The West Coast Railway Association wants to restore the business car from the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to its former glory — and they’re turning to crowdfunding to help make it happen.
It’s a fixer upper that will take thousands of hours to restore but the Northern Summit was the PGE’s premier business car, which B.C.’s longest serving Premier W.A.C. Bennett used when opening the railway’s mainline from North Vancouver to Squamish in 1956.
Bennett used the 85 foot long luxury business car to reach out to British Columbians during his campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s. It wasn’t only a comfortable way to travel at the time, it was practical.
“Back then there were a lot less paved roads,” says WCRA archivist Trevor Mills.
“When they were building the north end of BC Rail there were a lot less roads period, to get in to some of these places. So it was easier to put everybody on the train and go off to these places and that’s how everyone got in.”
The car was also used by Princess Margaret when she toured the province to celebrate the founding of the colony of B.C. in 1958. And on several occasions the Northern Summit took Bennett to the end of a brand new line, to drive the last spike.
“He was a great politician,” recalls Craig McDowall from the WCRA.
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It’s that reason, McDowall says, why the railway association has chosen this car as its next project.
The Northern Summit has been unused for 16 years and the project will take about two years to complete, McDowall says. The exterior of the train is in decent shape but the interior needs work to return it to its former glory.
Dedicated volunteers will help keep expenses down but even so, the restoration will not be cheap. That’s why the non-profit association is turning to crowdfunding through FundAid with the hopes of raising $50,000.
“I think at $50,000 we can do a really good job and this will become a real jewel in our collection,” McDowall says.
~ with files from Linda Aylesworth
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