Railway enthusiast, Chris Walpole, a retired, but still active Methodist Minister ('like farmers, we never retire') recently returned from the trip of a lifetime to Canada where, along with three friends, he had the traversing the Canadian Rockies by two-day train.
His record of that trip follows later, but, to place it in its proper context, it is interesting to set out his 'railway' background.
He is presently a member of the Erne Model Railway Club, and has been for 10 years, since its inception. Prior to that, he had maintained that interest for some 25 years.
"My son started me off. He wanted to have a model railway going, so I bought one for him. Then, he lost interest and I continued", he explained.
Chris was born in County Down and was brought up surrounded by trains, commuting the six miles by Iron Horse from his home in Warrenpoint to school in Newry. That was a six mile trip, unlike the 500 kilometres he and his friends undertook in Canada.
This is Chris' record of that experience.
'As a railway enthusiast, a visit to the Canadian Rockies, including a ride on the famous 'Rocky Mountaineer' train, was to fulfil a long-held ambition. What were my impressions on my first trip to Canada?
First, there was the vastness of the country. The British Isles would fit four times over into British Columbia alone! The size of Canada can only partially be appreciated by personally visiting the country.
It is also a new country. Canada has benefited from this. The cities are well laid out, with plenty of activities and facilities for the young at heart, Outside the cities, the population is very sparse.
The completion of the railway right across Canada last century was a fantastic feat of engineering, especially when it came to crossing the mountain ranges. The Rockies are only one of many mountain ranges in British Columbia, but they are certainly the most demanding.
Bridges over huge gorges, tunnels through mountains, spiral tracks in order to keep the gradients manageable, all completed at great cost, together with spectacular scenery, all to be appreciated from the comfort of modern carriages.
There were minus points; the green larch an fir trees often obscured the view in places, and the telephone wires were a curse for the keen photographer. It was a case of 'fingers at the ready' in order to capture the view.
There is so much to see in Canada. Many animals can be seen in their natural habitat. The animals we spotted included bear and cubs, moose, elk, wolf and coyote, but no Grizzlies! As with any holiday, the weather played an important part, and it was reasonably kind to us. However, while in Banff, snow came unexpectedly early. One foot of snow fell overnight!
It was like a Christmas scene, the dark green trees laden with heavy covering of snow.
I was very impressed with the cities of Vancouver and Victoria - Victoria Island is nearly the length of Ireland! The people were very friendly and went out of their way to be helpful. On entering most shops, a warm greeting is usually expressed.
Altogether, this visit to the west coast of Canada was a memorable experience'.
