Our Love Affair With Trains

Canadians have always had a fascination with trains. As small children, and also as adults, we have waved at every engineer of every passing train, counted all the cars in the convoy and dreamt about riding those rails and never coming back! We’ve told tales of the rails, sung the songs of the steel highways and conjured up all sorts of romantic images, all the while maintaining our desire for the adventure a train trip brings.

Perhaps it's a desire to step back in time to a gentler era when train travel was the best or the only way to get anywhere. Or perhaps we realize that riding the rails is the greatest way to observe at first-hand the people, the places and the things that make a country unique. For over 100 years, the tracks from coast to coast have allowed us to travel Canada and experience the diversity and raw beauty of the Canadian landscape, in any season. Windswept coasts, snow-capped mountains, rugged lake lands, wheat-clad prairies, serene pastures and even the bright lights of the bustling cities await the traveler along the way.

Perhaps our passion for trains grew from our school lessons where we learned about the important role railways played in Canada's history; how the laying of these iron roads welded together a nation and connected the isolated territories of our country. A railway line was like the golden touch – towns grew and prospered, immigrants arrived, employment opportunities increased, real estate prices rose, and industry grew in several towns and cities.

Canada's first transcontinental lines included the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, completed in 1914. Its territory covered the western provinces from Manitoba to British Columbia. The Canadian National Railway Company was established to unite a number of railways that had fallen under Federal Government ownership. Most of these railways had been bankrupted as a result of World War I. The operations of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, the oldest and largest railway company operating in Eastern Canada, came under Canadian National’s operations in 1919.

Historically, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) is perhaps the best-known rail line and its story provides and intricate connection to Canada’s early history. The CPR was formed to physically and politically unite the country, to link the populated centers with the scarcely inhabited, but potentially enormous resources of the West. The CPR, fondly referred to as Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's "National Dream," was founded in 1881 and completed in 1885 when the last spike was driven at Craigellachie, BC. By 1889, the railway extended from coast to coast.

Photo: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Arrival of the great hotels

Dating from the railway era and evoking the elegance and classiness of the golden age of train travel, are the majestic railway hotels that were built across the country by the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National Railways. For their time, these hotels were wonders of construction and engineering. They were built with all the grandeur and amenities available at the time and many were situated in very remote areas surrounded by dramatic scenery. These hotels have become very much a part of Canada's national heritage and identity.

William Cornelius Van Horne, the CPR's colorful first president, was the mastermind behind many of these hotels in Canada. Van Horne was also desperate for ways to reduce the staggering debt that resulted from the construction of the CPR’s mountain rail sections. One plan to boost profits was to take advantage of the public’s growing attraction to wilderness experiences and mountain scenery. ''If we can't export the scenery,” he said, “ we'll import the tourists!”

The early transcontinental train service offered an opulent culinary experience and elaborate dining cars. However, the dining cars were very heavy and proved too much for the locomotives of the day, and when the trains crossed the passes in the Rocky Mountains where some of the grades were very steep, table settings and food left the tables and adorned passengers’ laps.

The guests needed to be fed so Van Horne came up with an answer that marked the beginning of the CPR’s entry into the hospitality industry. Three dining stations were constructed – two in the Rockies at Mount Stephen House and Glacier House and one at North Bend, Fraser Canyon House. These were built in a Swiss chalet style that was all a part of Van Horne's vision of the Canadian Rockies becoming an alternative to the Swiss Alps for tourists.

The dining stations reached their peak at the turn of the 20th century and by 1910 train tunnels had been built through he mountainous regions solving the problem of the steep grades. The Connaught Tunnel took trains underneath the Roger’s Pass, but regrettably also isolated the Glacier House. Mount Stephen House in Field, BC, had the distinction of being the first property in what would become a huge hotel empire and in 1901, famous architect Francis Rattenbury (who was also responsible for the British Columbia legislative buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria) designed a new resort hotel, which was unfortunately demolished in 1950.

Van Horne realized however that there was a need for lodging along the whole route of the C.P.R. He soon had plans to create lavish hotels in other resort areas and in Canadian cities. The first actual hotel constructed by the CPR was the Hotel Vancouver in 1887. The fabulous Banff Springs Hotel, built a year later, was located in the then very remote and unknown town of Banff, Alberta, and to Van Horne presented yet another profitable prospect as the hot springs near the station had great tourist potential.

Other hotels followed, with Chateau Lake Louise in the Rockies completed in 1890 and Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City opening for business in 1893. Van Horne’s plan was in motion. To travel to these luxurious resort destinations, visitors would naturally arrive via the CPR – he had a captive audience!

The contemporary scene

Today, all across Canada the era of luxury rail travel carries on with the first-class transcontinental service of VIA Rail Canada. As well, our rail history is preserved and celebrated in the many museums that display glorious old steam locomotives and classic rail cars, and at heritage attractions that invite the public to enjoy a ride on a vintage train. Many historical railways have sprung up on short rail lines or on sections of abandoned railways.

Other forgotten rail lines have developed into very popular hiking and biking trails, such as the Trans Canada Trail stretching from coast to coast. For the most part, the easy grades of the former tracks provide excellent routes and a means to glimpse into the past and appreciate the tremendous human effort and stamina that went into building Canada’s railways. Most of the majestic hotels of the halcyon days of rail travel still offer a quiet respite and superior accommodation along the route.

Come along and enjoy the comfortable travel, exceptional service and friendly ambiance aboard Canada’s trains. Be a part of it all – close to nature but safe and relaxed, any time of the year. Take a delightful day excursion travels through some of the most beautiful countryside on Vancouver Island. Travel from Canada’s scenic west coast, from Vancouver or Prince Rupert through the striking mountains, scenic interior plateaus and roaming ranchlands of British Columbia to the magnificent Rocky Mountains, across the wide-open prairies and past Ontario’s pristine lakes and forests. Venture north to the land of polar bears and the Northern Lights. Visit central Canada’s exciting cities — Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City.

Explore the charming Gaspé Peninsula and the small villages along the St. Lawrence River. Take a trip to the friendly Maritimes, through New Brunswick to the historic coastal city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wind through Nova Scotia’s rolling hills and delightful seacoast communities from Halifax to the scenic Cape Breton highlands.