Aspen Crossing is truly a unique destination located near the hamlet of Mossleigh, Alberta, that has been entertaining and enthralling visitors who, in the beginning, came to buy plants and trees, then to enjoy a meal, and now to relive history on the Aspen Crossing railroad.
Celebrating the role that the railways made in developing the Canada we know today, Aspen’s owner Jason Thornhill has recreated his own memories of the trains that ran right by his childhood home, which was located where the Station stands today.
From its beginnings as a tree farm and nursery, Aspen Crossing has slowly become the foremost train-themed destination in Alberta. In the early days, plant shoppers would ask where they could find lunch before making the trip home? There were few options, but in 2006, a chance came to acquire a late 18th century dining car that had been part of the famous ‘Side Track Café’ in Edmonton, where it had hosted Canadian music royalty such as Sarah MacLachlan, The Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo and Alberta’s own k.d. lang.
Today, that rail car, which once even served as a Canadian Prime Minister’s private car, is home to Aspen’s dining room, while another historic facility – a 1906 prairie farm home – is now Aspen’s Berquist Tavern.
“a place to make memories”
It’s taken many years, and considerable effort, to add the RV park and the train excursions as part of the ‘Aspen experience.’ It took six years of hard work and negotiation to convince a skeptical CP Rail that they should sell the 14 miles of rail line that ran through Mossleigh after it was put out of service in 2002. And then another seven years before the first run of the Aspen Crossing Railway in 2015.
Since then, thousands of visitors from across Alberta and around the world have enjoyed re-living the age of rail while marveling at the beauty of the wide prairie and big skies of southern Alberta.
Today, Aspen Crossing offers a wide variety of train excursions. Some for adults, some for kids, and some for generations! Trains run all summer long, and in the fall and winter it’s time for ”The Train Of Terror” and the “Polar Express™,” for Halloween and Christmas respectively.
There’s a rail romance going on at Aspen Crossing. It’s a place to disconnect…and reconnect with the people in your life. To appreciate some majestic scenery, some wonderful history, and some modern fun.
But, most of all, Aspen Crossing is a place to make memories.
#Mossleigh #AB #alberta #Train excursions #Campground #Dining #Shopping #Events
