Last Train to Toronto: A Canadian Rail Odyssey

Describing the year he traveled eighteen thousand miles of Canadian rails, the author provides a view of Canada from the vanishing railroad, exploring the culture of the Canadian people and recording the final fun of the eastbound train, the "Canadian"

Having written in Making Tracks about his experiences traveling 30,000 miles of US passenger lines, Pindell now heads north, where he rides ``the steel of Canada'' for a year. To Canada, Pindell notes, railways have had an importance far beyond transportation needs. They have, he says, ``virtually the same function in its founding as the Bill of Rights did ours.'' And as he travels, Pindell describes the role that trains and tracks have played in Canadian history. But he is also set on a little pulse-taking as well as giving history lessons, so he talks to his fellow passengers, mostly convivial sorts, who obligingly tell him about their lives, their politics, and their views on the US (not favorable). Pindell begins his odyssey with a trip from Toronto to Winnipeg on the Canadian and contemplates ``the nature of heaven-- two thousand eight hundred eighty-seven miles lie ahead of me--the longest train-ride in North America, the second longest in the world.'' He ends a year later with the Canadian's last run from Vancouver to Toronto--a victim of government cutbacks, the legendary train is to be mothballed. In between, Pindell travels northwest as far as Prince Rupert, where there's nothing to do but ``work and drink''; to Gaspe, where the people are predominantly French and resigned to a separate Quebec; to Churchill, on James Bay, where polar bears gather to hunt seals--and to wherever else all the other lines that still carry passengers over the Rockies and through the Maritimes take him. A sturdy piece of travel writing: readable, informative, and surely a railway buff's delight--but not a profoundly insightful or lapidary work. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Upon learning of the Canadian government's proposed rail cutbacks to its passenger system, the author of Making Tracks: An American Rail Odyssey ( LJ 6/15/90) decided to venture North to explore almost 20,000 miles of Canada's diverse rail system. The product of this journey is not only an informative book that fully documents an interesting adventure and the history of the railroad, but a good narrative on the history of Canada itself. Though the prose initially appears disjointed, one quickly adapts to the author's style of alternating between his personal experiences and Canada's history. One will delight in Pindell's colorful portrayal of the characters he encounters, descriptions of topographical transitions, and his ability to capture the uniqueness of each rural community he visits. In addition, Pindell addresses many pertinent topics related to the technology of the industry. This is a positive book on the joys of train travel, and essential for railroad enthusiasts or those interested in the impact of the rail industry in Canada. Recommended for most travel or history sections.
- Jo-Anne Mary Benson, Osgoode, Ontario
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.