Kelowna

Organizers of Sunday's re-dedication of the Myra Canyon Trestles were caught by surprise at the number of people who took advantage of the opportunity to see the reconstructed trestles.

Crowds were estimate at more than 5,000.

The crowd was so large that people were forced to wait up to two hours for shuttle busses going from Okanagan College to the ceremony.

At one point, free food kiosks ran out of pancake mix, forcing them to begin serving lunch about a half hour earlier than they anticipated.

Cars were parking on either side of the extremely narrow forestry road, a situation which could have caused a shuttle bus to go off the road heading towards the parking lot.

Nobody was hurt.

Sunday's re-dedication was made necessary after 12 of the 18 trestles were destroyed by the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire on September 4, 2003.

The decks of two other steel trestles were also burned.

The trestles were destroyed just nine months after the site was designated of national historic significance because the location, layout and construction of the railway through the Myra Canyon constitute an outstanding engineering achievement.

The trestles were officially re-opened with the tradition driving of the last spike.

"The completion of any railway has always culminated with the ceremonial driving of the 'last spike. We felt this project was so significant that we should do the same to show that Myra Canyon is again open for the public to use and that this unwelcome gap in the Rails to Trails system has been closed," says Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society spokesman, Ken Campbell.

Carl Marcotte, the first president of the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society drove in the ceremonial last spike on trestle 11.

"I should tell you, it isn't a spike. We had to buy steel nails for the last work on this trestle, and we were shocked at the cost of steel. So, Carl has a couple of penny nails to do the job," added Campbell.

Marcotte, who was also a member of the restoration team, says there were times when he didn't know whether this day would come.

"In the beginning we were a little bit doubtful, but it didn't take long to realize that with the team we had of builders and contractors, that it would be done in four years," says Marcotte.

He says the fire was devastating, but out of it, he says some good has come.

"Now we know the structural part of the trestles will last perhaps 90 years. They would not have lasted that long had they not burnt."

Marcotte says he also thinks it is doubtful there would have been funding available to rebuild the trestles had they deteriorated on their own.

He says the historic designation also made rebuilding possible.

"If it hadn't been for that, I feel it would not have been done. That's what saved us and it came just before the fire. Without that, you and I wouldn't be here today."

Sunday's ceremony also included the official designation of the Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Railway as a site of national historic significance.

The cost of restoration was $17 million, 90 per cent of which came from the federal government.

Link: Sunday's photo gallery of the re-opening. Link: Trestle photos before the fire. Link: Myra Trestles Official Site Link: Discuss this topic in our discussion forums.