Rail Travel Tours to celebrate the Last Spike of the Grand Trunk Pacific with a special train to Prince Rupert

While residents on the west side of the city may not be fans of the railway, Prince Rupert and the iron-horse will no doubt be forever linked and to commemorate the completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad 100 years ago, an organization called Rail Travel Tours is about to send a special train westward ho.

The train marking the 100th anniversary of the GTR's last spike will be making a fifteen day journey from Toronto to Prince Rupert and back, making use of VIA Rail's Skeena train to complete the Jasper to Prince Rupert portion of the trans-continental journey.

Departing Toronto on April 1st, the journey will follow the path laid out by Charles M Hays and the Grand Trunk Railway planners, across the prairies and through the Northern route west of Edmonton on to Jasper, Prince George and a final stop in Prince Rupert.

Recreating the past comes with a bit of a pricey admission, the cost of the trip is from $3,095 to $4,225 depending on occupancy. The transcontinental tab includes  round-trip train tickets, accommodation and some meals.

The Toronto Star featured this blurb on the pending journey, making mention that when it was completed in 1914 it failed to meet expectations.

However as we've seen in recent years, while it took 100 years to get there, the destiny of Prince Rupert as a major terminal for the Grand Trunk, which became CN is now fairly assured. With CN and the Prince Rupert Port Authority partners in what is quickly becoming one of North America's key transportation corridors.

The Prince Rupert portion of the great adventure will arrive on Monday, April 7th when the rain arrives at the Prince Rupert VIA station. Tuesday will be exploration day for the passengers as they take advantage of a number of Prince Rupert's destination spots, including the Museum of Northern BC and the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site.

Wednesday April 9th, it's back on the train for the journey east.

You can learn more about the centennial journey celebration from this item on the Rail Travel Tours website.