Slocan Lake British Columbia - Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival is underway and has
already seen some big premieres, including the tale of Canada's lost locomotive.
The documentary The Last Stop highlights a piece of the nation's
history.
Locomotives helped build Canada, being the workhorse, opening up parts of the country once thought unpassable, those
who live near Slocan Lake have a question though.
"Whatever happened to steam locomotive 3512?"
The film's director, Kaio Kathriner told CTV News the film is more of a documentary adventure.
"The Last Stop is a historical adventure documentary about a group of divers who go to find a lost Canadian
relic. A steam-locomotive that sank to the bottom of Slocan Lake in 1947," he said.
The crew only narrowly escape with their lives and the last living member is featured prominently in the
film.
The dive team loving to find the lost steam engine relied heavily on what the survivor shared about the moment the
locomotive slipped off the barge.
"He's just a good sort of spirit who keeps us going on those hard, long, cold days on the lake. We're constantly
calling him and saying, are you sure you were looking at that mountain? And behind you, you can see that creek?"
said Kathriner.
The film's producer Colten Wilke told CTV News the search was like looking for a grain of rice in an Olympic-sized
swimming pool.
"The search days, we are working on a platform on this giant lake with little to no escape for a washroom,"
he said.
The filmmakers said this project was about honouring the country, its past, and paying tribute to those small rural
towns that relied on the train service and sharing their stories.
"This is a documentary about adventure, and history, so people are going to be able to come relax for an hour
and a half and really get into trains. Even if you're not a train fan, you're going to come out of this loving the
searching and the discovery of the valley," said Wilke.
The Last Stop made its premiere Saturday at Cinefest and the film team is now working with a distributor in hopes of
having it screened elsewhere.
Ian Campbell.
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(usually because it's been seen before)
provisions in Section 29 of the
Canadian Copyright Modernization Act.