Mossleigh Alberta - An Okanagan Valley landmark, the Okanagan Valley Wine Train, has been sold as a unit and will find a new home in Alberta.
 
"It was important to us that the historic 1954 train cars would remain in Canada," said Bob Nagel, who successfully operated the Wine Train for five seasons from 1999 to 2003.
 
During that time the dinner train excursion, complete with a Las Vegas style family show, travelled alongside Duck, Wood, and Kalamalka lakes, mountains and farms.
 
Many of the onboard staff doubled as entertainers for the show.
 
In 2003 mother nature dealt the popular train a blow.
 
During the peak of the tour season the entire community was shut down because of the wildfires that destroyed more than 300 homes.
 
The vintage train cars had been stored in Kelowna since then.
 
Over the Thanksgiving weekend the Okanagan Valley Wine Train successfully moved all 11 train cars from Kelowna to Vernon.
 
Two cars per trip were moved over three days at a slow speed using a high-rail truck.
 
The track was so deteriorated that the cars could not be moved with a locomotive.
 
The Wine Train cars were the last rail cars to travel along the discontinued rail line before Canadian National Railway Company (CN) removes the tracks.
 
The Elmsdale Sleeper Car was the last to reach Vernon where it was positioned with the other 10 cars before being connected to a CN freight train travelling to Kamloops 12 Oct 2015.
 
In Kamloops the cars were transferred to Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and arrived in Calgary the following week.
 
They will continue on CP to their new Alberta home.
 
The Okanagan Valley Wine Train was operated by Funtrain Canada Inc., an affiliate of Nagel Tours Ltd. and Nagel Coaches Ltd.
 
These companies are owned and managed by the Nagel Family and have been based in Edmonton since 1977.
 
For almost 40 years Nagel Tours has packaged and promoted group motorcoach tours to destinations throughout North America using their own deluxe motorcoaches.
 
Pat Nagel said, "We are pleased to announce that the 1954 train cars have a new owner, Gary Southgate, and a new home in Alberta. He will be moving the Okanagan Valley Wine Train to Aspen Crossing, southeast of Calgary, in Mossleigh, where they will be featured with several other historical cars."
 
Anonymous Author.