Engine 374 Pavilion — Attraction in Vancouver

If you have young children who love to play with trains, you may want to think twice about bringing them here. I brought my son to play in here for a few minutes. He played in a corner with free toys, along with another young boy he just met.

My son and his new friend started playing with some of the trains that were apparently for sale -- I did not know they were. Next thing I knew, the purported owner started yelling at the kids to put the toys away because they could break them. And then he cautioned me to "teach my kids to respect people's property".

Of course I take exception to being spoken to that way, and I made that very clear. I told him in strong terms not to speak to me that way and that this was no way speak to anyone. I also asked him if he realized that these were children -- to which he replied that other "well-behaved" children knew not to touch things that don't belong to them. He also said if he had done that as a kid, he would've been smacked, and maybe the problem was that we don't do that anymore.

There were so many things wrong with this experience and I honestly regret even engaging with him.

Children play with toys when they are 5 years old. They are still learning about the concept of paying for things. They do not need to be yelled at for doing that, and you would expect the purported owner of a museum that is popular with children to understand that.

There was probably a racist undertone here. I'm Black, and the other kid was Asian. This purported owner is a white man. I cannot think of any other reason why this man would assume that I need to be told to teach my 5 year old son to respect other people's property.

There was an implicit assumption that I could not pay for the toys -- I would've gladly done that if I had been spoken to respectfully.

So please learn from my experience -- if you have to come here with young kids for any reason, maybe you want to make sure your kids are...

It was a grey day when I came across a very special attraction A lot of places in Vancouver costing big dollars so I was highly surprised to find this place entry to real treasure was free.

ok there is a donation box also new and used books and stall selling some items like Thomas tank engine other stuff other stuff as a fund raising way to keep this locomotive for the future..

As for the knowledgeable folk who man and run it are volunteers with warm welcoming enthusiasm and were able to Inform not only the train and local information but answer questions on place to do or see and how to get there even if your not interested in the train

when we were there it looked as if they had a unscheduled visit by a birthday party of 7yr olds and yet they handled it professionally I witnessed as the voulenteers were bombarded with questions yet warmly welcomed them and answered them as best and in terms that were understandable to these youngsters as well help other visitors balancing the detail and terminology

And so I willingly donated to then a few dollars I also witnessed someone who was in a wheelchair spoken too as an equal as an able-bodied person although they couldn’t get them up on the driving part of the train the volunteers explained other parts of the train such how the train parts were not as they seem so the person felt as important as other visitors.

As for languages they have cards in other languages explaining the trains history and if your like I was on my own they were willing to take photos of me and point out where to stand or go for best photos

So I strongly commend those who man it and to those reading this go see it it is a true treasure that you never forget in a positive way thank you folk...

The resting place of a gorgeous, powerful locomotive from the Golden Age of rail travel in the 19th century. It seems like a slumbering titan, imposing and majestic and yet somehow also elegant and refined. There are places for kids to play with model trains, and I saw a lot of families here, and there is also a small but quite fascinating collection of memorabilia, including magazines and books written about trains in bygone days. Still, the centerpoint is indisputably the train itself, the kind of dazzlingly immense and intricate piece of machinery that does not seem to have been made by the hands of humanity but instead emerged from the depths of the earth like a creature of myth. I feel the same sense of wistful awe that I feel when I look at the skeleton of a great prehistoric creature of the seas or the ruins of an old Roman temple. Climbing atop the train and examining it is highly encouraged, but be respectful: this is a radiant leviathan and an emblem of the almost animistic energy of industrialization that built Canada and the...