Rolling Home

Tom Allen travels with his family and alone, from Halifax to the interior of British Columbia, riding everything from a two-car dayliner held together with duct tape to a luxury rail cruiser through the Rockies that is packed with wealthy tourists. Along the way, he meets honeymooners and abandoned spouses, ordinary folk and deranged passengers, and veteran railwaymen who sustain pride in their work despite the massive cuts to their industry. Allen weaves his own memories of railroad travel with a family narrative past and present, all the while conjuring the drama, the disappointments, and the magic of Canada's railway history. 2001.