Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions — Attraction in Alberta

Many others have already written reviews that capture a typical or favorite experience aboard Alberta Prairie Railway. I can't improve on those, so I want to focus on some of the details that are apt to be overlooked. There are a lot of moving parts to this enterprise. If you fork over the cash, you can see them all for yourself.

The first thing to mention is that the daytrip to Big Valley and back is worth every penny. If you're a teacher or babysitter, you may find the Adults/Seniors Only trip is worth much more, as sanity hath no price. (No children! And that means none of their inane babbling or infernal "choo choo" sounds for 5 straight hours!)

This is the kind of trip to save up for if you have friends or family visiting. (If your friends/family are loaded, I suggest that you pay for piddly little things first, then express a mixture of enthusiasm and caution regarding the train trip. Hem 'n haw about the price--they may offer to pay! LET THEM!)

From the moment you approach the train until you plop back into your car, you are greeted, taken care of, entertained, fed, and waved to. Listen to the expert railway information coming through the PA system! Look for bird nests in the trees! It's a three-dimensional kind of experience, and the only corollary I can think of is a park or haunted attraction, operated by an outfit like Disney or Knotts Berry Farm. There is extraordinary attention to detail, particularly in how all the personnel relate to the passengers.

There are rumors that train robbers interrupt the trip and cause a lot of ruckus. In the same spirit, I want to commend Shane and Ryan for their bravery. Ryan took three bullets while fending off the baddies.

The trainman, who strode through the cars with a careful, somewhat wary bearing, stepped over Ryan's body. "If the train's not rolling, I'm not working," he declared, before striding over to a brass knob in order to inspect it. (Ryan is young, so they think he'll pull through.)

Shane managed to recover the spare change we originally handed to the robbers. We never saw Shane again, but the gift shop gals think he smuggled the coins to the Big Valley Hotties, better known as Phyllis and Trudy. I could be wrong about all this.

The bellyacher-reviewers who previously complained about the dinner (roast beef 'n fixins) must not have seen the fixins: bottles of horseradish sauce and sliced pickles. Do yourself a favor and load up on these tangy fixins. Allow yourself to have an experience. You can eat your own rotten cooking any day of the week! You tricked your friend into paying for this, after all, so be grateful and choke down some country-livin' condiments!

Above all, the wheelchair-lift and the extra care shown towards passenger safety (especially boarding and disembarking) is what impressed me most. The right mood was set right away, and the fun we all had together followed accordingly. Top-notch, all around! Bravo to Alberta...

I am one of the lucky ones who rode the big steam train 3 times with Alberta Prairie Railway years ago when they used to go to Big Valley. My husband and I took Grandpa yesterday for his birthday, expecting the same experience. I found out onboard that instead of 1.5hrs each way to Big Valley it was a 'slow' 30 min trip to the outskirts of Stettler to a fenced area in field with kiddie games. I understand the business has made this change due to covid and the restrictions placed upon them by the gov't. To be clear, should Alberta Prairie Railway return to the way it used to be, travelling to Big Valley where there is a rail car museum, candy store, baked goodies, art store, and many other interesting activities in town I would return (even with only the diesel running). Other changes I noticed were 1) there used to be a robbery, and a darned good one, the bandits were racing on horseback, in full costume, guns blazing and they stopped the train, boarded and held you up, it was fabulous. Now there is a cheesy robbery at the venue, no horses. 2) there used to be entertainers onboard in full costume, Klondike Kate used to sit on the knee of any older gentleman who looked to be a little shy, was a blast, that is no more. Also gone are the other entertainers who used to be on board the train. If you are looking for an activity with small children you would probably still enjoy this current outing as there are carnival games for children's prizes and there is a petting zoo. As for this being a destination to relive some of the past era, I do not recommend until the trip back to Big Valley is made available again. I feel bad for the owners, covid has put many businesses in a difficult position, I hope they make it through and someday go back to the wonderful venue they...

I'd been told by coworkers how amazing this train ride was. On a beautiful train with gorgeous scenery, onboard entertainment, a train robbery, and plenty of shopping and things to see/do. A delicious dinner to follow.

My actual experience was much, much different. I don't know if the company changed ownership or covid affected a deal with big valley. It wasn't as expected but it also wasn't as described. I couldn't help but having felt a little duped.

We arrived to board the train, there was no parking and the platform was full of people. The previous excursion had yet to disembark, so there was a lot of directional confusion. No guidance from the staff. We finally boarded, sat in our assigned seats. No information about the train itself, no guidance/interaction. No view from the train, it was trees, or personal property. There was announcements over the PA system but you couldn't make out what was being said.

You arrive to find yourself at what can only be described as a cheaper Shrute farm. There was one large tent with the "cafeteria". A "carnival" with bean bag games (you spin a wheel on the train ride over to earn nickels to play the carnival games). A stage for a performer, who played maybe 3 songs. A booth for donations for a different company. Hay rides and a petting zoo. Thankfully there were 3 bars. You need it. You're expected to stay here for 2 hours.

That's it. That's the trip. For $75/adult and $45/child. Could be better overall, and the description should be more accurate. This is meant more for families. The staff were just as bewildered as the rest of us. Overall. 2 stars. The drinks were shockingly good. I didn't take photos because frankly there was nothing to...