Gathering at the North Vancouver station on the afternoon of Friday, October 27 were about 120 guests. They came from as far away as California and Florida, to sample the range of BC Rail Passenger Services products, including the new Whistler Northwind.

At around 1515, a consist from the Pacific Starlight dinner train was pulled into the station by the train's normal motive power, #601. Three dome cars, the Twilight, Moonglow and Stardust were accompanied by power car Shalalth. Of note was the new tuscan paint along the window strip, replacing the previous red with blue and white - much classier with the tuscan! The band Night Train played on the platform and the guests were enjoying the music, while up front something else was happening. Our motive power for the trip had arrived - WCRA's F unit #4069 was coupling on to the train!

Nothing could dull the day now, not even the gray skies and threatening rain! As we took our seats, your writer secured the front table in Moonglow's dome - now we could really watch the classic F from a unique position. Departing on time at 1600 hours, we were destined for Whistler with full dinner train service en route. Soon the fine service was underway, as we enjoyed our appetizers and wine to the sights and sounds of the F unit up front and the lovely ride along Howe Sound. Dinner choices were Beef Tenderloin or Pacific Salmon. What could be finer than enjoying a fabulous meal with outstanding service while watching our F lean into the curves from the vantage point of a Budd dome seat!

By Squamish the rain had started - in fact it was deluging as we stopped at the station. We were just getting into dessert as we started northward again. Now we did have some butterflies - ahead lay the 2.2% grade up the Cheakamus Canyon to Whistler, and 4069 has never made a run north of Squamish! We finish dessert and settle in to watch the climb, 4069's headlight cutting a swath through the darkness. As we start to tackle the grade we can listen to the unit work - memories come flooding back again. The sound of the unit penetrates the dome and as she works in run 8 continuously, memories of the domeliners of the 50's are unavoidable - the sound unmistakable! She handles the train on the slippery rails just fine as we continue up the hill, then take the siding at Garibaldi for a meet with work extra 761 and southbound freight 4613. Back on the mainline again, we have yet another meet at McGuire where the southbound Cariboo Prospector glides by followed closely by a CN business train behind a CN 7500 engine (of course, its dark and all we can see are number boards). For a second time we start on the upgrade without problem and arrive Whistler station at 1945.

BC Rail has this all down pat - as we disembark in the pouring rain we are handed a Pacific Starlight umbrella to use for the short walk to the waiting Glacier Coach lines buses, and then we are off to our overnight accommodation at the new Westin Whistler Resort & Spa. This is a class act, but the evening is not over yet as we are invited to a reception and showing of the Cariboo by photographer Chris Harris with three wonderful multi-projector slide shows. Awesome!

Next morning the group convenes for a buffet breakfast at the hotel and some free time. Although it has been raining hard overnight and has even snowed a few flakes, the weather eases and we board the buses at 1000 with no rain to return to the Whistler station. There we board Budd RDC-1's BC-11 / BC-10 to sample the Explorer service en route Squamish. As we depart, the sun breaks through and it is a gorgeous ride down the hill with fresh snow on the mountains and raging waters in the rivers. The Explorer crew (the name has been changed from Whistler Explorer to Explorer to avoid confusion in 2001 with the new Whistler Northwind) does a good job of coffee service as we enjoy the southbound ride, seeing the scenery that we passed in darkness last night. We arrive at the Squamish station at 1145.

And now, the piece de resistance! Just ahead of our two Budd cars is the consist that will return us to North Vancouver. On the point is our F unit #4069, leading power car Shalath. diner Alta Lake, and the three brand new Whistler Northwind dome cars from Colorado railcar. Our engineer Tom (who, by the way, has held the engineer duties for all segments of this trip), transfers from BC 11 to 4069 and we board the new cars.

These are wonderful - bright and airy, and spacious in both seating and headroom. This writer had wondered about the headroom as the cars look low, but aboard it is clear there is more than ample space. Of course, there is no lower level to worry about here! The Summit Service car is first followed by the two Panorama Service cars, all three feature the same seat spacing and view, all three are different in colour schemes inside. On the Whistler Northwind, Panorama passengers will have one lounge car and be served meals at their seats on tray tables while Summit Service passengers will have a full table dining car and a round end observation lounge for their enjoyment. We are served lunch at en route North Vancouver.

The view from these cars is quite different than yesterday's view from the Budd dome Moonglow, as we are not above the train looking over the roof. But you can really see and appreciate the scenery - clear views are afforded up above and it was great watching the F unit lead the train into the curves. Further, the glass drops very low beside you, giving a view never experienced before from a train right down to the waters of Howe Sound. The new cars ride very well and are really quiet, and our on board service was exquisite once again.

Even though we saunter along - this could be stretched out to take forever as far as this writer is concerned - soon we are rolling through West Vancouver towards home. Extra special waves are the order of the day as the train rolls along the seawall, and then we pull into North Vancouver station at 1430.

A "Taste of Train Travel" comes to an end, but BC Rail has really put on an outstanding show in every regard. Not one person is heard to have any complaints as we disembark from 22 hours of rail delight! The new Whistler Northwind will be looked forward to by all of us when it enters service May 2001. Well done BC Rail!