Fraser Valley Heritage Railway⎮ Ride BC’s Historic Interurban Railway! ⎮One of BC’s Most Unique Train Rides!

VERDICT: We gave 4 out of 5 tickets and here’s why!

This guide forms part of our complete Canada Travel Guide featuring scenic road trips, iconic destinations, practical travel advice and honest first-hand travel experiences from across Canada.

This article is part of our 🚗 Fraser Valley Day Trip series, exploring Canadian communities. Discover communities like Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope. Our adventure takes us through diverse towns, spectacular lakes, international events, and many hidden gems of the Valley. Read the complete series here.

Ride a beautifully restored BC Electric Railway interurban and experience one of the Fraser Valley’s most unique volunteer-run attractions

Even on a rainy day, the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway – Cloverdale Station is an interesting tour to take.

This is a heritage railway run 100% by volunteers, and do they love what they do. They’ve restored antique BC Electric Railway interurban cars and operate them on 7.4 km of original track.

Cloverdale Station first opened July 1, 1910 when BC Electric Railway started passenger service from New Westminster to Chilliwack. The current replica station + car barn was built and the society moved to this location in 2013.

There are two main events:
2026 Ride Info:
Saturdays & Sundays from May
Hours: 10am – 4pm

You can join the Shorter Ride: “Heritage Rail Adventure” which is a 20-25 minute one way ride, instead of the full 55-minute round trip to Sullivan.

You’ll arrive at the station, head to the ticket booth, grab your tickets & hop on the interurban car. It soon leaves Cloverdale Station and goes a short distance down the line. While you clickety clack along, a staff member tells of the history of the trains & how they’ve rescued some cars that were in states of disrepair.

The short trip is great if you’ve got little kids, limited time, or just want a quick taste of the interurban experience without the full ride to Sullivan.

There is access to the Car Barn, where they work on the restoration & day to day maintenance of these cool vehicles. The Discovery Centre is the learning part of your adventure: you see a movie in the #1207 theatre. There’s some bells to ring, horns to toot & interesting graphics on the history story boards.

You can buzz down the tracks on the Honey Bee Express, a small train & enjoy the Family Quad Car, a hand propelled unit that goes down the tracks quite quickly. Earn your distinguished button by riding the Velocipede, a hand propelled wooden bike-like vehicle that takes you along the track. A very rare experience!

You can also take the longer 55 minute round trip on a fully-restored antique interurban car from the Cloverdale Station to the Sullivan Station and then back.

On this trip, you’ll pass train crossings, actually stop all 4 lanes of Hwy 10, go over water, through fields, and watch the crew switch tracks.

Also on site:
Museum + displays – volunteers do narration about BCER and Fraser Valley rail history.

Special events: They host music concerts, Halloween & Christmas train runs, and this particular day, there was musical entertainment by singer, Sue Breton.

There’s a cute little gift shop – “Bill’s Corner Store” with exclusive items like CDs of the station’s history, fresh honey made by their local beehive, T shirts, postcards, hats & more.

Ticket pricing:
Adults ∼$25
Seniors/Students ∼$18
Kids 3-11 ∼$12
Under 3 free

Website:
http://fvhrs.org

Tillers’s Folly and the Electric Railway Line – Boarding in Chilliwack, BC.

Here’s the history behind the train trips at Cloverdale Station:

The Original Line – BC Electric Railway: July 1, 1910, BC Electric Railway started passenger service through Cloverdale on their new 64-mile electric interurban line from New Westminster to Chilliwack

Cloverdale quickly became the dominant community in the Fraser Valley. People could get from Cloverdale Station to downtown Vancouver in about 1.5 hours, that was state-of-the-art travel back then.

At 120 km (75 miles), it was the longest interurban rail line built in Canada. It connected farms, towns, and cities all the way from Chilliwack to New Westminster, where you could transfer to Vancouver.

Great Northern Rail Connection:
Before the BCER, a 22-mile line opened in 1891 by New Westminster – Southern Railway, later run by Great Northern Railway.

For a time it was the only rail link between the US and Canada west of the Rockies, and it was huge for Cloverdale’s economic growth.

The Heritage Trips Today:
Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society (FVHRS) formed in 2001 with a mission to acquire, restore, and operate the old BCER interurban cars.

They bought back original BCER cars like #1225 from California and restored them. Cloverdale Station itself is a replica built on the original site, at Hwy 10 and 176A St, behind the Clydesdale Inn.

So when you ride it now, you’re literally on the same corridor that connected Fraser Valley farmers to Vancouver markets over 100 years ago! And believe it or not – the Queen was also part of the BCER story! On Nov 3, 1954, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Vancouver during a royal tour of Canada.
BCER put together a special royal interurban train to help move people around for the events. Car 1304 (the same car that caught fire near Cloverdale in 1945 and was rebuilt) was part of the royal train that ran dignitaries and media along the line during the visit.

That’s why Car 1304 has such a big story. After it was rebuilt in 1946, it became one of BCER’s “showpiece” cars and got used for special events like this

Car 1304 was originally nicknamed the “Connaught car” after the Duke of Connaught, who was Governor General of Canada from 1911-1916. BCER named a few early interurbans after royal figures. So a royal link was there from the start.

There’s no record of the Queen stopping in Cloverdale on that 1954 trip, but the royal train did run on the same Fraser Valley line that passed through Cloverdale. The line had been carrying people to royal events in Vancouver since 1910.

So while she didn’t open Cloverdale Station, the Queen did ride in one of the exact same type of cars you can ride today on the heritage railway.

Pretty cool that you can sit in a car that once carried part of a royal train!

Time Needed 2 Hours

Admission Paid Admission

Best Time to Visit Summer

Accessibility Wheelchair passengers must be able to transfer to the transit wheelchair and the fixed seating on the interurban train.

Visit Official Website Open in Google Maps

Local Tip

Arrive at least 30 minutes ahead of time for parking and to access the museum and shop prior to commencing your tour. Parking is free.

Information Verified: 08/01/2026

The Bottom Line

The small trip was fun but we would like to try the longer tour next time and perhaps enjoy one of the summer concerts. Very enjoyable.

Continue Exploring British Columbia

Nearby Events / Attractions (Seasonal)

Nearby Attractions:

Hiking in British Columbia

Brunch in the Fraser Valley

Sunday Brunch in Chilliwack at the Golf Club

Planning Your Trip?

Before you go, don’t forget to book the essentials:

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