The little engine that should

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/07/2020 (2127 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twelve passengers minimum per trip. Factor in the cost of coal, upkeep on the engine, cars and track. Calculate days lost due to the pandemic. It’s all starting to add up to heartbreak.

Tim Buzunis has been working on a lot of math problems lately. He’s the owner and operator of the steam train at Assiniboine Park, and he has a lot of worries on his mind.

“In a normal year, I’d start carrying passengers around the May long weekend,” he said. “This year, I couldn’t open until Father’s Day weekend in June, and even then, only at half-capacity.”

The steam engine and its cars have been a classic attraction at Assiniboine Park since Buzunis’ father bought and installed it in 1964. The coal-burning steam train was built by the Crown Metal Corporation, as one of only 75 such trains. The Assiniboine Park model is the only one operating in a park in Canada.

Classic it may be, but it appeared that nobody knew Buzunis had fired up the engine. He put out a plea on social media recently, asking for the community to ride the rails.

“This year, thanks to the pandemic, there are no tourists from the States or Europe. Winnipeggers tend to go to the cabins or camping in the summer, too,” he said. “The park isn’t holding movie nights or any big events this summer either, and even zoo attendance is down. So it means I’m not seeing the numbers I could be seeing.”

Along with boosting ridership, Buzunis said he’s hoping to still get his usual bookings from daycares, camps and birthday parties this summer.

He recently spent $40,000 on new wheels on the tender car and a number of hard-to-find parts for the engine. He also has to pay for certification of the train, along with insurance, which all accumulates.

Yet he only charges $3.25 cash per ticket or $3.50 if the rider pays by Interac.

“I’d rather have repeat riders,” he said about the low fare price. “Sure, I could charge more, but I would rather have families and their kids ride the train any time we’re open.”

The train usually runs from noon to 6 p.m. daily, unless it’s too hot and humid. Buzunis sits right behind the coal-burning furnace on the engine, which blasts him with 500 F heat even with the furnace door closed.

The train is a scaled-down replica of an early American 4-4-0 that runs on a 24-inch gauge track and used to carry 100 passengers in four coaches. Buzunis said in its heyday, the train ran from nine in the morning to nine at night, and employed two shifts of people. Today, the train pulls three coaches, with Buzunis doing everything from firing the engine up in the morning to selling and collecting tickets, and something specific to the pandemic: sanitizing everything.

“I have to spray sanitizer on the cars and all surfaces people touch, wait 10 minutes for it to work, and then wipe it all down,” he said. “Everyone has to use hand sanitizer before they board. I also had to set up a one-way flow, with people entering the area at one end of the station and exiting through the other.”

On a recent mid-week afternoon, the train carried groups of happy passengers seated in every second bench seat. Buzunis rang the bell, and then the train let out its characteristic sharp whistle, letting everyone know the tiny train is making its eight-minute trip around the rails.

To contact the Assiniboine Park steam train, call 204-831-0197.