2013/07/27: Washago

What a crazy experience! One of the strangest locations I’ve ever been to, one of the best railway experiences I ever had. I’m not talking of the Canadian, I’m talking of Washago, a settlement some 140 kilometres north of Toronto. The taxameter showing already 270 $, the clock showing 11.20 PM, the taxi driver being as baffled as his passengers: we see a railway crossing, a water tower and a little station building. Nothing else. This is the second stop of The Canadian after Toronto Union Station? Never!
Oh, yes, it is, we’re right! There’s a kind of schedule in the building, showing that the train to Vancouver stops here – at 12.40 AM.

Oh no. 12.40. That’s almost one and a half hour. The taxi driver (a very nice guy from Tansania, studying in Toronto, who actually hates driving and who confused me somehow by starting every second sentence with “it happens that”) drove as fast as he could just to bring us to the train in time – neither he nor we did know the departure time - and now it happens that we’re stuck in this cold nothing for 80 minutes. A perfect setting for western movies, horror movies, thrillers and so on.
It happens that the longer we stay, the colder it gets. It starts raining, later thunder and lightning appeare. And more and more people appeare. The only thing which doesn't appear is our train. It happens that everytime we hear a train, we run to the platform with our baggage, but again and again it is “only” a freight train with about 100 double-packed container cars.
It happens that one guy calls VIA rail and gets the response that the train will arrive with an delay of one hour. This means 1.40 AM. One hour more in the cold rain. We just want to fall asleep. Thank god there’s this boy of two years, working as an entertainer for the other potential passengers.
2.27 AM: It happens that the train finally arrives. Almost two hours delay at the first stop. Congratulations, and good lock on your ongoing trip to Vancouver, dear Canadian! Good night.