West Coast Heritage Railway

Formerly called the West Coast Railway Heritage Park, the Railway Museum of British Columbia features trains and railway artifacts in Squamish.

For full details about the attraction in Squamish, see the Railway Museum of BC‘s official website. To learn about a related train museum in the City of Vancouver, see our article about the CPR Engine 374 Museum.

This article contains the following information about the Railway Museum:

Railway Museum of BC in Squamish

The Railway Museum of British Columbia includes a real steam locomotive (the Royal Hudson), a 3-km miniature railway, and a collection of cabooses. There are also other train cars and locomotives, plus a number of historic buildings. The museum is where you’ll find the most heritage trains and railway artifacts in Western Canada!

The park is set up to resemble a railway yard from the middle of the last century. It’s a fun place for families and anyone who loves trains. There is a lot to see both indoors and outside.

It’s a fabulous museum! The venue is home to a steam locomotive and special events like the North Pole Express in November and December. Thomas the Train also visits the attraction in May and/or June each year. There is also the Sea to Sky Model Train & Hobby Show which takes place at the museum in March.

Train Conductor at West Coast Railway Museum — A North Pole Express Train Conductor

Museum Hours and Rates

In 2025 the museum is open almost every Saturday between mid-April and the second weekend of October. (Saturday, September 6th, is the only exception. It’s closed then because that’s the day when the Whistler GranFondo bike race takes place which makes access to the museum via the highway difficult.) The museum is also open on Sundays on special occasions and most long weekends as well as on all Fridays in July and August.

The museum is open on the following Sundays in 2025 (in addition to lots of Saturdays):

May 11th (for Mother’s Day)
May 18th (for the Victoria Day Weekend)
June 15th (for Father’s Day)
June 29th (for the Canada Day Long Weekend)
August 31st (for the Labour Day Long Weekend)
October 12th (for Thanksgiving)

In addition to the above, the museum is open for special events (like for Thomas the Train in late spring and the North Pole Express around Christmas).

When it’s open, the museum’s hours are from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. As of early 2025, general admission costs $35 (plus taxes) for adults and $30 for seniors. It’s also $27 for students (ages 12 to 19), $20 for children (ages 5 to 11) and $100 for families (where members must reside together at the same address). Toddlers under 5 years of age get in for free. Season passes cost double the price of a single day, which means you only have to go twice to pay for it.

There is also a mini railway that visitors can go on when the venue is open. Admission tickets in the summer usually include all rides and activities.

For the museum’s official website, visit wcra.org.

Railway Museum Location

The Railway Museum of British Columbia’s address is 39645 Government Road in Squamish. To find it, either use your GPS or follow the instructions below.

Directions on the museum’s website used to say “Go approximately 2 km past the McDonald’s stop until you come to Industrial Way. There is a traffic light at the intersection. Turn left and go to the stop sign at Queens Way. Turn right and follow the signs. After the BC Rail tracks, you will see our entrance sign on the right.”

Railway Museum Activities

At the museum there are real trains to go inside and a miniature train to ride. There is also a furnished historic home you can go inside, which is very interesting, and a couple of vintage vehicles to admire. It’s a big place with lots to see and do.

Railway Museum Events

The museum hosts a number of events each year including a model train event in the spring, a Day Out with Thomas the Train event around late May, and a North Pole Express event in the lead up to Christmas. See below for details about each of these events.

Model Train & Hobby Show

The Railway Museum of BC hosts the Sea to Sky Model Train & Hobby Show in the spring. In 2025 it happened on March 22nd and 23rd (which was in the middle of Spring Break for schools).

Tickets to this event in range between $8 and $25 depending on your age and when you go. Online tickets for one day cost about $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $8 for youth, and $36 for families. For between an extra $3 and $7 per person, you can get a weekend pass that’s good for both days. Tickets purchased on the day at the gate cost about $3 more.

For full details about this event, click Sea to Sky Model Train & Hobby Show.

Thomas the Train Spring Event

In late spring and/or early summer the museum hosts a special Thomas the Train event for children and their families. In 2025, however, the had a different, but similar event instead.

The Day Out With Thomas usually takes place on the last couple of weekends in May. On those days, at set times, visitors can take a 20-minute trip on the Thomas the Tank Engine and meet Sir Topham Hatt from the popular children’s book. The event sells out every year so you need to book your tickets early.

The Thomas the Train event usually takes place on a couple of weekends in late May and early June. It didn’t happen in 2025. In its place, on the first weekend in May, there was the Buddy & Friends Festival instead, which was also terrific. The Buddy & Friends Festival featured a weekend of live entertainment, learning and adventure! At the event the visitors could ride the BC-21 Budd Rail Diesel Car. Tickets for the event were just $20!

Whether the Day Out with Thomas happens again in 2026, or the Buddy & Friends Festival, is to be determined. One of them, however, likely will.

For the museum’s official website, visit wcra.org.

The North Pole Express at Christmas

Each year the museum hosts a North Pole Express event. That’s when children and their families can take a magical 50-minute trip to the North Pole similar to what happens in the animated movie the Polar Express starring Tom Hanks.

Formerly called the Polar Express, the North Pole Express event usually runs on the last weekend in November and first couple of weekends in December. It too is tremendously popular and sells out well in advance.

To give you a good idea of what to expect at the North Pole Express, check out the video below. It features footage from the event in 2023. You’ll see the wonderful decorations and displays that were inside the museum that year.

See our article about the North Pole Express for more information about this event (including another video with even more scenes, including ones of the train from both the inside and outside).

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips to help you make the most of your experience at the attraction.

TIP #1: If hoping to take part in the Thomas the Train or North Pole Express events, reserve your spot early. Tickets sell out months in advance.

TIP #2: Travel between October and March on the Sea to Sky Highway requires vehicles to have tires approved for winter driving.

Other Information

For more information, check out the Railway Museum of British Columbia‘s website.

Note: The same non-profit organization has a museum in Vancouver too, located at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. It’s also a great museum. It’s much smaller, but has free admission. The Vancouver venue is also where you’ll find the CPR Engine #374. To learn about that venue, click Engine 374 in Vancouver.

For ideas about other things to do in the area, see our articles about Squamish or the Sea to Sky Region.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: