{"id":4865,"date":"2025-09-02T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/?p=7333577"},"modified":"2025-09-02T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T13:00:00","slug":"how-unique-is-summerlands-kettle-valley-steam-railway-in-bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4865\/how-unique-is-summerlands-kettle-valley-steam-railway-in-bc\/","title":{"rendered":"How unique is Summerland’s Kettle Valley Steam Railway in BC?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All aboard! The historic Kettle Valley Steam Railway in Summerland has delighted train enthusiasts and history buffs from near and far for three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steam locomotive #3716 hisses and puffs along a 16 kilometre stretch of preserved track pulling a string of vintage passenger cars passed vineyards and canyons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou pick from two types of cars, either one of our 1940s vintage enclosed coaches from the Royal Hudson or open-air cars that are converted cattle cars with bus-style seating,\u201d said station host Sorsha Perry. \u201cOpen air is the most popular.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passengers listen to a historical commentary while enjoying the views before pausing on the Trout Creek Trestle Bridge built in 1915 at 238 feet above the canyon floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After returning to the station, passengers can take photographs with the conductor and meet the brakeman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople come from around the world to take the train,\u201d Perry said. \u201cThere are many repeat visitors and some people come ride the train for the whole day every year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She couldn\u2019t provide iNFOnews.ca with a rough number of annual visitors.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"|\"
The Kettle Valley Steam Train in Summerland in spring of 2022.
DAN WALTON \/ iNFOnews.ca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are not a lot of places in BC to experience the thrill of riding on a steam train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 58 steam locomotives in the province<\/a> with the vast majority on display at museums. A handful of the relics are sunk in rivers and lakes, abandoned or put into storage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The few actively operating include The Little Prince, a wood-burning steam engine that runs on a 2.2-kilometre-long track at the Fort George Railway in Prince George<\/a> and the No. 7 Baldwin steam locomotive that chugs along the waterfront in Port Alberni.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourists can take gas powered train rides at the BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan. There is a steam train there, however, it is currently out of operation. The #1077 Steam Locomotive at the Fort Steele near Cranbrook used to take visitors on tours but is not currently running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Kamloops, a massive effort to return steam locomotive #2141 to the tracks has been underway for roughly a year. The Spirit of Kamloops Tour made its inaugural trip around the city in 2002 but has been parked since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes a lot of maintenance work, volunteers and funding to keep a steam locomotive operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt takes a lot of maintenance from our crew and this year we replaced all the wheels on our engines so that was a big task,\u201d Perry in Summerland said. \u201cTicket sales help with the costs and we get lots of donations. We also do a 50\/50 draw to raise funds for maintenance on the engine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Kamloops Heritage Railway have been doing maintenance, safety inspections and tests on their locomotive in recent months, with plans to create a world class hospitality ride from Kamloops to Vernon with stops at towns along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kettle Valley Steam Railway tours run at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., Thursday through Monday until Sept. 1, and at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday through Monday from Sept. 2 to Oct. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go here to get your ticket.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There aren’t a lot of places in BC to experience the thrill of a steam train.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":4866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1285,492,493],"tags":[],"region":[206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-4865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4865\/how-unique-is-summerlands-kettle-valley-steam-railway-in-bc\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How unique is Summerland’s Kettle Valley Steam Railway in BC?","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4865\/how-unique-is-summerlands-kettle-valley-steam-railway-in-bc\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4865\/how-unique-is-summerlands-kettle-valley-steam-railway-in-bc\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-hd-mediaitemid110343-8899.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-hd-mediaitemid110343-8899.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Ainslie"}],"creator":["Shannon Ainslie"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-09-02T13:00:00Z","datePublished":"2025-09-02T13:00:00Z","dateModified":"2025-09-02T13:00:00Z"},"rendered":"