Enchanting Horizons: VIA Rail's Log to Western Canada

Format is approximately 8.25 inches by 9 inches. 97, [1] pages, plus covers. Cover has some wear and soiling. Rear cover has a fold-out flap. Maps. Illustrations (most in color). Via Rail Canada Inc. (reporting mark VIA) (/ vi /), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. On 12 January 1977, CN spun off its passenger services as a separate Crown corporation, Via Rail Canada. At its inception, Via acquired all CN passenger cars and locomotives. Following several months of negotiation, on 29 October 1978, Via assumed all CP passenger train operations and took possession of cars and locomotives. At this time, Via did not own any trackage and had to pay right-of-way fees to CN and CP, sometimes being the only user of rural branch lines. Via initially had a tremendous variety of equipment - much of it in need of replacement - and operated routes stretching from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and north to Churchill, Manitoba. Over 150 scheduled trains per week were in operation, including transcontinental services, regional trains, and corridor services. By the late 1990s, with a rail-friendly Minister of Transport, David Collenette, in office, there were modest funding increases to Via. Corridor services were improved with new and faster trains, a weekly tourist train, the Bras d'Or, returned Via service to Cape Breton Island for the first time since the 1990 cuts, and a commitment was made to continue operating on Vancouver Island. This guide has four color-coded sections for the four routes followed by the Canadian, Skeena, Hudson Bay, and Malahat. Each section contains an introduction to the route, overviews of the provinces or regions crossed, profiles of major cities and a guide to the sights along the way. Maps of the trains' routes are placed in proximity to the accompanying text. Each of the four routes in Enchanting Horizons is detailed from the starting point to final destination, and the description of each route is easy to follow in either direction of travel. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. …