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| Our first stop was the West Coast Railway
Association's Heritage Park in Squamish, B.C. Here's a beautifully
restored (and operational!) Canadian Pacific F-unit #4069. |
An extensive mini-rail loop runs around the
park. Mom enjoyed the interesting wildlife statuary tucked in
nooks and crannies alongside the tracks. |
The "Royal Hudson" now rests at
Heritage Park. #2860 was most recently in service running tourist
excursions from North Vancouver to Squamish. |
The mini-rail locomotives are electrically
powered, and run on flatbar rails wedged into ties. |
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| No. 4069 and this open-air observation car
will make this year's BCRail system tour, which we enjoyed so much last
year in a Budd car. |
A mini-rail version of No. 4069! |
Mom is dwarfed by the Royal Hudson's
enormous drivers. |
Brandywine falls. We've passed the
top of these falls several times from the BCRail tracks just behind the
trees, but this is the first time I'd seen the falls! |
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| After arriving at Whistler, Dad and I rode
the tram to the top for some nice views. |
From the top of Whistler. |
Looking down on Whistler Village. |
Mom and Maxine Grieser in Whistler Village. |
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| Mom enjoyed the beautiful flowers that
Canadians do so well. |
Whistler Village is a pedestrian concourse
surrounded by eateries, shops, and hotels. |
Many miles of walking and biking trails
extend throughout the Village. |
Here's the lead unit of a five-car Budd
train coming to get us at Whistler. |
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| Stan Espeseth enjoyed the view from the
vestibule. This area is normally off-limits to passengers, but our
tour group had access once the meals were served. |
The track along Seton and Anderson Lakes is
wedged right between the water and the rocky cliffs. |
Train time in Lillooet. If you look
carefully, you can make out all five Budd cars. That's the entire
BCRail Budd roster! |
The rail journey up the Fraser Canyon from
Lillooet is spectacular. Even though I've made this trip several
times, I look forward to it every time! |
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| Ginseng fields can be seen under the black
cover on the right. |
Fraser Canyon. |
Dad gets to know another passenger while
enjoying the vestibule view. |
Fellow passenger Frances Woodward also
traveled with us last year on our BCRail system tour. We had the
privilege of riding once again in Budd car "BC-10". |
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| Mom & Dad pose with BC-10 at Williams
Lake. The Budd cars will be gone forever from BC on October 31,
when BCRail discontinues its scheduled passenger service. |
Three Budd cars pull out of Williams Lake
on one of their last journeys to Prince George. |
The road from Williams Lake to Bella Coola
passes through the Chilcotin region, passing very occasional settlements
with Western pioneer-era churches, stores, and saloons. |
Get out your British Columbia road map, and
look at the vast undeveloped expanse between Williams Lake and the
coast. We passed about 250 miles of open spaces like this
before reaching Bella Coola. |
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| During a mid-day stop at Chilcotin's Gate,
the Espeseths, Osbornes, Smedleys, and Griesers enjoy a delightful
lunch. |
The owner of this establishment entertained
us with song for about 30 minutes during lunch. |
As the road drops from the Chilcotin
plateau to the coast, you go down the "Big Hill" as it's
called. The signs point out the 18% grade (!!!!) ahead. |
Fran rejoins the bus after photographing
the sign that reads "Steep Mountain Highway Ahead". Much
of the Big Hill has been blasted into steep rock cliffs. Mo would
not have liked this part of the journey! |
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| WCRA volunteer tour guide Bill Parks was
also with us last year. |
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