1986 - Canada

Vancouver and western Canada by train.

Sunday 30 March 1986 - Monday 14 April 1986
View 1986 Canada on nzhamsta's travel map.

Vancouver - After a long flight with a stopover in Honolulu I arrived on my first ever overseas trip. The couple of days were spent wandering around as well a as city tour.

Looking west towards the Gulf Islands.

The Expo site and False Creek.

North Vancouver.

Lions Gate Bridge.

Totem poles in Stanley Park.

A statue of Gassy Jack in Gas Town.

Down town.

The 9.00 gun at Stanley Park.

A steam powered clock in Gas Town.

The Terry Fox Memorial.

The Canada Pavilion.

The conservatory at QEII Park.

The gardens at QEII Park.

Vancouver Island - From there I crossed over to Vancouver Island via the ferry service. After a night in Victoria, I caught the train to Courtenay, a small town on the coast. Not a lot there.

The view across to the USA from the Victoria bound ferry.

The Empress Hotel.

The church on Douglas Street.

Victoria harbour.

The suburb of Langdon.

The trains sitting at Nanaimo railway station.

The Fifth Street Bridge.

Lewis Park.

Trans Canadian train - After a couple of days there and a transit back to Vancouver, I caught the "Continental" to Winnipeg via Jasper and Edmonton. I did not manage to get much sleep over the two nights it took to get there, but the scenery more than made for it. Given it was April, there was still a lot of snow on the ground and on the mountains. The food on board was very good and you can meet some interesting people on board long trains like this.

Looking north to the Coast Mountains.

The Rocky Mountains.

Jasper.

Jasper railway station.

A frozen river in Alberta.

The Wolf River.

Forty hours later the train arrived in Winnpeg. It was cold so did not do much except wander around a few shops etc.

Winnipeg railway station.

I then boarded the train to go back to Vancouver. This train took the southern route via Calgary and Banff. This line was closed to passenger trains in 1990.

Banff.