I’ve long enjoyed travelling by train, but I’ve spent a lot of time on VIA getting to and from my work in various parts of Ontario over the past two decades, so its romantic allure has largely worn off. In fact, my most common reaction to the train these days is one of irritation: it’s late — again — the new seating is uncomfortable, the wifi isn’t working, Union Station is inefficient and unpleasant. (What did those millions of renovation dollars get spent on? It seems to me that there are fewer places to sit than before, the lineups to get on the train are as long and disorganized as ever, the washrooms are still small and grotty, it’s almost impossible to find someone to help with luggage and there’s still nowhere to eat within easy reach.)
My partner, on the other hand, has not lost his lifelong love of train travel. A VIA trip from Kingston to Toronto will do, but a train ride to Montreal is better, because it lands us in the beautiful (and functional) Gare Centrale. There, passengers can step onto the platform from the train without having to negotiate any steps and emerge into the station proper, where restaurants and shops abound. Taxis await right by the door in an intelligently designed driveway that takes them out of the hustle and bustle of street traffic. We’ve travelled to Quebec City by train a couple of times, too, splurging on first class tickets and arriving several hours later, having napped, read, eaten and had a couple of drinks; tipsily happy with our lot in life.
We both dream of travelling on the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver. If we were willing to pack our own food and sit up for the duration of the trip, we could do it for just over $1,000, but what might have been an adventure when we were in our 20s is not so appealing now that we are in our dotage. Nope, for us, it’s a private cabin with meals included or nothing. That will cost us almost $5,000 one way. (When we are feeling especially fanciful, we consider the prestige class tickets, which would set us back by more than $10,000.)
Little red caboose
Given that this trip is not in our immediate future (my VIA points accumulation took a big hit during the pandemic when my work travel came to an abrupt stop), we recently had a different kind of train adventure.
The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario is located in Smiths Falls, just over an hour’s drive from where we live in Kingston. Train lovers can book an overnight stay in one of three cabooses (that’s the correct plural, although I think cabeese has a better ring to it) that have been restored and, where appropriate, updated for comfort.
On one of the last warm days October offered, we headed to the museum for our sleepover. The drive was beautiful, with the colourful foliage splendid in the sunshine. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the friendly and knowledgeable staff, who provided a quick overview of what the museum had to offer and then showed us to our caboose. I had picked the oldest of the three – a 1921 wooden caboose, which had mod cons including electricity, wifi and good quality mattresses and linens rather than the horsehair and rough woollen blankets that real trainmen would have slept on.
We were the only overnighters, so once the staff left for the day, we had the place to ourselves. While the main museum was closed off, we had access to high-quality washrooms, a small kitchen, and a playroom, where I set up a temporary office amongst the train sets. We made ourselves some cocktails, heated up the dinner we had brought and ate at a picnic table on the platform, as we imagined the bustle of activity back when the station was in use.
The beds were surprisingly comfortable, and we both slept really well. The only inconvenience was the middle-of-the-night trek to the washroom in the station. Negotiating the steps off the train and crossing two sets of tracks to get to the platform and then the station was a little challenging, even with a flashlight and Peter by my side. However, it was an inconvenience I was happy to put up with, because the experience was otherwise so enjoyable.
In the morning, I headed into my makeshift office for a zoom meeting while Peter lounged in bed reading. By the time we had eaten breakfast, the museum had opened for the day, so we checked out the exhibits in the dining and dental cars as well as in the restored waiting room.
Those grandsons are far too old now to want to go on an adventure with their grandmother but, luckily, we have two who are still young enough to tolerate our company, and an overnight in a couple of cabeese is definitely in our plans for next spring.
