White Rock British Columbia - Everyone likes a comeback story, especially one in which the hero returns from the scrap heap and is fired up with new life and cheered on by a multitude.
 
So it was with the Royal Hudson steam engine yesterday as the British Columbian icon made its first big trip in seven years, a visit to White Rock to help celebrate the city's 50th birthday. The vintage cars and motorcycles that paraded along Marine Drive were simply outclassed by the 67-year-old locomotive, which pulled into the oceanfront station carrying 575 passengers.
 
About 5,000 more spectators lined the route from East Vancouver, through Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and beyond, many taking photos or holding up small children for a better look. At Crescent Beach, just outside of White Rock, about 30 kayakers sat along the beachfront and the mouth of the Nicomekl River to catch a glimpse.
 
"It has been a long time coming," said 54-year-old Ken Lewis of Burnaby, standing in the open observation car for much of the two-hour journey.
 
"It's good to see a steam engine back on the lines again and as you can see B.C. likes the Royal Hudson."
 
The locomotive was rebuilt over 16 months in a $675,000 overhaul that included an extensive refit of its inner workings and a new boiler. Organizers of the 96 kilometre round-trip from Vancouver to White Rock hope to offer two more trips later this year.
 
However, the train's resurrection will not be on the scale of the almost-daily tourist excursions up Howe Sound that ended in 1999 when the provincial government, concerned by estimates that the steam engine needed $2 million in repair work, mothballed the train despite a public outcry.
 
Don Evans, the executive director of the West Coast Railway Association, said the association acquired the engine from the province and set it up as the star attraction at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish. He looked relaxed and a little relieved as the train pulled into the station at White Rock.
 
"It has been a huge task, but I am extremely proud," he said. "Many people said the Royal Hudson would never steam again. Preserving this piece of heritage so that it is not a static exhibit in a museum is so important.
 
"It's a symphony in motion."
 
The engine left its Squamish home early Saturday, a few hours later than expected, said Mr. Evans, because some of the newer high-tech pieces "needed tweaking."
 
But it had had no problems otherwise.
 
Train Manager Bill Johnston directed excited passengers to their places at the Rocky Mountaineer Rail Station off Terminal Avenue prior to the start of the sold-out journey. Passengers paid $99 for a return ticket, while others opted for a one-way journey costing $50.
 
He called the Royal Hudson "the darling of the locomotive community because it is a handsome, clean-cut engine." He said the engine, also known by its number 2860, received its royal moniker when King George and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) journeyed on one of its sister trains across Canada in 1939.
 
Also the tour manager for the trip, Mr. Johnston said he had been fielding calls from "foamers" or rail buffs all week to ask where the best vantage point would be to catch a glimpse of the train as it wound south. Two CN police officers in cars accompanied the Royal Hudson throughout the journey in order to ensure that no one got too close to the moving train.
 
White Rock's mayor, Judy Forster, a guest in the VIP car, is the daughter of a locomotive driver. She said the engine first visited her town for its 20th anniversary in 1977, and on two other occasions.
 
"The Royal Hudson is very near and dear to my heart as I spent a lot of time riding trains as I was growing up. We're absolutely honoured that it's coming here," she said.
 
The corporate sponsors who paid for the repairs and to help make Sunday's trip happen included Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, CN, and the Rocky Mountaineer train.
 
Now that the Royal Hudson is back on track, Mr. Johnston said they are getting enquiries about it from around the province.
 
"We'll take it one stage at a time and [today] is obviously important. People have asked us to run up to Whistler and around the province, but we are planning to walk before we run," he said.
 
Author unknown.