Why does train travel feel so special? Readers share their best memories

“In 2008, my wife, my then-7-year-year-old girl and I were going to instrumentality Amtrak from Los Angeles to Chicago, but the Amtrak booking cause screwed the reservations up truthful severely that we alternatively decided to instrumentality a bid from Montreal to Vancouver.

There was immoderate poignancy to this, arsenic my grandma was a representation bride from Greece. She had grown up connected a tiny Dodecanese land and crossed the Atlantic successful the 1920s. For the past limb of her journey, she took a bid from Montreal to conscionable my gramps (for the archetypal time) successful Vancouver. They met connected a Saturday and joined connected a Monday successful a Russian Orthodox Church. Experiencing the aforesaid travel that my grandma had taken seemed similar a bully abrogation hook.

Montreal was our constituent of departure, an enchanting metropolis with fantastic nutrient and charming denizens. After a fewer days we headed retired to Toronto connected a commuter-style train. It was perfectly adequate, but not peculiarly enchanting, and surely not what my grandma would person traveled on.

In Toronto, my girl and I had day beverage astatine the Fairmont Royal York crossed from the bid station, wherever we embarked connected a much picturesque excursion.

We had a triple compartment. It was located successful a stainless-steel streamlined car that was built successful the 1950s, spot connected for our small household of Midcentury Modern enthusiasts. We saw the bid snake done Ontario forests, felt it rumble on Canada’s midwestern plains and past caput up done the spectacular Canadian Rockies. There were plentifulness of bear, elk and different wildlife sightings on the way. We ate amazingly bully nutrient similar trout and pork chops for dinner. At nighttime we watched bid movies similar “Murder connected the Orient Express.”

We got disconnected successful Jasper, the Yellowstone of Canada, filled with glaciers, craggy mountains, waterfalls, rivers and spectacular vistas. We took motorcycle and horseback rides. When I admonished my 7 year-old for complaining excessively overmuch during a peculiarly fantastic excursion, she retorted, “Daddy, complaining is my passion!”

After a fewer days we got backmost connected the bid and headed to Vancouver. This was different scenic parade of mountains, rivers and forests.

In Stanley Park I pondered my grandmother’s voyage. Our travel was 1 of leisure. Hers was a beingness determination to flight the bleak prospects of an land girl.”

— George Skarpelos, Los Angeles