It was a "fabulous" end to 2024 season for Cloverdale's Heritage Rail.
The season had already been a success, but when the railway was finally allowed to operate their Sullivan Station trip again, the railway was back to its pre-pandemic operations.
The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society (FVHRS), also known as Heritage Rail, is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization. FVHRS faced several instances of adversity over the past few years, from getting shut down in COVID, to losing their insurance coverage from the city for some of their buildings, to not getting their lease renewed by the City of Surrey in a timely manner, to not being able to run trains on the mainline up to Sullivan Station in Sullivan Park for nearly all of 2024. But, despite all that, nothing seemed to sap the spirits of the volunteer throngs who breathe life into “the Jewel of Surrey."
Allen Aubert—FVHRS secretary, and one of those dedicated volunteers—said the season ended very well and all the volunteers were happy to finally get to go to Sullivan Station. The season finished with “sold-out events” on the final weekend of September for both their Heritage Railway Adventure (Saturday) and their Sullivan Excursion (Sunday)—which ended an entire month later than their normal closing weekend.
“This has been a fabulous heritage railway season and a big success attracting almost 4,000 visitors,” Aubert said. “The Sullivan Excursion … welcomed with sold out crowds.”
Heritage Rail only recently wrapped operations because they extended the season by one month when they finally got clearance from Southern Railway of B.C. to run trains up to Sullivan again. The railway had to wait for B.C. Hydro and Southern to get some paperwork signed. The red tape dragged on for all of their 2024 season and only by extending the season were they able to offer rail-goers the Sullivan jaunt.
(Southern Railway owns the freight rights for the old B.C. Electric Railway track and has a long-term lease on it. Hydro owns the passenger rights, so the two had to sign agreements, since FVHRS runs passenger service on the rail line that Southern leases. FVHRS signed a five-year corridor consent agreement with Hydro earlier in 2024, which gives Heritage Rail the right to run a passenger train to Sullivan until 2029.)
Aubert added that the Heritage Railway Adventure, which is the “ride-everything experience” at Cloverdale Station, was a “resounding” success this year too.
“Especially for young families with very young children,” said Aubert. “There was lots to do to keep everyone busy, happy and safe.”
He said the format for both will return again next year—with the adventure offered on Saturday and the excursion offered on Sunday—as will the very popular Cloverdale Station Music Festival.
“It’s interesting to note that over 90 percent of our visitors during 2024 mentioned it was their first time to come to the Cloverdale heritage railway,” added Aubert. “Many had not been on a train before.”
He said the excitement on the kids’s faces this summer was “palpable” as they scrambled onto the platform to get up close and personal with a B.C. Electric interurban.
Aubert said they received many visitors from all over B.C. and Canada and they even had several international travellers.
“(They) were interested in having a heritage railway experience as part of their vacation,” he explained. “The heritage railway family is definitely a global affair.”
The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society operates the railway out of Cloverdale Station and the Restoration Car Barn at Hwy 10 and 176A Street, in Surrey—which they now call the Cloverdale Heritage Railway Campus.
For more information, visit fvhrs.org.
