Category Archives: PLACES OF INTEREST

Steveston Tram Museum (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Steveston Tram Museum

The Steveston Tram Museum, housing the beautifully restored Tram Car 1220, one of the original trams that ran on Richmond’s interurban rail system and the largest artifact in the Richmond Museum Collection, allows visitors to experience authentic Interurban rail travel and learn about early 20th century transportation.

The left side of the museum

The bright red, 2,370 sq. ft.  museum, opened in May 2013 across the street from where the Steveston Station (which burned down in 1928 and replaced by a simple tram stop shelter in 1929) once stood, was designed by Birmingham & Wood Architects and built by Scott Special Projects Ltd., around the original tracks of the BC Electric Railway (BCER) Interurban Network.

The large windows at the right side of the museum

For 55 years, it provided an important economic and social connection between Richmond and the rest of the Lower Mainland. Today, you can still spot the original railroad path and power poles around the tram.

the Heritage Train Tracks at the rear of the museum

The building has 27-ft. high windows, a winch system to allow the tram  to be pulled out of the building for special events, and public art created by artist Mia Weinberg, a 1994 graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, which will be integrated into the floor of the outdoor platform at the main entrance of the building.  It also has a community meeting room and had a restoration space (now converted into a programming space after the restoration was completed).

Heritage Train Tracks

Here’s the historical timeline of the BC Electric Railway Interurban Network:

  • In 1902, rail connection in Steveston started when the Lulu Island railway, owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), ran freight and passenger steam trains to the area.
  • In 1905, the CPR leased the rail line to the BC Electric Railway Company (BCER), who electrified it for tram use. This was part of the BCER’s establishment of an Interurban railway network that would connect different communities throughout the Lower Mainland, otherwise difficult to reach.
  • In 1913, BCER added 28 1200-class tram cars bought from the St. Louis Car Company in Missouri (USA). Among them was Tram Car 1220.
  • By the 1940s, it had grown to 72 cars and 140,000 annual passengers

Tram Car 1220

Tram Car 1220, nicknamed the “Sockeye Special,” was discovered in a Mitchell Island warehouse in 1992.  Serving the local residents of Steveston to Marpole (located in south Vancouver), it was made of sturdy steel and wood, it was painted bright red.

The tram car could carry up to 64 seated passengers at a time.  They ran from the BC Electric Building at the southwest corner of Carol and Hastings Street to Steveston Village.

Tram entrance

On February 28, 1958, Tram Car 1220 made its final voyage between Marpole and Steveston, marking the end of an era for the Richmond community and for transportation history in BC.

Tram interior which looks like a glowing, wood and glass jewelry box. Beyond is the smoking area

After decades of being off the tracks, the City of Richmond acquired Tram Car 1220 and, on May 3, 2013, opened the Steveston Tram Museum which was inspired by the architecture of the first Steveston Tram Station.

A mini display.  On Saturday, the last train of the night (12 AM) leaving Vancouver carried Steveston revelers who strewed peanut shells from the snacks they’d bought from the station. Not surprisingly, this last-nigh service was locally known as the “Peanut Special.”

Five years later, after a painstaking, three-year, $400,000 restoration starting in 2016, the tram made an exciting return to its former glory.

Another mini display showing chickens, a milk churn and crates of vegetables that sometimes rode alongside passengers

Tram Car 1220 is one of only seven remaining BC Electric Railway cars, five of them in BC in various states of functionality (most of the interurbans ended up being burnt at the railyard under the Burrard Street Bridge).  Several “sister” trams are located in Metro Vancouver, as well as one in Ottawa (Car 1235 at the Canada Science and Technology).

Vintage advertisements, lining the tram;s interior, of products such as Eaton’s Tea, Dri-Glo, Barq’s and even Goodwin’s “corn dodger” shoes

In Metro Vancouver, you can visit the other surviving BCER cars at the Burnaby Village Museum (Tram 1223) or the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society  in Surrey where they offer hour-long rides around Cloverdale aboard Car 1225. 

Check out “Burnaby Village Museum” 

The author donning an motorman’s costume and cap

Jandy

When we entered the tram, a male costumed Heritage Interpreter dressed as a tram conductor immediately greeted us and walked us through, pointing out things that we would never have noticed – the smoking half of the tram with no ashtrays, the screws on the outside that are all aligned, etc.

The mechanical controls and the tiny motorman’s stool

The restoration inside was exceptional – from the rattan seats, graffiti to the match striker plates (where you can strike up a light) at the smoking section.

Vancouver Fares

Exhibits and child-friendly interactive displays also showcase this piece of Richmond history. One exhibit highlights the impact that trams had on Richmond and the Lower Mainland. It includes an extensive timeline on the history of trams which is complimented with footage of trams travelling through Richmond.

Interactive Tram Map

There is also a huge interactive map of all the tram routes that ran through Metro Vancouver.  Push buttons light up the five main lines and the stations that operate on them.

Brake lever, bell cord and conductor’s coin changer

Another interactive aspect of the exhibit is a display explaining how conductors would operate the trams with the ability to use the bell and handbrake that were onboard trams.

Main Station Clock

Another display on the tram car’s restoration process highlights the efforts of volunteers and paid professionals to bring the car to its past glory. Visitors can also dress up as a conductor.

Tickets of the Tram

Evocative artifacts on display include rail spikes, tram tokens, a 1950 employee badge, a 1914 tram whistle and a handsome clock of the type that would have hung on the wall of every station along the network.

1953 motorman’s cap, BCER employee badge, reverse key

Also on display are faded signs from several old stations (Steveston, Trucks and Woodward’s); a 1950s hat worn by a motorman (AKA tram driver); a fare poster from the line’s final years (an adult one-zone fare was just 13c), a brake lever, bell cord and conductor’s coin changer.

Restoring the Rare

Adjacent to the museum is the Steveson Nikkei Memorial, a public art and contemplative garden space unveiled on June 22, 2019, that honors the 75th anniversary of the evacuation, relocation, and internment of 2,500 Japanese Canadians from Steveston during World War II.  It further celebrates the rebuilding of the Steveston community following their return from internment in following the war. 

Steveson Nikkei Memorial

Steveston Tram Museum: 4011 Moncton St., Richmond, British Columbia V7E 3A8.  Tel: 604-238-8081.  E-mail: interurban1220@richmond.ca. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 12 to 4 PM (Spring, January 3 to May 19); daily, 10 AM to 5 PM (Summer, May 20 to September 4)  and Tuesdays to Sundays, 12 to 4 PM (Fall/Winter, September 5 to December 31). Closed on statutory holidays.  Admission is free.

 

CN Station Historic Site (Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

CN Station Historic Site

Fort Langley’s CN Station (historically known as “”Langley Station”), built in 1915 for the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) as agriculture expanded and new settlement drew people into the Fraser Valley, was absorbed by the Canadian National Railway in 1918 and was expanded to accommodate larger living quarters for the Station Agent.

Wooden waiting platform

Its life as a passenger station spanned the steam through diesel eras until 1980. The station, originally located 240 m. to the west, was used full time until 1972 when it was reduced to a flag stop. In 1980, passenger service was completely terminated and, for a time, the station stood empty.

In 1983, the station was moved to its present location, two blocks east, by volunteers of the Langley Heritage Society (a volunteer, non-profit organization).  After it was moved, the station underwent a two year restoration by Heritage Society members.  On February 27, 1984, the building was declared as a Municipal Heritage Site. In 2001, the Langley Heritage Society received a B.C. Heritage Society Award of Honor for the restoration project.

Built to a standard 3rd Class Type design (plan 100-29), this is one of the few remaining stations like it in western Canada (there were 85 such buildings built), and the only surviving Class C station (a total of twelve stations were built within a twelve mile stretch of Langley) from this era in the Langley region.

The 3rd Class station design, developed for the CNoR by influential architect Ralph Benjamin Pratt, is distinguished by its hip roof, a unique feature that branded the station as CNoR constructions. The building’s main floor accommodates an office and waiting room while the upper level contains living quarters for the station master.

The station also has a sizeable, single-storey wing that serves as a baggage are..  It is now owned by the Township of Langley and is maintained and operated by the Langley Heritage Society through an innovative partnership,

Historical plaque

The recreated station garden, featuring 37 varieties of perennials (from alyssum to zinnia), were maintained much like Station Master Richard Simpson (who sold train tickets, handled freight and sent & received telegrams, earning $45 per month in 1918 and also working 60 hours a week) and his wife Mary did from 1918 to 1929, when annual garden competitions happened between stations.  Using original plant cuttings and seeds, it is now a recreation of what would have been there in the early twentieth century.

Wooden caboose (ca. 1920)

A wooden caboose, added beside the station, houses the 1950s era Glen Valley model railway.  A 1947 railway car, purchased and renovated in 1997 by the Langley Heritage Society, was renamed E. & E. Taylor, honoring Fort Langley residents Evelyn and Egbert Taylor, who dedicated much time to development of the railway station, as did the late Bays Blackhall who ran station operations for many years.  Inside is telegraph station for kids and a gallery  of the local Fort Langley Artists Group (FLAG) in the baggage room (they have displays on weekends and holidays in summer).

1947 Railway Car

A section of track, donated by CN In 2004, was installed in front of the station to accommodate the velocipede, on loan from the B.C. Farm Machinery and Agricultural Museum.

Speeder trailer at the section of track

The station’s freight room displays many other fascinating objects and archival images while station waiting room houses a weathered trunk that belonged to Lois Bowling, the first British war bride (she married Canadian air gunner Ross Bowling on July 1, 1944) to arrive (in 1946) in Langley after the Second World War.

Portrait of Ross Bowling and Lois Cross

This well designed and visually pleasing, two-storey, wood frame station was built with a broad roof overhang and eave brackets typical of train stations from the early twentieth century. It also had station signage, wood drop sidings; dormers; 9-over-1 double hung sash windows on both main and second level on all four facades and chimneys (1 straight and 1 using salmon brick with a flair to its design).

General Waiting Room

The wooden passenger platform runs the length of front of building.  Inside is a ticket master office, with original finishes, a Baggage room and residence for station master (currently for caretaker).

Luggage Wagon

The station, representing an important part of the transportation network that spawned and encouraged the growth of Fort Langley, is now a symbol for the Township of Langley as a heritage conservation pioneer.  It is also part of the Fort Langley Walking Tour and is a popular location for wedding and graduation photographs. 

Train shed

CN Station Historic Site: 23245 Mavis Ave. cor. Grover Rd., Fort Langley, Langley Township, British Columbia V1M 2S3, Canada.  Tel: (604) 513-8787. E-mail: info@langleyheritage.ca,  Website: www.langleyheritage.ca. Open Thursdays to Sundays, noon until 4 pm (summer, until Thanksgiving).  Admission is free but a $20 donation is appreciated. Mail to: Langley Heritage Society, Box 982, Fort Langley, B.C..

How to Get There: from Vancouver, it is a 35-min, (38.8-km.) drive via the Trans Canada Highway/BC-1E. From the Expo line exit at Surrey Central Station, catch the #501 Langley Centre bus at bay #4. Get off at Walnut Grove Park and Ride (about 30 mins. on the bus) and transfer to a C62 Langley Centre Via Fort Langley Community Shuttle Bus at bay #2 and get off at the corner of 96th Ave. and Glover Rd. (about 22 mins. on the bus) The village is located along both sides of Glover Rd. – mostly to the north.

BC Farm Machinery Museum (Langley, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

The BC Farm Machinery Museum, housing British Columbia’s largest collection of pioneer and agricultural artifacts, acquires, collects, restores, preserves, and provides a means for displaying, for students and the general public, those articles of farm machinery and pioneer life of a historical nature which demonstrate the trend of agricultural development in the province of British Columbia.

High Cut Plow

1910 Rumely – Ideal Separator

The museum had its beginnings on May 23, 1953 when Bruce Coleman, on behalf of his family, presented his late father Robert Alfred J. Coleman’s donation of an award-winning, single high-cut walking hand plow (its mold board, share and the angle of its beam shaped on the anvil of the late Alex Ross of Bruce County, Ontario, in 1900) to the University of British Columbia (UBC), with Dr. Norman McKenzie, president of UBC accepting the acquisition on behalf of the university.

1915 J.I. CASE Traction Engine Model

1918 J.I. Case Threshing Machine

It started a planning process to establish an Agricultural Museum in the Fraser Valley. In February 1958, a meeting with a group of industry leaders was held in the hospitality room of the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association (FVMPA) Fifth Avenue plant.

Corn Binder

Chinese Water Elevator

That evening, a British Columbia Farm Machinery Association was being formed (it received a Certificate of Incorporation on  June 24,1958) with a goal of funding and operating a museum to be located on the Endowment Land on Point Grey. After the Association was formed, the location was switched to Fort Langley instead of UBC.

Iron Age Early Potato Planter

Felins Tying Machine

On November 19, 1966, the museum was officially opened, in an 8,000 sq. ft. building (it included display space, an archives room, and a work shop for repair and restoration of exhibits), by Sir Robert Bellinger, Lord Mayor of London and, within a very short time, a second building had to be erected to house a growing collection of agricultural artifacts.

Victor Potato Digger

Water Wagon and Pump

On September 23, 1978, Phase Two and Three (the Steam Room) were officially opened by R.H. McClelland, the Minister of Health and Welfare.

Textiles

Old Cameras

Since 1990, when federal funding dried up, the BC Farm Museum Association has been run entirely by volunteers and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Loom

A 1920s rope making machine

The exterior of the museum was quiet and nondescript but, once we entered the rustic building, we were truly amazed at the size of the facility as well as the mind boggling amount of farm machinery, agricultural hardware and early farm living contraptions.

Drum Carder and Wool Batts

Casting Forms

The very broad collection of over 6,100 historical artifacts and farm-related implements (from field to kitchen items), in several different rooms, two buildings and an outdoor exhibit area, is devoted to the development of farm machinery in British Columbia.

Hand Crank Sewing Machine

Vickers Sewing Machine

They have wonderful exhibits of early farming equipment  such as tractors,  a a hand-wrought plow, a threshing machine, tomato separator by sizes, corn binder, early windmills (that pump water and produce light), a 1910 Rumely-Ideal separator, steam and gas tractors,  a sail reaper, threshers, a potato digger, and others. .

Maytag Washing Machine and Mangle

Singer Sewing Machine

Articles of pioneer life of a historical nature include a 1920s rope making machine,horse buggies, a train exhibit, an old wringer wash machine, a milk delivery truck (the last one to deliver milk in Vancouver), carriages and buckboards, an egg sorting machine, several wooden ice boxes (the early refrigerators), blacksmith making hooks, sewing machines, looms, a Bullard’s carpet stretcher, old cameras, 

Bullard’s Carpet Stretcher

Rowlett Carriage

The Antique Firearms Collection displays shotguns (W.H. Pollard 12-gauge shotgun; Belgian 12-gauge, double barrel shotgun; Hopkins & Allen 12-gauge, double barrel shotgun; etc.), rifles (Winchester Model 1895, Mauser Model 1878, single shot rifle; Stevens single shot rifle; Westley Richards improved Martini-Henry rifle; Vetterli rifle; Remington cal. 22 rifle; 1883 Martini-Henry rifle; etc.), revolvers (British Bulldog revolver; etc.), a ca. 1895 pistol owned by George Turnbull (North Beresford, Saskatchewan) and a flintlock pistol.

Antique Firearms Collection

Gun Display Parts and Pieces

Also on display here are a clay pigeon trap, a World War I helmet, bullets, a tobacco can, powder flask, bullet molds, shot pouch, awls and a display of parts and pieces of a gun.

Ford Model T with Tractor Kit and Snowplow

World War 1 Military Saddle

Hanging from the ceiling is a vintage Skyway Tiger Moth crop sprayer plane, BC’s first crop duster, which was converted by Art Seller.

The Skyway Tiger Moth Sprayer

In 2017, five new murals by local artists were unveiled. Hay’s Room was built in memory of Dr. Ken Hay, a founding member of the BC Farm Machinery Museum Association in 1958.   A research library, with over 10,000 books, pamphlets and manuals of historical information, is also available.

Hay’s Room

The Farm Parlor

The BC Farm Machinery Museum, a great place to spend the afternoon, was definitely worth a visit.  The friendly volunteers were knowledgeable and willing to share stories related to the items on display.  Though there wasn’t much in the form of interpretative displays, the sheer volume of items was still a sight to behold.

Milk Delivery Wagon

Two Headed Calf born in Brooks, Alberta (southeast of Calgary).  It lived for three weeks in 1980

BC Farm Machinery Museum: 9131 King St., Langley, British Columbia V1M 2R6. E-mail: bcfm@telus.net.  Website: www.wcra.org and www.bcfma.com.  Tel: (604) 888-2273.  Open Open daily from April 1, 2023 until September 30, 2023 (closed for the winter season), 10 AM to 4:30 PM.  Admission is free.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmmuseumbc/

Engine No. 374 (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

CPR Engine 374

After buying shoes at  MacArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Grace, Jandy, Kyle and I again boarded the SkyTrain from Templeton Station to Yaletown-Roundhouse.  Upon arrival at the station, we just walked about 250 m. to get the Engine 374 Pavilion, along the shores of False Creek in Yaletown.

CPR Engine 374 Pavilion

It houses a static display of historic Engine No. 374, a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) steam locomotive that pulled the first transcontinental train (carrying 150 passengers) that arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1887, finally joining Canada from the East Coast to Vancouver on the West Coast.

CPR Engine 374 Pavilion interior

This ten months after sister Engine No. 371 brought the first train to cross Canada into Port Moody on July 4, 1886, roughly 32 kms. (20 mi.) to the east.

CPR Engine 374 Tender

Portrait of Queen Victoria at the rear of the tender

It was renumbered three times – 374 until 1907, 92 until 1909, 245 until 1913, 158 until 1945.  Originally, it was equipped with a “diamond” smokestack but, when it got to British Columbia, it was swapped for a familiar “sunflower” stack.

Sunflower smoke stack

Engine No. 374 was built in May 1886 by the Montreal shops of CPR, one of eight (371 to 378) similar steam locomotives (with 4-4-0 wheel arrangement and having 69-in. driving wheels) built that year.  In the 1890s, the 69” drive wheels were replaced with 62” ones for better traction.

Driver’s Compartment

While No. 371 was scrapped in October 1915, No. 374 was completely rebuilt in September 1914 and continued in service until July 1945.

Because of its historical significance, upon its retirement, it was donated to the City of Vancouver on August 22, 1945.  It was placed  on display on a section of track in Kitsilano Beach Park, remaining there until 1983.

Due to exposure to the salt air and a lack of upkeep, it suffered greatly. In 1963, a vain attempt was made to move it into the former aircraft hangar (now the Community Music School) in Vanier Park.

Cowcatcher and headlight

In 1981, the West Coast Railway Association (WCRA), a group of railway enthusiasts, launched an effort to restore the engine.

Locomotive Whistle

The locomotive was moved from Kitsilano and placed in a warehouse in Granville Island where dedicated volunteers restored it to its former glory.   In 1985, the engine was transported North Vancouver’s Versatile Shipyards for final restoration in time for Expo 86.

Running Gear

On February 13, 1986, the refurbished Engine No. 374 was transported to the renovated former CPR Drake Street Roundhouse  where it was put on display on the turntable and became a prime attraction.

Coupler

After the Expo, the engine was placed inside the Roundhouse.  In May 1988, volunteers were allowed access to examine, clean and polish the engine and set up arrangements for a public opening.

Telegraph Set

In 1988, the Expo 86 site, including the Drake Street Roundhouse, was sold to Concord Pacific, and, in the course of the False Creek North Development Plan, the developer agreed to convert and expand the buildings to comprise the Roundhouse Community Centre (designed by Baker McGarva Hart and completed in 1997).

AAR knuckle coupler or Janney are semi-automatic form of  railway coupling that allows rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles

Before the Roundhouse was converted, successful fundraising efforts were undertaken by the Vancouver Parks Board and the Lions Club, among others, to build a new building adjacent to the Roundhouse house Engine No. 374. The new building was inaugurated on August 22, 1997.

Old telephones and signages

Part of the floor of the building consists of 20,000 “Heritage” bricks which are engraved with the names of individuals who bought one brick (for $19.86 each), which raised funds (totaling $400,000) through the unique Heritage Brick Program sponsored by Imperial Oil Limited.  You can climb on board the cab and ring the bell.

Heritage bricks with names of donors

Here are the engines’ specifications:

Arbutus Corridor railroad spikes

The pavilion, now a central feature of the Yaletown area redevelopment, is staffed entirely by volunteers from the West Coast Railway Association and, on average, sees roughly 41,000 visitors per year as of 2015.

Plate used in CPR Engine 374

An anniversary celebration is held annually on the Sunday before Victoria Day.   The WCRA also runs the Railway Museum of British Columbia up in Squamish.

Check out “Railway Museum of British Columbia:  CN Roundhouse and Conference Center,” “Railway Museum of British Columbia: Pacific Great Eastern Car Shop” and “Railway Museum of British Columbia: Railyard”

 

Miniature railway village

Also on display old CPR Engine 374 photos and posters; a miniature railway village; model trains; old telegraph set, signages; old telephones, fine china used on the train; Arbutus Corridor railroad spikes; AAR Knuckle Coupler; etc.

Old photos

Canadian Pacific Poster

There’s also a gift shop selling souvenir Tshirts, mugs, plates and caps; train whistles; postcards; etc.

Gift Shop

The “Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway” Exhibit, circulated by the Revelstoke Railway Museum, explores the story of the Chinese laborers during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s transcontinental line, in the 1880s, the lasting impact it had on their lives, as well as their contribution to Canadian national development.

Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway

Engine 374 Pavilion: 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2W3. E-mail: info@wcra.org. Website: www.wcra.org. Tel: (604) 713-1800.  Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 10 AM to 4 PM during the summer and 11 AM to 3 PM in the winter.  Admission is free.

Harrison Lake and Lagoon (Harrison Hots Springs, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Harrison Hot Springs

On the morning of our 32th day in Vancouver, our whole family drove 122 kms. (a 1.5-hour drive) to the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs, east of downtown Vancouver, were we were to join a relaxing picnic with some Vancouver friends.

Parking area along Esplanade Avenue

It is home to soothing, natural mineral hot springs, a long sandy beach and beautiful Harrison Lake and Lagoon. Both town and lake were named after Benjamin Harrison, a director (later Deputy Governor from 1835 to 1839) of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Lillooet Avenue

Upon arrival, we parked near the Harrison Hot Springs Village promenade, a paved walkway that runs parallel to Esplanade Ave..  It connects the beach, spa resort, retail shops and restaurants.

Rendall Park

Public Washroom and Fitness Area

Along the promenade, we set up our picnic spread at the lakefront Rendall Park, a large grassy field with picnic tables, port-a-potties, barbecue pedestals, colorful gardens and big, old shady trees at the east side of Harrison Village, just past the boat launch.

Killer’s Cove Marina

Harrison Village Mall

Located near the Harrison Yacht Club and Ranger Station Art Gallery, the park had good views of Harrison Lagoon and the Marina, on one side, and apartments, condos, hotels and restaurants on the other.

Public Mineral Pool

The Public Pool is centrally located at the junction of Hot Springs Road and the Esplanade.

Harrison Lake

The largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, cozy Harrison Lake is located in the beautiful Fraser Valley east of Vancouver.  It covers about 218 sq. kms. (84 sq. mi.) in area and is about 60 kms. (37 mi.) in length and, at its widest, almost 9 kms. (5.6 mi.) across. It has a surface elevation of 10 m. (33 ft.), an average depth of 151.4 m. (497 ft.), a maximum depth of  279 m. (915 ft.) and a water volume of 33 sq. kms. (27,000,000 acre⋅ft.).

The author with Harrison Lake in the background

The lake is the last of a series of large north-south glacial valleys tributary (the others to the west are the Chehalis, Stave, Alouette, Pitt, and Coquitlam Rivers) to the Fraser along its north bank east of Vancouver, British Columbia. East of the lake are the Lillooet Ranges while to the west are the Douglas Ranges.

Beach volleyball

Children’s Playground

During the busy summer season, Harrison Lake is popular its beautiful sandy beaches along with picturesque parks, swim areas, playgrounds, beach volleyball and a wide variety of water activities (boating, kayaking, canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, windsurfing, jetskiing, sailing, etc.) situated along the beach (or you can just hanging out in the water and on the sand).

Harrison Watersports

There’s also an amazing inflatable water playground (Harrison Watersports), with its trampolines and bumper boats, out in the lake that’s open (for a fee). A glacier-fed lake, Harrison Lake can be very cold. There are no lifeguards on any of the beaches in Harrison Hot Springs.

Harrison Lagoon

Harrison Lagoon (on the southern tip of Harrison Lake), on the other hand, is an artificial water body created in the 1960s.  It is divided from Harrison Lake by a man-made berm built with rock and sand and designed to allow for water to come through the rocks into the lagoon from the lake. Because of this, it is a natural water body and you will notice the lagoon rise and fall with the level of the lake.

The manmade berm

The lagoon is a popular swimming hole during the summer as it gets quite warm. On hot days, there can be upwards of 400 people swimming, tanning, and wading here. It is also safe for kids to swim and play as it is protected, shallow and warmer than the lake.

We tried out our two inflatable stand up paddle boards, first at the lagoon and, later, at the lake itself. Both lagoon and lake have a cordoned off swimming area. 

Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding at Harrison Lake

We also hiked the generally easy, 1.4-km. (0.9-mi.) loop trail near Harrison Hot Springs, a very popular area for birding, mountain biking, and running which took me 20 mins. to complete. Along the way, while exploring, I encountered joggers, walkers and pet owners (dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash).

Harrison Lake and Lagoon: Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia V0M 1K0, Canada.  Tel: (604) 796-5581. E-mail info@tourismharrison.com.  Website: www.tourismharrison.com. Coordinates: 49°30′N 121°50′W.

Harrison Watersports: Admission: $40 CAD ($31 USD) for a 2-hour pass to the waterpark (wetsuit not included, but you can rent one for around $6 CAD). The second package is $57 CAD ($44 USD) and it includes a 2-hour pass, transportation to and from the waterpark, a wetsuit, and a 30-minute bumper boat ride. Open from early June until early September, 11 AM to 6 PM daily.

 

How to Get There: Harrison Hot Spring is located about 30 mins. northeast of Chilliwack, 8 kms. (5 mi.) north of Agassiz, on the Lougheed Highway 7, and 123 kms. (77 mi.) east of Vancouver (1-½ to 2-hour drive).  From Vancouver, travel along Highway 1 and take Exit # 135 to head north up Highway 9 through Agassiz. Continue for another 8 kms. ( 5 mi.).

Railway Museum of British Columbia: Pacific Great Eastern Car Shop (Squamish, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Pacific Great Eastern Car Shop

From the CN Roundhouse and Conference Center, I walked over to the historic Pacific Great Eastern Car Shop.

Check out “Railway Museum of British Columbia:  CN Roundhouse and Conference Center“

Interior of Car Shop

Built in 1914, it was moved to the RMBC in 1994, the largest building ever moved in one piece in Western Canada.

Speeder Ride

Pump Car

Today, it is home to a 15-ton overhead crane.  You can view restoration work in progress as well as some exhibits.

Luggage Wagon

Mail Delivery Van

Housed within is a CP 2514 Colonist Car (one of a few still around today), CPR Baggage Mail Car 3704 and Pacific Great Eastern RS3 Diesel 561 locomotive.

Railway Scaled Model

HQ Scaled Modular Model

Also on display here are a pump car, a railway scaled model, a luggage wagon, a mail delivery van, a scale HQ modular model and a speeder car (once used as motorized maintenance vehicles to transport crews to their worksites along the tracks).

CPR Baggage Mail Car 3704

The CPR Baggage Mail Car 3704, built in 1949, has a 50’ baggage compartment and a 30’ mail compartment. BC Rail bought the car from CPR for work train service but never converted it. In 1998, the WCRA acquired the car for preservation and it was restored by a team of Canada Post volunteers.

Mail sorting area

Now representing a typical working mail car, No. 3704 was part of a group of 10 cars rebuilt from standard Baggage mail cars in the 3600 series.

Exhibit area

 

The CP 2514 Colonist Car, built in 1905, is one of a very few Colonist sleeper cars still around today. Built to carry settlers, mostly European, to settle in Western Canada, passengers spent 4 to 5 days in the car travelling across Canada.

CP 2514 Colonist Car

The last mainline services these cars saw was carrying troops during World War 2. Very uncomfortable and often overcrowded, it had hard wooden slat seats for 50 passengers, but they would, at times, carry 100 passengers, with people often having to sit on the floor or stand.

Passenger seating area

At each end of the car were coal stoves for heat and to allow passengers to cook meals (passengers would have to bring their own food and cooking utensils).

Cooking stove

There were also some pull down sleeping berths (passengers had to supply their own bedding) and washing facilities at each end of the car, one for women and the other for men.

The Pacific Great Eastern RS3 Diesel 561, built in 1951 by Montreal Locomotive Works, putting out 1600 HP, is a freight workhorse frequently seen in service at the park, switching trains in and out of the round house and turntable. This locomotive, representing the first “road” diesels operated by the PGE, was in service for over 35 years before being retired and acquired by the museum.

Pacific Great Eastern RS3 Diesel 561 Locomotive

Railway Museum of British Columbia: 39645 Government Road, Squamish, British Columbia V8B 0B6.  Tel:  604-898-9336.  E-mail: Info@wcra.org. Website: www.wcra.org. Open every Saturday and long weekends, Sundays all summer, 10 AM – 5 PM, select Thursdays, 10 AM – 3 PM. Group Tour events Special Access.  Admission (plus taxes): ($25 (adults, 19–59 years), $20 (seniors, 60+ years), $18 (students ages 12+), $10 (children, 6-11 years), $75 (family, where members must reside at the same address). Toddlers, under 5 years of age, are free admission.  Admission tickets usually include all rides and activities.

How to Get There: the museum isn’t so easy to find unless you have a good map or GPS. Driving past the main intersection with Petro-Canada, 7-Eleven & McDonalds, turn left at either of the next two exits (Industrial Way or Commercial Way) then turn right on Queens Way and follow that a short distance until it merges with Government Road at the stop sign. Proceed across the BC Railway Crossing (after looking both ways). The entrance to the museum will be on your right.

Railway Museum of British Columbia: CN Roundhouse & Conference Centre (Squamish, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

CN Roundhouse and Conference Center

After our Mini-Rail ride, we next proceeded, indoors, to the spectacular CN Roundhouse & Conference Centre, the largest meeting facility in the Sea to Sky Corridor.

Opened last June 30, 2010, this fully geothermal roundhouse, with three levels, has also become a major community events space, with many banquets, weddings, public markets and other functions regularly held at the site.

The 22,000 sq. ft. building, with its over 280 ft. long curving glass feature wall and its upper level viewing deck, offers spectacular views of the Heritage Park and the surrounding mountains in all directions. A vintage railway turntable, to move the trains in and out, was refurbished and installed and is fully operational.

 

 

It is also a grand showcase for a collection of precious pieces of rolling stock in climate-controlled comfort.  Two are locomotives (Canadian Pacific Railway Royal Hudson 2860 locomotive and Pacific Great Eastern 2-6-2ST locomotive), one business car (British Columbia Business Car) and one is a troop carrier (Pacific Great Eastern Troop Sleeper 714).

The magnificent Canadian Pacific Railway Royal Hudson 2860 locomotive is the Crown Jewel of the collection.  One of 65 ‘Hudson’ type 4-6-4 steam locomotives built for the CPR by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW), this series of engines was numbered 2800 to 2864 and the first one was delivered in 1929.

The Canadian Pacific Railway Royal Hudson 2860 locomotive

Starting with No. 2820, the Hudsons got the streamlining treatments so popular in the 1930’s. Five CPR Hudsons were saved (Nos. 2816, 2839, 2850, 2858 and 2860).

During the visit to Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939, Locomotive No. 2850 (now at Exporail near Montreal) was assigned to haul the Royal Train, performing flawlessly and impressing the King greatly. The CPR received permission to designate the streamlined Hudsons “Royal” and eventually each locomotive was equipped with a crown fastened to their running boards.

Visitors checking out the 2860’s driver’s compartment

The engine and loaded tender weigh 293,770 kgs. (648,000 lbs.), has a tractive effort of 19,2004 kgs. (42,250 lbs.) and is capable of speeds of 144 kph (90 mph). The locomotive and tender have a total length of 27.27 m. (90’ 10”) and is 4.7 m. (15’ 10”) high. The tender has a capacity of 54,600 liters (12,000 gallons) of water and 18,614 liters (4,1000 gallons) of fuel oil.

The 2860’s driver’s compartment

Engine 2860, finished in June 1940, was restored for a proposed Railway Museum in Vancouver.  In 1974, the Province of British Columbia bought the locomotive for an excursion train and it ran on the BC Rail track from North Vancouver to Squamish. In 2000, the province leased the engine to the district of Squamish for display and restoration at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park (now the Railway Museum of British Columbia). You can climb into the cab and ring the bell.

The author inside the 2860’s driver’s compartment

 

The Pacific Great Eastern 2-6-2ST locomotive, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in February 1910, is a “Prairie” type weighing over 90 tons in working trim and delivering about 22,000 lbs. of tractive effort with a boiler pressure of 185 lbs.

Pacific Great Eastern 2-6-2S locomotive

The cylinders are 16” x 24” and the engine is equipped with Stephenson valve gear. The ‘ST’ denotes the unique saddlle tank design for the water tank above the boiler.

The Pacific Great Eastern 2-6-2ST driver’s compartment

The British Columbia Business Car, built in 1890 by Barney & Smith of Dayton ( Ohio) as the sleeper Sherbrooke for the Canadian Pacific Railway, was rebuilt, in 1912, in CP Angus as a Business car No. 16 and used all across Canada until it was retired. In 1961, it was purchased from the CPR by founding members of the West Coast Railway Association (WCRA). The car was then leased to the Victoria Pacific (a tourist railway operator) until 1971.

British Columbia Business Car

In 1983, the car was returned to the WCRA and, by that time, it had suffered serious damage. That same year, restoration began and was completed on July 30, 1990, in time for its 100th birthday. It is estimated that 80,000 person hours and $360,000 have gone into bringing British Columbia to her present condition.

Interior of the British Columbia Business Car

As a business car, it would normally carry a complement of three – a Railway Executive, his assistant and a Steward. However, the car could sleep up to 10 people in a comfort rarely equaled today. The interior is Honduran mahogany, inlaid with birch, maple and walnut and finished with 12 coats of varnish, each one sanded between coats and finally French polished. All the fittings are solid brass and the car rides on 6 wheel trucks. 

The Pacific Great Eastern Troop Sleeper

The Pacific Great Eastern Troop Sleeper 714, built by the Pullman Company during World War II to alleviate the shortage of sleeping cars to transport troops in the US, was built with Allied Full Cushion high speed trucks and was designed to be converted into baggage cars thus ensuring a ready sale when the war is over.  Both troop sleepers in the collection saw service on the Alaska Railroad during the latter days of the war.

Interior of the Pacific Great Eastern Troop Sleeper 714

There are two cabooses (a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train that provide shelter for crew) – the British Columbia Railway Extended Vision Caboose 1859 and the Pacific Great Eastern Caboose 1817.

The BC Rail Caboose 1859

British Columbia Railway Extended Vision Caboose 1859, featuring the beautiful two-tone green and BC Trillium livery, was originally built by the PGE home shops in 1969.

Interior of the BC Rail Caboose 1859

The Pacific Great Eastern Caboose 1817 was one thirty cabooses were built, numbered from 1811 to 1840.  In 1955, No. 1817 was rebuilt, from PGE stock car No. 503, in the PGE car shop.

The Pacific Great Eastern Caboose 1817

In their conversion, they were stripped the caboose to the frame and rebuilt it using conventional methods. They sheathed it , inside and out, using marine plywood. The cupolas were constructed with sheet metal and welded for extra strength.

Interior of the Pacific Great Eastern Caboose 1817

Warm and comfortable, they were equipped with a standard caboose cook stove and 3 bunks for crew. ST denotes the unique Saddle Tank design for the water tank over the boiler.

1934 Chrysler Air Flow Model CU

A rare 1934 Chrysler Air Flow Model CU, noted for its aerodynamic body design (far before its time), was purchased from Ron Fawcett (a classic car dealer from Whitby, Ontario) in 1981 for $6,500, by William Albert Exworthy whose joy was restoring antique cars. He restored this car from 1994 to 1995 and, on May 2006, donated it to the museum.

1937 Ford Track Inspection Car

There’s also a 1937 Ford Fordor Sedan rail inspection car which was in service till 1962.  It had the perfect wheelbase to run on top of the rails, with flanges mounted behind the wheels.

Original brass bell from Canadian National 2-8-2 3449

Luggage Wagon

Also on display here is the original brass bell from Canadian National 2-8-2 3449;; a scaled model of a Shay 3 Cylinder Logging Locomotive; an original Stanley Park miniature train; a luggage wagon; a Max Jacquiard painting of Canadian National 6060; and historical Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern Railway advertisements.

Original Stanley Park Miniature Train

Model of a Shay 3 Cylinder Logging Locomotive

Their Gift Shop offers a selection of Railway Museum of British Columbia apparel; scale model trains,model kits, die-cast models, DVDs (featuring Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson No.2860); puzzles and toys; and merchandise celebrating a Day Out with Thomas and North Pole Express events.

The Gift Shop

Railway Museum of British Columbia: 39645 Government Road, Squamish, British Columbia V8B 0B6.  Tel:  604-898-9336.  E-mail: Info@wcra.org. Website: www.wcra.org. Open every Saturday and long weekends, Sundays all summer, 10 AM – 5 PM, select Thursdays, 10 AM – 3 PM. Group Tour events Special Access.  Admission (plus taxes): ($25 (adults, 19–59 years), $20 (seniors, 60+ years), $18 (students ages 12+), $10 (children, 6-11 years), $75 (family, where members must reside at the same address). Toddlers, under 5 years of age, are free admission.  Admission tickets usually include all rides and activities.

How to Get There: the museum isn’t so easy to find unless you have a good map or GPS. Driving past the main intersection with Petro-Canada, 7-Eleven & McDonalds, turn left at either of the next two exits (Industrial Way or Commercial Way) then turn right on Queens Way and follow that a short distance until it merges with Government Road at the stop sign. Proceed across the BC Railway Crossing (after looking both ways). The entrance to the museum will be on your right.

Railway Museum of British Columbia: Railyard (Squamish, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Railway Museum of British Columbia

After lunch at White Spot at Squamish town center, we decide to explore the town and, just on the north side of the town, we chanced upon the 12-acre Railway Museum of British Columbia (RMBC), a wonderful but not that well-known attraction nestled in the beauty of the Squamish Valley.

This replica of a turn-of-the-century railway station and town centre, surrounded by spectacular mountain vistas, features vintage locomotives, artifacts and themed train rides.

Also within the museum is a blacksmith shop, a Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) fire hall, an old-time print shop (with vintage printing press) and a general store.

Print Shop

 

General Store

The railway museum, first opened in July 1994 as the West Coast Railway Heritage Park (it was just renamed as RMBC last July 1, 2021), is locted 40 kms. north of Vancouver.  It is home to the growing collection of the West Coast Railway Association (WCRA), a nonprofit charitable organization established in 1961 with a mission of preserving British Columbia ‘s railway heritage. In 1963, they purchased the first piece of its historic collection – a Canadian Pacific business car built in 1890.

Today, their heritage railway collection has grown to number 95 locomotives and cars, the the largest collection of railway rolling stock in Western Canada and second largest collection of railway rolling stock and associated artifacts collection in Canada (the largest is the Exporail – Le Musee Ferroviare Canadien in Quebec), representing all the major railways which have served British Columbia (Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, Pacific Great Eastern, BC Electric and Great Northern).

A flatbed railway car

In 2004, the Heritage Park acquired and started to operate its full size trains during special events and on special occasions, making it a licensed operating railway.  Its most unique and beautiful layout is set in the context of a typical small town built around the railway station with many buildings as well as the trains themselves.

Turntable (or wheelhouse) is a device for turning railway rolling stock, usually locomotives, so that they can be moved back in the direction from which they came.

The museum hosts several major seasonal events:

  • Thomas the Train Spring Event (May) – take 20-min. trips on the Thomas the Tank Engine and meet Sir Topham Hatt.
  • Dinosaur Train (spring break) – train ride and exploration that includes dinosaurs from Jim Henson’s TV cartoon series, digging for bones and other craft activities.
  • Mystery of the Magic Pumpkin (October)
  • Polar Express (early December) – take a 50-min. trip to the North Pole similar to what happens in the Polar Express animated movie starring Tom Hanks

Upon arrival, we took time to explore the rail yard, exploring the Canadian National FP9A Diesel 6520 locomotive, boarding its driver’s compartment and caboose.  Recently repainted in the bold and striking 1961 CN scheme that it wore for most of its career in passenger service, it was revealed to the public in Squamish in November 2019, after several years of restoration and upgrades.

Canadian National FP9A Diesel 6520

Geared for a top speed of 89 MPH, CN 6520 was used to pull the finest regional and transcontinental trains of its time, finishing its career painted in VIA colors until it served again in CN Green and Gold in Ontario at the Waterloo & St. Jacobs Railway. It runs very well, being one of our prime pieces of motive power for Events Trains and other special activities.

Kyle at the driver’s compartment

Coupled to the 6520 is the CPR No. 8 Alberta Business Car. Constructed in July of 1929, it was one of a group of 10 cars built for divisional superintendents and each named after Canadian provinces. The car body of “Alberta” was built by National Steel and CPR completed the interior finishing at Angus Shops in Montreal.  It was used as a business car for travelling railway executives and their staff, serving as an office, home and entertainment center. When built 1929, it had many smaller rooms to accommodate the various needs of the executives.

CPR No. 8 Alberta Business Car

Similar to the “British Columbia,” this car has a varnished mahogany interior and many brass fittings. After retirement in 1970, modifications were done to make the car suitable for use as a restaurant. Bedroom partition walls were removed and the galley enlarged. In this current configuration, the car has a lounge with an open observation platform, a large dining area and galley. Fortunately the general ambiance of the car’s interior has been preserved.

Cheska, Grace, Kyle, the author and Bryan inside the CPR No. 8 Alberta Business Car

Other train locomotives and cabooses that I could identify within the railyard include a GMD FP7A locomotive, a Canadian Pacific FP7A Diesel 4069 locomotive, a  BCER 941 locomotive  and a Henry Pickering Open Observation Car.

BCER 941 locomotive (70 tons, 1949)

Canadian Pacific FP7A Diesel 4069

The BCER 941 locomotive is a General Electric 70-ton switcher built in September 1949 while the GMD FP7A locomotive (unit 1404), built in June 1953 by General Motors Diesel for Canadian Pacific  Railway, was used by the Algoma Central Railway.

1953 GMD FP7A (Algoma Central Railway 1404) locomotive

 The Henry Pickering Open Observation Car, built in 1914 as part of the first order of all steel coaches for the Canadian Pacific Railway, was in continuous service until retired in 1955. In 1956, it was rebuilt, from coach No. 1422, to Open Observation car No. 598 and used on the ‘Mountaineer’ train that ran from Vancouver to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Henry Pickering Open Observation Car

In 1964,WCRA acquired the car and, in 1974, it was leased by the BC Government to be part of the Royal Hudson train and s named Mt. Garibaldi.  It operated until the mid 1980’s and, again, from 2000 to 2001. In 2003, extensive restoration was completed. Renamed Henry Pickering, since 2004, it has operated with the Rocky Mountaineer.

Brightbill House

We also explored the Brightbill Heritage House built in 1937 by Harry Brightbill, the very first conductor (he was such for 40 years) hired on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway or PGE (the first railway to run north – south in BC, and originally operated from Squamish to Quesnel ) in 1912.

Originally located at the corner of 2nd Ave. and Winnepeg St., Mr. and Mrs. Brightbill raised three daughters (Alma, Cassy and Harriett) in this house. During this time there was no highway to come up to Squamish from Vancouver so you had to take a steamboat.

There was no refrigerator in those days, so they would have to use an icebox and a big block of ice to keep the food tolerably cold. There was a possibility that they had no electricity in those either so they would have to keep warm by using the wood stove. This family was very lucky as they had indoor plumbing. Back in the 1930’s a lot of people still had to go to outdoor toilets.

In the 1970’s, after Mr. and Mrs. Brightbill had passed, the house was donated to the town of Squamish.  It was moved twice, first to the Stan Clark Park where it was used as a museum. For 12 years it was left empty. Then, the District of Squamish donated it to the West Coast Railway Heritage Park (WCRHP) and it was moved to this site in 1999.

Mac Norris Railway Station

After our exploration of the rail yard, we proceeded to the Mac Norris Railway Station which was built in 2001, together with the town park area and gardens. The station, designed for Squamish in 1915 by the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, was only built until 85 years later by the Heritage Park.  The boarding point for excursions, it also houses the museum’s offices and stores.

BC Rail Budd Diesel Rail Car BC-21

Here, we were to ride the self-propelled  BC Rail Budd Diesel Rail Car BC-21 (an RDC-1 configuration model), one of three operational units that sees regular service throughout the museum (the others are the BC-33 and the Canadian Pacific Henry Pickering Observation Car No. 598).

On board the BC Rail Budd Diesel Rail Car BC-21

Leaving promptly at 4 PM, our ride took us to and fro the MP2 Restoration Center, at south end of the museum’s property.  From our large windows, we took in the full scale of the train yard where we watched trains being restored.

A BC Hydro GE Steeplecab Electric 960 Locomotive at the Restoration Center

After our big train ride, we also tried out the popular, 20-min. Mini-Train Rail ride which is a great way to see most of the park as it us from one end of the grounds to the other.

The PGE No. 561 Mini-Rail Train

Boarding our Mini-Rail Train

Covering 2.5 kms. of track, we departed from Silver Fox Station on board a PGE No. 561, a 12-inch gauge train (others are the Southern Railway 124, Canadian Pacific 401, SRY GP-7 124, BCR 4601, BCR M420 646, etc.).

Twin Cedars Station

We then made our way past Twin Cedars Station, then the Garden Railway, to Wilkie Station where the engine was to be turned.

Wilkie Station

While waiting, I checked out a WFP 123 Englewood Logging Speeder.  Built in 1947, it was used on the Englewood Logging Railway until 2017.

WFP 123 Englewood Logging Speeder

After the engine was turned, we again boarded and proceeded all the way around Mason Station before returning to Silver Fox Station.

Enjoying our first Mini-Rail Train ride

Railway Museum of British Columbia: 39645 Government Road, Squamish, British Columbia V8B 0B6.  Tel:  604-898-9336.  E-mail: Info@wcra.org. Website: www.wcra.org. Open every Saturday and long weekends, Sundays all summer, 10 AM – 5 PM, select Thursdays, 10 AM – 3 PM. Group Tour events Special Access.  Admission (plus taxes): ($25 (adults, 19–59 years), $20 (seniors, 60+ years), $18 (students ages 12+), $10 (children, 6-11 years), $75 (family, where members must reside at the same address). Toddlers, under 5 years of age, are free admission.  Admission tickets usually include all rides and activities.

How to Get There: the museum isn’t so easy to find unless you have a good map or GPS. Driving past the main intersection with Petro-Canada, 7-Eleven & McDonalds, turn left at either of the next two exits (Industrial Way or Commercial Way) then turn right on Queens Way and follow that a short distance until it merges with Government Road at the stop sign. Proceed across the BC Railway Crossing (after looking both ways). The entrance to the museum will be on your right.

Fairacres Mansion (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Fairacres Mansion

The large, two-and-one-half storey, sprawling Fairacres Mansion, also called the H.T. Ceperley House (after its original owners), now houses the Burnaby Art Gallery.   Designed by English born and trained architect Robert Percival Sterling Twizell (1875-1964) who was steeped in the current architectural trends in Great Britain, it was one of his grandest residential commissions.  The mansion, on the north shore of Deer Lake, was built in 1910 at an estimated cost of C$150,000.00, making it the largest and most expensive house in Burnaby and the Lower Mainland at that time.

Check out “Burnaby Art Gallery” and “Deer Lake Park”

The 20-acre (half of it landscaping) estate, owned by American-born couple Henry Tracy Ceperley (1850- 1929) and Grace E. Dixon Ceperley (1863-1917, a successful and well-respected businessman who made a significant contribution to the development of the City of Vancouver), was conceived and funded by Grace who had achieved significant wealth through a bequest from Vancouver pioneer Arthur G. Ferguson (the same Ferguson of Ferguson Point in Stanley Park), her brother-in-law. The construction of Fairacres, their retirement home, spawned the transformation of the Deer Lake area from a farming community into a preferred location for elite suburban homes.


The mansion was constructed in the Edwardian Arts and Crafts style which is often used for estate mansions as a symbol of affluence and good, modern taste, as well as an affinity for all things British. It is reflected in the architectural detailing and proportions, with handmade fixtures, carpentry and tiled fireplaces.  Quality, in the finishes and materials, orchestrated by James Charles Allen, a prominent local contractor, was displayed inside and out.

On the death of Grace at the age of 54 ‘(her ghost was said to haunt the mansion), Henry sold the house, in 1923, to Frederick Buscombe (one-time mayor of Vancouver). It also served as a tuberculosis ward for Vancouver General Hospital.  In 1939, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Munro, the last family to own the mansion, sold the house to the Benedictine monks from Oregon and, in 1953, it became an abbey. In 1954, the Order vacated the house when it moved to Westminster Abbey (British Columbia) in Mission.

 

In 1955, the Benedictines sold the property to the Canadian Temple of the More Abundant Life, a cult headed by William Franklin Wolsey (who called himself “Archbishop John I”), a convicted bigamist (with a string of extortion and wife-beating charges), serving as its church and school.  After the school closed in 1960 (when Wolsey fled the country), it was leased and converted into a fraternity house (or “Animal House” of sorts) for Simon Fraser University‘s Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Ground floor fireplace

In 1966, the Burnaby Art Society (led by Jack Hardman, Polly Svangtun, Sheila Kincaid and Winifred Denny, among others) worked with the City of Burnaby (its first civic heritage conservation project) to purchase the 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) site for C$166,000.00 for conversion to Burnaby’s first art gallery.

To mark Canada’s Centennial of Confederation, the Burnaby Art Gallery opened its doors in June 1967. In 1992, it was designated as a Heritage Property and, on February 22, 2005, it was listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Wooden stairway

The exterior featured a rich variety of exterior elements that demonstrate the typical Edwardian Arts and Crafts use of local materials such as cobblestone chimneys and foundations, wide wooden siding and half-timbering.

It had a side-gabled roof with prominent dormers and cedar shingle cladding, a porte cochere (with its side steps for those arriving by automobile, and central raised step for those alighting from horse-drawn carriages), a mixture of double-hung and casement wooden-sash windows (many with multi-paned sash) and a verandah across the eastern (garden) facade, with its vistas over the landscaped gardens, the distant mountains, Deer Lake and other grand homes in the area.

The lavish interior spaces, designed for entertaining on a grand scale, featured a generous living and dining rooms arranged off a central hall.  Detailed features of the interior woodwork (including the staircase) were carved by Scottish-born George Selkirk Gibson (1867-1942), a master wood carver who was best known for his many commissions for prominent British Columbia architect Samuel Maclure.

The billiard room and parlor with a beamed ceiling and an inglenook fireplace, also had a grand oak mantelpiece hand-carved by Gibson which bears a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.”

The tiles in the fireplace surrounds throughout the house, imported from England, were fabricated by Conrad Dressler and his Medmenham Pottery.  It is one of the earliest documented use of these tiles outside the United Kingdom.  The interiors also featured leaded stained glass and window hardware by Hope and Sons.

Marker for Root House and Steam Plant

The main house anchors, in style and setting, the four associated original outbuildings (Garage and Stables; Root House, Steam Plant and Chauffeur’s Cottage) on the estate which are an important record of the functioning of a large estate of the time.  Some were designed by Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), also an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design.

Root House

The one-storey, 4.6 by 9.1 m., masonry Root House, was used as a frost-free store for fruit and vegetables for the family’s use. Built in 1908, the long, low Root House was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000.

Root House

It had a front-gabled roof with cedar shingle cladding and its distinctive Arts and Crafts architectural features include its original louvered ventilation cupola with flared roof, extended eaves and brackets, and pebble-dashed stucco coating on the concrete walls.

The Garage and Stables and the Chauffeur’s Cottage accommodated the use of automobiles, horses and carriages and, in concert with the estate’s location near the new British Columbia Electric Railway Burnaby Lake interurban line, illustrate the evolving nature of regional transportation and the growing bedroom communities and estates made possible by increasing options for transportation.

Marker for Chauffeur’s Cottage and Garage and Stables

The two-storey, wood frame Garage and Stables, situated to the north of the Chauffeur’s Cottage, its distinctive Arts and Crafts architectural features include the shingle wall cladding articulated with a chevron-patterned course of shingles at the first floor level, multi-paned wooden-sash casement windows (some retaining original wired glass), and deep eaves with additional purlins to support the overhang.  Its stable doors, with hand-made forged-iron door hardware, are still original.

Stables and Garage

The long, narrow single-storey Chauffeur’s Cottage, situated across from the main entrance to the Ceperley mansion, adjacent to the Garage and Stables, was constructed by joining together two modest estate cottages.

Chauffer’s Cottage

Its distinctive Arts and Crafts architectural features include the jerkin-headed door hood, a reference to the thatched-roofed cottages of southern England, eight-paned wooden-sash casement windows, and cedar-shingled exterior.  The modest, functional interior, with simple trim and lack of pretension, had two internal brick chimneys.

Steam Plant Building

The single-storey wood-frame Steam Plant building, built from 1907 to 1908, had a gabled roof that originally housed the apparatus for climate control in the greenhouse (formerly located to its north).  It was significantly altered in the 1960s and restored to its original design in 2000.

Steam Plant Building

Adjacent to it is the original rubblestone walls that formed the foundation for the greenhouse. It had six-paned wooden-sash casement windows and its distinctive Arts and Crafts architectural features include the shingle wall cladding with decorative shingling under window sills, deep eaves, and pebble-dashed concrete foundation walls.

Kiln Station

The remaining formal Edwardian garden landscape elements include the cross-axial plan that reflects the relationship of the mansion to its outdoor rooms. Its grounds also included horse stables, an aviary, gazebo and pergola, lagoons, strawberry fields, greenhouses, a kiln station and a gardener’s cottage.  On November 23, 1992, Fairacres Mansion was designated as a Heritage Site.

Check out “Heritage Buildings of Burnaby”

Fairacres Mansion: 6344 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby V5G 213, British Columbia, Canada. Tel: (604) 297-4422.  Fax: (604) 205-7339.  E-mail: gallery@burnaby.ca.  Website: www.burnabyartgallery.ca. Open Tuesdays to Fridays, 10 AM to 4:30 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays, 12 noon to 5 PM. Admission is free (a C$5 donation is suggested).

How to Get There: Bus 144 Metrotown runs from the Burnaby Lake SkyTrain Station to the mansion.  By car, take Sprott St. Exit, drive straight through Canada Way, past Burnaby City Hall and Central High School, turn left into Deer Lake Ave.  The mansion is at the top of the hill on your right.

Century Gardens (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Century Gardens

Century Gardens, within the northern border of Deer Lake Park, near the neighborhoods of Buckingham Heights and Middlegate, was a originally a Mixed Style Victorian garden made for the mock Tudor-style Fairacres Mansion (now Burnaby Art Gallery).

Check out “Burnaby Art Gallery,” “Fairacres Mansion” and “Deer Lake Park”

 

The single best place in the city to admire and celebrate Burnaby’s official flower (adopted as the official emblem in August 1966), this circular garden, with a path system, has over 2,000 rhododendrons that burst into bloom in spring (March to July).

One of two developed rhododendron gardens (the other are plantings on Burnaby Mountain along Centennial Way) dedicated on June 18, 1967, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, it features the developments of some of the Pacific Northwest’s accomplished rhododendron growers.

A garden within displays each of the winning plants, as well as samples of all the competition entries, of the May 1992 Burnaby Rhododendron Festival  (the festival was first held in 1989).  The winner was John Lofthouse (his plant developments are extremely well known) and honorable mention went to Gene Round (an accomplished grower).

Water feature

The winning entry was the R. Burnaby Centennial, a “Leona” x “Etta Burrows” cross.  The compact truss consists of 14 to 16, five-lobed flowers which are raspberry red in color centered with a lighter red stamen, style and black anthers.  Foliage is pointed, medium in size and shiny, dark green in color.

Camperdown Elm (Ulmus glabra camperdownii)

A new entrance to the garden features Hak Chu/Pak Chu, supersized concrete replicas of white Pak Chu and black Hak Chu, public art created by Vancouver born and raised Nathan Lee in 2000.  It is based on fan-tan (translated as “repeated spreading out”), a game, long played in China, based on pure luck and randomness.

Fairacres Mansion (now Burnaby Art Gallery) in the background

It involves using hak-chu and pak-chu as counters (where white pieces are worth one-fifth the value of the black pieces).  In the 1990s, a single white pak chu was discovered under the Fairacres Cottage, indicating an early Chinese community on this site.

Hak Chu/Pak Chu (Nathan Lee, 2000)

Century Gardens is also lined with numerous varieties of colorful flowers, including an extensive rose garden.  This flower paradise can be viewed from the wooden boardwalk that encircles Deer Lake Park. The annual Burnably Rhododendron Festival includes guided rhododendron and perennial walks in Century Gardens.

Century Gardens: 6344 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby V5G 213, British Columbia, Canada.

How to Get There: Bus 144 Metrotown runs from the Burnaby Lake SkyTrain Station to the gardens.  By car, take Sprott St. Exit, drive straight through Canada Way, past Burnaby City Hall and Central High School, turn left into Deer Lake Ave.  The Fairacres Mansion is at the top of the hill on your right.  Beside it is the garden.