t has all the markings of a five-star hotel – impeccable service, remarkable attention to detail, gourmet food and presentation, incomparable views – but this vacation getaway is hurtling across the Canadian Rockies on train tracks. Welcome aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, traveling from Vancouver to Banff/Calgary and trying very hard to live up to its self-proclaimed designation as “the most spectacular train trip in the world.” I'll go with certainly one of.

Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

There I was, comfortably seated, head back, Bloody Mary in hand, staring through dome-high windows at scenery changing from farmland to lake country, bountiful forests to semi-arid land, deep ravines to towering mountains. I knew then that the books I had brought along for entertainment would never be opened.

Photo courtesy of Victor Block

The two attendants servicing our car, one of about 20 snaking through the countryside, start the first morning off with Champagne and OJ, setting the bar (so to speak) for the rest of the journey. As we toast to scenic vistas and making new friends, attendant Ron proffers Nicorette gum to smokers to ease the trauma of having to do without all day. First impressive attention to detail.

The attendants on board provide colorful and informative commentary during the two-day daylight journey (there’s an overnight stay midway through in Kamloops) on the history, ecology, wildlife and significance of what you’re seeing, most of which, according to Ron, is actually factual. Interpersonal bantering and occasional bad jokes add to the local color.

Lisa Wood and John Bailey from Worcester, England were “very impressed with the knowledge of the attendants. We tried to stump the commentators, but haven’t been able to.” Added Lisa: “There’s something so romantic about the railway -- it held the country together.” Which was literally true of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, upon whose tracks the Rocky Mountaineer rode. CPR, Canada’s first transcontinental railroad, was completed in late 1885. But the motivation to build it impacted our country as well. When Canada became independent in 1867, it consisted of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. To ensure that what remained of the territory did not become part of the U.S., then Prime Minister John Macdonald proposed a railroad connecting the continent. That persuaded potentially fickle British Columbia to join the confederation in 1871 – thereby “holding” the country together.

Let’s be very clear. Meals are important on the Rocky Mountaineer, especially if you’re in the upgraded GoldLeaf service (more on that later). Hot breakfast and lunch, served in the first-level dining room, are accompanied by fine linens and fresh flowers.

Photos courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

The choice of gourmet offerings, as appealing to the eye as the scenery out the window, might include a Wild British Columbia Sockeye Salmon served over a bed of warm local vegetables and tender nugget potatoes, finished with fennel slaw, smoked sea salt and old-fashioned mustard vinaigrette. Or perhaps a slow-cooked Alberta short ribs served with garlic whipped potatoes and seasonal vegetables. A selection of fine wines to accompany the palate-pleasing menu are a given.

“I’ve traveled all over and never encountered this level of service before,” gushed Carl Ricketts from New Orleans. “From the pre-planning to all the explanations to the transport at Kamloops – all so smoothly maneuvered from beginning to end. Not to mention the quality of the food and its presentation.”

During periodic “photo ops,” the train slows to “Kodak speed” – although, I suspect, digital cameras are making that particular reference more and more obsolete. With a wildlife spotting, the word travels the length of the train, and you hope the bison, bear, elk, big-horn sheep or eagle is still there by the time your car arrives at the area of sighting.

The most spectacular scenery reveals itself during the second day. In the middle of lunch, the loudspeaker announced “photo op on the right”; conversation and chewing stopped as everyone lurched to one side to catch a glimpse of your everyday rushing rivulet prancing over rocks though a valley of wildflowers beneath a backdrop of mountains. Oh, that again. A chorus of oohs and ahhs ensued before chomping commenced once again.

Photo courtesy of Victor Block

Be sure to visit the vestibule between railcars to get a much more exquisite -– and personal -- view of the scenic drama unfolding in front of you. The rumbling of the train, the crispness of the air, the immediacy of the mountains make for a far more tangible immersion in the experience.

As Alison Michaelson, from the Channel Islands in England, observed from her vestibule vantage point: “All the senses come together. I can feel the train moving below, listen to the rush of movement and feel the wind against my cheek. It is so much more exciting than sitting at my seat.”

The on-board newspaper -– printed in English, French, Japanese and German –- provides a fascinating alternative should the views outside the windows start seeming redundant. Full of maps, routes, history, anecdotes, photo suggestions and more, it’s like a Rocky Mountaineer primer that parallels the trip – and the history of the railways – mile by mile.

Photo courtesy of Victor Block

Whether you’re reading – or talking or watching – if it’s more than two hours since you last ate, chances are good you’ll be offered some wine and cheese, or perhaps some home-made cookies to tide you over until the next meal. Attention-to-detail option #327.

Such is one of the differences between the GoldLeaf Service and the less-pricey RedLeaf version: there, the cookies are packaged. But there are other more significant differences. The visual expanse of the dome car is replaced with large side windows that stop short of reaching overhead.

The gourmet meals `a table are relegated instead to continental breakfast and a pair of luncheon entrée choices served at your seat. And the open bar now costs $6 a drink. However, the on-going commentary stays the same, and the views outside the windows remain constant for both tiers of service.

And attention-to-detail #328? When stopping at a hotel in Kamloops for the night, passengers receive their keys to the rooms before disembarking so they don’t have to wait on line to check in. And the luggage awaits them in their room. Would that be #328 AND 329?

“The usual expectations of a train is that it takes you from Point A to Point B,” says Guest Services Manager, Shauna Hetherington, who’s been traveling the rails for 6 years. “What happens in between is the adventure. It’s not only the constantly changing views that bring excitement.”

And then she proceeds to tell the story of the past summer when the train all of a sudden slowed down, “because of all things” there was a bull on the tracks, slowly making its way westward. Given little choice, the train followed for 20 minutes. “The crew used Super Soakers to try to move it out of the way, and then we chased it with mops and brooms.”

Apparently, the bull protested but it remained unmoved -- literally. When the trainsfolk got too pushy, the bull reared up –- causing the employees to drop everything and make a quick retreat. The bull finally wearied of toying with the train, and wandered away under its own steam, so to speak. Nine-hundred passengers waved goodbye. Not too many of them are going to forget their trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer!

Photo courtesy of Victor Block

Okay, I didn’t see any bulls along the way -– or any other wildlife, for that matter -– but I did see turquoise glacial waters, waterfalls tumbling down mountainsides, snow-capped peaks rising overhead, my head straining skyward to view them, towering trees in greens and reds and yellows, and rivers and ravines and ravishing vistas.

And I dined as well as at a Michelin 3-Star restaurant, conversed with interesting co-travelers from around the world, and was entertained and educated for two-days as if attending something between a history seminar and a comedy club.

Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountaineer

New for 2012, Rocky Mountaineer has launched their SilverLeaf service, a single-level glass-domed coach offering hot breakfasts and lunches served seat-side. It’s a panoramic-viewing middle ground between Gold- and Red-Leaf options.

Prices for the 2-day train trip from Vancouver to Banff or Jasper, which runs mid-April to mid-October, including overnight accommodations in Kamloops are $789-$979, per person, RedLeaf Service and $1589-$1769, GoldLeaf Service, depending upon time of year; Vancouver to Calgary, $899-$1089, RedLeaf Service and $1739-$1919, GoldLeaf Service. Options for sightseeing at both ends are also available. Prices for the SilverLeaf Service have yet to be announced.

As I said, welcome aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. For more information contact Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (www.rockymountaineer.com) at 800/665-7245.

Related Articles:
Train Travel Through the Canadian Rockies; Western Canada by VIA Rail, Nova Scotia in 4 Days; Vancouver, British Columbia; Victoria on a Whim; Whistler, British Columbia; Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada

(Posted 7-30-2011)