Rocking out the mighty Mountaineer
The wheels don't go clickety-clack. We're on a superb train called the Rocky Mountaineer but no rhythm of the rails rocks up to press our jukebox memories of old Joe Walsh or John Denver songs that celebrate the Rocky Mountains.
Instead, as we roll south across the border from Canada, the train staff welcome us to the USA with - curiously - Louie, Louie played over the PA. "Arlo Guthrie's City of New Orleans might have been more fitting," the rail/music buff sitting next to me says. How about, I counter, Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips? He parries with Chattanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller. My turn: Rock Island Line, Tennessee Ernie Ford or Odetta! Our rock-pile list runs out of steam, so to speak, with Rod Stewart's Downtown Train so we let Louie, Louie have its way.
Our ride, the Rocky Mountaineer, is famed for its two-day journey from Banff, Alberta, to Vancouver, British Colombia. It now also operates a 250km Coastal Passage service from Vancouver to Seattle, Washington.
We cross the border near White Rock, B.C, but US clearance will take place on arrival in Seattle. Meanwhile, outside, America goes big with laser-flat fields and crop dusters; signs for Jesus, gun-shops and low-doc loans; SUVs on steroids and, in vast Puget Sound, everything from speedboats to an aircraft carrier.
A modest contrast is the town of Bellingham, whose welcome sign boasts (if that's the word) "The city of subdued excitement".
We can see much of this alfresco from the open-air vestibule at the rear of our dome car. It's also the perfect place to photograph the long curve of carriages fore and aft as our train rounds a bend or rolls beside a bay.
We're travelling in GoldLeaf class in a custom-built, bi-level dome car with a glass canopy roof. Each of these cars represents an $8 million investment in creature comforts.
Servers ply us with drinks and snacks before we head downstairs to the restaurant where an a-la-carte breakfast awaits us. Chef Jean Paul Guerin's refined menu overlooks those demotic Canadian staples, poutine (chips smothered in gravy and cheese) and beavertail (fried dough shaped like, yes, a beaver's tail).
Too soon our train sighs to a halt at Seattle's King Street Station. US officials come aboard and we're each processed in minutes.
So, it's farewell to Canada - to maple leaves, maple syrup, beavertail and Bieber tales. And good morning to the great and rainy city of Seattle - home of Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft and grunge rock. Not to mention its favourite son, Jimi Hendrix and his Hear My Train A-Comin'.
FACT FILE
The Rocky Mountaineer runs from April to October. The Vancouver to Seattle (or vice-versa) journey is available only within packages such as the Coastal Passage Classic (Seattle to Banff or vice-versa). It costs from $4613 GoldLeaf Deluxe class, from $4133 for GoldLeaf or from $3175 for SilverLeaf. The classic two-day Banff to Vancouver (or vice-versa) First Passage to the West journey costs from $1343 for RedLeaf. rockymountaineer.com.
