Christmas rolled into town a little early Saturday afternoon for the West Coast Railway Heritage Park.
Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky, came to Squamish to announce on behalf of Minister of Heritage Mélanie Joly the federal government is investing $1 million in the heritage park.
“Railways represent an integral part of Canada’s nation-building efforts, and each track represents the hard work and perseverance of thousand who worked hard to connect this vast country,” she said, adding how the completion of the railway was part of a promise to British Columbia when it joined the country in 1871.
“The history contained in this facility deserves to be celebrated, protected and preserved,” she said.
To accomplish this, Goldsmith-Jones said the federal government will provide $1 million from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for the West Coast Railway Association.
The money will be used toward purchasing and renovating a former BC Rail workshop building across the street, which has been the site for work on many of the train cars and engines on site. The location also includes a three-storey office facility.
Goldsmith-Jones said that by supporting heritage institutions the federal government believes in creating jobs, supporting economic growth and making communities stronger.
“The Railway Heritage Park plays a unique role in our community as a place to build identity and celebrate history,” she said.
The West Coast Railway Heritage Park has been leasing the site for the last 11 years, so the money will help the organization to stabilize the location for maintenance and operations.
“It’s just so wonderful to receive this news today,” said
Don Evans, the society’s president emeritus.
He said the group is currently in negotiations with BC Rail over the possibility of buying the building.
“We’re working on it right now,” he said.
Evans pointed out that all of the cars being used currently for the park’s popular Polar Express Attraction had been restored at the building, so the site is integral for the facility to continue working on its collection of historic trains.
“That work was done in the shop because it’s fully equipped for us,” he said.
This weekend again marked the return of the Polar Express attraction, which last year attracted about 15,000 visitors.
“This Polar Express event has set a record,” Evans said.
The attraction offers a 50-minute train ride, based on the popular Christmas movie, as well as other activities for families, and continually brings in visitors to the community. It will run on weekends through Dec. 18.
The association started in 1961 and now has 1,500 members and volunteers devoted to preserving the Canada’s railway heritage. Along with many other railway artifacts, the collection contains 90 vintage locomotives, the second-largest number in the country.
Prior to the announcement, Evans gave Goldsmith-Jones a tour of the British Columbia, the 19th century railcar that was purchased from the CPR back in the early 1960s when the organization began.
