Coordinates: 48°48′07″N 123°42′55″W / 48.80194°N 123.71528°W / 48.80194; -123.71528

BC Forest Discovery Centre

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BC Forest Discovery Centre
File:Hillcrest Lumber Company steam locomotive 1 Shay at Forest Museum Duncan BC 16-Jul-1995.jpg
Hillcrest Lumber Company No. 1, a class B Shay locomotive
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Established1964
Location2892 Drinkwater Road,[1]
Duncan, British Columbia
TypeForestry Museum
Websitebcforestdiscoverycentre.com

The BC Forest Discovery Centre, located in Duncan, chronicles the history of logging in British Columbia, Canada. It is a 100-acre (40 ha) site with 2.5 km (1.6 miles) of operational 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway.[2]

History

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G.E. (Gerry) Wellburn, a collector, was the founder of the Centre which opened in 1965 as the Cowichan Valley Forest Museum. It was later known for a time as the BC Forest Museum.

Collection

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There are indoor and outdoor exhibits spread over a 100-acre (40 ha) site, including operating steam and diesel rail equipment plus logging trucks. There are forest and nature trails, picnic area, playground, gift shop and a concession. At the Centre visitors can explore a reconstructed logging camp, forest fire lookout tower and the ranger's station.

The centre has its own heritage railway, a train pulled by a century-old steam locomotive which was once used in the filling in of the North Vancouver harbour. Along the route is one of the first pre-fabricated school houses, a trestle over Somenos Lake and an operational water wheel.

The Forest Discovery Centre has seven steam locomotives in its collection:

  1. Mayo Lumber Company No. 3 Shay (class B) (was on loan to Kettle Valley Steam Railway 1995–2009)[3][4][5]
  2. Hillcrest Lumber Company No. 1 Shay (class B) (3 ft or 914 mm gauge)[6]
  3. Bloedel Stewart and Welch Shay (class B) No. 1 (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in or 1,435 mm standard gauge)[7]
  4. Shawnigan Lake Lumber No. 2 Climax (class B) (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge)[8]
  5. Hillcrest Lumber Company No. 9 Climax (class B) (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge) – the only operational Climax locomotive in Canada)[9]
  6. Cowichan Valley Railway No. 24 Vulcan 0-4-0T "Suzie" (3 ft gauge)[10]
  7. Cowichan Valley Railway No. 25 Vulcan 0-4-0T "Samson" (3 ft gauge)[11]

In addition, these diesel locomotives are also part of the collection:

  1. Cowichan Valley Railway No. 23 "Sandy" Plymouth 8-short-ton (7.1-long-ton; 7.3 t) [12]
  2. Cowichan Valley Railway No. 27 "Handy Andy" speeder[13]
  3. British Columbia Forest Products No. 9 Whitcomb Locomotive Works (80-short-ton or 71-long-ton or 73-tonne 0-4-4-0 diesel)[14]

Site

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The site has a reconstructed fire watch tower, which offers a commanding view of the site and nearby Somenos Marsh.

The Centre borders the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge[15] and Ducks Unlimited pond. Many types of water fowl and other birds can be found in this area. Red-eared slider turtles can be found sunning in the field next to the marsh.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Steamlocomotive.info
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  14. ^ Whitcomb Locomotive, BCForestDiscoveryCentre.com
  15. ^ Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society website
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