Big Valley, Alberta

Big Valley is a small village located in central Alberta.

It has a rich railway heritage dating back to the early 20th century. Originally established as a railway division point on the Canadian Northern Railway line, the community played an important role in the development of Alberta’s transportation infrastructure. Today, Big Valley maintains its historical character through preserved buildings and structures from its railway era.

We made the hour-and-a-half trek from Red Deer out to Big Valley, and it was definitely worth the commute. This was my second visit to Big Valley and I was eager to show Vince the quirkiness and feel of the place.

For a small village, Big Valley certainly has a lot of museums. A walk around the village yielded the following: Railway Station Museum, The Big Valley Historical Society Museum, The Big Valley Creation Science Museum, Vintage Tool & Collectibles Museum and the McAlister Motors Museum. Unfortunately, none of the museums were open during our visit (too early in the season), so that was a little disappointing.

Honey Bees & Fudge

After parking the car and stepping out into the hot and sunny prairie morning, we spied our first stop: a large store sharing the businesses All That Buzz Gift Shoppe Ltd. and Granny’s Fudge Factory. All That Buzz was fascinating – it contained pretty much everything you can think of that could be made from bees; there was also a good helping of fun, quirky gifts and novelty items. Granny’s Fudge Factory, meanwhile, offered up – you guessed it – delicious home made fudge in every flavour under the sun. There were sampling tables for the products, so needless to say, we didn’t leave the store empty-handed.

Jimmy Jock Boardwalk

Further along Main Street is the Jimmy Jock Boardwalk. The building had been built in a U-shaped configuration, replicating stores and saloon styles of the old west. The boardwalk is named after a notable local Chinese restaurateur who operated his shop in the years past.

Normally, the boardwalk is a must-see in the village for its wild west ambience, and is usually buzzing with activity. Having been here before during its heyday, I was completely dismayed to see that the building now has a “For Sale” sign on it, and that almost all the businesses (save for two) had closed up and/or moved on. We stopped briefly into the two stores that had not yet folded, but there was no buzz or energy level to speak of, and the wild west atmosphere fell flat.

Restored Railway Station & Museum

Situated at the end of Main Street, the railway station is the centrepiece of the collection of historic buildings within the Village. It was built in 1912 by the Canadian Northern Railway and has served three railways: The Canadian Northern, Canadian National, and presently the Central Western Railway. The ground floor of the station contains an extensive photo and artifact gallery featuring the Village and area’s railway heritage – again, not open when we were there… DOH!! We did grab a few shots of the station, though:

There is a station garden available as a rest area. There are also several pieces of railway equipment in Big Valley, notably a wooden caboose and a CPR horse-express car dating from the 1930s. Next to the station is a 1950s-era section bunkhouse that was used for the accommodation of the dedicated railroaders who maintained the track and the right-of-way over the years.

There is a very successful train journey running from Stettler, the nearest large town, to Big Valley. Every summer there are many different types of train rides into Big Valley on a vintage train: Murder Mysteries, School Specials, Teddy Bear Specials (not sure what that is), and various other charters. Once the train arrives in Big Valley, guests are treated to a massive meal and entertainment in Big Valley’s Community Centre. During some of the train journeys, there is a “gang” of train robbers, entitled Reynold’s Raiders who, mounted on horseback, hold up and rob the train passengers in true old-west style. The gang rob guests of their loose change at “gun point” and then donate the money to Alberta children’s charities. Click here to learn all about the trains, event schedules and train adventures offered during the summer months.

Restored Grain Elevator & Vintage Farm Equipment

Locomotive Turntable & Train Service Centre

The roundhouse complex, located across the tracks from the station, includes remnants of a locomotive turntable, water tower, ash pit, coaling plant, and other facilities related to steam locomotive servicing.

This is where locomotives would rest between runs, or be inspected, lubed or repaired. Each engine would have a stall, and between the rails would be a drop pit which allowed workers access to the car’s underside. The structure was built in a semi-circular form, hence the turntable moniker.

The turntable is a bridge on a central pivot that could swing around to align with any stall in the building. In addition to routing locomotives to their respect spot, they were also used to spin them around, if needed, so they’d be pointing in the right direction for the next run:

Trains would pull into these stalls so that men in the pits could work on the train’s underside:

Lunch Time

It was getting on for lunch time, so we dropped in to what appeared to be the only open restaurant in the village – the Big Valley Inn – so we gave it a shot. Given the clientele we encountered upon entering the place I wouldn’t have beem surprised to hear strains of Dueling Banjos, but thankfully this was not the case (although the restaurant is shared with a dubious-looking hotel – the aforementioned Big Valley Inn).

The lovely woman at All That Buzz / Granny’s Fudge Factory had told Vince that it’s best to come to the restaurant after 1:00 as that’s when “Dave” does the cooking. Our waiter looked like he was fresh from a Hell’s Angels gathering, so we thought it best for us smart-ass city boys to be polite and not mess with the man. At the end of it all it was actually a very good lunch (it’s hard to go wrong with a Club House Sandwich), and we left refuelled enough to explore a bit more of the village.

Heading Out

Regrettably, we ran out of time as we had to be elsewhere later that afternoon, so didn’t get to several of the other village attractions, notably the beautiful St. Edmund’s Church atop the hill overlooking the village:

Upon leaving we could see that Big Valley is a community which continues to celebrate its cultural heritage and maintains its connection to Alberta’s railroad history, rural traditions and agricultural roots. All in all, a great visit.

Date visited: May 26, 2025