The Royal Hudson 2860, and Consolidation "Port Coquitlam" 3716 (Both ex-CPR) have been rejected by the province of British Columbia for funding for a restoration job. Both steam locomtoives are owned by the Province of British Columbia, as well as the cars, and for the last 27 years BC Rail has run, maintained, and acted as the representitive for these locomotives. Currently, they are both sitting at the Steam Shop, in North Vancouver, BC (BCRs sothern terminus) under tarps. The only hope for restoration that was left was recently dwindled when the Minister of Transport said the restoring the locomotives was not "Economically Viable", as the train takes a direct loss of about $500 000 (CAND.) per annum. However, the town of Squamish lives off the train in the summer, so it is considered by many that for every dollar BCR losses, $20 is made. Since a part of that 20 will go to the governement, and that dollar lose is taken by the government, the train comes to being a money making tourist attraction. Nect season, the train will continued to be pulled by West Coast Railway Heritage Assoc. (ww.wcra.org) restored FP7A, wearing CPR tuscan and grey with block lettering. The service will be cut from 5, to 3 days a week. <big>IF IT RUNS AT ALL! </big> Dane
This was posted on Trains newswire " Steam backers, tourism officials hope to save BC Rail Royal Hudson program Steam advocates hope they can partner with Vancouver tourism officials and come up with a way to keep BC Rail’s steam excursion program alive, now that the provincial government has declined to spend $4 million to overhaul its two locomotives, Royal Hudson 4-6-4 No. 2860 and 2-8-0 No. 3716. BC Rail this week revealed that the government had decided not to fund the overhauls, which effectively kills the steam program and the railway’s steam shop. Don Evans, director of the West Coast Railway Association in Squamish, B.C., says he’s not optimistic that the provincial government’s decision can be reversed. “But we’re certainly taking a crack at it,” he said in an interview. Not all hope is lost, he said, because of the economic benefits to the region gained from the steam excursions, which for 25 years have run over BC Rail from North Vancouver to Squamish along scenic Howe Sound. “There is a strong business case with a good return here, as long as all components are considered together,” Evans wrote in a letter to provincial Premier Gordon Campbell. Although the trains have been losing money, and the locomotives need $4 million in overhauls, including extensive boiler and firebox work, they help draw tourists to the region, he explains. Overall, they have a positive economic impact of $11 million annually. “For the sake of not making a $4 million investment, they’re throwing out $11 million in tourism revenue,” Evans says. Nonetheless, making a compelling case for the steam locomotives will not be easy. The province is in the midst of a financial crisis, and the government has said it will freeze spending on health care and education and cut other programs by 35 percent in an attempt to balance the budget within three years. About 35,000 people rode the Royal Hudson excursions in 2000, the last with steam. With engine 2860 sidelined, and the 3716 out of service since April, none of the 2001 trips ran behind steam. Ridership was down about 30 percent this year, BC Rail says. That decline is partly because the railway cancelled the Royal Hudson excursions during May and didn’t advertise them until July, Evans said. And a lack of steam certainly played a role in the reduced ridership, he says. Based on the 2000 season, the annual economic impact of the excursions is pegged at around $11 million, including hotel stays. About 60 percent of the ridership comes from outside the Vancouver area, meaning those passengers spend an extra night in Vancouver hotels because of the steam excursion, Evans said. Evans also warned the premier about what the loss of the BC Rail steam shop and its four skilled employees would mean. “These skills are not easily replaceable, and to just discard them for a short term reduction in operating costs is extremely short sighted,” Evans wrote. “This loss on the long term could preclude the possibility of ever rebuilding the heritage that we have in the Royal Hudson. Not only are the locomotives at risk here, an entire technology is at risk if these skills are lost.” If the effort to overturn the province’s decision fails, or private funding can’t be found, Evans says he hopes that the locomotives will wind up on display in the association’s museum, the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish. The museum is a destination for passengers who ride the Royal Hudson trips"
Unfortunately, Canadian's are as not as good entrepreneurs as Americans, is my take (as a Canadian who has lived on both sides of the border - Chicago and Madison Wis). One of the issue's is awareness of what parameters affects the owner's business in a local economy. The Royal Hudson pulls non-Vancouverites from all over North America, Europe and elsewhere. But there is very little awareness of that here in North Vancouver (home of the Hudson). Each train holds around 400 passengers. Usually over half of that number is from the USA who comes here for a variety of reasons (including cruises, Railfanning, relatives, tourism, ect). I know that North Vancouver has no awareness of the dollar impact that Royal Hudson has on the North Shore business economy. Imagine 200 new people to the North Shore, every day (5/7 week) for 6 months, spending American dollars in a Canadian market place. The latest Dane and I saw in the local North Shore News is that the 2002 train is so far definitely cancelled. There has been no major outcry, more a wake than anything else, accepting something that could be fought. Dane unfortunately will be "laid off" even though he was never hired, due to his young age. He has probably volunteered on the Hudson approximatley 150 times and was promised a job when he turned 16. He also volunteered on the "Christmas" train which might become history as well as it used the Hudson consist for its runs. So the North Shore is complaining about declining business and tourist dollars, yet not moving its collective butt to help keep what it has. Tourism is BC's third largest industry.
