"Step back into an era of transportation that doesn't exist any more," urges David Walker, the managing director of the Royal Canadian Pacific and its chief ambassador, as he climbed aboard last Friday during a brief stopover in Toronto.

The cars were constructed in the 1920s to transport such VIPs as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (they crossed Canada in one of the cars during the 1939 Royal Visit).

After CP stopped its passenger service in the '70s, many of these historic cars languished in sheds, falling into disrepair. Then, four years ago, the Mount Royal and her sister cars were resurrected and painstakingly restored, right down to the intricate inlays in the walnut-wood by Polish artisans. Now it's fit for a new generation of the rich and famous.

Filmmakers George Lukas and Francis Ford Coppola have both chartered the cars for their families and friends, as has Microsoft's CEO Bill Gates. Talk-show host Montel Williams has booked the train twice.

A Royal Canadian Pacific vacation is not for everyone, with a car costing about US$1,000 per person per day. Indeed, says Walker, a 20-day trans-Canada tour powered by a steam engine next May, at US$29,000 per person, will be the most expensive train trip ever, pricier even than the fabled Orient Express.

The Mount Royal is usually the first car to be booked on any of the Royal Canadian Pacific's trips, because it shuttled Winston Churchill during the Quebec Conference during the Second World War. For those who would truly like to immerse themselves in history, the bathtub -- the very one Churchill would have soaked in after a hard day of military strategizing -- is still in place (though, because of modern-day regulations, smoking a cigar in the tub is not permitted and the tub's ashtray now functions as a soap dish).

Walker is promoting travel on the RCP because travel on luxe trains, like all tourist ventures, has been hurt by SARS: 97% of the clients come from outside of Canada so this year an extra push is being made to persuade Canadians to book passage aboard the train: "Sometimes you miss out on what's in your own back yard," he said. "This is Canada's history right here."

The Royal Canadian Pacific runs from May until October. For more information the train's tours and trips, visit http://www.cprtours.com or call 1-877-665-3044.; knestruck@nationalpost.com