I love to travel, as anyone following this blog must realize. But there is something special about coming home again. This photograph was taken through the train window as we approached the station. I love the feeling of recognizing landmarks whether by plane or train as I get closer to the destination. By now, I know that planes approach from the east; if you are on the left side of the plane you can see the Olympic stadium, the oratory and eventually the highway near the airport. I watch for this. On the train from the west I know the area as we approach Montreal Island and each suburb has its landmarks that mean we are getting closer. This time I approached from the north east (though with our crazy mixed up directions in Montreal we came over the bridge from the South Shore) and headed into downtown. The tall office towers greeted us.
I'm home. And ready to enjoy the life that offers: a cat on my lap, food cooking in the oven, and friends nearby with whom to share my many travel stories.
My summer of train travel. This time - a train from Montreal to Halifax (though I got off in Cambellton, New Brunswick) as I have a couple of days work on the Gaspé peninsula. It's a long trip - twelve hours - and I was booked into a sleeping car.
As we were leaving Montreal, I sat in the dome car. And here we were about to cross the St. Lawrence River on the Victoria Bridge. This is the oldest bridge connecting Montreal to the south shore. It was completed in 1859. I'm happier crossing it by train. The car lanes have a metal grill surface. I know it's safe, but it makes me uncomfortable. Oh, our idiosyncrasies!
Trains are still important in Canada, bringing goods from one part of the country to another. This is a train summer for me. I was standing on the platform in Stratfod, waiting for the train to take me home when this freight train passed. Another trip next week, this time for work.
The railway is what connected our country. The last spike was hammered in to join our country coast to coast 125 years ago. The car has become king, but we need to look again at the importance of rail for environmental reasons.
"There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run" (from Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy). A new book is available illustrating this wonderful song. I've just ordered it. Let's celebrate the railroad.
Dreaming of travel, reading the brochures, imagining the trip. It's hard to believe we are en route. Slowly the train pulls out of the station en route to our first destination: Toronto. Since we got to the station, the sun has broken through the clouds and shines on our departure. We pass familiar landmarks as we pull away from Montreal. I've taken this train before, but this time Toronto is only a stop on a great adventure. Both of us dreamed of travel to the Arctic before we became a couple. Now we are both about to live our dreams. Travel is so important to broaden our horizons, to understand other cultures, to see how interconnected our world is. Each trip changes us a little. And the memories sustain us throughout our lives.
I watched the train pass, container after container. With these huge boxes which move from ship to train to truck, goods are moved around the world. I saw containers from many countries and many companies - from China, from the Netherlands and others of unknown origin. The railroad is what opened up the country. Now it keeps us supplied.
It's a time of difficulty for the railroads. There has been flooding in the west, with some tracks washed out and now our passenger rail is facing a strike. I'm hoping it will be settled soon. It is a favoured way of travel for me and summer plans include some rail travel.
