The Train in My Basement: Growing Up Around VIA By Boaz Shron

The Train in My Basement: Growing Up Around VIA

By Boaz Shron

One of my earliest memories is from when I was four years old. Some family friends had invited us over for lunch. When we arrived, I asked our hosts if I could see the train in their basement. To my acute disappointment, I was informed that no such train existed in their basement.

The train in my basement, in case anyone wasn’t sure what I was talking about.

In my young mind, every house came with a full-size blue-and-yellow VIA coach in its basement, and these people just decided to be boring and get rid of theirs. No doubt in favour of such mundane amenities as a video game console or a ping pong table. Only when my dad started getting substantial media attention for his creation, in the fall of 2012, did I realize how extraordinary the train in our basement really was.

Here I am with my dad, on our way to Washago in a HEP1 coach on the Canadian. We took ONR back.

When my friends ask me how I got into trains, I can only answer that I was born into them. My first train ride was to Niagara Falls with VIA Rail, on the Glen Fraser, when I was only six weeks old. Because I’ve grown up around VIA trains my whole life, they hold a special place in my heart, particularly those VIA trains that I take to see family.

My sister and I are very happy on the train to visit Auntie Sarah.

My second-favourite VIA route in the entire network is the Toronto-Montréal service, because I used to take that train with my dad and my sister to visit my great-great-aunt Sarah in Montréal. She passed away when I was five, but we were so close that I remember her visits like they happened yesterday. Every time I get on the train to Montréal, I still feel the anticipation of going to see her.

Hard at work in the Park Car dome on my way to Winnipeg.

And my favourite route in the VIA Rail network? The Canadian from Toronto to Winnipeg. We take that train twice each year to visit my mom’s family, who all live in Winnipeg. The train itself is a wonderful experience every time; thanks to the panoramic views from the Skyline and my Canadian Trackside Guide, I have memorized every tree, rock and lake from here to Winnipeg Union Station. On my most recent trip, I was the only person in the Skyline who recognized the bridge over the Little Jackfish river (about 30 miles east of Armstrong). This includes the attendant!

I’ve always enjoyed the food in the dining car, even the specially-ordered kosher meals.

Back when my dad, my sister, and I were the only ones taking the Canadian, and VIA had not yet introduced Prestige Class service, we would reserve the drawing room in the Park Car. I loved that room because it was just steps away from the front two seats in the Park Car dome; my favourite seats on the entire train. The old Park Cars with the denim-blue upholstery were an enjoyable ride, even if the seats started to feel like plywood after a while.

Taking in the sights with my sister in the wonderful Park Car dome.

When my brother came around, we would reserve rooms E and F in the Manor sleepers. F is the biggest room in the Manor, and the adjoining wall between E and F can be removed, creating accommodations for four people. On the downside, when I would wake up at six in the morning and open the window to watch the scenery go by, I would inadvertently wake up my brother on the other bottom bunk. Once my mom started taking the train with us, I was upgraded to my own roomette! Very exciting.

Everyone in the family was excited to be back in Hornepayne on Train #2!

On every journey on the Canadian, I’ve sat in the dining car with interesting new people who have exciting new stories to share. I’ve bought candy and snacks from the inimitable G & L Variety Store in Hornepayne, Ontario, a distinction I believe I only share with other passengers of the Canadian and the good people of Hornepayne itself.

Here I am with my siblings after we stocked up on snacks.

But the train’s meaning to me is as exciting as the trip itself: with every milepost passed, I am one mile closer to seeing my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom I haven’t seen in any number of months. For me, trains like the Canadian represent family, togetherness and love.

It’s always great to visit my family in Winnipeg, not least because of this view. Here we are on the way to Jasper and Vancouver.

My friends would often tell me when they were going to Ottawa or Montréal with their families. When I asked them if they were taking the train, the answer was invariably “No, we’re driving.” It bothered me that most people of my generation, and their families, don’t even think about the train as an option when travelling short- or medium-distance routes. I understand the reluctance to pile the whole family into a Manor sleeper bedroom for 36 hours with no cell service, but taking the train for four or five hours is always more enjoyable than driving for the same length of time.

Introducing my friend Greg to the joys of VIA Corridor service. Here we are off to Kingston.

I hope that people my age and younger will get the chance to enjoy the Minebuster-level shakiness of HEP-2 cars, the “ginger-ale, ginger-ale, ginger-ale” idling of the P42, and the excitement of watching the world fly by from an LRC window before it’s too late.

I’m so lucky that I got the chance to ride the old Amtrak Cascades equipment before they were retired.

And for those exceptional kids today who are able to sit still, I hope they get a chance to take sleeper trains like I did. Seeing Canada up close, in 360 degrees, from a Skyline dome, is an experience that not even IMAX can match.

Skyline domes have other uses, too, such as the cardboard train mainline in the aisle.

You would think that so much exposure to trains throughout my life would dull the excitement that comes with taking trains. In reality, the fact that I grew up around trains only adds to the thrill of every new rail journey.

Here I am looking very impressed at the size of the Chateau sleeper that I had just taken to Gaspé.

A big part of this has to do with my dad. From that first trip to Niagara Falls, through the many rides on the old Chaleur train to Gaspé, and right up to our recent train travels in Europe, my dad has made every train trip more special. He would bring cardboard trains for me to play with, he would look out the window with me for hours, and he would even get us permission to ride in the cab every now and then.

My dad has made every train trip more special, from the very beginning.

Growing up around trains has brought many wonderful things to my life, but none is more important than the close relationship I share with my dad. Both physically and emotionally, trains bring people together.

Boaz