Cranbrook British Columbia - Visitors can travel back in time to experience early passenger railcars at the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and get a taste of early pioneer life at the nearby Fort Steele Heritage Town.
 
Like many Canadian cities, Cranbrook came into existence when the Canadian Pacific Railway first rolled into town in 1898.
 
At that time, the city had a population of only 75 compared to the 1,000 people living at Fort Steele, which gained prominence after the Kootenays gold rush in the 1860s.
 
History buffs would be remiss not to visit the Cranbrook History Centre, which houses the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, the Cranbrook Museum, a model railway, and the rebuilt Royal Alexandra Hall.
 
The CPR built many grand hotels across Canada, between 1888 and 1930, including the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg in 1906.
 
Its ballroom was dismantled after the hotel closed in 1967 and remained in storage for the next 25 years until the Cranbrook History Centre acquired it and restored it to its former glory.
 
Another remarkable example of a restoration project is the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, which has a collection of 28 passenger rail cars, 13 of which are open to the public for a guided tour.
 
"The museum started in 1976 with the plan to get a single rail car and turn it into a gift shop," said senior tour guide Don Kirk.
 
"They bought one in 1977 and started scrapping wallpaper and found amazing black walnut burl. It was a surprise. They thought they bought an old junk car but when they found this, it completely changed the direction of the museum."
 
A museum highlight is the seven sleeping train cars from the 1929 "Trans-Canada Limited" which only operated for two years, between Montreal and Vancouver, before the 1931 Great Depression ended its run.
 
The cost of luxury rail travel became too high to sustain it.
 
Back then, the cost for a single person was between $190 and $250 while a family of four would pay $800 to $1,200, which in today's value would be $15,000 to $22,000, said Kirk.
 
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