Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Our home away from home for the next three days is the Via Rail train The Canadian. Here’s a breakdown of the 21 cars on our train from front to back.

• Two engines do the work.
• A baggage car holds all checked bags. We do not have access to them during the trip, so we had to carefully plan what to pack in carry-on bags. (No mistakes so far!)
• One or two economy class cars offer the cheapest tickets. You get a seat with an outlet and access to a Skyline activity car. Neither Amber or I was interested in sleeping for three nights in a reclined seat, so we knew we needed to go up at least one level.
• The first Skyline activity car is reserved for use by economy class passengers. Each one is a two-level car. The lower level has a game room with tables and chairs, an area for snacks/drinks, and a lounge area. The upper deck is an observation dome with seating for 24, including two tables.
• The first set of sleeper plus class Manor cars. The front of each sleeper car has two bathrooms, followed by three berths and a shower. Each berth section has two benches that face each other, and the section gets converted into bunk beds at night. Next is a section of double cabins, then a few single cabin roomettes at the back.
• Sleeper plus Skyline A car, the first of two available for sleeper plus class.
• Dining car A with a full kitchen and seating for 48.
• Another set of Manor cars.
• Sleeper plus Skyline B car.
• Dining car B.
• Another set of Manor cars.
• Two prestige class Chateau cars. These have larger luxury cabins and a personal concierge. For a hefty price tag, of course.
• One Park car containing a bar, a “bullet lounge” with wrap-around windows at the end of the train, and an upper deck observation dome similar to the Skyline cars but with nicer finishes. Use of this car is reserved for prestige class passengers during the day, with sleeper plus passengers having access after 4pm.

Amber and I had no intentions of sleeping in a reclined seat for three nights, so we agreed to splurge for sleeper plus class. But the cost of private cabins combined with the fact that we’d be split into two anyway convinced us that our best option was upper and lower births. The girls were thrilled to get to sleep in bunk beds, and we were happy to take the lower berths with window access.

For this leg of the trip, we ended up in berths one and two, opposite one another and right behind the bathrooms. We met our car attendant Sidney as we boarded the train. She sets up our beds each night and takes them down in the morning, and is available to answer questions if we need it (we haven’t).

It took each of us a while to get used to the motion of the train. No one ever really felt sick, just a little off. The early route has lots of trees right next to the tracks, which makes it difficult to focus on anything when looking out the window. Dramamine helped us feel a bit more normal.

Our first experience in the dining car was pretty amazing. They offer four options for each meal, and do have separate kid options available as well. We opened the first menu to see shrimp and scallops looking back at us. Three of us said, “Yes, please!” It turned out to be served over an Asian salad which was super tasty. Even Ellie agreed. Mackenzie decided to go with kids chicken tenders and she seemed to enjoy them as well despite them having a different breading than what she’s used to having. Dinner options were tasty as well. Mackenzie chose broccoli stir fry, Amber chose chicken in a mushroom sauce, Ellie went for PB & J, and I picked beef tenderloin. Yum!

When we weren’t in the dining car, we spent most of our time in the Skyline playing games or reading. We decided to get a kids Kindle before the trip, and the girls have been trading on and off, burning through way more books than we expected (not exactly a bad problem to have). Mackenzie re-taught me how to play cribbage, and crushed me in the process.

By the end of the day we were all more than ready for bed. So, the girls and Amber embarked on the next adventure of train life: Showers! I decided to wait until morning, but I can imagine it was a challenge to shower while the train was in motion.

About 8 o’clock we asked Sidney to make up our beds for the night. It was pretty interesting watching her climb all over the births to set everything up. Once we were each cocooned into our own space, I wrapped up the evening writing blog posts and playing Zelda before finally giving up and calling it a night.