The train includes lounge and observation cars, some with open platforms from which to enjoy the panorama of the Rockies. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company was renowned as an integrated transportation system. Its steamships brought passengers to Canada to board trains for the Rockies. Banff and Yoho National Parks were developed by the CPR, and the railway also was noted for elegant hotels such as the Palliser , located in the Calgary Terminal. The first and last tour nights are spent in the finest rooms at the landmark Palliser Hotel.
All travel is by day with the train stopping on private sidings at night.
The tour follows a circular routing through the Rockies. The legendary CPR mainline is traversed from Calgary west through Banff and Yoho National Parks to Golden, near the headwaters of the Columbia River. Enroute the train runs through the legendary Spiral Tunnels and conquers the Continental Divide over Kicking Horse Pass . From Golden to Fort Steele, the train operates on a remote coal-hauling branch through the Rocky Mountain Trench rather than over the regular passenger route. The line follows the Columbia River to its headwaters, passing crystalline lakes and meadows teeming with wildfowl enroute.