Rails & Rooms: A Timeless Canadian Journey

by Dave Preston

A journey across Canada, a journey across time. With humour and insight, Dave Preston invites readers to share his month-long journey across Canada, over 4,000 miles by rail. Traveling through every province that still has a track, stopping to recount the glory days of the luxurious CPR hotels, "Rails & Rooms" offers a unique travelogue that covers this country from Halifax to Victoria, past to present.

“A great journey and a great book.” – Global TV
“An incredible journey and an amazing story!” – CBC Radio
“It’s a journey we all should make.” – CKNW Radio
“An integral part of the railway experience… part of the fabric of Canadian life.” – Victoria Times-Colonist
“The stuff of legend chronicled with a chummy familiarity… his prose is lively and informed.” – Victoria News
“If we can’t make the journey we should all read the book.” – C-FAX Radio
“A great story for a rainy weekend or a lone traveler who can get lost in the pages.” – EAT Magazine
“A must for train buff but also a nice chatty journey for anyone who cares for travel and the growth of Canada.” – Toronto Star
“A delightful and entertaining read… well worth acquiring for your library.” – WCRA News
“… a serious interest in Canadian history, as well as a knack for telling a story.” – Star Phoenix
“He has a way of putting the reader in the time and the place… he’ll tell you things you didn’t know about your hometown.” – The St Albert Gazette
“Enough detail… to satisfy most railway buffs.” – Winnipeg Free Press
“Canada’s great inland cruise… a front row seat to a nation.” - News Group
“I found myself very much as though I was actually taking this fascinating trans-continental journey… I highly recommend this book to any lover of trains or travel.” – Ross Rowland, Engineer and Railway Entrepreneur

224 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Dave Preston is a writer and musician, born in North Yorkshire where he lived on a farm and was raised by a mother who worries too much. After studying agriculture, engineering, and computer science he leapt across the ocean to live and work in Canada.

He is the author of four books (and contributor to several others) and four plays, as well as hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles and columns. He's a seasoned travel and food writer, as well as an award-winning brewer and winemaker. He also admits to writing poetry.

Weekends often find him playing guitar and singing in a rock and roll band (though his mother worries that he's getting too old for all this, and his knees often agree).

He lives on Vancouver Island, BC, with his wife, too much garden, and almost too many dogs.

Reviews

[Amy Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I thought it would be. I thought this was going to be an exploration of the history of Canada's railway system, province by province and the history of the accompanying historic hotels.
What it was is a travel diary, the little details and experiences and thoughts of the author as he rides from coast to coast and his adventures and impressions along the way.
There is little chunks of history included but it's the modern day, personal journey of the author that you're really getting.
I skimmed through it in an hour, finding the tidbits of interest and was done.

For fans of traveling vicariously, this would be an enjoyable exploration of Canada.

[Alan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought back memories of our own journey across Canada by train. Dave Preston weaves Canadian history into this travel memoir.