Day 3 – Kettle Valley Train Summerland

The next morning Opa and Nana were up early so went for a walk on the Trans Canada Trail located on part of the old Kettle Valley Railway which is connected from the Othello tunnels right across the southern part of the province to Midway.

On their walk they found this plaque in front of a train’s cow catcher.

 They had to stop to read more and couldn’t believe it when they saw the engineer’s name was Raymond, which is Opa’s name.

Next on the tour was a visit to Summerland to ride the steam train.

Tickets in hand they watched the train maneuver to get ready.

Opa was like a little boy in a toy shop, so excited that we asked if we could ride in the engine.

And they said yes!

The tour was fantastic taking them along the hill side with a beautiful view of the valley below.  They even rode over and stopped on a trestle.

Day 2 Surrey-Hope

First stop was to visit Art Knapp Garden Railroads in Surrey.

Opa had been many times but this was Nana’s first visit.  Unfortunately only one train was running but they were still able to see a few of the highlights.

From there they drove to Hope, British Columbia and toured through the Othello Tunnels.

The Othello Tunnels are a series of old train tunnels and bridges that cut through the solid granite walls and pass over the wild Coquihalla River.  In the early 1900’s, the Canadian Pacific Railway decided to connect the southern coast of British Columbia with the Kootenays and it was determined the best option was a route through the Coquihalla Gorge.

Source: Vancouver Trails