ViaRail: Jasper to Prince George aboard “the Skeena” 2011

 The first Viarail leg or our journey from Jasper to Prince William is from 

Jasper to Prince George 233 miles, six hours, away. Jasper, Alberta, 

(elev c. 3,500 ft) is certainly one of the nicest villages, with the 

friendliest villagers: Two main streets; and the Viarail station within walking

distance. Clean air, silence at night, rare traffic which passes 

at a snail’s pace. I heartily recommend this as the perfect getaway. 

 A lovely park centres the town.

 Joan and I even had a cappuccino at the station, waiting for the small (4 cars)
 train to take off.  We had left The Canadian to begin on a different kind 
of train with another quality of service. How eagerly we looked forward 
to this – augmented by a small booklet produced by an attendant who knew 

the facts. Nearly two hundred travellers take each train in summer.

 First we passed Moose Lake, eight miles long and soon, the attendant proudly

 announced we were passing The Canadian, Via’s flagship train, coming East.

 Now in B.C., we paused briefly at little Dunster; all ViaRail stations

 here are white with green trim. 

  Next major spot: Mount Robson, a world heritage site, at 12,900 feet. 

One even saw some of its 9,000 sheer vertical feet.

 

 

 For the rest of the trip we followed the often flat but wondrous

Fraser River Valley... 

 ...which cuts through astounding peaks of grey granite, sleeping giants that 
forgot to pull the blankets of dark green spruce up 
far enough to cover their proud heads.

Flurry of excitement as the engineer spotted a bear ahead on the tracks; 
we often stopped in sidings for the many freights. In economy class, 
our carriage, the bathrooms were new and spotless.

 We stopped for fresh air at the little train station of McBride (elev 2,400 ft), and 
then kept on, along the Fraser River, beside lovely patches of wide water 
where the Fraser relaxes... I could almost feel it yawn 
as it reflected the friendly jackpole pines.

Finally, we arrived at Prince George, surprisingly the 4th largest city in BC 
— being a rail hub and the gateway to the north, with 
the forest industry predominating.