The (nearly) Final Chapter

 The final travel day for our Rocky Mountaineer train trip was to be a challenge for me as the route was identical to (albeit the reverse of) the first travel day. 

We caught the bus to the train station at 7:30 am, as instructed. At 8 am we answered the “All Aboard” call and took our seats in car JA02. The intention was to ride from Kamloops, BC to Vancouver, completing the circuit through the Canadian Rockies. As for tonight’s blog I was reminded of what Mickey Rooney said about his honeymoon night the eighth time he got married: I know what to do but I don’t know how to make it exciting. 

Sure there would be some new pictures, but it was the same set of rails between the same two points as before. Fear not! One thing I’ve heard repeatedly in the 30+ years I’ve known Scott and Bev (granted I’d often uttered the words myself) was that any trip with them will be an adventure! 

A hint of what was to come came shortly after we were seated. It seems that a fire had broken out about 2/3 of the way to Vancouver. The track had been closed for several hours but had been reopened. Furthermore, the safety/fire people from the rail company was continuing to monitor the situation and a “Plan B” had already been decided on, should the fire necessitate closure of the only rail line along the Fraser River. So, all systems were go… until they were not.

To make a long story short, we made it to Boston Bar before being paused. We were told that Canadian National and Canada Pacific had two freight trains set to go through the burn zone as soon as the fire crew gave the go ahead, and we then, after the fire crew reinspected the section, would be allowed to pass through. It was to be 5-10 minutes, then we would be rolling again. Five minutes turned into fifteen, then thirty. Two more freight trains eventually pulled along side us on parallel tracks. The half-hour became an hour, then two, then three. 

Then came the announcement. Due to safety concerns, it was decided to evacuate the train. Ten motor coaches (the Canadian word for ‘bus’) were sent for. To add an element of excitement to the scenario, one of the trains that pulled in alongside our’s was clearly marked “liqued petroleum gas” and carried the emblem for “explosives.”

I’ve often contended that any good organization can look well-oiled when things are going according to plan, but when things need to be done on the fly and venture into uncharted waters, that then becomes the true test of the culture and teamwork needed to succeed. Today was exactly that scenario. When the word was given to proceed with the evacuation, no one panicked, or began to raise their voices, or lose their cool. Ten buses were procured, the train pulled forward far enough to facilitate deboarding, 200+ people got off the train and walked to a clearly marked bus that they had been assigned to, and the buses departed for the (approximate) three hour trip to Vancouver. No one lost their temper and everyone remained calm. They even served an extra round of drinks and snacks once we were underway. When we eventually arrived at our hotel (each bus carried passengers to a specific hotel) our luggage had already been delivered to our rooms, with very few failures.

The hotel, however, was pure chaos, when about 120 people, who all had advanced reservations, showed up to check in at the same time.

It ended up being an adventure after all, one that the four of us will refer to numerous times in the future. It’s been a long day and I’m tired. I will attempt to downloaded photos tomorrow, but right now, it is time to sleep. Good night, and Good Luck.

Some of the aforementioned pictures:

The cliffs along the edge of the Thompson and Fraser River valleys were fascinating, some for their size, some for their shape. These hoodoos were wonderful.

The Rocky Mountains were formed, I am told, primarily by tectonic plate shifting, meaning that, at one time many millions of years ago, all that dirt and rock was on the ocean floor. What fascinates me is the different materials that make up the layers. Here, atop a ridge, we see a thin layer of dirt spread over a thick layer of small, tossed and tumbled, polished and broken, river rocks.

  

Here we see, first from inside our car, then from the outside viewing platform, the locomotive at the front of our train approaching the entrance of a tunnel.

This was fascinating. The Thompson River (bottom of the frame) flows much slower than the Fraser River  (the grayer looking river in the middle of the picture.) The Fraser River flows fast and continuously for over 800 miles, keeping large quantities of sediment in suspension and creating the muddier appearance of the water. At the confluence of the two rivers, shown here, you can clearly see the difference in clarity.

This tributary river flows fast and steep enough that an environmentally unfriendly dam was not needed. A small turbine generator was installed in the stream, producing hydro-electric power without modifying the flow of the river or creating a reservoir.

The Cisco Bridges create a unique situation. The two competing railroads in BC, the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National, both built bridges across the Fraser River canyon. Over most of the run through the canyon the tracks are on opposite sides of the canyon. The two competitors operate the tracks directionally, north bound trains on one side, south bound trains on the other with the aid of a traffic coordinator. This allows them to navigate the canyon without having to sit on a siding while allowing another train to pass through.

When we reached Boston Bar we were told that we had to sit and wait on a siding while first a freight train passed through an active burn area at Yale, just south of our position, then a fire crew would reassess the safety concerns of all stakeholders. At first it was said this might create a 15 minute delay, but when the delay reached about three hours, it was decided that the safest and quickest route to Vancouver would be by bus.

Our “neighbor” on the adjoining track at Boston Bar. Eventually, two other freight trains pulled into the yards, one of which pulled cars labeled “Liqued Petroleum Gas” (their spelling, not mine).

After the decision was announced, it took another hour for the buses (ten of them) to arrive.

They deboarded over 200 passengers as well as the entire service crew of the train, assigning everyone to buses based on where their hotel reservations for the night were to be. 

As I mentioned above, the staff was amazing, getting everything and everyone of the passengers organized  while maintaining both control of the situation and a positive attitude. The two most senior staff members ended up on our bus, Jenna and Ewen. It would have been easy for them to get the buses on the road, then check out mentally, figuring their work was done. But neither of them did this. They passed out water and snacks to all who wanted such, and Ewen even took to the microphone and continued his narration of the trip into Vancouver, enlightening us with stories of towns, and people, along the way.

Ewen, pictured here, as he handed out hummus (seriously) to the passengers of bus #2. He was still smiling after a long day with many surprises and changing plans. He had been our host for the previous two days, and we had come to know him and depended on his wit and wisdom in all matters.