Now we're in the Toronto train station waiting to board our train. Same train company (Via Rail), mostly the same route, so you might think one train trip is the same as any other. But here things were different.
Unlike in Vancouver, we had to load our own bags. Retrieved them and checked in at one counter, then had to proceed to another counter to book lunch and dinner seatings. Out of Vancouver we just did this in the dining car at breakfast. We chose first seatings at 11:00 and 5:00. Waited in lounge which was packed. Boarding was done at two gates depending on car number. Everyone had to pile onto an escalator. It was a madhouse.
Train left at 10:07 pm. It went for a while, then stopped and backed up quite a distance. We don't know why.We were in the larger cabin F again, this time in the Draper car, just in front of the Park Car again.
There were a few problems with this cabin. It was freezing cold with cold air blasting out the vent. Glenn mentioned this a couple of times to our room attendant who got us blankets and claimed he turned the heat up. I was so cold that I sat in my chair with the blanket right over my head. After complaining a few times, Glenn went in search of the person in charge but they managed to remain invisible. He eventually became quite angry and threatened to leave the train. On our way outside during a stop in Hornpayne he mentioned the problem to another employee and she said she would cover the vent with cardboard and tape if need be. When we came back, no cardboard was to be seen but the room was warmer so something had been done. The temperature control was an issue in the dome car too as people couldn't sit comfortably for long. Either it was too warm and stuffy or it was like a meat locker. There were a lot of complaints on this trip and this crew in general was a dud.
The other problem in our cabin was that our sink barely drained and the hot water tap spewed water out the back, leaving pools of water around the rim of the sink. It was that way from the moment we arrived. So much for doing a little clothes washing in the sink. You can imagine how charming it was to brush your teeth and then have the water sit there in the basin. We were told that this would be fixed during the long stop in Winnipeg on Thursday morning. We couldn't switch cabins because the train was full.
The problem sink
