PICK A TRAIN, ANY TRAIN - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 307

While the cross-country Canadian passes through the resort town
of Jasper in the Rocky Mountains, this train originates there on its
westbound trip to Prince Rupert on the Pacific Coast. I've used the
word spectacular in describing a number of these train rides, but
the word certainly applies to the area surrounding Jasper. It's well
worth stopping here for a few days. From Jasper, the train heads
northwest through the mountains, crossing into British Colum-
bia and stopping for the night at Prince George, which is about
halfway through the train's journey. There are no sleeping cars
on this train, so passengers spend the night here in one of several
hotels. There's more marvelous scenery the next morning when
the train is underway again and meets the Skeena River, which
it follows all the way to the Pacific Ocean and Prince Rupert, its
final destination. In the busy time of year, from mid-May to late
September, VIA adds additional cars to the train's consist: a Park
car and a Panorama car, which has glass windows for the sides
and the roof of the car. There's no better way to take in all that
breathtaking scenery. There's also a “touring class” option during
those months, which includes the cost of meals in the fare.

Victoria-Courtenay (198, 199)

Stops:

Victoria, Courtenay

Frequency:

Daily (slightly different schedule on
Sundays)

Distance:

140 miles

Duration:

4¾ hours

Equipment:

Self-propelled rail diesel coaches

At about 300 miles long, Vancouver Island is the largest island
off the North American Pacific coast, and this train is an excel-
lent way to see a good part of it. In fact, very few train rides
pack as much fabulous scenery into such a short period of time
as this one does. The train leaves the town of Victoria and passes
through some heavily forested areas before beginning to climb up