Sunday 3rd October Rocky Mountaineer Banff to Kamloops

Awake at 4.00 am after terrible night's sleep, probably due to knowing that we could not afford to miss the train.
Finally get in touch with Craig who had had some phone problems. He had been putting some very long hours at work so he hasn't learned from his old man. As always it's good to hear his voice and to catch up on the news from Down Under.
Return the car to Hertz at Banff Springs and contrary to previous advice taxis were not in huge supply. A couple from York who are also taking the train trip kindly offer to share their cab so we do arrive at the Banff station well before the deadline for checking in.
As we were to learn over the next 2 days the Rocky Mountaineer is very professionally run and the whole operation ticks along very smoothly. Unfortunately, nobody told the the Banff station authorities that their waiting room is the first impression people receive of this world-famous train journey.
Organised chaos would be putting it too kindly and we were all glad to emerge from the throngs of passengers and board the train. The situation on board could not have been in starker contrast.
After being greeted by Adam and his colleagues, Meghan, Michael and Chad we were treated to a highly amusing explanation of the safety rules on board.
 This combination of humour and a high degree of professionalism was to be  an ever-present  feature of the trip.
Leaving Banff we viewed from a different perspective much of the superb mountain scenery which we had  seen while driving around the area. However, when we reached the famous Spiral Tunnels near Field we gained a far greater insight into the engineering feat of building these tunnels in1909.
The weakest link of the Canadian Pacific Line built in 1884 was a 13 km stretch between Field and Hector named the "Big Hill". Not only was the 4.5 % gradient very dangerous but it was extremely expensive to run.
The Spiral Tunnels which involved the excavation of 557,500 cubic metres of rock reduced the gradient to a more acceptable 2.2% remain one of the greatest railway engineering feats.
There so many scenic highlights on the train journey but without doubt the most memorable moment of this first day was the crossing of the Stoney Creek Bridge towering 100 metres above the creek bed- yet another test of this vertigo-sufferer's resolve.
The on board service was of the very highest order and Adam and Meghan provided us with a constant stream of informative and frequently humorous commentary on the places visited along the way.
Kamloops, the halfway point on the trip and where we would overnight is a town of 91,00 people which is attempting re-invent itself.
Not blessed with the natural beauty of other towns in the Rockies it has become a very important sporting competition centre with 19 golf courses, numerous soccer, football and baseball grounds.
Have an early night and give dinner a miss to prepare for a last big day on the train.
Apologies for all the boring detail of this first half of the trip but I'm just trying to educate you lot out there!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.