1 February 2008
History Comes Alive with CP BC Spirit of 150 Rail Tour
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell on Canadian Pacific
Railway heritage unit 3084.
This June, British Columbians will experience history in motion.
On 1 Feb 2008, The Canadian Pacific Rail, the Royal BC Museum, and the Province announced a partnership to celebrate the
B.C's 150th anniversary with a heritage rail tour across the province.
Premier Gordon Campbell was at the launch to speak about the significance of the event. "Rail has always played an important role
in B.C.'s heritage, and the CP BC Spirit of 150 Rail Tour is just one of the many flagship events planned to recognize the 150th
anniversary of the Crown Colony of British Columbia."
The CP BC Spirit of 150 Rail Tour officially starts on 1 Jun 2008 and will begin its journey across the province, stopping
at many B.C. communities over the course of a month.
The "Empress" is a 4-6-4 Hudson class
H1b.
Canadian Pacific's rolling ambassador, the vintage CP 2816 Empress Steam Locomotive, will lead the rail tour across CP's rail network
in British Columbia. "The locomotive is a Bowen class H1b Hudson, 4-6-4 type built in 1930 by Montreal Locomotive
Works, one of only a few preserved and operating CP steam locomotives in North America," says William Stetler, Operations Manager
for Steam Locomotives at Canadian Pacific Rail.
"The importance of railways in the history of B.C. and Canada is often not entirely realized or may be forgotten nowadays",
Stetler says. "This heritage tour will give people across B.C. a chance to celebrate communities linked by rail and reflect on the
industry's contributions in shaping our provincial identity."
The historic tour will be enhanced by vintage passenger, business, and stage cars. As well, the partners are turning a 1958
Ex-Union Pacific baggage car into a rolling museum, a travelling version of the Royal BC Museum's Free Spirit:
Stories of "You, Me, and B.C." exhibit.
The train tour will take visitors on a journey through time and space," said Tim Willis, Royal BC Museum Director of Exhibits and
Visitor Experience. "The exhibition will reveal just a glimpse of some of the stories that make our history so fascinating. This
really is a chance to explore what makes BC BC."
Along with the travelling exhibit, the train stops will also feature music, kids' activities and performances by actors portraying some
of B.C.'s prominent historical figures.
Stetler believes that the train will capture the public's imagination.
"When the train rolls into a community, people will take notice. It's like resurrecting the Titanic and then sailing it into
Burrard Inlet. The Empress 2816 Steam Locomotive is quite a spectacle."
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