Does anyone have any idea what to take on a trans canada rail trip on via rail

Hello msiehl44,

First of all go to the Weather Underground website, and use its Trip Planner feature to find out highest and lowest likely temperatures in some representative cities during the period that you will be travelling.

http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp#

When you say "trans canada," I don't know what you mean. Does that really mean across Canada from east to west (or vice versa)? If you really mean it, then you might look up weather for St. John's (Newfoundland), Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Banff and Vancouver.

Now you have the highest and lowest temperatures you can expect.

Then go to the Universal Packing List website and complete the questionnaire. When you fill in the part about the modes of transportation you'll use, "train" certainly will be amongst your answers. Plug your highest and lowest temperatures into the questionnaire as well. Then the website will generate a packing list for you.

http://upl.codeq.info/index.jsp

I have not used VIA Rail, but I have read that it is advisable to check your large suitcase into the baggage car and to keep with you a smaller overnight bag.

Silly me. VIA Rail doesn't have a service to Newfoundland. From VIA Rail's website, it appears that "The Ocean" goes only as far east as Amherst, New Brunswick. Then there are a couple of shorter train rides from Carleton to Gaspe and from Halifax to Sydney.

Anyway, you probably got the point I was trying to make about scoping the likely weather conditions across your route.

It's a bad map. The Ocean runs to Halifax, and Amherst is in Nova Scotia, and I can't figure out the map, either. Why doesn't Amherst have a Nova Scotoia colored dot, for instance.

The viarail.ca web site has weather info, and the original question is so poorly thought out that there's no possible answer, other than "what you need."

BAK

To add insult to injury, VIA Rail doesn't go through Calgary and Banff but rather through Edmonton and Jasper.

Sorry, I was posting while I was keeping an eye on our dinner in the oven.

Anyway, that doesn't change the basic concept of checking the weather conditions you can expect.

But BAK has made a good point, msiehl44. The more context you provide when you ask a question, the more relevant are the responses you're likely to get.

What class are you travelling? If you don't have all your meals included, you probably want to consider a cooler with food. Buying all your meals on the train can be costly.

bring some food and drinks with you and cloths you can layer in case the train is too hot or too cold for your comfort.

When? How long will you be travelling? Where/when do you depart? Where/when do you arrive?