Travel through Alberta history on two rails
If you’re looking for a unique adventure this summer, why not travel back in time to the early days of small town Alberta on a vintage train?
Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions offers a wide variety of train tours that run between Stettler and Big Valley, where you can wander the community and view a restored railway station, roundhouse interpretive centre, St. Edmund’s Church and the Jimmy Jock Boardwalk.
“We are more than just a train ride,” says general manager Bob Willis, “We are a living history experience.”
Willis says Big Valley was a divisional point ( a location where crews and equipment were switched off) for Canadian Northern Railway in the early 1900s, and now serves as the destination for a variety of excursions.
There are train packages featuring meals such as the Country Dinner with an Alberta roast beef buffet in Big Valley or the New found lander Special, with a steak and lobster dinner. Other packages coincide with vintage car shows or model railway shows, incorporate teddy bear parades, a murder mystery or seasonal themes such as a pumpkin train, fall colours special and more.
Train- goers will also be entertained on board by roving performers— it’s not uncommon for some nefarious train robbers in the area to liven up the experience on some excursions, says Willis.
With so many themes, a person could ride the train several times a year and have a different adventure each trip, he adds.
New attractions along the route are also being added every year, including a museum that will hold the world’s largest collection of hand tools. “This really brings history to life,” says Willis. The vintage train cars used by Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions are also an adventure themselves. From sight seeing in the open air coach or enjoying some entertainment and a cool one in the Lone Star saloon car, there is a style of train for everyone, says Willis.
For more information on the various excursions, visitabsteamtrain.com to book your trip back in time for this summer.