Train beyond the mountains : journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer

Train beyond the mountains Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer

Rick Antonson, 1949-

Book - 2023

"A captivating journey blending memoir, history, and biography that takes the reader on one of the world's most famous trains and tells of carving the dramatic route it follows, while pondering other international railways through the eyes of travellers past and present. Rick Antonson has ridden trains in more than thirty-five countries--but almost everything he thinks he knows about train travel changes when he boards the Rocky Mountaineer with his ten-year-old grandson, Riley. As they wind over trestles and through tunnels, each mile of track uncovers stories of dynamite and discovery, surveyors and schemers, explorers and visionaries, and the people who helped to build Canada against the odds of geography and politics. Surround...ed by a wild landscape that sparks imagination, fellow passengers recount train travels in other countries, get nostalgic for the era of steam locomotives, and consider life's unfinished journeys. Peppered with spirited dialogue, heartrending vignettes, and intriguing anecdotes, Train Beyond the Mountains is a travelogue with urgency: to make your travel dreams happen now. As one passenger muses, 'The mistake we make is that we think we have time.'"--

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Subjects
Antonson, Rick, > 1949- > Travel.
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours > History.
Rocky Mountaineer Railtours.
Railroad travel > Alberta > History.
Railroad travel > British Columbia > History.
Railroad travel.
Alberta.
British Columbia.
Biographies.
History.
Genres
Biographies
History
Published
Vancouver ; Berkeley ; London : Greystone Books [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Rick Antonson, 1949- (author)
Physical Description
277 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-267) and index.
ISBN
9781771644860
  • List of Maps
  • Author's Note
  • Prologue Before the Rockies became the Rockies …
  • I. Junctions
  • 1. On a 1920s summer day at Chicago's Grand Central Station
  • 2. One recent summer morning at the Banff train station
  • II. Westering
  • 3. A westering trail of iron lay ahead
  • 4. Happenstance is a traveller's best friend
  • 5. We were in mountains once thought to be impenetrable
  • 6. Our train travelled over an imaginary line in the wilderness
  • 7. Every trip begins with dreams
  • 8. This is train country
  • 9. Purpose and beauty are not always matched
  • 10. The first gold strike on the Fraser River happened over lunch
  • III. Roundhouse
  • 11. Mid-morning at the Roundhouse in Vancouver
  • 12. Chinese workers on the railway
  • IV. North by Northeast
  • 13. With a one-track mind, our train rolled out
  • 14. A morning mountain dew glittered
  • 15. One of the delights of train travel in the Cariboo
  • 16. Whistle posts are reminders to train engineers to blow their horns
  • V. The Nugget Route
  • 17. Not all trains that pass one another do so concurrently
  • 18. All travels end
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Sources and Recommended Reading
  • Credits and Permissions
  • Index
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Tracking a train tour through western Canada. In his fifth travel book, Antonson, who has ridden on trains in 35 countries, recounts his trip with his 10-year-old grandson, Riley, aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. "My motivation," he writes, "was to enjoy the simplicity…meandering through time to the soothing rhythm of the tracks, with few responsibilities. Such a temptation begs for an accomplice." They began in Banff and continued west through Kamloops, Vancouver, Whistler, and Quesnel before terminating in Jasper. Then they took a three-day road trip back to Banff along the Icefields Parkway. As a former vice-president of the Great Canadian Railtour Company, which operated the Rocky Mountaineer, and former president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, Antonson is clearly familiar with the history of the terrain. Throughout this page-turning text, Antonson captivatingly shares his extensive knowledge of the region, including historical legends of the area; the geological history of the Rockies and possibly bleak future given current climate trends; Indigenous traditions and culture; the impact the exploration and settlement of the land by immigrants from Europe and Asia had on the landscape; and accounts of the discrimination and exploitation that Indigenous and Chinese people experienced as workers during the construction of the Canadian railways. Of course, the author also describes the stunning natural bounty they witnessed, including abundant wildlife, emerald lakes, and towering mountains. Antonson and Riley also communed with fellow travelers, nearly all of whom were fascinated by the experience. As the train manager related, "an older man from the Netherlands told me when he looked around the world, he decided there were two highlights he wanted to experience. This was one. Next, he was determined to see the pyramids in Egypt. Imagine that--his final travel dreams were the pyramids and the Rocky Mountaineer." In addition to passing along the benefits of travel, Antonson captures how their adventure led to "newfound understandings of one another." An enthralling portrait of a nostalgia-tinged pilgrimage. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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