Up until this trip, I had only traveled to places by car, ferry or bus. So this trip introduced me to other types of long distance travel and it included a three-day train trip, a six-day ocean liner voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and an international jet plane flight.
Cross Canada train trip – June 25 – 28
The first leg of the trip was a three-day train trip from Vancouver to Montreal. We were assigned two sleeping berths which would make up into sitting places during the daytime. At night, an upper bunk/berth would be folded down and the seats were made into one bed. A curtain would be pulled across to give some semblance of privacy. There would have been a bathroom at the end of the train car.
During the first part of the trip, there would have been a car with the observation deck so that one could see the fabulous scenery in British Columbia. I remember sitting there and experiencing the Fraser Valley and the Fraser Canyon from the observation deck. Unfortunately, even in June, it gets dark at night and then there was bedtime too. Something new to experience, sleeping on a moving train.
The next morning we were in Jasper and from there the train travelled across the prairies. Having read about the prairies as flat, it was interesting to see how it wasn’t as flat as I expected. The terrain was often rolling and there were rivers that had cut down into the land and created an uneven landscape. However it did become a bit monotonous and then we often played cards or talked to the people that were travelling with us.
I don’t have the train schedule, but at some point we passed through Winnipeg and travelled on through the Canadian Shield where there were lots of trees and lakes. I think that somewhere near Sudbury, in Ontario, the train was divided in two – one part going on to Toronto and the part we were on going on to Montreal.
From the back of a postcard sent from Montreal:
“June 29
Dear Granny
Hi. The train trip wasn’t too bad though I was miserable with a cold one day. Trish travelled fairly well. Met some nice people on the train who we played cards and password with.”
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean – July 1 – 7
The second leg of the trip was a six-day voyage by ocean liner from Montreal to Cobh, Ireland. This was still a time when passenger ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean, though it was probably nearing the end of such regular routes. The ship we were on, the Arkadia, was not very new and not so very large, but it was a completely new experience for me.
We left Montreal in the afternoon and we reached Quebec City after dark. We then headed north of the island of Newfoundland and into the Atlantic Ocean.
This was an interesting experience and a very new experience for me. Every meal was eaten in a dining room where we sat with the same people for every meal and had the same waiter for every meal. I was never a very social person so I don’t remember much of the evening activities that I’m sure were available on board.
I do remember that all of the days were grey and cool. It was nothing like what I had expected, which was sunny days. The sea, however, was calm, which was quite good for someone who often gets motion sickness. I don’t remember having any problems at all with that. Though one could walk around the decks to get exercise outdoors, in the middle of the Atlantic there is absolutely nothing to see, especially when the sky and the sea are the same grey color. I was very disappointed and probably got very bored as we were on the boat for six days.
On the back of the postcard is written:
“July 7
Dear Granny,
This is the boat we are on. The trip was quite good. We met some interesting people. Ireland is in view now. We will be landing in a couple of hours. Haven’t seen the sun since we left Montreal. Love Aileen + Trish”
We got off the Arkadia at its first stop in Europe. Cobh is on the south coast of Ireland, in a sheltered bay in County Cork. The boat anchored off Cobh and a tender took us to land. I was now in Europe.
After looking up the SS Arkadia on the internet, I came across this link (http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/marville/other/maother-40.html, downloaded 2020.03.31) which gives some information about the ship.
- Built in Walker-upon-Tyne as the Monarch of Bermuda and launched in March 1931
- It served as a troop ship during the Second World War
- It was rebuilt and renamed in 1947 as the New Australia
- It was bought by the Greek Line in 1958 and renamed the Arkadia
- Its route was Bremerhavn, Southampton, Cherbourg, Cobh, Quebec, Montreal. We took the reverse route.
- Its last voyage was in August 1966 and it was laid up in November 1966. It was sent to Spain for scrapping.
Tourist day trips by bus
We often took day trips to various tourist places. This was very common and easy to book once you were in a city or town. This allowed people to see places outside of the cities and yet get back to your B & B or hotel in the evening. The trips we took included:
- From Cork to Killarney
- From Dublin to Glendalough
- From Dublin to Boyne Valley
- From Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway
- From Belfast to the Mourne Mountains
Jet plane home – September 9
Getting home we took a jet plane from London to Vancouver. This was my first plane trip ever and I find it interesting that in my notes from the trip I use the word “jet” when describing the plane. Air travel was still relatively new. We took an Air Canada DC-8 as in the picture below.
