In 1990, a proposed railway museum centre was a dream on paper and an empty forested lot. On Wednesday (June 30), this dream became a reality with the official opening of the CN Roundhouse and Conference Centre at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park.
Over 200 excited spectators showed up for the opening ceremony to see the ribbon cutting and the Royal Hudson steam onto the turntable, designed to take trains off the track and showcase them inside the roundhouse.
West Coast Railway Heritage Park president and CEO Don Evans addressed the crowd, thanking the generous contributions and the hard work of over 150 steady volunteers.
"This is the third phase of our overall development plan and is a significant part of our core mission, 'preserving British Columbia's railway heritage,'" he said.
The centre will exhibit up to seven of the West Coast Railway Association's most significant collection pieces and serve as a new site for community events or visiting conferences.
It is designed to reflect the glory days with its eight sets of massive maple doors, brick exterior and the vintage turntable waiting for the next locomotive or railcar to enter the building.
Dedicated train lovers came from near and far, and New Westminster man Bryan Vogler, who was part of those glory days, was more than impressed by the roundhouse and the restoration of authentic railway equipment.
Vogler worked for CN Rail for 34 years and during that time won a Queen's medal of transportation for his exemplary work in transportation and he helped create the West Coast Express.
"I think the antiques are phenomenal," said Vogler. "I often wondered where they would end up when I saw quite a few of these around in my younger days - I remember seeing the Royal Hudson pass by.
"There are some antiques here that are so well brought up to scratch that it's really incomprehensible how they did that considering how old they are."
Vogler's life has evolved around trains for as long as he can remember and both his son and daughter share his passion. He remembers preparing dozens of ViaRail coaches from 1952 "so I recognize the amount of hardship and labour that went into actually restoring their predecessors."
"Trains are the sound of Canada and this place recognizes that," said Vogler.
The roundhouse and the restoration wouldn't have been possible without the significant financial contributions.
CN Rail donated $1.25 million, the province of British Columbia donated $2 million, the federal government $2 million and another $2.75 million from private donors. The tracks in the roundhouse will be named for the sponsors.
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale was the chair of tourism when " a couple of fellas from the West Coast Railway Museum came to Squamish looking for a site" to put some trains and a museum at some point before 1990. She can't believe that idea has become a reality.
"It's so exciting, it's beyond words," she said. "People have dreams and lots of times they have the ability to put those dreams on a piece of paper - but actually taking from the paper and turning them into reality, that doesn't happen so often."
Mayor Greg Gardner said the facility is a huge step forward for the community.
"This facility is something we've never had before," he said. "The CN Roundhouse and Conference Centre gives us the ability to host conferences with as many as 11,000 under one roof and that puts us into a different league in the tourism attraction, so I'm looking forward to us being able to take advantage of that.
"I really must commend the board of directors and all the volunteers from the West Coast Railway Heritage Association who put the resources together to construct the building - it's amazing."
