Cross Canada 2024 Part 2 - To Winnipeg, and across the prairies to Edmonton

Part 2: to Winnipeg, and across the prairies to Edmonton! 

Skyline café - morning refreshments, and Northern Ontario views

Day 2: Waking up on the Canadian…

After our first rather full day on board, we enjoyed a comfortable but only moderately restful night. Neither my brother nor I were quite used to the moving train yet, but this would be the only one of our 8 nights on board that we had any difficulty sleeping. 

We awoke to a sunny morning, and got ourselves pulled together to head to the dining car. Breakfast is offered on a first come, first-served basis, starting at 6:30am local time and with a last call around 8:30am. We already had our lunch and dinner reservations for the early sittings (11am/5pm), which we had made in the dining car the day before. So we wanted to make sure to get to breakfast at a reasonable time, with hope we might be hungry again by lunch!

In addition to the full breakfast service in the dining car, there are a variety of muffins, pastries, fruit, and juices available in each of the sleeper Skyline cafés through the morning.

Skyline B schedule for the day - note the mix of activities between the dome and the "game room" (café) downstairs. 

As we headed to the dining car, we noted that the train was stopped around Nakina ON. There were a few forward and backward movements, and we weren’t clear exactly what was going on. Soon, though, we would learn that we were stopped due to a passenger having a medical emergency on board. An older gentleman was carried off the train in a wheelchair, and loaded into an ambulance that was waiting nearby. I hope he was okay. It is an unfortunate reality of these long trips, that sometimes folks will have emergencies along the way – and depending on where that happens, it can be a pretty scary situation.

Nakina, where we were stopped for a good while in the morning.

Our first breakfast on board was excellent. As usual, I’ll let the photos tell the story. I found my preference most days was for the sweet breakfast options, and they are exceptionally well done – but there is variety for personal tastes.

Breakfast menu cover.

Breakfast menu - the omelette option changes every day, and I neglected to note what each one was. There was also some flexibility - for example, one day was ham and cheese, and some passengers we were eating with asked about leaving out the ham, which was no problem. 

Sweet waffles - my choice, and a good one!

One version of the transcontinental, with poached eggs and sausages.

We departed Nakina at 8:37am, and were at Auden at 9:48am. We would have a meet at Pascopee at 11:35am, a stop at Collins at 11:54am, and no stop at Savant Lake at 12:58pm.

Through the morning, we spent a lot of time in the Skyline dome. We missed many of the morning activities, but the afternoon included a Canadian trivia game, and between us we managed to win – with a prize of a couple vintage VIA postcards to take home.

The daytime setup of our open section, with our various belongings around. The attendant has to make up the beds each day, so making sure to have your things organized in a few bags is always a good idea!

Another look at the open sections, with one down the hall still in night set-up. The berths are supposed to be made up by 10am each day, but on special request they can sometimes be left as beds (e.g. when someone is feeling unwell). 

We went off for our lunch at 11, and once again enjoyed our respective choices thoroughly. We also encountered our first lunch dessert with multiple options – a chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream, or (the most popular option), both.

Lunch menu - note that the options follow a similar trend from the previous day, but are all different. The VIA logo-covered book to the left is my trusty journal, which now contains notes from two cross-Canada trips. 

Tomato vegetable soup. 

The falafel pita - my lunch - quite nice, though a bit messy. 

The beef burger, which was a popular option around the table. 

Brownie and ice cream for dessert. Very dense, but excellent!

At CN Fowler, we passed some sort of sprayer train, I presume for weed control. Then, at CN Ycliff (mile 100.5 on the Allanwater Subdivision) we would meet the eastbound Canadian, train #2 at 1:50pm. This would have departed Vancouver on the previous Friday.

Meet with some sort of sprayer train (likely weed control?) at Fowler.

Meeting train #2! The consist was an identical mirror of ours, but with only two units.

Slow meet - we were stopped, and the other train slowed down to a stop as well - apparently we were passing some things over between trains. This seems to be somewhat common, as a way to shuttle supplies midway between major servicing stops. You'll also note the steady accumulation of bugs on the forward dome windows...

Dome to dome! Heavy tinting makes it hard to see in, but we could spot other folks waving back. 

It's hard not to just keep taking more and more photos during a meet like this. So much stainless steel in the middle of nowhere.

And there she goes, with another day to go until Toronto. 

Through the afternoon, I spent a while catching up with Jason – and we made a point to get a photo for the blog!

Tim and Jason - unfortunately I forgot to bring one of my (many) VIA shirts, but I did have an appropriate hat!

At one point we also filmed a quick video for the VIA HistoricalAssociation (VHA), because really, what could be a more appropriate plug than members of that group riding VIA’s living history? If you’re not already familiar with the VHA, you should check it out and consider making a donation. The group is currently focused on assembling and restoring a full train (yes, you read that right) of historic VIA equipment, with the goal of having a heritage train ready for operation to mark VIA’s 50^th anniversary in a couple years’ time. The work is going well so far, but we can always use support to help make it happen!

One thing we talked about quite a bit was the future of VIA’s long distance equipment. Thanks to a funding commitment in the 2024 federal budget, VIA will be launching a formal procurement shortly to replace their entire long distance, regional, and remote fleet. That means all of the classic 1950’s era equipment used on the Canadian and other regional trains, as well as the Renaissance equipment on the Ocean. This replacement is of course badly needed, as you can’t keep running 70+ year old equipment in day to day long distance service for ever. VIA has done an amazing job of rebuilding and refreshing this equipment, but without a new fleet, they are moving toward the days when they’d have no choice but to scale back or entirely curtail service.

The new fleet order is expected to procure equipment for service starting in the early 2030s, with full replacement by 2035. The new fleet could bring a lot of really welcome changes: more accessible space for passengers with mobility needs, modern amenities (like power outlets everywhere on the train!), and systems that are generally more efficient and reliable (and not dependent on sourcing parts that have been out of production for half a century!). But there is also a risk they may not be able to capture the essence of what makes these long distance trains so nice to ride. Jason spoke extensively of his experience with more modern sleepers in Europe, which lacked a lot of the comfort and carefully considered design choices that made these sleepers hold up so well. And there’s also the issue of observation cars and lounges – will the new equipment offer anything nearly as nice as the Skylines and Park cars, especially with the forward and rear dome views?

Hopefully, VIA will be mindful of these items, and incorporate passenger feedback in the new designs. But two things are clear at this point: first, if you want to ride the classic equipment, get out and do it soon – time will be running out before long; and second, if you have thoughts about features that are important for new equipment, take every opportunity to fill out VIA’s passenger feedback forms, and take the time to write/email them with your thoughts.

Okay, back to the trip!

Beautiful skies and lakes in Northern Ontario.

More Northern Ontario scenes - some people think this part of the trip is boring. Sure, it takes a long time to cross, but what's wrong with views like this?

The Skyline domes are normally a busy place, but they fluctuate a lot through the trip. People spend some time here, then go elsewhere, for meals, etc., so with patience it's always possible to eventually get a seat. I snapped this photo during one of the unusually quiet times!

We arrived at Sioux Lookout around 2:40pm. This is one of the longer stops, and one where some people often make a quick dash over to the convenience store in town to grab snacks. Due to our late running, we were informed it would only be a 15 minute stop. Some people still made the run (likely not advised!). It was hot and humid outside, but nice to get off and stretch. After about 15 minutes the engineer sounded a quick blast on the horn, and the all-aboard call came. Back on board, we were underway in short order.

Sioux Lookout. 

One of our Skylines - 8509, Skyline A - it could use a retouch of the blue stripe, but the interior was in pretty nice shape. 

Layers of history: the ghost VIA logo is a remnant from an earlier iteration of the VIA scheme, before they moved the logo placement on this car. Less obvious to the casual observer is the series of old rivet holes, which are remnants from where the original Canadian Pacific beaver shield was attached when the car was brand new in the 1950s.

Varied VIA logos. Note the variation between the logo on Bell Manor, left, and diner York, right. It appears that York got a logo that was intended for one of the various cars featuring teal or grey window bands, as it features the white text that is meant for application on a dark coloured car. York also shows off a fresh blue stripe from its recent refurbishment.

Sioux Lookout, into the weeds.

Shortly after leaving Sioux Lookout, crossing at Iron Bridge. 

Lac Seul Floating Lodges, not far past Sioux Lookout.

More lake views. 

About as relaxing as you can get for an afternoon. Some might prefer to be on the lake, but no complaints about being on the train.

That afternoon we spotted our first tunnel! There would be several on this stretch, and many more of course when we’d get into BC in a couple days’ time.

Tunnel! These are hard to photograph...

Okay, that's the better way to do it - short tunnel, looking back. Lots, lots more of these to come (and much longer ones too!)

I haven't been able to show much of the rest of the accommodation types, so here's a quick glance inside a bedroom - specifically, the coveted bedroom "F". Originally sold as a compartment and now just marketed as a regular bedroom (er..."cabin for 2"), there's a significant amount of extra room between the chairs/bed and the opposite wall. 

We made our way to the early supper call at 5, hardly ready to eat again, but still looking forward to it! At dinner, our crew made our reservations for the next two days – with the crew change at Winnipeg, we would have a whole new group covering the dining car that day, so the outgoing crew was getting us set up in advance.

Dinner menu. Again, same types of options, but all different from the day before. 

Tomato bisque. Good, but not actually as good as the one on the Ocean. 

Potato-crusted cod - simple, and spectacular. The fish was cooked absolutely flawlessly. The plating makes the piece of fish look smaller than it actually was. 

Key lime pie for dessert. I wouldn't have guessed that from the appearance, but it sure tasted like it. Tart and refreshing.

After supper, we decided to go check out Skyline A for a while. It was interesting to see the approach of the different attendant/host in that car, who had his own style for his talks. After a while enjoying the view from a different part of the train, we headed back to our more familiar Skyline.

Information board in Skyline A, showing off Nico's different style and artistic talents!

There's a lot more train behind us from up here...

Nice clouds building up. 

I can't ever get tired of views of this train...

Lakes, lakes, and more lakes. 

More Skyline lake views. One note: you can see some distortion on the upper windows from whatever cleaner or surface treatment they use. This isn't generally visible, but it really shows up if you're wearing polarized sunglasses!

A look at our berths made up for the night. This is usually done during the late supper call, so beds are available for those looking for an early night. We would still be up and about for many hours, but there are plenty of places on the train to go if you don't want to settle into bed just yet. The heavy curtains secure with alternating snaps, which make for good privacy and surprisingly effective soundproofing. 

As we headed into the evening, we had made up some time and were looking at a reasonable arrival in Winnipeg. Unfortunately we would end up running into freight congestion, which set us right back to lengthy delays. As we rolled along, the scenery started to change noticeably from the rocky and lake-dotted Canadian Shield, to the flatter, open prairie landscape that would be our views for the following day.

That particular evening also happened to be a notable one for hockey fans. The Edmonton Oilers were facing off against the Florida Panthers in game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. After a rough start, the Oilers had mounted a stunning series comeback, erasing a 3 game deficit with dominating performances to force Game 7. If they could pull off the win, not only would it be a nearly unprecedented comeback, it would also be the first cup won by a Canadian team since 1993.

We realized we would be on the train for the game, and initially it looked like we might be in Winnipeg when it was happening. Unfortunately, thanks to the delays we were out in the middle of nowhere as the game moved along. Cell service is nearly non-existent over much of the train route, so any hopes of keeping tabs on the game seemed slim. I had even brought a hand-held radio, but no luck getting a clear station!

Still, at one point we ended up stopped in a siding where we had juuuust enough reception to connect to the game. Jason and his son Boaz joined us in the Skyline dome, and we managed to watch a few minutes of the third period – enough to see that Edmonton was trailing, and struggling to tie the game up. Alas, the train started moving (just to stop at another siding afterwards), and we lost the signal. So we didn’t get to see the ending, but we knew how it was likely to go. Still, it was fun to be able to connect in for that brief few minutes, and there was something nice in this atmosphere of Canadians (split between Habs fans and Leafs fans) on board the Canadian, trying to follow the final moments of a Canadian team’s shot at the biggest trophy in hockey. And all this with a stunning prairie sunset around us!

Sunset on a radically different landscape from what we saw for most of the day. 

Prairie sunset.

Parting message from Marie-Anna, who would be leaving us in Winnipeg. By this time we were well past that "next stop".

We enjoyed some final hours in the dome as the sun set, and the train finally made its way into Winnipeg at 11:24pm, nearly 4 hours late.

Oh yes – at some point during the day, we reset from Eastern time to Central time, our first time zone change of the trip. A note on time zones: the Canadian crosses through 4 time zones – Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific; but the time on board the train – “train time”, as the crew will call it – doesn’t always change exactly where those official boundaries are located. The crew will inform everyone when the time change is happening, and it is often scheduled to avoid causing disruption to meal schedules. The other quirk is entering Saskatchewan – the province doesn’t observe daylight savings time, so depending on the time of year, Saskatchewan may be aligned with Central time or Mountain time, and this will affect when the time change takes place.

With the late arrival in Winnipeg, we decided not to make use of the long stop, instead opting to head off to bed and try to get to sleep while the train wasn’t moving. One of the attendants was okay to let us step out for a couple minutes for fresh air right on the platform, then we hopped back on. The stop in Winnipeg is a full change of the onboard staff, plus servicing and restocking of the train. Any major issues that had cropped up (like some non-functional toilets in one of the cars) can be tackled as well, with the maintenance crews located nearby. It’s normally a long stop, and passengers can choose to get off and go explore the town; but if you do so, you have to take your ticket, and you won’t be allowed to reboard the train until the official boarding call happens closer to departure. We’ll see a bit more of how this works on the return trip.

Winnipeg, with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (right), and the distinctive Provencher bridge (left).

Winnipeg - CN freights pass on the main to the left, securely separated from the station tracks. Winnipeg only sees the Canadian twice a week each way and the Churchill trains, but the station is busy with servicing work whenever the trains are here.

Back on board. Goodnight, Winnipeg!

So with that, we capped off our second day and first true full day on board, and headed off to bed as our new crew got loaded on and settled in.

Day 3 – Prairie Skies…

What says "Canadian prairies" more than grain trains under wide open skies?

Well, I guess this screams "prairies" too!

We awoke the next morning very well rested, and with beautiful sunny skies out the window, shining over endless prairie in all directions as we neared Melville SK. One thing that helped - ear plugs! VIA will supply these, or you can bring your own if you have special preferences. 

As we made our way back to breakfast, we noticed that Skyline B had been fully decorated for a birthday celebration! A young passenger – Jack – was turning 18, and the crew had let his family decorate the car for the morning to celebrate! They had also headed out during the stop in Winnipeg to acquire supplies, and put together a little party with snacks and treats in the lounge. This was a really sweet gesture, and he was clearly having a blast – and everyone around seemed quite enthusiastic and supportive.

Birthday decor along the hallway in car 16.

The main event! Holy smokes, was that ever something to walk in to. A really fun treat, and for anyone worrying, this was all cleaned up by the afternoon. I don't think a single passenger had anything but nice things to say about this. 

Breakfast was excellent, once again. Are you noticing a trend?

Breakfast options. 

Breakfast in Saskatchewan

Cranberry orange pancakes, with vegan (Beyond) sausages, substituting for the vegan patty. I'll admit, I'm usually more keen to go for savory breakfast options when eating out, but the pancakes on this train are consistently top notch. 

Skyline B, now featuring "Larry!"

We would make it to Watrous at 10:35am, about 2h40 late, and Saskatoon at 12:01pm, about 2h11 late. We made a long stop at Saskatoon, apparently due to some toilet issues in car 31 (one of the Prestige sleepers).

The Saskatoon stop happened while we were at lunch, so we didn’t get out for a walk – but it had turned rainy by then, so we didn’t feel like we were missing much.

At lunch, we were seated in the booths at the rear of the diner, with a couple travelling in Prestige class. It does seem that VIA tends to keep those booths at the rear of diner B for Prestige folks first, then filling the tables from the rear forward, and filling in other sleeper passengers from the front back. Prestige passengers get the same meals as everyone else, though they also have some extra snacks throughout and all alcoholic drinks are included. As much as some folks like to disparage Prestige passengers as some sort of “elites”, I found a real mix in those we met and talked with – many, like this couple at lunch, are fairly average seeming folks who just decided to really splurge on what was to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or something they don’t expect to likely do again. Sure, there are some who exhibit a bit more of the “better than the rest of us” attitude (and we’d meet one or two on the way back), but they are very much the exception rather than the norm.

Lunch menu. Shrimp and scallops made a return, but was again "shrimp and shrimp". There was a soup, but I forgot to take a photo, and couldn't tell you for sure what it was. 

Ginger beef on rice, with potato salad. I'm told this was pretty decent. 

Pulled turkey wrap. The BBQ sauce seemed like it maybe should have been on the wrap, but it was nice to be able to add that and the tzatziki to my liking. The potato salad was quite good too, but I'm always a sucker for that. 

Rainy Saskatoon. The train backs out of the station here, and then runs around the yard. 

Through the afternoon, we spent a long time following a freight train, which we would eventually overtake before Unity (our Unity stop was at 4:23pm, about 2.5h late). There seemed to be an issue at the siding where we did eventually make the overtake, as we stopped for a while and it appeared a crew member was down working on the switch.

We went back to the Park car again shortly after 4pm, noting that most seats continued to be reserved for Prestige, but there was hardly anyone there. Perhaps they found the prairies boring?

At some point we had an interesting meet, where we pulled into a siding behind a freight train, another passed on the main in the opposite direction, and then we backed out to overtake the first freight – another example, it would seem, of creative dispatching. Who says the RTCs don't make some effort to keep VIA moving?

A lot of people talk about the prairies being boring, but honestly, I can’t get behind that. There is something stunning about this landscape where “half the world is made of sky” (to quote a Tom Lips song I alluded to way back in my original 2017 trip report), and there is plenty of variety, as the train winds its way along and the land undulates. There are some impressive trestles too, like one we crossed during supper. The sky cleared up again in the afternoon too, making for some beautiful landscape views.

Grain elevators on the prairies. Now how much more "Saskatchewan" can you get?

Prairies...

The flat topography makes it easy to watch the entire train snaking around in either direction.

Lots of curves keep things interesting. You may spot some wildlife, like coyotes, foxes, bison, and even prairie dogs (if you're looking closely...)

Overtaking a freight.

Park car seats.

Tail-end views...

It's not entirely flat...

Sneaking a photo from the front...lots of reserved seats in the Park. 

Speaking of supper, it was, again, really excellent – and we had some nice company, dining with a mother and daughter from Quebec, who we would see around plenty through the remainder of the trip.  

Dining car, set for dinner. Classy.

Slightly crimped dinner menu. More appetizing options...

Salad to start tonight (soup was still on offer, but I opted against it). The bread option changed after Winnipeg to a more conventional roll. Also, note the more ornate table cloth - we noticed there was a variety of table cloths and napkins that all looked similar, but had some subtle variations. There was even one napkin with a tag for Air Transat - I think somebody at the laundry made a mistake!

Prime rib. There was an option for either potatoes or rice as a side, which was typical most days. 

Heading onto an impressive trestle during supper. The dining car windows are enormous, so you don't miss any views while you eat! This is the Fabyan trestle, not long after Wainwright. We're in Alberta now.

Another view from the Fabyan trestle, over the Battle River.

Dessert - described as a strawberry shortcake, though really more of a strawberry mousse cake. 

That evening, we enjoyed the last stretch towards Edmonton. As we neared the station, which is located just off the CN yard well outside of the city itself, we noticed that the next train #2 (which would have departed Vancouver the day before) was in the station just finishing its stop! We rolled past, and waited for our turn to back in. It wouldn’t be long, as we started rolling back down the west leg of the wye as #2 started out on the east leg. It was very cool to get to watch another of our counterpart trains, and overall pretty good timing for us getting into the station without much delay. We arrived properly at 10:14pm.

Berths made up for the night. The ladders tuck up like this to allow easier passage, but can be angled out for easier climbing. The overhead lights will be dimmed as it gets dark. 

Bird on the roof! A redwing blackbird considers hitching a ride, though he'd take off before we started moving. 

Sunset crossing the North Saskatchewan River, nearing Edmonton.

Plenty of freight traffic, nearing Edmonton.

Edmonton! With the location of the station, this is about as close as we'd actually get to the city centre. 

VIA #2 prepares to depart from Edmonton, as we roll by in the yard. 

Away they go! As we start to back down the west leg of the wye, #2 heads out on its journey east. Like the previous #2 we passed, this is a mirror of our consist (all 3 sets in operation at any given time are generally identical, aside from deadhead equipment), and again with just 2 units. 

Coaches on #2.

One of the sleeper Skylines on #2.

Prestige Chateau and Park car bringing up the tail end. 

Edmonton is also a longer stop, and there is an option to leave and reboard (though with a warning of a need to go through security, a unique feature in Edmonton), but there was also an option to just stay on the platform. There is nothing even remotely close to the station, so it isn’t that appealing to go off exploring on foot.

We enjoyed some time stretching out legs on the platform, and it wouldn’t be too long before we reboarded. Despite still being somewhat behind schedule when we arrived, we would depart right at midnight, putting us back exactly on time. The padding in this schedule is really considerable, and by using that along with shortening some of the longer stops, it is very much possible to erase long delays. In our case, we went from over 4 hours late earlier in the trip to back on schedule leaving Edmonton.

Edmonton station. 

Near the head end on our train - one of our refurbished coaches, again with the unusual white lettering I noted earlier. 

Departures from Edmonton, a long way from downtown Edmonton...

The Park car - hard to imagine a more perfect tail end for a passenger train than this.

As we made our way out of the city and finally in the dark (the long twilight at this time of year was remarkable!), we headed off to bed once again. We knew the next day would be an absolute highlight, with our arrival into Jasper scheduled for 6:30am, and a full day through the mountains and more ahead – so we made a plan to get up early, and settled in to rest up.

Anothe random onboard shot, this time in the hallways of a Prestige Chateau sleeping car. Nice padded walls for when you get jostled around.

The takeout/bar area under the dome in a Skyline. This is where the attendant works out of, and will sell drinks throughout the trip. In the Economy Skyline, all takeout food service is handled here. 

Skyline at night. The views are great with the dome lights off, but the light from downstairs can sometimes be a little distracting. It's also just hard to get photos in the dark on a moving train! Better to just enjoy the views.

In the next part, we’ll wake up as we enter Jasper National Park, and make our way across the mountains, down through the canyons, and into our final evening and arrival into Vancouver. Until then…

Platform lights in Edmonton accentuate the sunset light. This photo was taken at 10:42pm! Really tells you something about how late it stays light this far north, at this time of year...