Bowness mini-train back on the rails
Posted Jul 28, 2016 2:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was a big day for a little train.
The Bowness miniature train is officially back in business thanks to a local group of restoration experts.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says it wasn’t an easy task getting the train back on the tracks.
“I’m so thrilled we got it back and I cannot believe the love and attention and meticulous care that these folks worked on the restoration on. I heard over 3000 person-hours to redo this, every one of those breaks, there’s over 30 of them, has 42 parts.”
The train was built in the 1950s and was used for almost 60 years.
It was then put in storage, where it was badly damaged in the 2013 flood.
The group installed a new diesel engine, sandblasted and re-painted the body, which is modelled after CP Rail’s luxury transcontinental passenger train ‘The Canadian’.
A portion of the restoration was paid for through the province’s Disaster Recovery Program.
Mini-train rides will be happening all summer long.
Here’s a look at the train in action:
