The Great
Train Ride
To the Agawa
Canyon Wilderness Park
Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario
June 6th, 2000
Being new
arrivals in
Canada, we wanted to take in all the sights. This of course
required us to take the famous train ride into the Agawa Canyon.
At 114 miles and 8 hours it seemed far more then we normally
attempt in a story. It had been quite a while since either of us
had been on any train, much less a scenic one. We arranged a
meeting with Mike Morrow, the train line's communication officer
and got permission to do the story. Mike was gracious and full of
suggestions as he introduced us to our train hosts, Mary Rowat
and Cindy Burns. During the next 8 hours, these girls would prove
to be indispensable. I was surprised at the number of people who
were traveling with us. Mike told us that over 88,000 people ride
the train to Agawa Canyon between June and October each year.
Traveling 
due north, we quickly left the suburban life and
entered the wilderness. For the next three hours we putted along
between 35 and 45 mph through huge stands of forest, expansive
still water lakes and babbling brooks. To facilitate the
photographs that were needed, we were offered seats in an
unoccupied coach directly behind the engine. During the ride up,
Glenn Charlebois, one of the engineers came back for coffee and
we struck up a conversation about his 25 years on the railroad,
the railroad life and the engine which pulled us along. By the
time it was time for him to return to his job, I had accepted an
invitation to join him
the cab of the engine after we arrived in the
Canyon. Agawa Canyon's history dates back pretty far. The granite
bedrock underlying the area, formed 2.5 billion years ago, is
among some of the oldest rock in the world. Agawa Canyon was
created through faulting which occurred 1.2 billion years ago. A
series of ice ages subsequently abraded and altered the Canyon
over a period of 1.5 million years with the last ice cover
retreating about 10,000 years ago. The movement of the ice is
credited with the shape of the terrain with its abundant still
water lakes which we witnessed all along the way. The coaches we
traveled in were right out of the 50s with their reversible
seats, which for the most part are quite comfortable. An added
attraction was the dining car. With scenes from black 
and
white movies flashing in my head, I looked to see if Humphery
Bogart was sitting with Lauran Bacall sipping wine as he
discussed some great secret. The actors were missing but not the
wine. The dining car is located, for the most part, in the middle
of the train, and serves up its fare from 7:00 in the morning
until 3:45 that evening, and yes wine is available as well as
beer and mixed drinks after 11:00. There are picnic baskets
available for those who wish to picnic at the two hour stopover
in Agawa Canyon. To accommodate 
the breakfast rush, travelers are called to the
dining cars by coach number. The train included one first class
observation car, complete with a glass roof and elevated seating.
Sandwiches and drinks were set out for the occupants. Being free
to roam where we would, I spent a few minutes in this high class
car to get the feeling of what it was like. The view is
definitely better but much of the glass is above you and simply
adds light. There are three significant water falls and one
curving railway trestle which is somewhat exciting to travel
over. These are mixed with panoramic views of Lake Superior,
brooks, rivers and an assortment of hills and dales, broken up by
dozens of small lakes. All the water in this area is brown, the
result of staining by tannic acid (tea) which leaches out of the
roots of the cedar trees. It does not interfere with the purity
of the water.
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