I suspect that RCP is on his "bucket list". BTW, Mike, did you travel through the Connaught Tunnel? |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 27, 2018 15:51:40 GMT -8
Here's a video of the pre-departure activity at the Vancouver station for Rocky Mountaineer:
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grk
Chief Steward
Posts: 227
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Post by grk on Sept 27, 2018 16:01:54 GMT -8
Two seasons ago I took the Banff sector of the service, travelling in Gold Leaf. The service was flawless, the food very very good, and the commentary was excellent. The southern route through the Selkirks and Rockies is much more scenic in my mind than the northern CN route. Although the price is steep, it is comparable with that of other scenic railroads around the globe. I highly recommend it!
When the Mount Macdonald tunnel opened, passenger trains still dropped their toilets onto the track, and it was decided to keep the new tunnel free of such waste. The policy continues to this day with all passenger trains running through the original Connaught tunnel, which does provide a run over the Stoney Creek bridge on the eastern side of Roger's Pass. There is also a secondary issue, that being with the huge volume of air that is directed through the Macdonald Tunnel as a train passes through. From the mid point of the tunnel, jet engines (Pratt and Whitney JT 9s I believe) first direct a massive air blast towards the oncoming train, and as the locomotives pass the mid point the air flow is reversed and pulled out behind the train set. Doors at either end help achieve the air flow which not only cools the diesels, but exhaust the fumes. I have heard that this air flow would cause discomfort to the passengers should they pass through that tunnel.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 27, 2018 16:19:47 GMT -8
Good to hear that your trip of a lifetime went so well! Is this the "trip of a life time" for LLM, or is he still holding out for RCP ?? I suspect that RCP is on his "bucket list". BTW, Mike, did you travel through the Connaught Tunnel? Thanks Jim, and also Mr. Star Steward. The main hiccup to our trip plans was the weather at Lake Louise and Calgary. I had figured the best time to be outside at Lake Louise at night for photographing the Milky Way above Fairview Mountain.....but our entire visit was under rain or rain/snow. The snow didn't last long at road level, so driving was no problem. The weather at Lake Louise made us focus on the interior of the Fairmont Chateau, and it was wonderful to enjoy and discover all the various wings and staircases, etc. The train trip was two days of fun, pampered scenery, with good weather. The only negatives were the sometimes bumpy parts of the ride, mainly when riding through a switch/siding. During those bumpy times, the toilets had some sloshing of the water in the bowl. You needed to time your washroom visits for the siding stops or smooth mainline tracks, and not the transitions. Mrs. Horn says that if she had to do it over again, she would have taken a gravol part-way through the long 2nd day. Just like a ship, the long hours of motion effect people differently. Also like a ship, at the end of the day, I still felt the train motion as I was in my hotel room trying to sleep. The food was great. SilverLeaf (2nd Class) had two choices for each of breakfast and lunch (GoldLeaf likely had four choices each). Lots of good quality wine or spirits, and nice snacks. The onboard hosts (we had 2 hosts and 1 culinary team member in our coach) were spot-on in their rail & BC/Alberta history anecdotes, even down to their mention of Vancouver Island as the location for the original Cisco bridge. Train routing highlights: - Vancouver Station, down Grandview Cut, to cross Fraser River at New Westminster. - Through CN Thornton Yard (under the Port Mann bridge), along the Fraser through Langley, and across the river at Matsqui / Mission. - CPR Cascade Subdivision from Mission to North Bend, and then continuing with CPR Thompson Subdivision up to Basque. - Cross-over to CNR tracks at Basque, so through the CNR bridge & tunnel at Black Canyon, and then along north shore of Kamloops Lake. - Into Kamloops downtown area by way of the connecting track between CNR & CPR. - CPR Shuswap & Mountain & Laggan subdivisions on Day-2. Connaught Tunnel used on our eastbound trip. I asked about westbound through Rogers Pass, and the onboard host said that they use Connaught for Westbound also, and it allows then to see Stoney Creek Bridge on all their trips. - Low track taken through Lake Louise, because we were stopping at the station (and I'm guessing that all the eastbound traffic takes the low road there). No Royal Canadian Pacific likely for my future. I think this is my lifetime trip. Although, a trip on Rocky Mountaineer's "Rainforest to Gold Rush" route (Jasper, Prince George, Quesnel, Whistler, North Vancouver) is intriguing, for the same reason as the CPR Mountain & Laggan subdivision route. The reason is that there's no other way to see the route as a passenger. I have lots of train-trip video to post (1st one posted already), and many photos, all in the next few weeks. I've got lots of video and photos, and I want to present them in a detailed and excellent way. Cheers ! |
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 27, 2018 21:12:37 GMT -8
Thanks, Mike, for the response. This also confirms (together with what grk said) what I have understood regarding use of the Macdonald tunnel by passenger trains. I assume at Notch Hill you were on the old route, but does the west bound RM use the new track (around the horse shoe)? At Lake Louise you refer to using the 'low track' and by that I assume you mean the old 1885 route. It has a grade of up to 1.8 % versus 1% on the new 1982 vintage "high track" once known as the "Lake Louise Second Main Line". The lower gradient is the reason that all heavy west bound freights are sent up the "high track". I assume that the RM never uses that track as they would miss the station at Laggon (aka Lake Louise). And then there is the weather ... It can make or break the trip of a life time. Sounds like you did your best to make the best of it.
Re the train trip. You have indicated that the onboard commentary along the route was good & accurate & I know you are a stickler for accuracy. Did you ever catch them giving you 'information' that differed from what you know? Did they indicate just how proficient Major Rodgers was with his profanities? Are you confident in your level of knowledge that you would be able to catch them if they were feeding you "a line of bull"? |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 27, 2018 21:19:36 GMT -8
Thanks, Mike, for the response. This also confirms (together with what grk said) what I have understood regarding use of the Macdonald tunnel by passenger trains. I assume at Notch Hill you were on the old route, but does the west bound RM use the new track (around the horse shoe)? At Lake Louise you refer to using the 'low track' and by that I assume you mean the old 1885 route. It has a grade of up to 1.8 % versus 1% on the new 1982 vintage "high track" once known as the "Lake Louise Second Main Line". The lower gradient is the reason that all heavy west bound freights are sent up the "high track". I assume that the RM never uses that track as they would miss the station at Laggon (aka Lake Louise). And then there is the weather ... It can make or break the trip of a life time. Sounds like you did your best to make the best of it. We took the old non-horseshoe track at Notch Hill. I didn't ask if they use the horseshoe when going westbound. For Lake Louise, yes I meant the "station track" by calling it the low track. When we were parked at the station, the new 1982 track was beside-above us. For the weather, it thankfully didn't impact the train days. And for one of our Calgary days, we needed a "catch up on rest" day, and so a cold rainy Calgary day didn't impact us. On the day that we went to Calgary Zoo, it had warmed up to +8 degrees. |
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Post by Starsteward on Sept 28, 2018 9:26:34 GMT -8
Thanks, Mike, for the response. This also confirms (together with what grk said) what I have understood regarding use of the Macdonald tunnel by passenger trains. I assume at Notch Hill you were on the old route, but does the west bound RM use the new track (around the horse shoe)? At Lake Louise you refer to using the 'low track' and by that I assume you mean the old 1885 route. It has a grade of up to 1.8 % versus 1% on the new 1982 vintage "high track" once known as the "Lake Louise Second Main Line". The lower gradient is the reason that all heavy west bound freights are sent up the "high track". I assume that the RM never uses that track as they would miss the station at Laggon (aka Lake Louise). And then there is the weather ... It can make or break the trip of a life time. Sounds like you did your best to make the best of it.
Re the train trip. You have indicated that the onboard commentary along the route was good & accurate & I know you are a stickler for accuracy. Did you ever catch them giving you 'information' that differed from what you know? Did they indicate just how proficient Major Rodgers was with his profanities? Are you confident in your level of knowledge that you would be able to catch them if they were feeding you "a line of bull"? I wonder how much 'bull' we've all heard from tour guides in our travels which may have taken us to all corners of the globe and also on sightseeing trips we have taken with family and friends around our local communities? A couple of summers ago a friend of mine was visiting from Sydney Australia and in addition to driving all over Metro Vancouver in my car, I decided we should do one of the local city tour excursions offered by one such tour company, who indicated on their brochures that the tour would feature commentary on both historical and present day projects that we would encounter, or so they said. Rule # 1. Don't try to 'B.S.' a native Vancouverite! I have no idea from what play book the driver/commentator was using during the tour, but the narrative was chock-a block full of inaccuracies in relation to some historical facts and present day projects etc. I was only too happy to set my friend straight as to the errors in the narrative and upon leaving the bus at the end of the 90 minute tour, I had but one question for the driver. I asked him how long he had lived in the city to which he replied, six months! Gheesh! I would have thought that the company would have better prepared their employee to deliver better service than what was delivered however it does make one wonder how much 'B.S.' we all been fed when we've travelled abroad and been no the wiser? Doing a little bit of research on the locale to which one is travelling is one small way of maybe recognizing whether or not you are receiving the 'real-macoy' when spending foreign currency on tours etc. One little piece of research that I would highly recommend. Please take the time to be able to recognize and identify the national flag of the country which you are visiting. While taking a wee fresh air break on the prom deck of the 'Queen of Prince Rupert', I wish I'd had a buck for every time I was asked: 'what's that there flag hangin' from that pole? and that from folks who should have known better eh?  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 28, 2018 9:58:05 GMT -8
Re the train trip. You have indicated that the onboard commentary along the route was good & accurate & I know you are a stickler for accuracy. Did you ever catch them giving you 'information' that differed from what you know? Did they indicate just how proficient Major Rodgers was with his profanities? Are you confident in your level of knowledge that you would be able to catch them if they were feeding you "a line of bull"? The only quibble that I had was that they pronounced the Patullo Bridge as "Patilla." Other than that, it was all good and accurate. No mention of Hells Bells Rogers, but a good explanation of the Rogers Pass avalanche tragedies that prompted the construction of the Connaught Tunnel. They also did a good explanation of directional-running in the canyon corridor. It was good and informative. My only area of non-expertise was on the salmon species, regarding which grows the largest. They also explained the Kokanee salmon at Eagle River. They didn't butcher any of the facts. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 28, 2018 10:07:21 GMT -8
A few photographs from the first segment of my Rocky Mountaineer trip: Departing the Vancouver station, near the Terminal Avenue railyard (there must be a name for this small yard)  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Passing by rail cars in the CN Thornton Yard in Surrey:  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr These photos give you an idea of the visibility from within the SilverLeaf (2nd class) rail coach. |
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 28, 2018 10:18:58 GMT -8
I borrowed the expression "line of bull"from my Dad. He was fond of that. He has been gone now for 15 years ...
Once upon a time (1987) I did that Maligne Lake tour boat thing in Jasper. I know that LLM has done that too. There was a young college student delivering a prepared spiel all the way down & back up the lake. My father's expression fits really well to that spiel. Though it was not all 'bull', enough of it was. The real problem for me is that 99.9 % of tourists will never know that they are taking in a "line of bull".
Regarding the "Patilla" Bridge. Its pronounced "Pay-toll-ah", or at least that is what my mother says it was called back in the 1930's when it was new and there was then steep tolls (for the time) to use it. It was named for BC's once-upon-a-time Premier, Duff Patullo, who was also MLA for Prince Rupert.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 28, 2018 16:10:20 GMT -8
Video #1 in my Rocky Mountaineer route series:
Vancouver Station to Mission Bridge.
Highlights are the New Westminster Bridge and the Mission Bridge.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 29, 2018 15:28:09 GMT -8
Here are some more photographs taken from on board the eastbound Rocky Mountaineer. These are from the time between Mission BC and North Bend. September 18, 2018: Crossing the Harrison River at Kilby  C0009T01 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr North side of the Fraser, somewhere east of Agassiz  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr What it's like when we travel through a tunnel  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Hell's Gate (no, not the stern-door of the Northern Sea Wolf)  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr ----------- |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 29, 2018 16:24:14 GMT -8
Here is the Mission to North Bend video. The highlight for me are the Fraser Canyon tunnels.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 1, 2018 16:03:57 GMT -8
The CPR line at Cisco, seen from a SilverLeaf coach on the Rocky Mountaineer: This was one of the trip highlights for me. Approaching the pre-bridge tunnel:  C0033T01 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Onto the CPR bridge:  C0035T01 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr The CNR (originally Canadian Northern Pacific, when built in 1914) bridge  DSC07244 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr The link to the CNR line, just north of the bridges.  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 1, 2018 19:14:45 GMT -8
My video view from the portion of the Rocky Mountaineer journey from North Bend to Basque, along the CPR Thompson Subdivision.
- afternoon of September 18, 2018, eastbound:
The bridges at Cisco (south of Lytton) were a highlight of my trip.
Wett Coast told me a few years ago of the connection between the CPR and CNR tracks, just north of the Cisco Bridges. So my video shows the spot where the tracks join. This is an example of the interesting route items that I was looking for.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 2, 2018 19:25:11 GMT -8
Here are some photos from along the Thompson River on CPR tracks, an area that many of us are familiar with: Near Nicomen, along Highway 1, south of Spences Bridge.  C0038T01 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr --------- The beauty of the Thompson  C0043T01 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr For good views, a single-level SilverLeaf coach was fine. No need to spend more on a GoldLeaf double-decker coach. ------------------ The old bridge supports at Spences Bridge  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr South of Martel. The area to the left of the hill (along the highway) was where Paolo had his fruit stand (an old business, no longer there)  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr The man sitting in front of me is Jack. He's from Orlando.  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr  . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr The old church at Pokhaist, north of Spences Bridge  DSC07331 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr - from on board Rocky Mountaineer SilverLeaf, eastbound on September 18, 2018. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 3, 2018 7:31:50 GMT -8
Rocky Mountaineer trip from Basque to Kamloops, along the CN Ashcroft Subdivision.
For me, the highlights are near the start of this video:
- the switch from CP to CN tracks at Basque
- Black Canyon (Thompson River) with the bridge into the tunnel
Battle Bluffs tunnel along Kamloops Lake is also fun to do and watch.
- afternoon of September 18, 2018
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This completes 4 of 7 videos in my Rocky Mountaineer trip series. Items 3-5 will be on CP tracks from Kamloops to Banff.
I've presented these videos in the style that I like, for people like me. ie. Lots of detail and a focus on the railway way-points and landmarks.
...not a quick summary review.
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?? I suspect that RCP is on his "bucket list".