The Kettle Valley Steam Railway, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020, with special events planned for throughout the season and an updated logo to mark the year.
害羞草研究所淭his is very exciting to the staff and volunteers of our heritage attraction and we encourage the residents of Summerland and surrounding areas to join us in a number of celebrations planned throughout the year,害羞草研究所� said Sharon Unrau, president of the steam railway.
害羞草研究所淲e want to acknowledge the early founders of the society, those that did the heavy lifting, actually laying down the track for the sidings, and the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours of volunteer time to get us where we are today.害羞草研究所�
She added her gratitude for residents of Summerland and the area for their support of the railway over the years.
Brad Coates, an early employee of the railway and now an engineer and operations manager, remembers the early days of the tourist train.
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害羞草研究所淭he train wasn害羞草研究所檛 doing very well in those days,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淢anagement was going to pay us off and then shut down the operation. So rather than shut down and lay us off, we decided to give it one more try. We postponed our pay in order to buy some more diesel for the Shay and to keep it running. Management worked hard and things improved after that.害羞草研究所�
Today the railway is doing well and hosts around 30,000 guests a year.
Although machines were used for parts of the line, Coates said some areas still had to be done by hand.
害羞草研究所淭he early days of the KVR restoration project were tough ones in that there always seemed to be a challenge at every step,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淪ome of the larger challenges were land and equipment acquisition, including coaches and a steam locomotive. Nobody had any railway experience, so it was like the blind leading the blind.害羞草研究所�
Ron Belisle, an early volunteer and now senior conductor, remembers an unwelcome visitor to the line.
害羞草研究所淏ack in late 1995 Josef Lee Stoltz and I were on a speeder and we had a contractor pile a load of sand on the track west of the Five Street Bridge,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淲e headed out to the pile of sand and laid drainage pipes in the south ditch. Suddenly a black bear started approaching from the west. We had nowhere to go. Luckily he headed up the side of Conkle Mountain.害羞草研究所� he said.
The railway plans to have special occasion trains, guest speakers, tours, and live music.
The Nooners at the Station will feature bands with a variety of styles, ranging from bluegrass to rhythm and blues to jazz.
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