Jasper to Winnipeg

 One is very concious of the economy of every part of Canada as we train accross the county. In Alberta you see oil rigs and cattle. We went through Edmonton in the night. The train seemed to wait a long time there. 

The number of trains travelling in each direction is amazing. It is almost non-stop. There are trains with lumbar, trains with oil, trains with Potash, trains with cereals and then trains with just containers which will have all sorts of consumer products in them. The VIA rain trail has to wait frequently on a siding while these trains pass in either direction.  

The VIA rail crew changed in the night while we were asleep..

The train had 24 carriages, 32 staff and about 150 passengers. It was build in 1956 and there are parts of it which seem antique. One evening we visited the Premium or Prestige section at the back of the train. It had a caboose with a view of the rails astern as the train was travelling. It had been ungraded inside since 1956.  We later learned that those travelling in Prestige  had booked nineteen months before.  

I have been unable to post due to no WiFi. Now we have WiFi on the train from Toronto to Ottawa. We did have sporadic cell phone coverage and were able to send texts and emails but the Blog needs WiFi.



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