Maintaining Rocky Mountaineer in city
When the Rocky Mountaineer delivers its last guests of the season to their destinations each October, its trains have one more trip to make.
Each off-season, 75 rail cars and locomotives funnel into the company’s maintenance yard on CN Road in Kamloops for servicing.
This year, however, there is something new to see at the site — a state-of-the-art maintenance centre the rail-tour company is touting as a significant investment in the city.
The 20,000-square-foot building was under construction for about two years and replaces a series of less-permanent structures on the site, said company spokesman Ian Robertson.
“They were temporary, modular buildings. It looked like a very temporary facility,” he said.
“This really signals our commitment to Kamloops and to that area.”
The new setup allows the company to roll up to six cars into the building at one time.
“We have lifting hoists and it’s all enclosed within a facility that makes it much more accessible and easy for our staff to maintain the equipment,” Robertson said.
In addition to the year-end checkups, rail cars are also funneled through the building when the Mountaineer makes overnight tour stops in Kamloops, as do two of its four routes.
“Kamloops is kind of the midway point. Ever since the company started, our maintenance facility was in Kamloops,” Robertson said.
More than 40 people maintain the Mountaineer’s rail equipment year round, along with another 28 seasonal staffers.
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