RIDING THE RAILS IN THE ROCKIES

All aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, its dapper carriages climbing leisurely from multicultural Vancouver to the peak-ringed resort of Banff. The two-day route, following historic and hard-won train tracks, reveals supersized summits, pioneering settlements and forested valleys stalked by grizzly bears

- BEN LERWILL

Doris might not be as young as she was, but she really knows how to wave at passing trains. Feet apart, hands whirring above her head, a few blown kisses for good measure. She’s standing on her porch in the tiny lakeside settlement of Canoe, greeting the Rocky Mountaineer as it gleams along the tracks. Doris’s enthusiasm, quite honestly, is enough to shame a preschooler.

For years, this Canadian and her dog — a loll-tongued Shar Pei named Cedar Bear — have taken it upon themselves to step outside their front door and greet the train whenever it passes, earning minor celebrity status in the process. On board, our attention diverted from our eggs Benedict and coffee, we lower our cutlery and wave back. It all feels rather regal.

In fairness, the Rocky Mountaineer is the kind of sight that warrants a salutation. Known for its high-comfort jaunts through the shapeliest parts of western Canada, the train cuts a dapper blue-and-bronze figure on remote rural lines more accustomed to the clatter of freight cars. Three decades have passed since the tourist service first rumbled out of Vancouver and into the mountains, during which time the brand has gained serious cachet. Its reputation — thanks in no small part to the sky-spearing spectacle of the Canadian wilderness — is now that of rail royalty.

But first things first. Like a cloned action hero, there’s more than one Rocky Mountaineer. Using a fleet of nine locomotives and more than 50 liveried carriages, it operates four different routes around the Pacific Northwest, often concurrently. Trains run from mid-April to mid-October, trundling through epic, eagle-flown landscapes at a restrained average speed of 30mph. Sensible, really; they’re not the sort of journeys you want to rush.