Armstrong's Tracks

The town of Armstrong, B.C. has a railway track - built in 1890 - that runs smack dab through the centre of town. If you want to get quickly from one side of town to the other, you take the tracks. It's Armstrong's viaduct of sorts. Almost two years ago, on Halloween night, something terrible happened on the tracks. A dark shadow was cast on the town and on the stretch of railway running through it.

Armstrong  is nestled in the Spallumcheen valley, part of BC's North Okanagan. It once produced Canada's biggest celery crop and the famous Armstrong Cheese. It now boasts a vibrant theatre company. It has a hugely popular agricultural fair. Just under 3000 people call Armstrong home.

The tracks, in effect, cut Armstrong in half.  But if you're a teenager, you don't just use them for getting from A to B. The tracks are a refuge, a ribbon of adventure, freedom, experimentation.

Emelia Symington Fedy grew up in Armstrong. Her documentary is called The Tracks.

The Tracks first aired in October, 2012.