# Train Buffs: Click here and turn green! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806 "2008-06-22T17:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/1 "2008-06-22T17:33:14Z")
**I am so excited!** Some friends of mine are making an [IMAX film about trains](http://www.stephenlow.com/films/rockymountainexpress/index.html), and they’ve invited me to join them on a three-day trip from Vancouver, BC, to Calgary, AB, on a train that will be pulled by the Canadian Pacific’s [“Empress”](http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Steam+Train/Photo+Gallery/default.htm?Show=2816%20at%20Kamloops). We will be riding in some classic private rail cars, museum cars, and first-class coaches across some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. **I am so excited!** From the letter the crew sent us: > [@](#): > > The train offers an intimate experience of steam-age technology at work. The Empress train set includes a Hudson type (4-6-4) steam locomotive built in 1930. This is a large fast, big-wheeled passenger locomotive capable of exceeding 100 miles an hour while pulling a heavy train. This engine once pulled the famous “Trans Canada Limited” once the fastest, most luxurious and longest distance train in the world. Many historians regard this train (running only through the nineteen twenties) as perhaps the greatest passenger train of all time. Along with the engine there are two fifties vintage passenger coaches, a business car, a heritage baggage car converted into a traveling museum and a baggage car with open doors near the engine (for the serious train buffs.) These are not luxury Pullman cars but very comfortable classic mid-twentieth century style cars (two of them from the Union Pacific) in famous Tuscan red CPR livery much appreciated by train enthusiasts. **I am so excited!** Here are some excerpts from the itinerary. > [@](#): > > Sunday, July 13: Departure: Port Coquitlam \< Arrival: Kamloops, BC > 07:00 am Departure aboard the Empress from Port Coquitlam (a suburb of Vancouver). > The day: the train heads north up the Fraser River (Fraser River Canyon, Hell’s Gate) where the track is carved into the canyon walls high over the river. One of the most treacherous parts of the railroad - nearly ten men (mostly Chinese) were killed every mile in the canyon during construction. The train then heads east up the Thompson River along Kamloops Lake and the city of Kamloops where we will be spending the night. > Monday, July 14: Departure: Kamloops, BC \< Arrival: Golden, BC > 07:00 am Departure from Kamloops. > The day: we continue up the Thompson River to Salmon Arm and Craigellachie and the site of the driving of the Last Spike of the CPR where tracks from east and west met up in 1885; we climb up into the Selkirk mountain range and through the Illecillewaet River valley and the famous “Rogers pass” named after the American explorer who convinced the railroad to build through the toughest mountain pass on earth. The train then proceeds through the Connaught tunnel under the mountain. This five mile tunnel was once the longest in North America and second longest on earth. It bypassed an “avalanche alley” that once made the railroad nearly impossible to run. (It is still a brutal pass - closed last year for avalanches.) Then the train proceeds down “Beaver Valley” and over what were once the tallest bridges on earth to the town of Golden at the foot of the Rockies. > > Tuesday, July 15: Departure: Golden, BC \< Arrival: Calgary, Alberta > 07:00 am Departure from Golden. > The day: we climb up the Kicking Horse River towards the famous railroad town of Field BC at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. This is the base of “the big hill” and site of many runaway trains (not to worry we are going up the hill, not down) the spectacle of a giant steam locomotive climbing the big hill is a once in a lifetime opportunity and will never be forgotten. Near the top of the hill the train will proceed through the spiral tunnels, where long freight trains cross over themselves inside the mountain. We then cross the Continental Divide at the very top of the mountains and descend through Lake Louise and Banff down the eastern face of the Rockies (this is a fast, exhilarating and beautiful stretch) to the foothills and Calgary. **I am so excited!** I’ve bought [a new camera](http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/) (which I needed, anyway) and some steel-toed boots (required by CPR for the film crew, and me, too, since I’ll have permission to take pictures wherever the crew is working), and I’ll be reading up on the history of steam engines of this period. I’ve been a minor rail buff ever since I was a kid and my parents would take us to the [Strasburg Railroad](http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/about-the-railroad.php). I’ve always loved trains of all kinds, and this will be a real high point in my railfan experience. **I am so excited!** ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/2 "2008-06-22T17:49:11Z")
Okay, I’m officially jealous. I’ll only turn green if the next two blocks are clear, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/3 "2008-06-22T18:20:18Z")
Railroad humor! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/4 "2008-06-22T21:48:40Z")
I vote green. Does that mean I can be jealous regardless of the state of the next two blocks? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/5 "2008-06-23T15:51:30Z")
Wow, **commasense** , I’ll bet you’re excited! I’m not even a train buff, but I’m a little jealous. I hope you have a wonderful time. And, of course, be sure to post after the experience so the rest of us can live vicariously thorugh you. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/6 "2008-06-23T16:01:50Z")
I’m not sure that, on historic train trips, you should be joking about green signals. The [Cowan rail accident](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowan_rail_accident) was caused by a historic locomotive using sand on a grade to gain traction, causing the automatic signalling system to think that the section was empty, and causing the regular interurban train to run into the back of the historic train. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/7 "2008-06-23T16:59:07Z")
I’ll be sure to remind the engineer to be careful with the sand! ---
**Author:** ![Curate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Curate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curate)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/8 "2008-06-23T19:33:04Z")
That’ll be a great trip! Any chance of a cab ride? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/9 "2008-06-23T20:09:13Z")
> [@Curate](#): > > Any chance of a cab ride? From the airport, maybe, but why would I care about that, when I’ll be on a steam train??? Oh, you mean in the cab of the _locomotive_! 😃 I doubt it, but I’ll take any opportunity I can. I visited [Steamtown](http://www.nps.gov/stea/) in Scranton, PA, back in 2004, toured their spectacular museum and repair shops, and took the very short ride on their working steam train ([this 2-8-2 Mikado](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_1636.JPG)). All very nice, but the highlight of the visit was getting to go up in the [hot cab](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_1646.JPG) after the ride and talk to the engineer. I’d been in cold cabs of museum engines many times, but being in a hot cab was amazing. So I won’t miss the chance for a ride if it comes next month. But I’ll be happy to get into the hot cab while the train’s standing still. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/10 "2008-07-04T14:43:14Z")
For anyone hoping to see the Empress in Calgary (or anywhere else along the route), the trip has been delayed by a day. We now leave Vancouver on Monday, July 14, arrive Kamloops that evening, Golden on Tuesday, and Calgary on Wednesday, July 16. The point of the trip is the IMAX filming, so there will be stops and starts along the way, making any precise timetables hard to predict. I’ll let you know if there are any additional changes. Oh, and I spoke to the director of the film, and he says that a ride in the cab is not out of the question. Excuse me while I download Microsoft Train Simulator and the Empress package, and practice driving. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/11 "2008-07-04T14:53:13Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Okay, I’m officially jealous. I’ll only turn green if the next two blocks are clear, though. 😉 [/QUOTE] Green over Yellow. Medium Caution aspect. Chances are though, it’ll go to “danger” red over red and I shalll be obliged to call you lucky bastard. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/12 "2008-07-04T14:54:58Z")
**commasense** , any chance of having a Dopefest for the film’s area premeire? Have fun on the trip! (My tale of train geekdom: I was at someone’s house a while ago and their kid was watching the Disney Channel. The segment “Choo-choo Soul” came on, an educational short subject (this sketch was on the alphabet) with a steam locomotive theme. I called out the technical flaws in the train – the locomotive was an 0-4-0 pulling a passenger train, there was no tender, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/13 "2008-07-04T15:36:38Z")
Wow - sounds COOL!!! I’m very envious! I’d love to do train trips through that part of the continent. You MUST post to this thread when the film is available; we would drive hours to see it. Dweezil would be incoherent with anticipation: I love trans. My son LOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS TRAINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Given a choice between any major bodily organ, or a ride on a train… well, he’d die happy. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/14 "2008-07-04T15:39:33Z")
Oh, and surely the trip needs an excited 13-year-old boy on camera, burbling about how FANTASTIC it all is. I mean, it wouldn’t be any kind of a train film without that, would it? Plus, well, y’all are strangers ‘n’ all and it wouldn’t be right for me to send my son on such a trip unaccompanied, ya know. Gotta think about his safety. :::raids college fund::: ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/15 "2008-07-04T18:27:41Z")
So I read the OP to my husband - he is now downstairs working on his layout and occasionally wailing, “Why not meeeeeeee?”. ETA: What is Microsoft Train Simulator/Empress package and where can I get it (in Canada). I see a Christmas gift! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/16 "2008-07-04T19:44:41Z")
**Scuba\_Ben** : At the moment the film is set to open in December 2009. And as with all IMAX films, there’s no guarantee that it will be booked by any IMAX theaters in the Balto-Wash area (or any other specific theater). But if we can make it work, I’ll be there. FYI: here’s the official Web site: [_Rocky Mountain Express_](http://www.stephenlow.com/films/rockymountainexpress/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/17 "2008-07-04T21:47:20Z")
Have fun. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/18 "2008-07-04T23:01:41Z")
That’s extremely cool. Enjoy it a little bit extra for all of us green people on the dope. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/19 "2008-07-16T06:50:16Z")
Report from halfway. We’re in Revelstoke, BC, tonight, after a change in plans. The trip has been extended by a day. We go to Golden tomorrow (Wednesday) and arrive in Calgary on Thursday. An extra day on the train! Hooray! It’s gone great so far, but it’s tired and I’m getting late, so I’ll save a more detailed report for later. Here are some pictures: [The Empress, CPR 2816.](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_0279a.jpg) [The crew rigging the IMAX camera on the engine.](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_0358a.jpg) They placed mount points at several places on the engine, and switch camera locations around during the course of the run. [Scenic view along the route.](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_0942a.jpg) Note the IMAX camera strapped to the roof of the cab. This is not my best shot, just a nice one I found quickly. Also, all of these pictures are completely unprocessed, except for reducing them in size to make them easier to download. The originals are 10 megapixel, and many of them were captured in the raw format. And yes, [I did get to ride in the cab!](http://www.lfexaminer.com/IMG_0303a.jpg) It was while they were marshalling the cars in the yard, the day before we left, but that counts! And I may get another chance while we’re running later. This is one of the engineers, a 26-year-old who has been working with steam engines since he was 14! BTW, for anyone who wants to see the train as it approaches Calgary, note that it will be coming on on Thursday, not Wednesday as originally planned. I have no idea about the time, but based on how the first day went, I’d guess we’ll get into the Calgary yards somewhere between 7 and 9 pm. Judge more westerly locations from that. If I can post any more detailed information tomorrow, I will. This is great! ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806/20 "2008-07-16T07:14:05Z")
Don’t forget to take pictures of the [spiral tunnel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hill) for me! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/train-buffs-click-here-and-turn-green/453806.md?page=2)