Living the steam dream

Opinion

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This article was published 17/08/2020 (1851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Windsor Park train enthusiast marked 50 years of involvement with the Vintage Locomotive Society last month.

Paul Newsome joined the society on July 12, 1970, shortly after it began public operation of its Prairie Dog Central Railway. He volunteered with the society for the next 30 years before taking on a paid role as general manager, a position he still holds today.

“I enjoy contributing to rail heritage preservation and working with people who are similarly interested,” the 69-year-old says. “I want to preserve railway heritage for the enjoyment and education of young and old alike.”

Newsome’s interest in trains dates back to March 31, 1954 — his paternal grandfather’s last day of work after 50 years with the railway.

On that day, Newsome’s grandfather brought the CN Super Continental to Winnipeg from Reddit, Ont. on a passenger run.

“My father took me to meet him, and at two years of age I was hooked,” Newsome says.

Newsome recalls following the formation of the Vintage Locomotive Society in the ‘60s.

The society’s primary goal was to return a locomotive built in 1882, known as Engine No. 3, to operation and launch a tourist train.

No. 3 was refurbished in time for Manitoba’s centennial celebrations. On July 1, 1970 it made a trip to Lower Fort Garry carrying Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and members of the Manitoba Legislature.

It was opened to the public on July 11, and Newsome started volunteering the next day.

The society has 120 paid members today, about 60 of whom are active volunteers. But in those days, there were “maybe 10 or 12 of us in total,” Newsome recalls.

That meant everyone had a hand in helping with just about everything.

Newsome wiped down No. 3 in between trips, swept the floors of the coaches, cleaned the windows, assisted the engine crew with cleaning the ashpans, helped park cars at the train’s station and aided members of the public with getting on and off the train.

Today, Newsome is responsible for the operation and maintenance of No. 3, as well as the operation of the society’s commercial company, Prairie Rail Solutions.

The money the company makes goes toward the operating costs the society isn’t able to cover through membership fees and donations.

Prairie Dog Central Railway typically runs regular, themed train events from May to October. As a result of the pandemic, however, the railway is not running trains this year.

“We’ve made the right decision,” Newsome says. “It’s disappointing, but we simply cannot (meet) the social distancing standards that are required.”

He looks forward to getting No. 3 running in 2021 and continuing to enjoy a dream come true for a train enthusiast who was around when steam locomotives fell out of favour 60 years ago.

“When steam started to fade out in ‘59-‘60, I thought I was born too late to be really involved,” Newsome says.

His involvement with the Vintage Locomotive Society for the past 50 years has proven him wrong, and he shows no signs of stopping.

“When you volunteer for something, you can’t let little disappointments get you down,” he says. “There’s a lot of times where things don’t go the way you want them to, but you’ve got to learn to walk away smiling at the end of it all. That’s what volunteering is all about. You get your joy out of making others happy.”

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.