The sound of a train – 1

“There’s something about the sound of a train that’s very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful”

Paul Simon

It occurs to me that in the course of these extensive prolixities I must at some point have explained that – during my adolescent years – my family was really quite different to many (if not most) others such. That we did not have a television during the period (the 60s) that that infernal device was the be-all and end-all of many folks entertainment (and indeed, education) is simply down to my father’s notions as to what was (and what was not) good for our minds. That we did not have a car was more prosaic, ruled out by my father’s weak eye musculature (the which resulted from a childhood illness). The thought of my mother in charge of a motor vehicle scares me even now – and it is no surprise that the very notion scared her too.

I do know for sure that I have previously recounted tales of my father’s strong pride in his Scottish ancestry and his desire – just as soon as we young ones were old enough to travel – to visit the land of our forefathers. Such was the draw of the highlands that, for the best part of the next decade, we holidayed nowhere else.

Not driving (and certainly not flying, back in those inceptive days) meant travelling by train. It is a truism that rail travel was somehow more elegant back then. The place settings in the dining cars were of porcelain, damask and silver plate; we slept in bunk beds in twin-berth sleeper compartments, waking in time to see ourselves safely across the border and into our native land.

Further, back in 2016 I wrote the following in a post entitled, “Steam“:

“In a way my first introduction to Canada came through the railway magazines that my father collected from his early life right up until he passed away. I gazed in awe at the black and white photographs of enormous North American steam engines hauling trains of apparently endless length through the staggering Rocky Mountains. I recall also being astonished that there could be a place on this earth called ‘Hope’ – and when it came to spiral tunnels and avalanche sheds… my eyes bulged and my jaw dropped in disbelief! Could I ever hope(!) to see such wonders?”

All this, of course, by way of a fanfare for perhaps the most anticipated part of our recent sojourn in the Rocky Mountains; our train journey from Jasper to Vancouver.

Here be pictures. Enjoy!

This is the Canadian National station at Jasper:

These sights may be seen from the train:  Mount Robson – the highest peak in the Rockies

Pyramid Creek Falls – in the Pyramid Creek Falls Provincial Park

A brief break in Blue River to stretch our legs: