The Rocky Mountaineer – One of the World Most Iconic Rail Journeys.
I was lucky enough to experience this beautiful trip in both Silver leaf and Gold Leaf.
Day 1 – Vancouver to Kamloops (silver leaf)
After being transferred from the hotel to the station you a checked in at the reception area were your received you Rocky mountaineer lapel pin (the design changes every year).
When the train is ready, the bag pipes start playing by a piper in full Scottish regalia including Kilt and sporran.
Once on board you are shown to your pre assigned seat that are all forward facing, each seat is very spacious and comfortable and has a huge panoramic window.
As the train starts to roll away, a cooked breakfast is served at your seat along to tea coffee and juice.
The train meanders along at a pace that you can take in the sights as you leave the buildings of Vancouver behind, past the suburbs and out to the pasture and farming lands, not long after the landscape changes to running rivers with hills and mountains as the back drop. Fun fact, the rocky mountaineer does not run to a time table and freight trains along the track take priority, this is not a problem as after stopping along in the sidings a few times, lunch is served along with the beer or a choice of wines. If after lunch, if you want to stretch your legs, each carriage in silver leaf has a small vestibule with you can lower the windows and take in the cool fresh air or take a few photos.
The staff use the mile markers along the track to provide commentary via the speaker system on what’s about to come up or an historic event that happened in the area, the driver or the carriages in front also advise if there is any wildlife along the tracks and what side it is so you can take photos, Moose, bears and a variety or birdlife are often seen on the trip.
As evening draws in, you approach the town of Kamloops, everyone disembarks and spends the night in a local hotel, the main reason for this as that the scenery from this point on is spectacular and would be missed in the train continued through the night.
Day 2 – Gold Leaf
Once again a transfer is provided from the hotel to the train. When boarding the Gold leaf carriage, your seat is upstairs where a glass dome greats you giving you an almost 360 view, the upper deck is accessible via approx. a 12 step staircase or a mobility lift for those that may require assistance. The train departs just as the sun is rising, and before long you are invited to Breakfast at the restaurant on the lower deck, breakfast here is ordered from the menu and cooked fresh to order; panoramic windows along both sides of the carriage insures no scenery is missed as the track leaves town, following the rivers into lake country before the ascent into the Rocky’s commences.
The scenery on day two is amazing and gets better with each passing bend. Nothing is missed from either your upper deck seat or the restaurant windows, but Gold Leaf also offers a open sided platform on the lower deck where the air is clean and the photo opportunities are endless as the train crosses mountain ridges, rivers and bridges. The train once again is in no hurry to get anywhere and can slow to a crawl as you pass small townships where it seems the locals love to come out to greet and wave at the passing icon.
Bathrooms in the gold leaf are spacious, clean and accessible, with 3 cubicles available on each carriage. These are located just by the viewing platform on the lower deck and have the bathroom handles and facilities you would expect from any accessibility bathroom.
Lunch is again in the restaurant and is also picked from the menu, finished with and amazing cheeseboard any restaurant would be proud of.
Gold leaf guests also have access to in-seat service with drinks and snacks just a request away.
The rocky mountaineer is not only a journey I recommend, but also one I would do again and again.
