PRESCOTT JAMES Enlarge Image

President Robert Goch (right) and general manager Doug Dillon (left) are hoping that more people ride the Prairie Dog Central this year.

The Prairie Dog Central is picking up steam and officials with the heritage railway are hoping it remains on track in 2010.

Nearly 10,000 visitors purchased tickets for the historic steam engine last year.  That followed a 2008 season that saw a huge surge in ridership, including 13,621 riders for a two-week period during a promotion featuring Thomas the Tank Engine.

Those totals are in stark contrast to numbers prior to 2008, when annual ridership dipped as low as 6,000.

"We were in dire straits and 2009 was really a make or break year for us," said railway president Robert Goch.

"If we didn’t get the operation into the black we wouldn’t have been operating this year."

Goch said the railway began to struggle after CN closed its former St. James station in Winnipeg in 1996.

The railway found a new home in 2000 when it moved to the Rural Municipality of Rosser and set up shop on Sturgeon Road north of Inkster Boulevard. The move proved to be disastrous, with the PDC experiencing a major drop in ridership.

"When we operated out of St. James the train was full all the time," Goch said. "We used to be centrally located and highly visible, but when we moved out here most people thought we stopped operating all together."

Goch said the railway’s recent turnaround coincided with a shift in the way it is marketed.

Organizers began promoting it as a unique entertainment venue and offering special events such as murder mysteries and Halloween rides.

Goch said the challenge now is to keep that momentum going and ensure the organization remains on track for years to come.

"Our goal right now is to build a museum where we can display all our artifacts," Goch said. "Essentially we want to be able to explain the history of the rail in Manitoba."

For more information on the Prairie Dog Central visit www.pdcrailway.com.

prescott.james@canstarnews.com