48hrs on Canada’s MOST LUXURIOUS TRAIN - The Rocky Mountaineer

this is the rocky mountaineer canada's most luxurious train trip i'm gonna take you on board show you what the entire excursion is like from vancouver through the warm thompson okanagan and ending in banff canada's oldest national park and of course i have to bring my dad along for his 75th birthday what a gift happy birthday dad this is the rocky mountain here and this is downey live uh-oh happy 75th birthday this card is yours happy 75th to celebrate this milestone you've been gifted a two-day luxury rail experience through canadian rocky mountains whoa you may bring one guest of your choice as long as their name is michael downey we're going on the rocky mountaineer wow that's phenomenal so you you put up with a mask in coach class on via rail for two days you're being rewarded oh that's really big leveling up on the rocky mountain big time it's the gold leaf i'll wear my cufflinks you go happy birthday wow that's beautiful mike yeah so another adventure and just like that after a quick covid test my dad and i were off to the rocky mountaineer station to start our father-son trip across british columbia for two whole days wow not the traditional train station but kind of a modern take yes very beautiful and this is private station just for the rocky mountaineer train that's right rocky mountaineer used to board at pacific central i believe along with kind of the via rail the amtrak that comes in and then they built their own station or bought their own station just looking happy and relaxed you're in vacation mode enjoying talking to the people and just sitting here and it's a gorgeous station we're just waiting now it's time to get on board so nice thing is they take your luggage once you get here it's kind of like an airline so our luggage is on board it will actually be in our hotel room by the time we arrive and now it's just time for us to board okay this is it dad last call no no no no no no you're coming welcome oh thank you darren [Music] wow this is spacious very comfortable let's take a quick look at the seats we have coat hooks tons of leg room one thing i will say there is no overhead luggage space because of course you have the dome ceiling and if you look at your armrests we have every single possible which way to control the seat including heated seats that's it we're officially off it begins so we're leaving vancouver through the grand view cut which was originally built by the grand national railroad where the grand trunk railway one of the original railroads and they cut through this so the trains wouldn't have to go up or down the hills and it actually all of the fill that they dug out of here is used to fill in false creek it's amazing to think we are going through the heart of vancouver at the moment can't see anything you can't see at all all the homes are up there [Music] thank you here we are thank you so much brought to us cheers cheers to a wonderful three days yeah we're not used to this kind of service so we're really soaking it up here while we have our coffee and tea to hold us over until breakfast they brought us a little uh tea biscuit jam oh very nice the dining room is only half as big as the car itself so half the car has gone down have breakfast we are the second group so we'll have breakfast second the nice thing that this train has that via rail doesn't is this outdoor space i mean for long trips it's great to get out and get some fresh air especially when it's pretty warm out now here's a little quick rocky mountaineer history via rail originally operated this route as the rocky mountaineer being a daytime only service for tourists but they dropped it in the 1980s and was taken over by the now private company the rocky mountaineer basically keeping it the same but it has become north america's busiest privately owned rail service having transported over a million passengers since they launched in 1990 [Music] that didn't take long sorry didn't mean to wake you no problem two things i want to say these cars were made in germany and they were made specifically for rocky mountaineer so they are exactly to the specifications of what you would want on this luxury train it's very quiet very smooth very happy the other thing is at the moment due to covid you still have to wear masks in the common areas so that's the hallways the stairwells the bathrooms but when you're at your seat you don't have to worry it's kind of nice because last year i brought my dad to churchill where we had to wear a mask the entire 48-hour trip and we had to sleep in our economy class seats with masks on and they didn't serve food so we actually ordered a pizza to the train so this is an elevated experience when was the first time you took a train that's a very good question 17 years old and i was in the military as an officer cadet and they gave me a first class ticket on a train across canada i walked up and i was a student it was kind of baggy and i had all my junk and they asked me for a ticket because i was walking towards the first class and i showed him my first class ticket and they said oh carry on sir that's the first time i got to experience the white tablecloth service with the china and it was amazing and i said to myself at the time you know i know i'd rather have hamburgers but i gotta learn to you gotta remember this forever and i still remember it i've been on many trains this is the one that's going to be the closest to that service all right thank you this is what you were talking about absolutely this is what i saw way back when i was 17 years old and it's a beautiful way to travel i will appreciate it more this time than i did when i was 17. i don't eat at many restaurants with white linen tablecloths so i'm taking it look at the smile on my face all of a sudden a fruity drink in front of me i'm a happy guy [Music] that's nice oh look now we're on the river the day is looking up and cheers so what did you get done i have the souffle and i'll just show you what it's like little souffle like that and the potatoes and the salad i got the eggs benedict with montreal smoked meat and yukon gold potatoes eating breakfast next to a coal train this is a view you don't always get can't get this at a restaurant ask the chef if we like the dinner on to the next activity is why i love traveling by train [Music] you don't get this experience on via rail so we're moving at about our top speed at the moment and we're actually passing another train that train is moving just not as fast as us so we're doing about our top speed at the moment about 65 miles an hour but this train here looks like we're only going 10 miles an hour because we're passing it maybe [Music] i didn't think the rocky mountaineer would be this exciting it's a close race it's back and forth who will win i don't know what to watch we have the lake over here but we have the front of the train right here we're neck and neck we're inching out it's gonna come down to a line we're racing a freight train [Music] as we come across the bridge what an ending the power of the trains racing what they were doing 60 miles an hour we could have touched the guy beside us we caught up to the engine we cut our shaking hands with the engineer and then we and then we were over the bridge unbelievable well after that excitement should we go inside and get a glass of sparkling wine i need a drink now let's go sit down my heart's pounding after that it's only 11 a.m it's still a day and a half we've already had breakfast i think we'd love two glasses of sparkling wine if we can that might buy and a half but it's sure sounds great oh yeah i'll have his half in mine thank you michelle my pleasure cheers we did it happy birthday no you can't see any bison from this train i just want to take a minute to tell you about the sponsor of today's video true earth makes a bunch of products that reduce the amount of plastic you have in your household my favorite products are the laundry detergent eco strips with these there's no plastic in the packaging this is the equivalent as one of those big plastic jugs so you're reducing the amount of plastic that goes into the packaging because this is compostable or recyclable but also the carbon footprint of having to ship all of that liquid detergent instead is simply replaced by 32 loads in a single envelope but of course the best part about the eco strips is how easy they are to use you simply pull out the strip and throw it inside the machine if you have a dirty load or a big load you put in two strips and if you have a little small load put in a half strip but they have the new platinum formula which is for an advanced heavy duty load so if your clothes are really sweaty or really muddy from doing something crazy outside you accidentally fall in bison poop whatever it may be true earth platinum edition we'll make sure your clothes come out clean i've been using them for about a year now a big thank you to true earth for sponsoring today's video and if you want to check them out yourself there's a link in the description down below and you can use discount code downey live for ten percent off thanks true worth i have to say this is the smoothest train i've ever been on the suspension is phenomenal the highway which we've driven a number of times is on the other side of the river so this from the train is completely new views for us cruising through tunnel after tunnel while relaxing in this modern climate-controlled train was a juxtaposition against the backdrop of the raging river rumbling along between steep rock canyon walls the fraser canyon is one of many regions along this route that i was looking forward to seeing but of course after watching all that river flow for so long it had me asking can you use the washroom yes it would be a good idea perfect because it's time for our famous bathroom tour oh my goodness ladies and gentlemen we have found the nicest bathroom i've ever been in in a train this doesn't look like much beautiful textured wall mirror hello lighting that's it that's all you need the sink is nicer than the one i have in my own bathroom rocky mountaineer and the german company that made this car very well done i don't know why i always get so impressed by a bathroom but i love it everything's just so nice [Music] the key to service and what i've seen from them so far here because they don't let us go hungry or thirsty for very long no i'm not mad about it very fast no i'm very very pleased because the fraser canyon is so tight and dangerous the two railways canadian national railway and canadian pacific railway have agreed to allow directional running through this canyon this means that all eastbound traffic that's cn cp via rail and even the rocky mountaineer ride on the canadian pacific line but all westbound trains use the cn tracks so this helps to ease congestion and keep traffic moving in the same direction to keep it all more efficient i i honestly can't believe we're allowed to be outside like this this is phenomenal right along the river look at this we come out of one tunnel and we're back in the next tunnel in less than 10 seconds canadian pacific railway which are the tracks that we're currently on have 30 tunnels between yale and litton most of them are pretty close together or pretty short but one of them is up to a half a mile in length so we are on the bridge made by the canadian pacific railway and that is the bridge by the canadian national railway and this is the only point where the two railways will come together and ride on the same side of the river the landscape on the other side of the river is just too brutal to build a railway track on so they both make it on this side the nice thing is the engineers slow the trains down for us so we get to really see and experience this and they give you all the history about it as you go past so we're not just blowing past viewpoints we get to enjoy them at least for a moment this below us is what looks like a studio backlot after filming an apocalypse movie but it's not this is litten the town that burnt down i've talked about in a few videos in the past but i haven't been passed since the fire this was a beautiful town a very tight community and now it's completely gone on june 29th litton set the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in canada and the next day a wildfire swept through the village of 250 residents displacing all of them and leaving two dead now as we passed through litten the entire train stopped talking to witness the devastation residents had 15 minutes warning to get out very sad now we're entering the thompson nicola valley and you can see the landscape has changed instead of the steep jagged rock cliffs that we were alongside before it's now gentler slopes with a sprinkling of trees and a lot more of that desert feel in fact the weather here is significantly warmer than where we just were and the river is a little greener because this trip is two days long and covering 800 kilometers we'll be going through many different regions which means every meal that we sit down for has a different backdrop and that's one of the reasons why this train is so entertaining and you don't need your phone to keep you occupied at all because what's outside is constantly offering a new stunning view which as you can see is why i spend most of my time out on the back deck now the nice thing about the train is that it's a very social experience you get to meet people so i just met scott and brunell here and you guys are on your honeymoon congrats thank you so much yes and so who who convinced who to come on this experience you know i was kind of i i always wanted to go to banff for a honeymoon yeah and we were thinking of the best way to go i don't think there's any better way to to do this than this what better experience right yeah we actually just got married on august 28th so two days ago congrats but we'll uh we'll enjoy maybe lunch together yes let's do that let's do that again our lunch restaurant we have a different view this time and different guests lots to celebrate at the table it's a fun table we got a lovely share plate what do we have artichoke pocket hummus fantastic so i can see there's a stopped cold train up ahead and we've come to a stop for the first time this trip but we're just here eating our tapas and uh we have nowhere to go nowhere to be for late afternoon lunch yeah that was finished lunch we're still here we'll take a nap upstairs this is a fantastic stop so i'm not bad at all so much wow i hope everyone enjoys them thank you michelle so we have the wild pacific salmon here we have the risotto there and then a couple of steaks here for us window sitters how's the risotto amazing amazing have you gotten any more salmon yet no but um it's going to be cool we'll get the first bite live live reaction folks soft sweet delicate salmon flavor and a nice coating and actually i learned there are five types of salmon that come up this river so this this this is closer than you think yeah there you go you used to live over there yeah i'm not far from home bailey's in your coffee it's the only way to travel can't go wrong oh yeah oh yeah i never do this treat yourself exactly i would say lunch was just as good as the view but not quite as good as the company that we had he gets that from me yeah i do love how bright it is up here look at that it's just views everywhere you can see into the cold train now this is the one we were stuck behind earlier it's pulled over for us you have to be really quick with your camera if you're looking for wildlife but they swear they're not animatronic those are real bighorn sheep now the landscape this afternoon is drastically different from this morning with golden hills and calm green waters and much warmer weather which makes the outdoor deck the place to be i absolutely love this back patio to get fresh air be right next to it it's amazing not not for the hair it's awful for the hair it feels good and in the end that's all that matters you know when you're on a on a bus or some other way you drive in you you walk up to the site you take the picture and then you leave right but on the train you're in the picture all day long you're in it you're in it this is it we've been in this picture for two hours we had lunch in this picture yeah amazing it's trains like these specifically like the rocky mountaineer that it's a luxury experience that it reminds you that the experience is on the train you often take the train to take you to your destination but in fact the only reason we're doing this trip is because this train is the destination that's for sure and spend a little time together but that's very nice that's a side we could do that back home bonus can't do this so um tomorrow do i get the window seat or yes you get the window seat tomorrow no it's your birthday you can have a window seat it was a test you pass you're a nice guy there's not a bad seat on the train i mean that's true that's very true the last segment of our trip is here in the thompson okanogan region of canada riding 30 kilometers alongside the kamloops lake this is a semi-arid grasslands region that gets less than a foot of rain each year now i don't mean for that to sound like a bad thing i mean as you can see it's warm and a beautiful place that grows fantastic grapes which means great wine but let's not get sidetracked the railway we're riding on at the moment was built here in 1915 but i imagine that the rails have been replaced since then the company that owns and maintains these tracks is canadian national railway so where do they keep all of their equipment to fix these tracks so this is the cn rail yard now in vancouver the rocky mountaineer has their own station but in kamloops this is kind of like their main base for the trains it's where they have their workshop it's where they store their rolling stock over the winter when they're not operating and that's where we get off today to date to date it's where we get off shortly uh to spend the night here in kamloops we're continuing our journey tomorrow because this is a daylight trip it happens during the day because if we pass through the rocky mountains at night we'd miss it all so we're going to lock up here for the night we will board buses we'll head to our hotel but that's why it's not so fancy here it's because this is an active cn rail work yard and danny downey here yeah thank you good now this that's some efficiency i've never seen before yeah we haven't haven't even gotten out of our seat and we have our hotel room key that's amazing have a good night you guys thank you michelle see you tomorrow thank you alex see you tomorrow bright and early straight off the train onto the bus and we didn't have to grab our luggage because our luggage is already in the hotel room yeah this uh this goes beyond the hostel experience i normally take this is more of what i'm used to traveling on via rail feels like this now dad before we go in i want to remind you that last year when i took you on a train trip i made you sleep on the train for two nights with your mask on and instead this time this is what we get this is what you get look at this our luggage is already here wow how's that wow the beds are made there's a coffee machine in the room and the tv is going we're here you know what we should do now what's up let's go swim go swim good evening michael time to relax sounds good now with his leather seats glass domed roof stunning washrooms and white linen dining this is the most luxurious train in canada but i quickly realized that the most luxurious thing about it is that you suddenly have the luxury of time with nowhere to go no cell service no distractions i spent that time with my dad and it's not very often anymore that i get to sit down with him and trade stories like we did here and sure i could remind you that we watch the scenery change every hour starting from the city of vancouver my hometown to farms forests rivers cliffs tunnels and rolling golden hills all from the comfort of my seat or that we excitedly raced a freight train from the lower deck but if i had to pick the best part of the whole experience i'd have to say it's that we're only halfway done and day two is even better than today next week on downey live my dad and i continue on the rocky mountaineer riding the rails along seven rivers through three national parks and climbing through the rocky mountains up to an elevation of five thousand feet through the famous spiral tunnels so if you're new here i'm mike the channel is downing live adventure train trips like this every single week so subscribe so you don't miss it and you can become a member too by clicking the join button down below to see bonus footage from this trip between my dad and i this is downey live i'll see you next week

Channel: DownieLive

Views: 5,118,910

Keywords: downielive, downie live, rocky mountaineer, train, trains, Rocky Mountains, rocky mountaineer train, canada, bc, British Columbia, Banff, Kamloops, vancouver train, bc train, luxury train, luxury train canada, dome car, dining car

Id: WzHAGQhLfG8

Length: 24min 6sec (1446 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 24 2021