Elmira Railway Museum on the right track

The Elmira Railway Museum saw a whopping 30 per cent increase in visitors this year, in part because the tourist attraction increased its hours.

August alone saw a 55 per cent increase compared to the same month last year, marking the biggest increase of any of the provincially-run heritage sites.

Lynne Morrow, the site manager of the Elmira Railway Museum, says August was their biggest month for the season.

"Probably one of the better that I've seen since I went there 13 years ago. We were able to be open seven days a week this year too which made a tremendous difference for us."

For many years, Elmira Station served as the end of the line for Prince Edward Island's railway.

The museum tells the story of the island's railway past through artifacts, a recreated station master's office, and even a miniature train.

In previous years, the museum was open just five days a week in the summer.

Morrow says additional funding to hire more staff made a difference, and there was an obvious increase in visitors.

"Everyday it seemed like there were more visitors coming through the door than usual. We had a little more visibility maybe this year. We had put up a couple of additional signs which made a difference because we are on a side road."

Morrow says the nearby Basin Head beach received a lot of positive publicity this year, which may have prompted more visitors to Elmira as well.