Powell River Forestry Museum Society is on track to reopen the new and improved Paradise Valley Railroad this Sunday, July 1.
After the society acquired a larger locomotive back in December, members and volunteers spent much of the winter restoring and retrofitting the train to be fully operational on the 220-foot stretch of track they installed at Paradise Valley Exhibition Grounds last year.
The purchase included a locomotive and a tender, two riding cars and a gondola that has since been converted into a caboose. Dan Parsons, the society’s chief engineer and director of railway, said a wheelchair-accessible car is also in the works. With additional cars, the new engine will be able to pull upwards of 20 people.
Currently, the society has four running days planned—this Sunday, July 1, a yet-to-be-announced date in August, and the Fall Fair weekend in September. Weighing about 500 pounds, the locomotive is difficult to transport and because of that, operations will be limited this summer until a car barn can be built to house it right at the track.
The next phase of the project involves extending the track by 500 feet, a task Parsons said he expected would be completed just in time for the Fall Fair.
With a larger track, the society will not only be able to better accommodate its own train but also host trains from other communities. Numerous train parks exist across the Lower Mainland and Western Canada and Parsons said he hoped meets could be held at the Paradise Valley track in the future.
Local response has been overwhelmingly positive since the miniature railway made its big debut last year. “We pulled just over 900 people in two days,” he said. “We’re hoping that [this project] will bring some new members in and also some young members.”
The train’s appearance at this year’s Canada Day celebrations at the Open Air Market will likely draw even more positive reactions. For $2 per ride, market-goers can hop on for a trip around the park between 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.
For more information on Powell River Forestry Museum Society or the Paradise Valley Railroad, interested readers may visit online.
