Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, Railway museum in Cranbrook, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook holds 28 restored railway cars, including the renowned Trans-Canada Limited from 1929 and the Soo-Spokane Train collection positioned along Highway 3/95. The vehicles span different types of passenger coaches, freight cars, and specialty cars representing more than a century of Canadian rail travel.
The museum was founded in 1977 when a group discovered the dining car from the Trans-Canada Limited and decided to establish a railway museum around it. The collection expanded over the following decades to become one of North America's largest assemblies of early 1900s Canadian railway cars.
The dining cars show how passengers once enjoyed meals while traveling across the country by rail. Walking through them reveals the social rituals and comfort standards that long-distance train travel once represented.
The museum sits beside Highway 3/95 making it easy to find, and 13 of the railway cars are accessible to visitors with mobility needs. Guided tours walk you through the restored vehicles and share their stories.
Among the vehicles on display is a rare observation car from which passengers once watched the landscape roll by during train journeys. This type of car reveals how train travel was packaged as a luxury experience with specialized viewing areas.
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