The speeders are back! A couple dozen of the tiny rail vehicles have been touring round Vancouver Island since Friday and are back in the area this Friday, June 24 as part of their circuit of rail adventures.
This year the group — coming from across western Canada and the U.S. — is travelling down the rails right into Victoria, which they have been unable to do for ten years.
Organized by the Motorcar Operators West club out of California, a part of the North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA), they are doing a series of short trips to Courtenay, Beaver Cove and Port Alberni, often stopping back in the Parksville area before heading south to tour around Washington State.
While they make appearances across the continent, the little vehicles don’t do great distances very well, local member Gordon Grenon previously explained, so they are trucked from area to area. Their small size makes them easy to load on and off rail lines.
They will be back in Parksville, somewhere near the train station, overnight Friday and Saturday nights.
