Canadian Rockies Tour

A bunch of 5 of us from work just had 10 days out in Canada, there were supposed to be 8 but 3 dropped out due to Ops and injury so that was a ominous start and it meant train watching was a bit more restricted as we only had one car rather than 2. We had fun anyway and we even converted a non-believer who went home with an AC4400 model in his suitcase

Vancouver yard switchers, a pair of SD40-2's

The original Canadian Pacific station which now only gives access to the metro trains.

The CP yard in Vancouver from the lookout tower, notice the container terminal in the background where the SD40's were shuttling trains to.

The other pair of switching SD40-2's from the lookout tower

Well after a couple of days of being a normal tourist and a trip to Vancouver island to play trains on two garden railways with friends met on the net we resumed some train watching.

We were travelling from Vancouver to Revelstoke so waiting time was a bit limited and we missed seeing trains at the famous Cisco bridges but of course saw tehm just before and 10 minutes after leaving!

The Fraser river canyon has Canadian Pacific on one side and Canadian National on the other and they swap sides at Cisco Bridges.

Saw lots of trains from the car but glimpsed between the trees.

CN freight at Cisco just missed it over the bridges.

The bridges

Kamloops, we didn't stop so these are all grabbed through the windscreen (trying to do 400 miles in a day has definite disadvantages)

This is how several came out!

Front and rear of the first coal train

another one

Finally something on the move

Field, another 4 GE's start a long mixed manifest train up the hill towards the tunnels.

The Spiral Tunnels near Lake Louise, We got delayed and missed the train above sightseeing and didn't see a train here despite waiting 40 minutes then saw one two miles down the road The tunnel mouth is just visible in this photo

There is a plastic train on this model of the tunnels though, the show in the viewpoint was 3 feet deep and one of our party sank up to the jewels and then put the aircon on to defrost in the car

Now a diversion up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper, no trains but spectacular scenery

Jasper, Now in CN territory. Quick shot after emergency stopping the car

rolling into town

mid train helper

VIA rail Passenger train, they were cleaning the Dome Car with a cherry picker

Yard switcher

Stuffed and mounted outside the station, there's an excellent little gift shop here in the station, books, models and souvenirs

Precipitation at Night

Next morning and the weather has improved so I spent two hours watching trains in the yard.

More natural grunt back on the icefield parkway heading back to Banff and CP's territory

30 feet from the car and he couldn't care less

North of Banff on the Bow River Parkway

Storm Mountain layby, a very rapid mixed train passes

Morants Curve, named for the CP's company photograher in the 50's and 60's, on the Bow River Parkway a couple of miles south of Lake Louise

approaching from the left

powering into the curve itself

mid train helper

on the rear, the layby is just out of shot to the right.

Lake Louise station

old cars used as a restaurant in the summer

Track maintainers rorail pickup

Two Jack lake

Bankhead just south of Lake Minnewanka, an old mine compressed air loco amongst the foundations of the old mining community

Back to Banff station

and it looks like a train is due as the rorail is wating

horns blaring

and that's it for a few hours as the maintainers get in

Despite this clear signage . . . .

they still have a tresspass problem

another rorail truck

so we decided to have high tea at the Canadian Pacific Banff Springs Hotel, very posh

CP Beaver in stone

the view from the river below

Caught the Rocky Mountaineer dropping off back at the station

the light was on the wrong side so lots of flare

and as it departs this storms through on the loop

Final day and Calgary

The Calgary tower

Vertigo?

good views of them putting in a bridge to remove a level crossing, the diversion fill is on the right

Outside CP's Headquarters a couple of blocks down from the tower

and the transit system

Canada is superb although a lot of the lakes were frozen over there weren't many tourists as a result this early in the year so it was very pleasant. Note if you are visiting a few places and machines don't accept debit cards so make sure you have a credit card with you. We made sure to pull out enough cash to cover food and fuel between us just in case we found somewhere that didn't.

If you are in calgary then look out Trains and Such if you fancy a souvenir, (be prepared to throw away all your clothes if you like HO models ) super range and very friendly service.

I downloaded the Tom Tom app for US and Canada before I went, it's often discounted to £25 so keep an eye on it for a few months prior to going, It worked very well though it lost GPS a couple of times in the city around skyscrapers and in the tight parts of the Fraser river canyon due to poor view of the satellites.

John

Yes it is the last steam loco as you mentioned, plonked right outside their HQ and looks well preserved. I didn't photograph the info boards unfortunately but I did remember that bit.

The Mountain at Jasper is a little more weathered but still looks in pretty good nick although most of the valve gear is missing.

To the end of the 50s CPR had 3 4-4-0s for a line in New Brunswick that had very light bridges. They were the last 4-4-0s used regularly by a major North American Railway. These were 29, 136 and 144.

All are preserved. 29 was seriously burned in an enginehouse fire and was cosmetically restored. 136 was used in the TV series The National Dream and is on the South Simcoe railway (currently oos.) 144 is in the museum at Delson/St Constant.

29 was built in 1887.