List of heritage railways in Canada

Last updated

This is a list of heritage railways in Canada. For convenience, heritage tramways have also been included.

Contents

Current heritage railways

British Columbia

The Kamloops Heritage Railway 2141 Spirit of Kamloops entering Armstrong BC.jpg
The Kamloops Heritage Railway

Yukon

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

New Brunswick

Former heritage railways

Standard services operating heritage equipment

While not considered heritage railways, three passenger railways operate equipment built in the 1960s and earlier.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage railway</span> Railway used for heritage/historical/tourism purposes

A heritage railway or heritage railroad is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period in the history of rail transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Electric Railway</span>

The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles</span> Aims to preserve historic rail vehicles

Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willamette Shore Trolley</span> Heritage railroad/streetcar along the Willamette River

The Willamette Shore Trolley is a heritage railroad or heritage streetcar that operates along the west bank of the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego in the U.S. state of Oregon. The right-of-way is owned by a group of local-area governments who purchased it in 1988 in order to preserve it for potential future rail transit. Streetcar excursion service began operating on a trial basis in 1987, lasting about three months, and regular operation on a long-term basis began in 1990. The Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society has been the line's operator since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Transportation Museum</span> Transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Minnesota Transportation Museum is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage streetcar</span> Public transportation method utilizing old rolling stock

Heritage streetcars or heritage trams are a part of the efforts to preserve rail transit heritage. In addition to preserving street-running rail vehicles, heritage streetcar operations can include upkeep of historic rail infrastructure. Working heritage streetcars are closely related to the growing global heritage railway movement and form a part of the living history of rail transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dome car</span> American panoramic rail coach with en external dome

A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or observation. Beginning in 1945, dome cars were primarily used in the United States and Canada, though a small number were constructed in Europe for Trans Europ Express service.

<i>The Canadian</i> Train service between Toronto and Vancouver, Canada

The Canadian is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orangeville Brampton Railway</span> Short line railway

The Orangeville-Brampton Railway was a 55-kilometre (34-mile) long short line railway between Orangeville and Streetsville Junction in Mississauga, Ontario. It passed through the City of Brampton and the Town of Caledon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad</span>

The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates freight and passenger excursions in Boone County, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway</span>

The Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway was a heritage electric railway line that operated from 1998 to 2011 between Granville Island and Science World, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It operated only on weekends and holidays, usually from May to mid-October, and was aimed primarily at tourists. Two restored interurban trams were used on the line, which used a former freight railway right-of-way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad</span>

The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand River Railway</span> Former interurban railway in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

The Grand River Railway was an interurban electric railway in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumpter Valley Railway</span>

The Sumpter Valley Railway, or Sumpter Valley Railroad, is a 3 ft narrow gauge heritage railroad located in Baker County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Built on a right-of-way used by the original railway of the same name, it carries excursion trains on a roughly 5-mile (8.0 km) route between McEwen and Sumpter. The railroad has two steam locomotives and several other pieces of rolling stock. Passenger excursion trains operate on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through the end of September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in North America</span> History of street cars

Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.

The Galt Historic Railway Park, collects, preserves, restores, exhibits and interprets artifacts which represent the history and social impact of the "steam" era in southern Alberta and the coal era, with emphasis on Galt Railway and the 1890 International Train Station Depot North West Territories from Coutts/Sweetgrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Level Bridge Streetcar</span>

The High Level Bridge Streetcar is a historic streetcar ride over the High Level Bridge in Edmonton, Alberta. It travels from the Strathcona Streetcar Barn & Museum, just north of the Strathcona Farmers Market, in Old Strathcona, to Jasper Plaza south of Jasper Avenue, between 109 Street and 110 Street, in downtown, with three intermediate stops. It operates between the Victoria Day weekend in May, and Thanksgiving weekend in October. It is operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society, which operates five more streetcars on a second line in the river valley at Fort Edmonton Park.


The Nelson Electric Tramway is a heritage railway at Nelson in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. It is one of two operational historic tram systems in the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Erie and Northern Railway</span> Former interurban railway in Ontario, Canada

The Lake Erie and Northern Railway was an interurban electric railway which operated in the Grand River Valley in Ontario, Canada. The railway owned and operated a north–south mainline which ran from Galt in the north to Port Dover on the shore of Lake Erie in the south. Along the way, it ran through rural areas of Waterloo County, Brant County, and Norfolk County, as well as the city of Brantford, where it had an interchange with the Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway. Construction on the mainline began in 1913. The railway began operations in 1916 as a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which had purchased the line before construction had finished. In 1931, it was consolidated with the Grand River Railway under a single CPR subsidiary, the Canadian Pacific Electric Lines (CPEL), which managed both interurban railways, though they continued to exist as legally separate entities. Passenger service was discontinued in 1955 but electric freight operations continued until 1961, when the LE&N's electric locomotives were replaced by diesel CPR locomotives and the line was de-electrified. In the same year, service on the mainline from Simcoe to Port Dover was discontinued, but the remainder continued to operate as a branchline which as early as 1975 was known as the CP Simcoe Subdivision. The remainder of the line was officially abandoned in the early 1990s, ending almost seventy-five years of operation.

References

  1. "Fraser Valley Heritage Rail Society – Surrey's Heritage Rail".
  2. "Alberta Railway Museum". Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  3. Galt Historic Railway Park
  4. "Le Massif de Charlevoix". Archived from the original on 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  5. "Passenger cars: Galley business car". Via Rail Canada. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  6. "Sleeping cars - Park car". Via Rail Canada. Retrieved 27 September 2019.