BC Forest Discovery Centre
Hillcrest Lumber Company #1,
a class B Shay locomotive |
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| Established | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Location | 2892 Drinkwater Road, Duncan, British Columbia |
| Type | Forestry Museum |
| Director | Chris Gale |
| Curator | Jenna Kiesman |
| Website | http://bcforestdiscoverycentre.com/ |
Coordinates: 48°48′07″N 123°42′55″W / 48.80194°N 123.71528°W
The BC Forest Discovery Centre, located in Duncan, chronicles the history of logging in British Columbia, Canada. Its mission is to be British Columbia's foremost interpreter and presenter of the forest community – past, present and future. It is a 100-acre (40 ha) site with 2.5 km (1.6 miles) of operational 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway.
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.
There are indoor and outdoor exhibits spread over a 100-acre (40 ha) site, including operating steam and gas 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:
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