10 August 2010

If You're Not Already a Railfan, then Railway Days Will Make You One!

Decked out trains like this are part of the Railway Days experience.

Revelstoke British Columbia - If you are not already a railfan, then Railway Days in Revelstoke will make you one!
 
Where else can you, in one long weekend, marvel at the power of a steam locomotive in action, view the Last Spike, watch the action on model railroad layouts, taste the foods of summer, hear the buzz of chainsaws in forestry demonstrations, delight in a magic lantern show, learn more about community history, shop until you drop, and immerse yourself in mountain experiences?
 
Railway Days is all about community and the celebration of a community that owes its existence to the construction of the railway through the mountains to the west coast in the 1880s.
 
I have come to appreciate Revelstoke's close association to the railway and coordinating Railway Days this year has been a wonderful experience.
 
Taking a previously ten-day festival and scoring it down to six without losing the benefit of many traditional events and activities was challenging especially as there were many new ideas to incorporate to make it even better than ever.
 
What has resulted is an intensely packed extended weekend with something on offer morning, noon, and night.
 
In keeping with our particular focus on events and activities for railfans, we are delighted to be able to offer a tour to see a logging railway trestle bridge in the Arrow Lakes area.
 
All that remains of the spur line that was extended into the bush by the Arrow Lakes Logging Co., in 1906, is an outline of the rail bed and the remains of a trestle bridge built tall and wide over a creek.
 
Being held up by decades of new tree growth, the hand-hewn logs that make up the trestle are practically a work of art.
 
I am extremely grateful to two of our volunteers, Greg Brule and Jordy Hunter for spearheading this adventure and offering their services as tour guides.
 
The tour is being offered both Saturday, 14 Aug 2010 and Sunday, 15 Aug 2010, leaving the railway museum at 9:00 a.m. Box lunches and bus service is included in the $25 cost, but you must pre-register.
 
Cameras are welcome but bear in mind it is a healthy 20 minute hike into the bush from the road along an old rail bed. By next summer this trestle could be gone, so this may be one of the last opportunities to see it.
 
One of a kind experiences and opportunities seem to be an overall theme of the festival this year and I am extremely grateful to each and every individual, business, and organization that has supported Railway Days in so many unique and helpful ways.
 
If there is one thing that ties us all together, it is the railway, and that is what this festival is all about.
 
Jennifer Dunkerson.