Low Light Mike

08/22/2026

Video: Steam & Fire: Success and Hardship on the Alberni Pacific Railway.
The No.7 Baldwin steam locomotive opens its safety valve, then rebuilds some steam and departs with its train of passenger cars, headed to the station for a day of pulling the passenger train.
While I was waiting as they rebuilt some steam, my camera took a look inside the nearby burned-out crew speeder.
This 2-8-2ST steam locomotive was built in 1929 and is ex No.1055 MacMillan Bloedel.
The burned-out speeder is Comox Logging & Railway Company crew speeder No.102, which was destroyed by youth arsonists on June 16, 2026.
This is at the Alberni Pacific Railway for the Summer Steam Express Train. Seen at the rail yard in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, on Saturday July 18, 2026.

The No.7 Baldwin steam locomotive opens its safety valve, then rebu...

08/21/2026

22 Photos in this album. **Click on Photo to see the Full Album**
Various other items seen by me during my trip to/at/from Summerland BC, for the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. This was June 12-16, 2026.
- Classic 1959 Ford Galaxie seen at the Prairie Valley station platform.
- Railway memorabilia at the Prairie Valley station.
- Train theme displays at Osprey Lake Train Station cabin rentals, along BC secondary highway 40 which follows the old Kettle Valley Railway route.
- Bankeir KVR Speeder 52, seen at Trailside Cabin Rentals, along BC secondary highway 40 which follows the old Kettle Valley Railway route.
- Queen of Alberni ferry views.

Various other items seen by me during my trip to/at/from Summerland BC, for the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. This is June 12-16, 2026. - Classic 1959 Ford Galaxie seen at the Prairie Valley station platform. - Railway memorabilia at the Prairie Valley station. - Train theme displays at Osprey Lake T...

08/15/2026

Video: Cab Ride view of the End-of-Trip and End-of-Day movements of steam locomotive No. 3716 on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway.
After the passengers disembark at the end of a trip at Prairie Valley Station, I join the crew in the cab as the locomotive pulls the empty passenger train a short distance westbound to Prairie Valley siding where the locomotive runs-around the cars in order to position itself for the next trip.
The locomotive then pulls the train back to Prairie Valley station with tender leading, and then the locomotive uncouples and moves to Shop Track 2 and into the Shed for end of day.
Seen on Monday June 15, 2026 in Summerland BC, in the Okanagan Valley, after the 1:30pm trip.
My main camera was attached to the end of a monopod and held out the side of the cab. The result was at times shaky and I had a blind view of guessing on the angle to hold it.
I've replaced the shakiest parts with still-photo screenshots, in order to present the full extent of the trip.
My secondary camera was only used for the first part of the trip and shows the Fireman at work. I'm always in awe of the many things that a fireman needs to keep watch over, and the flurry of activity when the movement starts and ends.
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As you might know, a serious wildfire that started on August 7th is currently impacting that area. As at August 14th, the only area covered by this video that is inside the fire burn perimeter is the Prairie Valley Siding. Actual damage, if any, to the siding is of course Unknown. The burn perimeter line indicates the furthest extent of the fire impact, and doesn't mean that everything inside the line was impacted.

Special Note:This Video is from June 15, 2026 in Summerland BC. As...

08/12/2026

35 Photos in this Album of Kettle Valley Steam Railway, seen from the locomotive cab at and near the Prairie Valley Station and Siding. **Click on the Photo to see the Full Album**
This Album shows the No.3716 steam locomotive cab view during the move to/from Prairie Valley siding, the runaround there to reposition the locomotive for the next passenger trip, and running light through the Prairie Valley yard and into the shed.
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This is from June 15, 2026 in Summerland BC. As you might know, a serious wildfire is currently impacting that area. As at August 12th, the only area covered by these photos that is inside the fire burn perimeter is the Prairie Valley Siding. Actual damage, if any, to the siding is of course Unknown. The burn perimeter line indicates the furthest extend of the fire impact, and doesn't mean that everything inside the line was impacted.
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No.3716 steam locomotive cab view during the move to/from Prairie Valley siding, the runaround there to reposition the locomotive for the next passenger trip, and running light through the Prairie Valley yard and into the shed. Seen on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway on Monday, June 15, 2026 in Summ...

08/11/2026

Bald Range Wildfire K51490 - Summerland BC - August 11th 10:05am post:
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2 Images posted, which are screen-shots from BC Wildfire Service map, per website at 10:05am on 2026-08-11.
Both show the Kettle Valley Steam Railway line & property as a Yellow Line drawn by me.
The red line is the Fire Burn perimeter determined by BC Wildfire Service. This shows the Extent of the area impacted by the fire. It does Not mean that 100% of the items inside the perimeter were burned. This is an important distinction. When the shown extent of the burn area changes, sometimes this is because the fire has grown, and sometimes this is because the mapping has become more precise.
The base map is an older pre-fire satellite view of the area, so any objects shown are just for orientation sake.
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This page is where I share links to my Photography and Video hobby, which in recent years is mostly about Trains. Any post that I make regarding the Wildfire at Summerland is done in the context of someone interested in the niche item of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. If the Meta Algorithm has shown this post to you and you're not interested in my niche, kindly just move on.
The Internet is full of places for general situations and also for almost every niche item.
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For this current wildfire at/near Summerland, I know that the situation is always changing, sometimes rapidly. The situation might have changed by the time someone is later reading this post.
I also know that the outcome details will eventually all be known publicly.
I also know that the impact on this tourism railway is just a small part of the total impact of this wildfire. So I keep my niche interest tempered in the context of the overall situation, while not apologizing for posting sensitively about that niche interest.

08/10/2026

This is a page where I share links to my Photography and Video hobby, which in recent years is mostly about Trains.
Any post that I make regarding the Wildfire at Summerland is done in the context of someone interested in the niche item of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway.
If the Meta Algorithm has shown recent posts to you and you're not interested in my niche, kindly just move on.
The Internet is full of places for general situations and also for almost every niche item.
(photo is from June 2026 at Canyon View in Summerland BC)

08/09/2026

This is a page where I share links to my Photography and Video hobby, which in recent years is mostly about Trains. Any post that I make regarding the Wildfire at Summerland is done in the context of someone interested in the niche item of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. If the Meta Algorithm has shown this post to you and you're not interested in my niche, kindly just move on.
The Internet is full of places for general situations and also for almost every niche item.
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Bald Range Wildfire K51490 - Summerland BC - August 8th 6:50pm post: (see previous post for full context introduction)
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** The fire burn area per the BC Wildfire Service website map has increased since my previous post. The burn area perimeter line is now shown to cut across the Prairie Valley station/shops property of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway **
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Map Images posted here are from the BC Wildfire Service website. See my captions for each image. The red outline is the fire burn perimeter. This shows the Extent of the area impacted by the fire. It does Not mean that 100% of the items inside the perimeter were burned. This is an important distinction. When the shown extent of the burn area changes, sometimes this is because the fire has grown, and sometimes this is because the mapping has become more precise.
The yellow line in some of the map images is my own drawing of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway line and property.
The base map is an older pre-fire satellite view of the area, so any objects shown are just for orientation sake.
----------------------
For this current wildfire at/near Summerland, I know that the situation is always changing, sometimes rapidly. The situation might have changed by the time someone is later reading this post.
I also know that the outcome details will eventually all be known publicly.
I also know that the impact on this tourism railway is just a small part of the total impact of this wildfire. So I keep my niche interest tempered in the context of the overall situation, while not apologizing for posting sensitively about that niche interest.

08/08/2026

This is a page where I share links to my Photography and Video hobby, which in recent years is mostly about Trains. Any post that I make regarding the Wildfire at Summerland is done in the context of someone interested in the niche item of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. If the Meta Algorithm has shown this post to you and you're not interested in my niche, kindly just move on.
The Internet is full of places for general situations and also for almost every niche item.
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Bald Range Wildfire K51490 - Summerland BC - August 8th 11:15am post:
As some of you know from my posts to this page this summer, I did a visit to Summerland BC in June 2026 to extensively document the Kettle Valley Steam Railway operation.
This gave me a fondness and familiarity with that railway and the area's landscape and community. And so I've been following this rapidly changing wildfire with a lot of emotional concern.
Based on my experience in following the Cameron Lake wildfire (August 2025) on Vancouver Island, I learned how to interpret the items on the BC Wildfire Service webpage, especially the fire perimeter area maps. I also learned about speculation, misinformation, and the need to be able to interpret the information that is being posted by official sources and to discern items posted in general social media.
So for this current wildfire at/near Summerland, I know that the situation is always changing, sometimes rapidly. The situation might have changed by the time someone is later reading this post.
I also know that the outcome details will eventually all be known publicly.
I also know that the impact on this tourism railway is just a small part of the total impact of this wildfire. So I keep my niche interest tempered in the context of the overall situation, while not apologizing for posting sensitively about that niche interest.
----------------------
Map Images posted here are from the BC Wildfire Service website. See my captions for each image. The red outline is the fire burn perimeter. This shows the Extent of the area impacted by the fire. It does Not mean that 100% of the items inside the perimeter were burned. This is an important distinction.
The yellow line in some of the map images is my own drawing of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway line and property.

08/08/2026

There's something about the moment when a steam locomotive moves-out after being steamed up. All the hissing sounds and steam c**k visuals are an experience to behold.
Here's a Video example from July 18, 2026 at Port Alberni:

The No.7 Baldwin steam locomotive finishes its morning steam-up pro...