Canada‘s passenger train is long, with two locomotives, a diesel generator car, 11 Red Leaf and 6 double­decker Gold Leaf carriages. We were near the rear, giving us views of the front of the train from the open­air viewing vestibule.

We crossed the Fraser River Swing Bridge, then watched farmland roll past before we began to see more dramatic scenery where the river had gouged a canyon through the countryside.

The most spectacular part was Hell‘s Gate, the narrows explorer Simon Fraser described in his 1808 diary as a place to human being should venture.The whitewater rapids, which flow at 40 kilometres per hour, and the steep gorges were always a problem, and railway construction in 1882 and 1914 saw major landslides.

Here and at points throughout the journey the train slowed for photographic opportunities. That was easier said than done, as I often had to avoid disused telegraph poles that are apparently too expensive to remove. As I looked for photographic shots I spent more time in the vestibule than most passengers, who could see everything perfectly well through large viewing windows without leaving their seats.

Lunch called me back, however. It was served at our seats by the jovial commentatorturned­ waiter Evan, who was in his third season with the Mountaineer. The food was good, though the Red Leaf service is like airplanes, with two choices prepared in advance. Gold Leaf cars have a separate dining room downstairs and menu choices, including hot food prepared by chefs.

Travelling on, we reached Cisco Crossing, where two bridges crossed the Fraser River, one for the Canadian Pacific and one for the Canadian National line, so their tracks swapped over to opposite sides of the canyon. Canadian Pacific had built first on the easier side, so their competitor had been left with the other.

After Lytton we worked along the Thompson River Canyon, passing under rock sheds designed to protect the line from avalanches. At the whitewater Jaws of Death Gorge section we could see why it had a highlight named Suicide Rapids, as they looked scary, even from the train.

As the landscape flattened out, providing opportunities for photographs of the train P028­P057 frontsection.indd 54 12/19/06 12:22:04 AM stretching around curves, I felt the sense of old­fashioned rail travel, and how vast distances had to be traversed, sometimes at speed, sometimes too slowly, sometimes sitting and waiting for a freight train to pass by. Approaching tunnels has always given rail travellers a feeling of apprehension or excitement, and photographing the locomotives about to enter the tunnel alongside Kamloops Lake was fun.

Coming out the other side, Evan pointed out Painted Bluff, its strange contours and oxidized colour accentuated by the late afternoon light, and explained that it had always been sacred to the First Nation (indigenous) people. As we reached the outskirts of Kamloops we saw the old church that Morgan Freeman liked so much it was re­created for the film Unforgiven.

As the train came to a halt at Kamloops Station something akin to a military operation got underway. Rocky Mountaineer Vacations coaches stood by, with each driver knowing from which carriage and to which hotel passengers would be transported. Luggage was off­loaded for Gold Leaf patrons, while those of us in the Red Leaf class had known in advance to pack overnight bags. In a twinkling we were on the road, and nobody missed a beat.

Our accommodation at the Hampton Inn in Kamloops was very good. We found our own way for dinner, though there was a dinner and musical revue, Tales from the Rails, a story about a largely unsuccessful train robber, Billy Miner.

Next morning we wondered whether we‘ve missed something, as half the train was gone! Those going to Banff and Calgary via Kicking Horse had left at 6.30am, while those of us travelling the northern route to Jasper would leave at 8.30am with the other half. There‘ll always be that feeling, as in the Robert Frost poem, wondering which journey would have been better: two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both€¬ Then it was all aboard.As we began moving again it didn‘t take long for green fields and hay bales to turn into a landscape of forested mountains, where autumn colours were evident in the poplar and birch trees.

It also didn‘t take long in the open­air vestibule to realise that the day would be much colder than yesterday. A fleece and a beanie were my attire and competition for viewing space was greatly diminished. The line followed the North Thompson River, named after Canada‘s pioneering surveyor, David Thompson. Along the way, Evan pointed out the site of a previous train derailment where two locomotives had hit a boulder. But that was a freight train, vulnerable because of its considerable length. Sensing that the crowd seemed suddenly ill at ease, Evan assumed a cheerful bravado. But don‘t worry, we‘re only a little passenger train and not very long. The Rocky Mountaineer has never had a derailment. At Little Hell‘s Gate the train slowed for us to peer into the canyon, where the early overlanders had abandoned their rafts and traversed the rapids on foot. Further on we had spectacular views of the snow­capped peaks of the Monashee Mountains beyond the dense forest. Our attention then switched to the western side, where Pyramid Falls cascaded down the mountain.

We were unfortunate that it rained for the next section and we were disappointed to pass the highest peak of the Rockies, the 3956 metre­high Mt Robson, in the swirling mist. In the rain we also rolled past Moose Lake, where some passengers glimpsed a black bear at the water‘s edge, and Yellowhead Lake, both of which are known for their abundance of rainbow trout.

As we entered Jasper National Park, the largest in the Canadian Rockies, the weather cleared and we had excellent views of the snowy mountain range, including Whistlers Mountain and Mt Edith Cavell. And just as we were driving into our accommodation at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge there were bighorn sheep by the roadway and a red squirrel on the golf course fence.