By Francine Hughes
HEBER - The Heber Valley Railroad, also known as the Heber Creeper, is offering productions ending this month.
'It''s a really fun type of a date for students,' said Executive Director Craig Lacey.
The most popular productions among students are the Murder Mystery and the Sunset Special productions.
The Murder Mystery is a comedy dinner show that involves the passengers in solving the mystery while riding through the canyon.
The Sunset Special includes a live country-western band that plays on the train. The train also stops at a secluded spot along the canyon where passengers eat a barbecue dinner while listening to the band.
The railroad is one of the top ten tourist attractions in Utah County, Lacey said.
The winter Olympics in Utah helped the railroad become world-renowned.
'People from Europe travel to Utah specifically to ride the railroad,' said Director of Marketing Ken McConnell.
The railroad dates back to 1899. Maintaining the equipment is a continuing challenge, but necessary to preserve the history of one of the last working passenger steam trains.
Another attraction of the railroad is that it has been featured in 33 motion pictures including 'A River Runs Through It,' and shows like 'Touched By An Angel.' Students can see where movie stars once worked.
'In addition to operating a tourist attraction, bringing tourist dollars into the community and state, our focus is to preserve the railroad history that people never see anymore,' said McConnell. 'We''re trying to preserve what used to be an elegant way to travel.'
BYU has been a Heber railroad customer by holding dances on the train in previous years, including Homecoming and Preference.
'We love the enthusiasm and energy that students bring,' said Lacey. 'It keeps things fresh.'
Murder Mystery and Sunset Special run through the end of this month. Although they have other railroad productions throughout the year, including a Haunted Canyon, which begins in October. For ticket information students can visit the Web site at www.hebervalleyrr.org.
'It''s all about steam trains,' said train conductor Carl Boyd. 'They have a heart and a liver, they breathe, once people experience the train they will be back.'