Sunday, April 15 was the day that so many of us at West Coast Railway Association have been awaiting. After a multi year project to rebuild the boiler of Royal Hudson #2860, and the successful steam up last September at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park, the grand icon of British Columbia steam was to hit the rails with a sold out excursion. This would be the first operation of the locomotive since October 2, 1999.
After bringing the locomotive and the WCXX equipment down from Squamish on April 14th (on a grey day), the skies cleared and the consist stood ready to go at Vancouver's Rocky Mountaineer station. On the point was Royal Hudson #2860, West Coast's FP7A #4069, BNSF's (trip sponsor) SD9 from New Westminster, WCXX 9622 generator car, Rocky Mountaineer lounge car 3030, four Rocky Mountaineer Red Leaf coaches, WCXX open observation car Henry Pickering, WCXX coach Paul D Roy, WCXX coach 5652, and Kamloops Heritage Railway's coaches 404 and 405.
The train pulled out with more than 525 passengers aboard (a total of 814 tickets had been sold, some round trip and others one way in each direction) and headed for White Rock. The sound of the steam engine's exhaust echoed as we climbed the grade out of Vancouver, and then we rolled on to New Westminster where we met the northbound Amtrak Cascades train with F59PHI and Superliners - a fine whistle salute was exchanged. The steam whistle was wonderful, and both Burnaby and West Vancouver, which normally have "no whistle" bylaws, exempted the Royal Hudson and allowed the full sound of the steam engine to be heard along the way!
Across the Fraser River and on to White Rock, the Royal Hudson performing flawlessly for the passengers and the thousands of line side spectators. Arrival at White Rock was right on time at 1200, with an estimated crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 witnessing the arrival. As the passengers disembarked the train, the crowd was treated to steam releases from the safety valve - the new boiler was tight and steam pressure was maintained easily!
White Rock's 50th birthday celebrations followed, and the speeches and music made for a perfect party on a beautiful warm sunny day. The train headed off south to change the motive power around, the only glitch in the plans for the day was the refusal of the US Federal Railroad Administration to issue a short term exemption to allow the steam engine across the border to turn around. So, although the 2860 provided the power for the return trip to Vancouver, the 4069 diesel was in the lead with the 2860 operating in reverse.
West Coast Railway Association offers its sincere appreciation to:
- BNSF Railway as sponsor and operator of the White Rock trip event on April 15th
- CN for getting the locomotive and WCRA equipment from Squamish to Vancouver April 14th and returning to April 16th, also for providing patrol services and crowd management along the route
- Rocky Mountaineer Vacations for the provision of the lounge car and four coaches, as well as use of their Vancouver station as the departure and arrival point
- Kamloops Heritage Railway for the loan of two coaches
Thanks are also offered to WCRA's many staff and volunteers, and all others who came to help with the trip. It was truly a team effort of great proportions, and the result was outstanding. We also offer thanks to all who have donated to the restoration of the Royal Hudson - your confidence and investment is appreciated, and Sunday made it all worthwhile.
Enjoy the photos here that chronicle the trip from start to finish.
Don Evans
Executive Director
West Coast Railway Association
