2009 Revelstoke Railway Days returns starting this Saturday with 10 days of events for visitors of all ages.

Revelstoke Railway Museum president David Johnson encourages everyone to check out the many events happening at a variety of venues throughout Revelstoke. “Railway Days is a 10-day event and it really is a lot of fun,” he says. “The idea is that we cover everything from activities like the speeders at the Wye through to children’s day through to some intellectual pursuits like Graeme Pole and his two talks -- one on the CPR in Rogers Pass and the other on CPR in the Spiral Tunnels -- because that’s 100 years ago that the spiral tunnels were in fact opened for use by the CPR.”

For those who missed it last time, the Chinese Legacies Exhibit remains on display at the Revelstoke Railway Museum and the Revelstoke Museum & Archives. “The Revelstoke Railway Museum recognizes the contribution the Chinese labourers made in actually constructing the railway line from Yale to Craigellachie,” says Johnson. “Without their labours, including the death of quite a few of them, the railway wouldn’t have been constructed up through the very difficult area of the Fraser Canyon and up to Craigellachie. The Chinese Legacies exhibit acknowledges their contribution to that portion of the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.”

Johnson notes that the contribution was not only to the completion of the railway, but also an important chapter in the creation of Canada. “It was only [the railway] which fulfilled the conditions B.C. entered into confederation as well, so they made a very valuable contribution, and this is the museum’s attempt to show and tell their story to some extent,” he says. “If you haven’t seen it, we encourage people to see it.”

Perhaps the highlight of the social calendar is the Beer & Wings Night at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives on August 21 from 5–7 p.m. “The beer and wings at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives is a great event specializing in Mount Begbie [Brewing Co.] beers and Ronnie Kwong’s Chinese appetizers. It’s just a great evening to get together and enjoy some great food in the lovely heritage garden outside the heritage museum. I certainly encourage people to attend. Get your tickets early,” says Johnson.

Aside from the Children’s Day events, another event that is always popular with the younger set is speeder rides at the Wye located off of Victoria Road. “The speeders have been here for several of the previous railway days. They’re always very popular and you get to ride the put-puts that the railway track gangs used to use to move up and down the tracks to get to the areas where they had to work.”

Current and former railway employees are encouraged to attend the CPR Employee Appreciation Day which runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18. “It’s an opportunity for all the railway employees and retirees to come and take a good look at their museum and we hope to have a few surprises lined up for the employees when they’re here,” says Johnson. “All they need to do is show proof and they and their families get free admission to the Railway Museum.”

Another new item on display at the Railway Museum is the Revelstoke Model Railroad Club’s ongoing project to recreate a model that displays highlights of the rail line from Rogers Pass to Revelstoke. Located on the second floor viewing platform in the Railway Museum, the model is still under construction, allowing viewers to learn more about the process behind creating model railroads. The club meets on Monday evenings at the museum, and they welcome new members.

The B.C. Interior Forestry Museum has a number of activities throughout Railway Days, including log cabin building demonstrations, children’s soap carving lessons, an adult landscape painting lesson and more.

These are only some of the events taking place during 2009 Railway Days. See stories in this supplement for more on the events, and also check the events schedule for times and dates. Revelstoke Railway Days also has its own Web site with a schedule and further information. See www.railwaydays.com.