It all comes in a flash. One minute, your train window is framed by trees and cityscapes; the next, those landmarks give way to open water. Passengers may even let out a little gasp as the world ...

“Bear on the right,” yells one of our hosts, prompting us to leap across the carriage to stare into a dense copse of trees near the track. Next to the dark trunk of a pine tree, I spy a mother bear on ...