Chapter 4

the train, I only spotted once in a while, but not close enough to talk to.
     Life on board was quite “hum-drum, looking at the water  a lot, playing chess with some one or perhaps  try the swimming pool or just walking about, is about all to do for five days. The meal-hours were about the best of all. I remember I had heard in Sweden that the British were not good cooks, but I could not find that to be true. I thought the food was excellent, but I was afraid to help myself to fresh fruit that were set on the table in large bowls, because I was afraid they would charge me for it. I did not know it was part of the menu and that it was “free”. Well, sort of.
      On July 17 (or maybe 18^th) we arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, right about noon-time or a little before. Everyone had their luggage assembled on deck and ready to disembark. We were instructed how to proceed and where to go and follow the signs that were to guide us in the right direction. We had arrived in Canada. WOW!!
      The exact part of Halifax was called “Pier 21”, (which has now been designated a out-door museum). The customs officers were going through our belonging, quite thoroughly I must say, they were mainly interested in hidden narcotics and jewelry. I quickly found my “America-trunk”, it was damaged alright, but the thin metal sheeting and wooden straps held it together  and I found that anything that could break had broken, dishes and all my “78” music records, some of them were of well-known artists. It took quite a while to get the customs and passport cleared but eventually we were let go and we could head for the train that was waiting nearby. It was a very old narrow gauge system, with a coal fired steam locomotive, Wooden seats, coal dust all over and a big coal fired heater in the middle of the car, luckily it was summer and it didn’t have to be fired up . It was to take better part of a day and night to get to Montreal but we eventually got there too.
      On this old excuse for a train my seating-companion happened to be a “finnlander” who had worked a short time in Sweden so finally I had someone to talk to, besides having learned to speak Finn when I worked and lived in Gävle We sort of “hit it off” and remained “buddies” for the next week and would have remained so had we not parted company in Vancouver.
     This old excuse for a train made it o Montréal and we got  to the “Windsor” station were we were to board the train for Vancouver but we had to wait 7 hours before it was to leave so we went for a long sightseeing trip on foot . I think we managed to see practically all of Montréal, including the top of “Mount Royal”, a nice park with beautiful view and a restaurant, our fund were limited so we just looked. We went down the long hill and then indulged in an ice-cream cone, we had vouchers for our meals on the train so we were not going hungry but it was a long wait before we could satisfy our gurgling and empty stomachs. Oh yes on our “tour-of-the-town” we happened on the Danish couple and their daughter, they were sitting on a park-bench on the boulevard and contemplated what to do next, they were actually headed for London Ontario but it so happened they stayed in Montréal I found out later, that is until they also moved to Victoria on Vancouver Island, quite a few years later.
     Around seven o’clock that evening the train departed with us comfortably settled down in our seats. We did not have sleeper seats or bedroom, all that cost a bit more and was not offered to us “freeloaders” we would have had to pay for it out of our own pockets and neither one of us had that much capital My Finnish friend turned out to be a really nice guy to have for a friend and companion.
The train was reasonably okay, bench-seat but at least upholstered, there was coal dust here also but not as much. It was being pulled by two old but big steam-locomotives. We had a late meal on the trains restaurant or “dining-car”. I think I had poached salmon that first meal. We paid with our vouchers but unsure how much to tip so I think we left a “dime” (ten cents). It was a lot of money those days; I think you could get a loaf of bread for that kind of money at that time.
  It turned dark outside so the first Canada experience was without scenery, I think we saw the first city in the morning, we slept best we could on these bench-seats as there was plenty of room no other passengers came to claim a seat and the conductor said nothing. The train came to a rather large city and stopped, it happened to be the city of Monkton, New Brunswick. Everyone spoke French. It started to get interesting; we could see the landscape, people going to work, animals and small bustling communities along the way. We also got to know a few more people on the train, people like ourselves that came of the Georgic from various parts of the world. There were a few Swedes on the train  and I remember one who had “dug out his fishing rod “ and could hardly wait to get out and try it in Canadian waters.
So far as I could determine, us two were the only once headed all the way to Vancouver, British Columbia.
  We kept rolling along  through the Canadian countryside, hour after hour after hour just sitting there looking out and sometimes going to de dining-car to get  our meals or tea or coffee break, we saw lake-country in Ontario, vast prairie in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and part of Alberta where the scenery began to change with the foothills of the rocky mountains began to appear. We saw the odd cowboy galloping across the flat land and herds of cattle being guided along for a roundup. The train stopped a few times to let someone off or on and we had to change our seats during night time to accommodate our need for sleep, the conductor on the last half was not pleased to see us sleep on the benches or something cause he kept chasing us from one car to the other, that was mostly west of Winnipeg that we had that problem. When we got to Calgary they hooked one more engine on to help pull the train over the “Rockies” It seems to me there where four engines on this stretch. The longest stop the train did was in Calgary, where some of the immigrants were to change train and head for Edmonton, which is also in Alberta but a bit more north of Calgary. In Calgary we also had to change to a more comfortable coach, similar to the seats on an airplane and all the seats were facing forward, they (the train) also had one or two viewing cars where one could go and sit in a dome type of car and take in the scenery. Here they also served beverages, like a bar, but costly. So we just ignored the temptations. When we reached Nelson, in the Kootenai, one of the locomotives was dropped. We were treated to snowcapped mountains riding high up, at one point the train came to a full stop and that on a half-moon shaped trestle with the mountain going straight up on one side and a deep ravine on the other. The reason?; There was a moose on the track and had nowhere to go but in the same direction as the train and it took awhile for the moose to get going and we just sat there wondering what it was all about because we could not see in front of the train, we only had the conductors report and as we did not understand English we were totally in the dark. Well after what seemed an eternity the train got going and we were relieved , it was sort of scary sitting on this trestle looking down the ravine because we were on that side and it was deep.(300 feet or more).Many of the passengers moved over to the side that was nearer the rising cliffs, away from the ravine side, I guess I would have wanted to do it as well but my ego and sense of “bravado” kept me were I was. We slowly but surely made our way through the mountains, through long long tunnels and narrow stretches of railway that made one wonder how in the world did they ever build a railway through this, it was a bit scary and exciting both. I will try to include some photos of the rail line because it has to be seen to be believed.
It appears I have problems with the pictures here but maybe further along I may be able to get them just the way I planned, we will see. While we were watching the scenery the conductor walked around and
Tried to sell as many sunglasses as possible, at first I couldn’t figure out why but very soon it became evident. The snowcapped mountain with the sun shining on them was just a little too much brightness to watch without them. I did not buy any but my friend did. I still had my $35.00 , soon enough I needed them. And very soon we would be on the western slopes of the “Rockies”, it was getting late and started to get dark outside. We were expected to arrive in Vancouver in the morning, about 8.30 pacific time, it was time to start getting excited

Six of these engines pulled a long train over the Rockies, I am glad it was summer and not winter as it was when Mariana, Roland and Christina came this way in the month of November. I understand the re were some delays due to snow then .There were quite a few so called “snow-sheds along the way. They are like half tunnels or roofs along parts of the tracks to let snow avalanches pass over the track and not on them, when it came sliding down the mountain side. Once they had come over the worst part of the mountain they unhooked one or two for the train coming the other way to use as extra power. It wasn’t long after that they installed diesel-powered locomotives on this and most other rail lines across Canada.
  
                                                                                           




One more sleep and we would be there. The chairs we sat in were comfortable enough but for sleeping,
; Just so-so.  By about 06:00 am next morning we were getting ready to disembark because we were getting close to our destination. We had been on the train 5 days and 5 and nights and were anxiously waiting to be able to sleep in a real bed and have a “rest”, the trip had been fantastic but everything has it’s limits. Now the next thing was to get settled and find a place to live and a place to work and let everything else fall into place on its own. We were full of expectations, hope and questions. Well, come what may.

























Monday, February 05,/2007 


The year is 1951, the month of July and the day is Friday the 21.( this need to be verified)The sun was up it was 08.30 in the morning and two optimists got of the train. Both naïve with very “blue eyes”

We are in what is to become our “new home land”, which we will eventually swear our allegiance to, but not for a while yet.
    The train we were on had stopped at the CPR- station in Vancouver, British Columbia. Just below Hastings and Granville streets & Cordova Street). People had begun to go to work and coffee-shops opening up, it was early morning; it looked like it would be a fine day.
     We left our entire luggage at the station in a “lock-up” and they charged 25 cents per item and day. We had to report in with the “Immigration-officials” as soon as possible, they had an office near the railway station in a rather large building, near the waterfront just north of the “Marine Building” and a ferry landing for the ferry, which at that time traveled between Vancouver and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. We were full of hope and wonder. Also sort of anxious to find out what was going to happen to us, as it would set the course for our future in Canada. I had still about $27.00 in my pocket, I had spent some on tips to the waiters on the train and perhaps cigarettes, but I don’t remember smoking at that time, maybe the odd chocolate bar?.
     We took a walk to the immigration office at the bottom of Burrard Street on Waterfront rd. There were hundreds of people waiting to see some officials and get direction. Some of the people waiting had been sleeping in the basement on the floor and some others were to sleep there the next night, because no arrangements were made for anybody that had not pre-arranged their accommodation upon arrival. It was definitely not well organized. No customs or Immigration