Great tour of the Kamloops Heritage Railway
Our meeting last week was moved to the Kamloops Heritaqe Railway. Those that weren't there missed a great opportunity to get a close look at the amazing work being done by this volunteer oganization.
Our host Bud Forbes (no relation to Mike) has spent countless hours working on the facility and the trains. We were treated to a up close look at the 2141 engine. (which is currently being prepped for a starring role in a CBC film being shot this summer).
We were then taken on a tour of some of the coaches, a newly renovated caboose and a lounge car which kitchen capabilities. The railway receives a grant from the local municipality but relies on donations to operate. It currently operates tours several times a week within Kamloops (across the bridge and back) as well as full day tours to Armstrong.
The remarkable thing about the Kamloops Heritage Railway Association is that they only have a couple of paid employees (the people who work in the ticketing office) and EVERYONE else is a volunteer. The volunteers work on the trains rebuilding, painting, restoring, researching, etc.
The latest project for this group is the restoration of a school car. Cars like this were used in Northern Ontario to bring a teacher to very rural communities. The car would have housing for the teach on one half and a classroom on the other half. The teacher would roll into a community and stay for a week or so before moving on to the next community.
Once restored the group will use this car as a permanetn part of their educational program here in Kamloops. Currently they society has a program for Gr. 5 students who come to learn about the history of the railway in Canada and are given the opportunity to build a section of railway using original tools.
What a wonderful organization to have in our community.