I woke up at 3 am on Wednesday morning and had a quick bite to eat before heading off to the Sudbury Junction train station. We arrived at the train station just before 4 am and packed my bicycle in the box provided by Via Rail. I’m hoping it arrives in Jasper damage free. I put my two rear panniers and a box with the front panniers and other items in checked baggage and kept two small carry-ons with me. The train was running a little late and didn’t get underway until around 5:45. I’m travelling in a one person sleeper cabin. The cabin is just over 6 feet long, 3 1/2 feet wide and about 6 feet 5 inches tall. The length and width is comparable to the tent that I’ll be using for the bike tour. Within the cabin I have a seat, toilet, fold down sink and a small shelf to store my carry-on items. The bed folds down from within the wall and takes up most of the space in the cabin. There is a large window so I can see the scenery.
At 6:30 I walked down to the dining car for breakfast. I was seated at a table with two other men. One was a traveler from Louisville, Kentucky and the other was a massage therapist hired by Via Rail to offer massages to travelers. Most of the passengers are seniors so I think he’ll busy for the next few days as people get aches and pains from all of the sitting.
As I had dinner later in the day we passed through Longlac and after I got back to my cabin we passed through Nakina. Not much has changed since I worked in this area in the 1980’s. One thing that did surprise me was how close the vegetation and trees were to the tracks in this area. When I was a fire crew leader in the mid 1980’s I remember doing railway right-of-way inspections along this section with CN staff as part of our forest fire prevention efforts. CN rail has certainly cut back on their line clearing efforts.
The train travels at a speed that seems to be less than 80 km/hr and every once in a while we slow down and stop at a siding to allow a freight train to pass by. It’s a very relaxing and civilized way to travel. I spent most of the day reading and listening to podcasts. All of the Via Rail staff have been very helpful and very friendly so far. Tomorrow (Thursday) we stop in Winnipeg for a few hours where I hope to find a free Internet connection so I can post this little summary.
