Kettle Valley Christmas train returns to full steam ahead in B.C. Interior

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway's Christmas Express is back on the track, and it was clearly missed during the two years the pandemic kept it parked.

On Dec. 8 — decked out in the lights and colours of the season — the 110-year-old restored steam locomotive made its first festive run from its Summerland, B.C., station since 2019, loaded with passengers of all ages.

For anyone hoping to get a ticket to ride, it's booked solid all the way through Dec. 23, the last day of its Christmas schedule.

In total, that will be 24 runs with no vacancies.

"It's brilliant — we love it," Christmas Express engineer Eric Cooper said on CBC's Daybreak South. "This is one of our highlights, the Christmas runs.

"To see the smiles on the young people's faces, it warms our hearts."

Tom Burley, president of the Kettle Valley Railway Society, says tickets for the Christmas Express have been sold out for a couple of months.

'It's probably the happiest train in the world'

Each ride lasts for one hour, along a 16-kilometre stretch of track through orchards and vineyards in B.C.'s southern Interior.

The piece of track is all that remains from the original Kettle Valley Railway, which was built between 1910 and 1915 and ran 500 kilometres between Hope on the west side of the Fraser Canyon and Midway in the Interior.

During the journey, Christmas music plays and hot chocolate is served, all to keep passengers in the proper mood. Each trip also features a special visit from St. Nick.

"It's probably the happiest train in the world at the best of times, and Christmas time is special too," Burley said. "Lights are on, and Santa comes by, and if it snows it's just magical."

Crews keep train 'in tip top shape'

Burley says the steam engine has a lot of history behind it, "some of it good and some of it not so good, but it's still alive and well."

Keeping it that way requires a great deal of dedication from the people who know it best.

"The crew keeps it in tip top shape," Burley said. "A lot of the parts they have to make here, because they're unavailable. They keep it running, and keep it going, and barely miss a day of operation."

The COVID-19 pandemic was an exception when it came to keeping the Christmas Express steaming along. With limitations on the number of people permitted in the cars, Burley says operating the train wasn't affordable.

While this year's Christmas Express rides are sold out, the Kettle Valley Steam Railway runs trains during tourist seasons and offers several other excursion rides, including ones on Mother's Day and Easter weekend.