The Canadian

The Canadian train. A transcontinental passenger train serving between Toronto’s Union Station and Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station. A four day long scenic delight for the eyes and soul. Piercing through the heart of what Canada itself has to offer with and without man. Rolling through cities, towns, villages, and green hills, empowering the dream of freedom without meaning. You feel lost in it all, never knowing where exactly on the planet you are. A 4466km journey, approximately 1/9th of the entire planet. The train has been running for many years and between 1955 and 1990, the train underwent numerous changes such as a change of route, previously Toronto to Chicago, a change of name, previously ‘Canadian Pacific Railway’, and a change of operator, ViaRail taking over from the Canadian Pacific Railway company.

I arrived in Toronto late June 2017. As far as big cities go, Toronto has a charm about it that is lacking in most United States cities I have visited (the obvious comparison). Its interesting mix of business and tourism makes it feel normal to walk out of a 65 story office building and cross the street into an old church garden with surrounding street markets and beautiful authentic wall art. A quick visit up the CN tower, trip to Niagara falls, and a wander around Kensington markets left me satisfied with my time in Toronto. Just one last stop, the most interesting water fountain I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

27th of June and I find myself sat in Toronto’s union station at midnight waiting to board The Canadian train. It was scheduled to leave at 9pm, delayed for some reason or another. But finally, we all boarded the train and found our way to a pair of seats each. Stretching out my legs and gazing out the window, I remembered just how much I love rolling along tracks and admiring the world going by. At 1am however, once you leave the city, there’s not much to see. Just a lot of darkness. So I settled into my makeshift bed and drifted off into my first sleep aboard the iron horse that would carry me across the continent.

Waking up the next morning, I noticed a few extra faces aboard, everyone still lucky enough to have twice as many seats as they initially paid for. Wandering through the passenger cart into the next wagon I bumped into the queue for breakfast, piercing through the downstairs viewing area and the stairs leading to the Skydeck, a place I would later spend most of my time. The food aboard The Canadian was surprisingly exceptional and reasonably priced. Each night I indulged into a juicy burger with mashed potato and by morning I feasted on waffles with maple syrup and bacon. Life on the Canadian rails wasn’t too bad. Good food, great views, and as I would soon find out, fantastic company.

Rolling along the rails, you witness nature at its finest. The rolling green plains between Toronto and Winnipeg, the quaint villages and towns dotted along the route, the flawless Rockies striking through the heart of British Columbia. It all creates this incredible natural world dominated by nature and most importantly wildlife. One of my personal highlights from the journey came shortly after passing through Sioux Lookout. We were chugging along at a decent speed after a setback to allow an 80 carriage coal train to pass by. On the left, plains upon plains, on the right, more of the same. We were in the middle of nowhere, or so it felt. After a few moments of admiring the view as far as the eye could see, people began to realize there was not much to see, as the Skydeck slowly emptied. Luckily for me, I can stare out into nothing for hours on end and feel happy and at peace. I looked ahead down the tracks. More green plains but it was now occupied by beasts no larger than ants to my perspective. The train rolled along faster and faster, the ants began to grow, we slowed, they came closer and closer until it occurred to me what these magnificent beasts were. Buffalo. An entire herd in the wild wandering across the plains. Animals I had only ever heard about in the context of their cruel demise at the hands of foreign invaders. History lessons revolving around the lives of these magnificent beasts, the use of each body part for invader and native. And now they were free and wandering, body parts intact and roaming as a pack. I sat in awe as we passed, so much so that it never even occurred for me to take a photo. But just as they appeared, they slowly disappeared into the distance, left to roam free, unharmed and admired. A whirlwind of everything I had ever learned about native America and the destruction of the buffalo flowed through my thoughts and I sat, content, knowing these magnificent animals would live out the rest of their days at peace as they should. I was fortunate enough to spot a single grizzly bear having a swim in a lake somewhere in the Rockies, and that was enough to send me on my way, content.

I’d spent so long looking out of the train window that I never really paid attention to what was inside it. It was in Winnipeg station when I first realized, standing in the queue to re-board the train, everyone was in conversation with others and there I was, standing alone in silence. I hadn’t tried talking to anyone and I realized just how stupid that was. Sure I enjoyed my own company but to share this 4 day pilgrimage and walk away without knowing a single name of anyone aboard would be a new height of ignorance. Still standing in the queue, I noticed two characters running awkwardly back away from the train, perhaps going to grab some last minute supplies for the final half of the journey. I recognized one of them, an Indian guy who had said good morning to me in the breakfast queue on the very first morning. Either way I figured he was as good as any place to start, if I was to make at least one friend on this journey. We boarded and slept. The next morning, I would make the effort. The rails from Winnipeg to Edmonton didn’t promise to provide many new visions of Canada anyway. I could take a break from staring out into the void of the wilderness for a while.

The third day and I sat alone in the Skydeck reading. The two I had spotted in Winnipeg station were playing a game of cards with another pair of passengers. Any confidence I had the day before had shrunken down to make me sit comfortably indulged in my book and appreciate the scenes around me. That is until the Indian guy caught me pondering their game and invited me to play. I happily accepted and joined them as one of the players parted with the group and I filled in his space. Quick greetings, Aseem, the Indian/Canadian Toronto based photographer with a constant bright smile and quirky sense of humour, Mark, English born Irish living gentle soul with a heart of gold, and Ula, a quirky and ever smiling face from the beautiful lakes of Northern Poland. We played cards, shared stories, ate together, laughed together and admired the beauty of Canada together. Four people all aboard this iron stallion for their very own reasons brought together for another. The final two days aboard the train were filled with late nights, howling laughter, great conversation and a few Canadian beers. To share such a journey with complete strangers can build friendships like no others and we ensured that it would not go to waste. All in all, the Canadian train ruined my passion for travelling alone, after I experienced how special it can be to share experiences with others just like yourself.

Our last stop before Vancouver had been Jasper. A unique wooden town with panoramic breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Shops selling all kinds of natural goods, along with the kindest people adorning each counter with an irresistible smile. After a short wander around Jasper, the temptation to stay and abandon my plans aboard the train and onwards caused me to hesitate when the train horn bellowed and called us aboard. The idea of going off the grid for a while with no plans, in this beautiful country with complete freedom to roam and stay where I please lured me in. Often when things are going good, I feel this need to spin it round on its head. Create a new adventure and misadventure along the way. Things shouldn’t always go to plan but sometimes to resist that temptation is adventure in itself, and although you never know what will happen next, its nice to assume you made the right choice anyway. We can’t get it right all the time and anyway, who really wants to?