Alberta Railway Museum 

Summer will be here before we know it, and you might already be thinking of exciting activities to do with friends and family. We have a fun adventure to add to your list! This month, we are excited to feature the Alberta Railway Museum as our charity spotlight. 

The Alberta Railway Museum is in northeast Edmonton and has Canada’s third largest collection of heritage railway equipment. A rustic outdoor display includes locomotives, passenger cars, freight cars, and cabooses. The indoor museum replicates a small prairie terminal with a train station, water tank, and shops.  

Using the walking tour map, take yourself on a self‐guided trip through history. Allow at least 90 minutes to go back in time, train travel time that is, and experience the railway in a fun, hands-on, and interactive fashion. With over 75 cars and locomotives on site, there is plenty to see, walk through, and climb on. Ride the vintage trains on long weekends, and on track motor cars (speeders) on regular weekends!  

When you visit, be sure to check out a few crowd favourites!  

One favourite is the sleeping car, Westlock. Westlock travelled through northern Alberta, with standard seating by day, and sleeping berths at night. Kids love the Westlock, as it gives them a chance to check out the berths (like bunk beds) and have thoughts of a sleepover with all their friends.  

The CN caboose is another favourite for the kids, as it is like a RV, having beds for sleeping, a table, and a desk for the conductor. Best of all, it has a cupola, a raised lookout area where they can see the whole train and wave at their parents down below on the ground.  

Finally, when the steam locomotive operates at the Alberta Railway Museum, it is a crowd pleaser! The steam engine was made in Canada in 1913, and visitors use four of their senses to experience the locomotive. They see and feel it pounding down the track, hear the whistle, and smell the fire burning. It is amazing that fire and water can move a train down the track!  

The Alberta Railway Museum collects, preserves, restores, and interprets the railway artifacts and stories that helped shape Alberta and Canada. This experience is shared through exhibits, tours, educational programs, publications, and heritage train operations to inspire community discovery, knowledge, and appreciation of Alberta’s rich railway history.  

Nowadays, the train can be seen as the inconvenient object that stops our car at the railway crossing. However, 100 years ago, the train was the only practical way to travel around the province, connecting the small town to the big city. Currently, passenger train travel is a luxury, and trains are efficient haulers of bulk products, such as grain, oil, and shipping containers 

“Our volunteers range from 16 to 87 years of age! Volunteer activities range from leading tours, gift shop and visitor services, helping with restorations, carpentry and wood working, painting, metal work, mechanical work, and train crews. If you have the time, we have the projects!”

Stephen Yakimets, President & Publicity Director, Alberta Railway Museum 

The Alberta Railway Museum opens for the season on May 21, 22, and 23, featuring train rides behind their historic CN locomotive #9000, the engine that changed history.  

“Wear your finest clothes as you take a train ride behind our streamlined vintage diesel locomotive. After your train ride, tour the preserved and restored train cars. Cold drinks, snacks, ice-cream, and souvenirs are available in the station. Picnic tables are also located on the grounds, so bring a picnic and enjoy.”

Stephen Yakimets, President & Publicity Director, Alberta Railway Museum 

If you would like to support The Alberta Railway Museum we encourage you to; visit with friends and family, purchase a membership, volunteer your time, donate, or follow on Facebook and share your experience with family and friends. 

Thank you to the Alberta Railway Museum for continuing to educate and entertain our community by preserving an important part of our past!