Heritage Rail is extending its season.
After receiving some good news, the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society (FVHRS) will stay open for the month of September.
The not-for-profit group was notified Aug. 29 that they could start running their trains to Sullivan Station again. They had only been able to run their old B.C. Electric heritage cars down the Cloverdale Station Spur in 2024.
Allen Aubert, FVHRS secretary, said it was the news “we have been waiting for.” Now Heritage Rail will stay open until the end of September and run trains for four more weekends. The railway was set to close after Labour Day weekend.
FVHRS had been waiting for B.C. Hydro and Southern Railway of British Columbia to punch out their own contract details. 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—hence the need for the two to sign some paperwork, since FVHRS, in essence, runs passenger service on the rail line that Southern leases. FVHRS recently signed a five-year corridor consent agreement with Hydro, which gives Heritage Rail the right to run a passenger train to Sullivan.
“The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society commences the Surrey Heritage Railway Sullivan return excursion ... this Sunday departing from Cloverdale heritage railway station,” Aubert told the Cloverdale Reporter.
He said people started buying tickets almost immediately after FVHRS updated their website with the new info.
"It’s encouraging to already discover that some people are interested in booking for both the Saturday Adventure and the Sunday Excursion," Aubert explained. "We now have two very different and unique heritage railway experiences to check out."
The round-trip run takes just under an hour and goes up to Sullivan Station, located in Sullivan Park. (Not to be confused with the just-up-the-road Sullivan Heights Park.)
There are four trips scheduled for each of the next four Sundays during September. Trains will run at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. on Sept. 8, 15, 22, and 29.
Aubert said they will be extending their summer music festival by bringing in more artists to play on the Cloverdale Station’s platform patio over the course of the remaining September weekends.
He said the “very popular” Heritage Railway Adventure will be open on the rest of the Saturdays in September: 7, 14, 21, and 28. The Heritage Railway Adventure offers visitors the chance to ride everything onsite at Cloverdale Station, including: the B.C. Electric Interurban Railcar, the Honey Bee Express, the Family Quad Car, and the Velocipede.
The Adventure schedule runs on Saturdays also at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m.
“The Adventure is extremely popular with young families and children crazy about trains,” Aubert noted.
Unfortunately, because of the late notice from Southern Railway, FVHRS was forced to cancel its Halloween Train for 2024. They will, however, be running their Christmas train experience with more details to come ahead of the holiday season, promised Aubert.
Looking to next year, Aubert said they may mimic their current September set up with the Heritage Railway Adventure running on Saturdays and the Sullivan Excursion running on Sundays.
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 on the Heritage Railway Adventure, the summer concert series, the Halloween or Christmas trains, or to buy tickets, visit fvhrs.org.
