3 July 2008
History Train
Steam rises from antique train that arrived in Maple Ridge
and
Pitt Meadows on Friday.
Maple Ridge British Columbia - One hundred and fifty years
ago James Douglas was proclaimed the governor of the Crown colony of British Columbia and a reproduction of the proclamation that gave
birth to our province passed through Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows as part of the celebration.
The declaration was on display in the museum car of the B.C. Spirit of 150 train as it passed through the two communities on Friday.
As the mercury rose in the thermometer on Friday, 500 people came out to the Port Haney train station to see the CP 2816 Empress Steam
Train with its vintage cars including the museum car that contained artifacts from the B.C. Royal Museum. Another 500 people were in
Pitt Meadows at the Maple Meadows station when the train rolled in on Friday afternoon.
Barkerville's Theatre Royal was travelling with the train and five historical characters - Mrs. Bethany Murdoch, owner of a roadhouse,
Packo, the Mexican worker, Jenny Freeman, a slave who had escaped to Victoria from the United States, and Nellie Ottmuller, a German
woman who danced with miners for pay - and they entertained the crowd with songs about B.C.'s history.
In addition to museum artifacts from the B.C. Royal Museum, there was an extensive photo display of B.C.'s history, reflecting both the
history of the First Nations and Europeans in the province.
Twenty-five crew members are travelling with the train as it winds its way from Castlegar to Vancouver, 10 of whom are
entertainers.
"Railways do impact the community where they operate," said Mike LoVecchio, spokesperson for Canadian Pacific. "We like
to balance those impacts with some celebration and fun."
The train is modelled on the Centennial Train that CP had in 1967. It was after a suggestion from the B.C. government that CP developed
the museum car concept and worked with the B.C. Royal Museum to put it together.
LoVecchio said the train has developed a following throughout the province with some train aficionados coming to several stops along
the way.
Everywhere they go, LoVecchio said, cars pull up and the cameras are out.
"Everyone is walking away with a smile on their face," he said.
Bea Brown came out with her two boys to have a look at the train and watch the entertainment.
"It's very good, very informative," she said. "The kids liked it." Her sons especially liked the gold surgical
instruments they saw in the train, and Brown herself liked the artwork.
The museum car was a derelict Union Pacific railcar built in 1952, sitting idle in the Canadian Pacific Railway yard in Calgary before
it was stripped down and rebuilt.
The train will be in Cloverdale today on Canada Day, at the Westminster Quay on Friday, in Ambleside Park in West Vancouver on
Saturday, and in Vancouver on Sunday.
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