The Chaleur is graced by a splendid Service Manager, an Ojibway whose
grandmother was a Campbell, making him a relative! And descendant of
the first James Almond, The Deserter! He loves his job on Viarail, and sheds
his happiness on all his travelling customers. Roger told me that the Polar
Bear Express (Moosonee to Cochrane) is the only line with a flat bed car for
your canoes! But there are no polar bears... Viarail is refurbishing the whole
line. When Roger was on the Polar Bear Express, a native Algonquin
flagged down the train (he spoke no English or French) but they stopped the
train, he got on with a supply of beaver meat, paid, and they kept the meat
cool for him. If you do want to see lots of polar bears, take the line from
Winnipeg up to Churchill, two and a half days, all year long, and at certain
times they have a dome car.
After a refreshing night’s sleep on the train, I went again to the dome car,
and in relaxing luxury, watched the Quebec countryside pass by.
Bang on time, we pulled into Montreal. Now can you imagine a lovelier
view of this great Eastern bilingual city than through Viarail’s large windows?
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