Park steam locomotive stuck at station

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This article was published 06/06/2018 (2843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mechanical problems have knocked the steam out of the miniature train at Assiniboine Park.

Conductor Tim Buzunis said the steam locomotive has been open to the public for just one day so far this year. He’s normally been up and running for a month at this time.

“It’s just been a horrible start for me. It’s just been one thing after another,” he said Tuesday, adding he’s never experienced delays like this in his entire life, have been brought up with the train since he was four years old. (The conductor role was passed down to Buzunis from his father. It’s been the Buzunis’s family business since it opened in 1964.)

Train rides were put on hold in early May when the City issued a fire ban because of concerns the coal-powered engine might start a forest fire. Days after the ban was lifted in mid-May, Buzunis found out the timing was off on his train.

“It’s almost like if you lost your legs, and you can’t move. It’s the same thing. If the timing is off on the train, it can’t move properly. It can’t haul.”

Buzunis said it’s been “very frustrating” since it’s a seasonal profession and he already spent $17,000 repairing the engine over the winter.

He’s been working on the train and asking machinists for advice for the last three weeks. His latest call was to a steam engine expert from South Carolina. He said Tuesday that he’s since made some adjustments and hopes the train will be back on track today.

“I’m just hoping this is the end of the problem, but I won’t know until I start the train (Wednesday) morning.”

Buzunis said the train is nearly irreplaceable. There are only about 50 of them in the world, he said, adding Winnipeg is lucky to have one.

“Some people would’ve given up, but I just kept pursuing it. It’s a big part of my life so I just keep fighting to get the thing going — and it will get going.”

Christina Poolie runs Kids Friendly Manitoba, a website where she posts family-friendly activities and events — like riding the steam train in Assinboine Park — happening across the city.

Poolie said she was both disappointed and concerned for the operator’s business when she found out about all the troubles he’s been facing this year.

“My kids have grown up around the train,” she said Tuesday. “It’s special, it’s something different and it’s just one of those things that’s always been in the park.”

The train, which costs $3.00 per person, normally runs daily from noon to 6 p.m. until Labour Day weekend. It then operates until mid to late October, depending on the weather, on weekends and holidays.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @macintoshmaggie