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Saturday 18 September
Depart London Heathrow on our scheduled flight to Montreal with a late
afternoon arrival in this very exciting city. Flight time will be just
under 8 hours and our coach will transfer the group to our hotel,
centrally located across from VIA Rail’s Central Station for 5 nights.
Once again, we are trying to arrange to have all rooms facing the rail
track entrance through the station. (Evening free). Sunday 19 September (B, D) After Breakfast in our hotel, we board our coach for a one hour drive to the South Shore community of St. Constance, crossing the St. Lawrence river on the combined railcar historic Victoria bridge. We will visit Exporail, Canada’s National railway museum containing the most comprehensive display of Canadian railway history.Monday 20 September (B, D) Our train departs early this morning for Ottawa, the Nation’s capital, for a visit on the Hull-Wakefield Steam railway and a trip along the Gatineau river. The rail equipment is vintage and of Swedish origin. The steam locomotive is a 2-8-0 built in Sweden in 1907. Our return to the ViaRail station will include a brief tour of Ottawa. This city is rated as one of the greatest in the world with a host of cultural and historic buildings and museums.Tuesday 21 September (B, D) An early start today with breakfast on the VIA Train to Quebec City. Our route will take us across the historic Victoria Bridge along the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River. Arriving in Quebec City, we are once again along the St. Lawrence River, this time on the Quebec Bridge (similar in design to the Firth of the Fourth) to central Quebec City. This is the most European of all North American cities. You will have time to explore the "Old City" before returning on VIA to Montreal. Tonight’s supper will be on board the train.Wednesday 22 September (B, D) Today will be a free day to explore Old Montreal and the hectic central downtown area. For those wanting to explore further, we can assist in arranging travel on Montreal’s Metro (Subway) or West/North Island Rail Line. Most of these services are rush-hour only and may not provide a "same" day return option. Montreal is is the cultural capital of Quebec and the main entry point to the province. The second largest city in Canada, it is a city rich in culture and history, has an inordinate number of attractive, fashionably dressed people, and a well-deserved reputation as one of the liveliest cities in North America. Thursday 23 September (B, L) Today, after breakfast, we leave Montreal for London. We will pass trough Toronto where you will have time to get off and watch the rail activity in Toronto’s Union Station. Our route will be on the CN Freight Line parallel to the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. At times, the CP Rail Main Line runs adjacent. On arrival in London, we will transfer to the Station Park Inn for three nights, overlooking the CP Rail Main Line to the United States. Your evening will be free.Friday 24 September (B, D) After Breakfast, our coach will depart for a busy day in Southwestern Ontario. A tour of the EMD Rail shops (home of the JT42CW - UK Class 66 locos), is planned for this tour, followed by a visit to St. Thomas, Ontario, once known as the railway capital of Canada. There we will visit the Elgin County Rail Museum. We will then travel to the Lake Erie port town of Port Stanley for a ride on the Port Stanley Terminal rail, a tourist rail line that operates a group of GE light weight centre cab locomotives. On our return to London, dinner will be in the former CP Rail Station located on an active rail line next to the hotel.Saturday 25 September (L) Plans for today will be a surprise as either of two options will be provided based on the VIA Rail schedule at time of the trip. First we will depart for Windsor in the morning in VIA Rail. On arrival, we will be met at the station and visit the Essex Terminal Railway before returning for our ride back to London. Our alternate plan is to travel by coach to Stratford for a visit with the Goderich Exeter Terminal Rail. Our coach will then take the group to Goderich, once classified as the "prettiest" town in Canada, for a tour of the Sifto Salt Mine and the work provided by the GEXR to move 100T railcars to North American Markets. Early evening return to London.Sunday 26 September (B, D) Early departure today to Toronto on VIA 1 with breakfast on board. On arrival in Toronto, we will transfer to our hotel, the Strathonca, for 3 nights. It is a short 5 minute walk from Union Station. Balance of the day is free to enjoy Toronto’s vast train system, subway and GO Transit heavy commuter rail services. Tonight we will have a dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.Monday 27 September (B, D) We join our coach this morning for an approximate 1.5 hour drive to the town of Tottenham for a visit to the South Simcoe Steam Railway. We travel in restored 1920's coaches (normally steam hauled) over the rails of a century-old branchline that once connected Hamilton with Barrie and Collingwood. The return journey through rolling countryside takes just over an hour. On our return, planned visit includes a stop at the Steam Whistle brewery, located in the former CP Rail roundhouse, with small museum attached (now open).Tuesday 28 September (B, L) Today we take ViaRail for an all-day visit to Niagara Falls to enjoy many of the local tourist attractions (Maid of the Mist, Spanish Aerocar, Walk Under Falls) before returning early evening on the scheduled Amtrak train from New York to Toronto. The falls are one of the most stunning natural wonders of the world. Niagara Falls is divided into the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet (53 m). The American Falls drop about 70 feet (21 m) before reaching a jumble of fallen rocks that were deposited by a massive rock slide in 1954. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet (792 m) wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet (323 m) wide.Wednesday 29 September (B, D) Today will be the first of two long days enjoying extended rail travel. After breakfast, we will check out and walk the short distance to Union Station to board the Ontario Northland Railway’s "Northlander" for our trip to Cochrane. Our route will take us over CN Rail’s Bala Subdivision, North along Lake Simcoe, to Washago. We then will join the Newmarket Subdivision to North Bay and enter the Ontario Northland Railway. We will pass through the resort locations of the Muskoka and Haliburtons which are very popular in the summer season. On arrival in Cochrane, we have a short walk to our hotel (Best Western), where we will stay for two nights. Dinner will be in a local restaurant close to the hotel.Thursday 30 September (B, L) Today we board the "Polar Bear Express" train to Moosonee, an Aboriginal community located on James Bay. You will have time to explore the town or take a short boat ride to Moose Factory, an established trading post before our train returns to Cochrane.Friday 1 October (B, L) After breakfast and hotel checkout, we will retrace our route from Wednesday back to Toronto. Everyone will have a chance to see what they missed on the way up. On arrival in Toronto, we will return to the Strathcona hotel for our last night. For our last night, we have planned a late evening dinner at the CN Tower overlooking the city of Toronto and Lake Ontario.Saturday 2 October (B) Today is a day to explore Toronto before an afternoon transfer to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for your flight home.Sunday 3 October Arrival back at Heathrow in the early morning after an 7 hour flight.
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Holiday Prices Include
Services of our tour guides (holiday is fully escorted) Any other meals listed in the itinerary (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) |
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