On the Road Again 2015 #1

Here I go again ...another trip already started.

I received an e-mail from Via Rail late last night stating that there was a problem with equipment arriving in Toronto and therefore the train would be leaving an hour late. While the train has been chronically late getting into Sudbury Junction, this was the first time that I have gotten an e-mail warning me. I, none-the-less, was awake and up a 4:00 AM. When I called Via Rail at 4:30, they said that that train would be getting into Sudbury at 7:03. They were bang on the money. We were away from the station by 7:07. In the past my daughter has hung around for awhile - this time she, with a little encouragement, left almost as soon as we arrived. Although she had to come back as I left my my lunch in the fridge.  I read for a bit, chatted with one of the passengers and before I knew it the train was here and we were off. I didn't even get the chance to sing (to myself) "sitting in the railroad station......"

The Via Rail station attendant was very quiet. In other years the person has been quite friendly - coming out of the office to give us info on how late the train is going to be, asking if there was any baggage to be checked etc. This year I didn't even know someone was in the office until she went out for a smoke a few minutes before the train arrived. She was younger than some of the other workers that I have met (every year it has been a different worker at the station).  Either she was just less comfortable with the customers or was still new enough to the job to be embarrassed because the train was going to be 2 hours late.

The train was quite empty but in the first car there were no seats on the right side (my preferred side as I find it easier to rest my right side and head on the window as I doze) and that had the right window configuration (every second window has a column partially in the way so that it is a bit more difficult to see out of the window) so I sat on the left. I don't think it will really matter and at least the scenery will be different to what I am use to. I suppose I could have walked down to the next car to see if another seat was available but a seat is a seat, and having one to myself  with a good window is more important than sitting on the right side. I initially was sitting right behind a family seat with a mon and two young children who were off to see their grandfather. I am sure they were quite cute but their chatter would have been exhausting. Fortunately they got off in Capreol.

I have a sense that the crew are a bit disorganized or else are really busy for reasons that I can not see. No one checked my boarding pass (they trusted me when I said that I was going to Winnipeg). No one came by and asked if I had been on a train before and it spite of the fact that I am sitting by a window that has a little hammer to break the glass if there is a need to escape by the window - no one has given me instruction on how to use the hammer. There are usually a whole set of instructions - where the dining car or the dome car is, wearing shoes when walking between cars, no smoking etc. Perhaps they will do it later. However, the most extraordinary indicator of something being amiss was when stopped in Capreol, a young attendant walked up and down the aisle asking if anyone was getting off in Hornepayne. He actually helped a lady get of the train before someone told him he was announcing the wrong station. It might be an interesting ride!

12:00 - It has been very quiet. The car is two thirds empty and it would appear as if most are sleeping. Went for a walk to get some juice. There are three cars (including the one I am in) before the dome car. One car is a bit more crowded than this one. The third car has almost every seat filled. Most of the passengers look to be 15-17 year old teenagers, more boys than girls. The air in the car has a slight body oder to it as if some of them were playing touch foot ball during the wee hours of the morning. Given the fact that all but a few appear to to be the same age, one has to make the assumption that they are getting off at the same place. The only question is are they about-to-be tree planters or kids working at a camp? I did notice a large container of bagels in the corner  - which sort of confirms my thoughts that they are travelling as a group and the bagels are their lunch. It will be interesting to see where they get off.

The left side of the training may have slightly more interesting scenery. There is for example a few spots along to way where there is some sort of construction happening and there appears to be more lakes on the left side, but it is also where the sun is. The bright sun makes it a bit difficult to seen the tablet screen.