![“There were people that were very angry," said Joyce Recoskie from Cochrane, Ont., who was travelling to Chilliwack, B.C., with her grandchildren. "They're upset," she said. "They're [like], 'We don't want to go home. This is our holiday, you know.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59a85b6d8419c278e3002b76/1788302238539-K9F5GV9V72DO19F7XK3K/F54E5F1C-BB56-4685-A691-41129EE09E45_1_201_a.jpeg)
"Canadian Rail Adventure - June-July 2026 - 'The Canadian' Train #1 to Jasper until terminated in Winnipeg."
The ca. 1927 Beaux-Arts style Union Station Toronto.
Note the DELAYED DEPARTURE of our train 001. It looks & sounds better in French DÉPART RÉTARDÉ although that didn’t make us feel any better.
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THE SCENIC DOME ROUTE ACROSS CANADA
Poster seen at the Toronto Railway Museum. Photo by Naomi.
In the SKYLINE DOME car it began lovely & innocuously with a nice sparkling wine.
"Step into a golden past aboard VIA Rail’s iconic ‘The Canadian’ train...
......and glide across lake country and the Prairies. Then explore the Rocky Mountain national parks with four nights total in Jasper, Lake Louise, and Banff...
...before concluding your trip in style aboard the Rocky Mountaineer to the beautiful city of Vancouver on the shores of the Pacific Ocean."
Oh that it were to be…
Within three hours the Skyline Dome front window was splattered with bugs.
Despite many long stops, with many maintenance people coming on board, no one cleaned this window.
"SKYLINE SERIES RAILCAR
The Skyline series is a fleet of 18 lightweight streamlined dome-buffet-lounge cars built by the Budd Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1954–55. Via Rail acquired the fleet from the Canadian Pacific in 1978 and the cars remain in active service."
1954-55; perhaps therein lies the problem with mechanical maintenance.
View from the Skyline Dome aboard ‘The Canadian.’
Aboard ‘The Canadian.’
The Skyline Series Railcar Dome.
From the Dome Car on The Canadian.
From the Dome Car on The Canadian.
Milepost - "Though Canada now uses the metric system, the original markers for railroads were in miles - and they still are today. Each line is subdivided at railway division points; these subdivisions are not a standard length, as they were based on the distance a steam locomotive could travel in a day."
From “THE CANADIAN -Yours to keep" VIA Rail Canada, Route Guide Toronto --Vancouver.”
From the Dome Car on The Canadian.
Hornerpayne, "The Geographical Centre of Ontario"
We stopped & were told we could get off, stretch our legs, have a smoke & we’d be leaving in a few minutes. 2.5 hours later we started moving again. No explanation was given.
From the Dome Car on The Canadian.
We saw lots of evidence of beavers but never saw one.
From the Dome Car on The Canadian.
Dawn from our sleeper on The Canadian.
Dawn from our sleeper on The Canadian.
From our sleeper on The Canadian.
We had heard about the Canadian Shield in Halifx.
“…geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrianigneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield
Supposedly we would see a lot of rock in Ontario Province. For a long time this was the only rock we saw. The rocks along the r.r. tracks must have been covered by vegetation.
I love this view seen from the Prestige Lounge of The Canadian at the back of the last car on the train.
Naomi spotted a bull moose along the tracks. I didn’t see it.
We were allowed to enter this lounge after 5:00 PM. I didn’t get to read as we met some really nice folks from Germany. They were also “after five visitors” to the lounge. I was so happy to savor a local dark, heavy beer & good conversation.
Freight cars on a siding. Seen from the Prestige Lounge of The Canadian
Our host at the Champagne Welcoming Soiree told us that we could also access the Prestige Car dome. Not so. We were not welcomed up here. I did snap a photo to show that the Prestige window was as bug covered as our Sleeper Class dome car. Equal opportunity bugs.
Through the bugs you can look to the front of the train & realize how long it was. That was a lot of walking up & down narrow aisles.
After many attempts, I finally got a photo of the freight train locomotive as it was about to thunder past us. Our train shook.
From our Sky Dome car on The Canadian.
Finally the Canadian Shield unveiled!
From The Canadian.
All along the tract were abandoned, in varying stages of neglect & disintegration, electric/telephone? cable poles.
From The Canadian.
Likely nearing the Manitoba Province border.
From The Canadian in Ontario.
So many lakes that I can’t find the name of this one. It’s most likely in Manitoba Province & might be Brereton Lake.
From The Canadian.
Rocks of the Canadian Shield visible after a recent fire.
From The Canadian.
From The Canadian.
All the food we were served tasted as good as described.
The Canadian dining car.
We had the 1st & 2nd lunch offerings.
The Canadian dining car.
The Canadian dining car.
The smoked brisket on rye was an excellent pastrami; as good as any I have ever had.
The Canadian dining car.
Coming close to Winnipeg. Mud Turtle Lake??
The Canadian.
Approaching Winnipeg Railway Station (Union Station).
Ahead on the left, the Canadian Museum for Human RIghts.
The Canadian dining car.
The Canadian dining car.
And we did Enjoy! until…
Our tablemate Paul, from London, UK had this brew.
The Canadian dining car.
Canterbury Park subdivision on the eastern edge of Winnepeg - the beginning or the end.
The Canadian.
The 2003 Esplanade Riel Footbridge & the Canadian Museum for Human RIghts seen from the Provencher Bridge when crossing the Red River into the Forks Area of Winnipeg. From The Canadian.
"NUTTY CLUB - CANDIES -NUTS CAN-D-MAN - FOOD CLUB" - Scott-Bathgate’s designated historic building at 149 Pioneer Ave.
After 120 years, shut down operation in 2023. “Come on out to the store while supplies last,” the post read.
Approaching Winnipeg Union Railway Station.
Downtown Winnipeg from The Canadian Skyline Dome car’s clean rear window.
Platform of the Winnipeg Union Railway Station.
We became very familiar with it.
“VIA Rail Canada has canceled the Winnipeg-Vancouver leg of its flagship Canadian that was slated to arrive in British Columbia today (Sunday, June 28), as well as the return segment to Winnipeg scheduled to depart Vancouver on Monday. The cancellation follows unspecified mechanical problems that plagued the westbound trip and had put the train more than 22 hours behind schedule…
…The train departed Toronto just over nine hours late on Wednesday, June 24. A VIA notice to passengers had cautioned passengers that the train was expected to depart about 4½ hours late because the inbound train had been delayed by a derailment, but mechanical issues extended the delay. VIA said in its statement, ‘Although our teams worked diligently to resolve the initial problem, additional mechanical issues occurred after the train departed Winnipeg. As a result, the train returned to Winnipeg, and the remainder of its journey between Winnipeg and Vancouver has been canceled.’”
We were told we could walk around for a bit…
We stayed near the station.
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Then they told us it would be a while as they waited for a new locomotive. Turned out they needed a 2nd one.
“take a walk to the food hall down by that tower…”
A replacement locomotive.
Maybe we could stay here…?
As you can read on the plaque, the Winnipeg Union Railway station had the same designers as Grand Central Station in Manhattan.
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Well, we got underway during dinnertime. Everyone in the dining car applauded the moving train.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on the Canadian.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on the Canadian.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on the Canadian.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on The Canadian.
Going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on The Canadian.
We were on a siding for a long time & a long freight train zoomed by. We waited for a long time after it had disappeared. This happened every time we had to be on a siding for a freight train. It could be 30 minutes total time just sitting on the siding.
Sunset seen while going forward to the west through Manitoba Province on The Canadian.
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. In our roomette, tucked in our berths at about 9:45 at night, the train stopped & we heard an announcement that we were returning to Winnipeg.
“The train had slipped to 11 hours, 4 minutes behind schedule when it reached Winnipeg, then experienced an extended stop near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. It arrived at Portage la Prairie some 22 hours late, after which passengers were told it would return to Winnipeg.” CBC Newsbreak.
Going backward to the east to Winnipeg on The Canadian.
It was the worst trip as the train took about six hours to return & the car couplings kept noisily banging into each other. Quite irritating & jarring.
VIA Winnipeg Union Railway Station.
While eating breakfast on board, as we arrived in Winnipeg we were told:
“As a result of this incident and the time required to complete the necessary maintenance, Train 2’s scheduled service between Vancouver and Winnipeg on Monday, June 29, has been canceled.”
CBC Newsbreak “VIA said in its statement, ‘Although our teams worked diligently to resolve the initial problem, additional mechanical issues occurred after the train departed Winnipeg. As a result, the train returned to Winnipeg, and the remainder of its journey between Winnipeg and Vancouver has been canceled.’”
“There were people that were very angry," said Joyce Recoskie from Cochrane, Ont., who was travelling to Chilliwack, B.C., with her grandchildren.
"They're upset," she said. "They're [like], 'We don't want to go home. This is our holiday, you know. 'We left school a week early to be able to do this trip.'"
CBC News · Posted: Jun 27, 2026 5:03 PM PDT
Nomi nimbly got us the last two seats on a noonish flight to San Francisco, via Chicago.
We saw more of Winnipeg as we took a taxi to the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.
From the taxi on the way to Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.
"Assiniboia Downs is open year round offering exciting live thoroughbred racing and daily televised racing, 140 VLTs in our licensed gaming lounge & delicious dining….Winnipeg’s best kept event-hosting secret!"
From the taxi on the way to Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.
Snack on United to Chicago.
We got to see Chicago from the air on our way home to SFO.
I had been wanting to see Spike Lee’s “Crooklyn” & finally got the chance. It’s an unusually sweet film about growing up in Brooklyn.
In working to overcome the despondent, disappointed & depressed feelings, once we returned home having no appointments nor obligations, we remained on vacation time. To “lick our wounds” what could be better than a drive to Berkeley, brunch at the Ocean View Cafe &…
…….a visit to Berkeley’s Historic Rose Garden Park.
FAYE was our travel insurance company. It will take more than a brunch & rose garden visit to overcome the disappointing result of our claim. That’s another story other than to advise travelers that we do not recommend this company. In other words, “Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware.”
At the beginning of October we fly to Calgary to complete the trip. This is the part we were most looking forward to, the Rocky Mountaineer train ride through the Canadian Rockies. We’re using a different travel insurance company,