Early motorcoach transfer from our Vancouver hotel whereby all luggage is taken care of and loaded onto the train.
As the Rocky Mountaineer Station is separate to the Pacific Central Station where we arrived at from Seattle, this is the train’s departure point from Vancouver.
Light refreshments are served with a pianist playing a number of favourites for the passengers whilst waiting to board at 7:30 am.
This would have to be one of the most photographed and well-documented luxury trains in the world.
A Scottish Bagpiper gives us a hearty welcome.
The face of lovely Enzina tells us she’s ready for the whistle to blow and let’s be on our way.
Here with Steve Farrelly, our National Sales Manager for Rocky Mountaineer. This is the second day of our Coastal Passage journey and it’s definitely worth the long-haul trip from Australia.
Just a starter for breakfast …
Bye Vancouver, was fantastic and enjoyed every minute of being there, but we’ve some more sightseeing to do and a train ride to enjoy.
Still early in the day and the scenery is stunning.
As there is a vestibule at the end of the Gold Leaf carriage, photographs are uninterrupted with a clear outlook and no glass reflections to worry about.
At Cisco Crossing, CP and CN tracks swap sides of the river. The CN line crosses first on an distinctive arched orange-painted girder bridge, the CP tracks then crossing in the opposite direction on a squared-off black steel bridge lower down on the right.
We’re starting to climb now and before our eyes, the landscape is changing dramatically.
We’ll also follow a number of rivers over the duration of the day.
We’re not even in the last carriage for us to be able to watch the front engine going through a myriad of tunnels.
On the other side of the river, often seen are freight trains and it feels like we’re in a race!
This legendary route along the Canadian Pacific track is famous for uniting the country and connecting British Columbia to Canada over 125 years ago.
We’re just on the outskirts of Kamloops now where we’ll have an overnight stay.
Buses are already waiting to take all passengers to their respective hotels with rooms already pre-assigned and keys given prior to check in.