traveling by train

moxy

New member
My husband has now thrown out the idea that he would rather take a train to Ontario(from Edmonton) this summer instead of flying.
I'm not sure how seating on a train works, but I don't think they have seatbelts, or do they? What do I do with my carseat and booster seat??
 
ADS

Qarin

New member
You are correct, trains don't have seatbelts.

You would either check your car seats or carry them on for on-board storage- that probably depends on the train whether there's space in the cars for larger carry-ons (on long-haul Amtrak trains in the states there is, but Canadian rail runs different equipment I am not familiar with- Wikipedia says, "In older class cars there is sufficient space at the front of the car for luggage storage. In contrast, the Renaissance stock only has enough space (underneath the seat) for one small piece of carry-on luggage - the remainder must be checked.").

I love traveling with my kids by train, though I've never done as long a trip as that (looks to be more than 48hours, with a late night start at both ends).
 

birdflippin'

New member
I traveled on Via from Wpg to Sudbury and back (a 24hour ride one way) when DS1 was 7months old. It was nice but I learned a few things.
1)Unless you are a family of midgets, don't go with econo. Get a berth at the very least. Sleeper car is better.
2) It is not cheap, flying is waaaaaay cheaper if you're going through major airports. If you're not going through a major airport, it's cheaper to fly to the closet one then hop on the train.
3) You can only look at so many trees from Wpg and northern ON. It gets boring really fast (well there is a few tunnels between Souix Lookout and Hornepayne) Bring games and new toys. You will not see wildlife unless you count a few cows before you hit the Canadian shield.
4) Overhead storage is slightly bigger than airplanes. In smaller stops you put the luggage on the train yourself, but not in the major stops. From what I saw they do treat luggage better, but accidents do happen.
5) Meals are not cheap on the train (Brekkie is the best deal) It's cheaper to eat at fuel stops off the train. They do not have booster seats or high chairs for eating on the train if you use the dining car. Bring lots of water and snacks.
6) If you go econo, request the family seating near the plug if you have a portable dvd or laptop. There is only 1 of these per car. Bring extra pillows and blankets along with ear plugs and eye covers. It remains quite bright in the non sleeper cars because of random stops. There is also only 1 diaper change area per car and it's always in use when your kids have a poop blowout in their diaper:rolleyes:

Other than that, it's a beautiful way to travel and is, for the most part, relaxing.
 

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