25 Saturday May 2013
Posted in Alberta, Canada, photography, trains, Travel
Tags
alberta, canada, Jasper, photography, rail, railroad, railway, rocky mountains, station, tourism, train, trains, Travel, Via Rail
Via Rail won’t let dirty windows ruin a Rocky Mountain vista. Here are some employees hard at work cleaning the windows of Toronto-Vancouver train “The Canadian” during a station stop in Jasper, Alberta.
15 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Apple, architecture, British Columbia, Canada, fun, iPhone, photography, photowalking, random, technology, trains, transit, Travel, urban, Vancouver
Tags
b.c., british columbia, canada, Canadian Pacific, history, iPhone, iPhoneography, panorama, photography, photowalk, rail, railroad, railway, random, roundhouse, train, trains, Travel, urban, vancouver, Yaletown
This is the former Canadian Pacific roundhouse in Vancouver’s Yaletown district, captured with a sweep of my iPhone’s camera in “panorama” mode.
It was really interesting to try this, because the roundhouse is built in the shape of an arc … so if you’re standing at the centrepoint of the arc and you swivel to capture the panorama, the main subject doesn’t look very distorted at all, while everything else does.
05 Sunday May 2013
Tags
dining car, food, halifax, montreal, Ocean, rail, railroad, railway, train, trains, Travel, Via Rail
To my mind, one of the neat things about long-distance trains is being able to eat in a dining car or café car of some kind.
Above is the type of dining car used aboard Via Rail’s Halifax-Montreal train, “The Ocean”.
Below is a similar scene, captured nine years ago, in a different, older type of dining car that was once regularly used on this train.
Difference between the two: The newer cars don’t have a full kitchen, just a galley where they can prepare simple dishes and heat catered gourmet meals.
Happily, the meals are still served using real dinnerware.
EDIT: I should add that Via Rail’s Vancouver-Toronto western transcontinental, “The Canadian”, still uses those old-style dining cars. The decor has been updated since I took the photo below.
03 Friday May 2013
Posted in Canada, photography, random, trains, Travel
Tags
alberta, canada, Jasper, national park, park, photography, rail, railroad, railway, rocky mountains, skyline, train, trains, Travel, Via Rail
Views such as this is why people like to hang out in the dome-observation Skyline and Park cars aboard Via Rail’s The Canadian. Got this image last month as the train made its way westward toward the town of Jasper.
23 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in architecture, art, Canada, design, history, Manitoba, photography, photowalking, random, trains, Travel, urban, Winnipeg
22 Monday Apr 2013
Tags
alberta, b.c., canada, Edmonton, Jasper, Manitoba, music, Ontario, rail, railroad, railway, Sask, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sudbury, Toronto, tourism, train, trains, transcontinental, vancouver, Via Rail, Winnipeg
If you’re on Via Rail’s western transcontinental train, “The Canadian”, keep your eyes — and ears — open for two members of Toronto-based band Running Red Lights, who will be performing aboard the train that leaves Vancouver on Tuesday, April 26, 2013.
I had the pleasure of enjoying Scarlett Flynn and Kevin Howley’s music as I travelled westbound with them through much of last week.
Check out their website to learn more about the whole band and to see blog entries recounting their epic cross-country journey.
They’re also all over social media:
Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/RunningRedLights
Twitter — http://twitter.com/rrlmusic
YouTube — http://www.youtube.com/user/rrlmusic
Top photo: Kevin and Scarlett performing in the second Skyline car aboard Via Rail’s “The Canadian”.
Below: A little boy listens intently as Scarlett and Kevin perform a quick gig at Winnipeg Union Station.
Bottom: Scarlett and Kevin entertain the crowd at Jasper train station.
18 Thursday Apr 2013
09 Saturday Mar 2013
19 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in photography, photowalking, Portland, random, trains, transit, Travel, urban
07 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in history, New York, photography, photowalking, random, trains, transit, Travel, urban
Tags
Grand Central, MTA, New York, photography, photowalk, rail, railroad, railway, random, station, train, trains, transit, Travel, urban
New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Station.
Cheers and here’s to 100 more — at least!
Here’s a shot of the station taken on a visit back in February 2011.
Ricky Leong 