My wife and I are considering taking a tourist train exursion this summer in the Canadian rockies. We are looking at either the Rocky Mountaineer (Vancouver to Banff) or the Whistler Northwind. I would appreciate anyone's opinion (pro or con) on these excursions. Our main concerns are comfort, scenary and food quality Thanks
Greg, welcome to Trainboard! I can't believe no one has answered your inquiry. My only personal experience in Canada was on the Royal Hudson before she quit running, and as far as scenery goes, it was outstanding. I have heard great things about the Rocky Mountaineer and it is on my "to do" list. I don't think you can go wrong with the scenery on either of your choices. Banff and Lake Louise are definite great places to visit.
My apologies for not seeing this thread. Okay - both tours you are looking at are owned by the same company. The Whistler run tour is should be good as I have taken this run on the old BC Rail RDC's that now reside in the states. But you are doing an apples and oranges comparison. If you can do the Canadian Rockies tour, that's the one everyone lusts after. You will see two great areas: 1) The Fraser/Thompson canyon which some feel is even better than the rockies 2) the Canadian rockies. You will be offered a choice, to go to Jasper or Ban ff Alberta. I lived in Jasper at one time so be for warned I am biased in my answer. Jasper is more like a "Rocky Mountain Town" and Banff is more like "a chick downtown area transplanted from the city." For rail fanning while you stay in Jasper or Banff, its no contest; Jasper has the better and larger and busier facilities. Banff streets (actually the sidewalks) can get so crowded, you'll be convinced you were Christmas shopping, the crowds can be that thick. The problem is this: Banff was used a movie shoot location for a Japanese soap shown in Japan. Consequently Banff is on the itinerary of just about every Japanese person coming out to the west coast and travelling inland. There are some Japanese shops where English isn't spoken, and as a non-Japanese person you won't feel welcome. The town is pretty however. What I have written might sound like an anti-Japanese rant, but it isn't. Its just that the Japanese phenomena is so strong in Banff that the crowding can be irritating. As a point of trivia, my grandfather and uncle railroaded out of Jasper, both were engineers on the "Super Continental." Jasper is a "quieter" town, but having said that it is getting busier and busier. So don't go to Jasper expecting a "sleeping hollow." If you can financially swing it, try and stay at the Jasper Park Lodge which is owned and run by Fairmont. This lodge has got to be one of my favourite places to stay anywhere I have been or lived (and coming from a military family, that's saying a lot). You will see a number of pictures of Bing Crosby as it was one of his favourite places to stay and golf. In Jasper you will see more wild life, in particular the "Wapiti" which is elk - they abound every where - in fact its a problem in Jasper right now. But you will see coyote, bear and rocky mountain goat. Jasper has a "substantial" yard for a town of its size. Its a divisional point so it is used quite heavily by CN. Now on to the Whistler tour. This will be the first year it is run, since Rocky Mountain Tours was awarded the contract to run this excursion train. But I am very familiar with the territory as I have rail fanned along much of it. The scenery is beautiful. The line parallels a fjord called "Howe Sound" which ends at Squamish BC. From Squamish to Whistler, you feel that you are in the Canadian rockies as you see numerous mountains. But the drive from my home in North Vancouver to Whistler is only a two hour drive, so I don't know how short the Whistler tour will be. I haven't check it out but the territory North of Whistler is very beautiful, I don't know if the tour goes there. The drive from my front door to Jasper Alberta is about 10 hours. Given my knowledge and biases, I choose the Jasper Rocky Mountain tour out of the three of them (The Rocky Mountain tour in the Canadian Rockies divides and one goes to Jasper and the other to Banff).
OUCH! How did we miss this one... When we were going through some pain in getting to our new servers this one must have slipped though and got out of sight. Look forward to seeing some photograph from your journey.
