Home »
Cranbrook Railway Museum
Cranbrook’s much-honoured Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, appropriately located on Van Horne Street, is one of the East Kootenay’s true tourism gems. A variety of tours are available at the museum, showcasing a wealth of railway memorabilia, with a heavy focus on Canadian Pacific Railway, which played an integral role in the establishment of communities throughout the region.
In East Kootenay News Online Weekly’s first photographic tour, we delved into the boundless wonders of the shadows and light, as well as the sumptuous grandeur of the colours and shades that defined the eras on display.
The museum’s collection of rail cars, considered among the finest in North America, spans from when the CPR first tied Canada together and runs up to the end of the golden age of rail travel, the 1980s, when track costs and maintenance,rising labour costs and increased air travel, made operations too onerous for VIA Rail to continue providing regular trans-national service.
Many of the cars on display showcase the once opulent era of rail travel, when the rich and famous rode elaborate ‘hotels on steel wheels.’
Many of the classic rail cars, including some of the most famous that ever rode CPR’s tracks, have been lovingly restored, showcasing unbelievable detail and no expenses spared, including Honduran mahogany (now protected) providing rich, shiny tones inside the cars.
In other cases, cars remain in need of plenty of tender, love and care and are slated for it whenever funds become available.
Like any labour of love, such as this museum, it takes large amounts of cash and ingenuity to make refurbishing projects fly.
A centrepiece of the museum is the restored innards of the Royal Alexandra Hall, brought to Cranbrook years after the original hotel, located beside Winnipeg’s iconic CPR station at Higgins and Main, was demolished.
The hall is now a popular gathering place for concerts and special events, with seating for 280, or for dinners of up to 184 people.
Just like the trains tours, intricate detail in lighting fixtures, trim and ornate fittings provide fine details for the eye.
The museum’s guide-led tours are led at a leisurely pace, with ample audio commentary providing detailed descriptive information at each stop along the way.
e-KNOW/Ian Cobb
