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CP's heritage
train rolls through region:
ticket sales go to
Children's Wish Foundation
reprinted from Mountain View
Gazette (Johnnie Bachusky) August 2, 2011
Railway enthusiasts should be feeling a boost this week as Canadian
Pacific's Heritage Train was scheduled to roll through the region as
part of the second annual drive to support the Children's Wish
Foundation (CWF).
The original plan for CP Train Ride 2011 was to have the historic
2816 Empress steam engine stop in Didsbury on July 29 but due to
"unforeseen circumstances" that plan was abandoned. However, CP was
slated to send its valued pioneer fleet of vintage coach cars and a
heritage diesel engine through Didsbury on Friday morning. After the
local stop the heritage train's next scheduled stop was Red Deer.
CP Train Ride 2011 is swinging through Alberta from July 29 to Aug.
5. Along with the July 29 stop in Didsbury it will also stop in the
town on Aug. 5.
In both 2010 and 2011 CP sold the public train tickets as a way to
give people a unique rail experience, and more importantly, to raise
money for CWF. All proceeds from ticket sales went to CWF. The funds
further allow the organization to help children with
life-threatening illnesses to have the opportunity to receive their
ultimate wish. Last year, $50,000 was raised through ticket sales.
Meanwhile, railway historians were not only excited at having the
opportunity to see a heritage train roll through the region but
noted the event also gave a boost to local and regional efforts to
raise public awareness of the importance of the railroad to the
area.
Dean Jorden, curator of the Innisfail & District Historical Village,
said part of his organization's mandate is to educate the public
about the crucial role the railroad played in developing the region.
He noted that in 1974 the village acquired the Bowden CP train
station after it had been decommissioned in 1968. The Innisfail CP
station, once located near Discovery Wildlife Park, was
decommissioned in 1961 and demolished shortly after.
As well the village has acquired over the years an impressive
collection of CP artifacts. It also showcases the glorious history
of the railroad in Innisfail and the region through expertly crafted
miniature train models that are on display in the renovated Bowden
station. As well, the village has created several storyboards
detailing the history and economic evolution of the railway in the
town and surrounding region.
"Innisfail wasn't a railway town at first," said Jorden, noting the
railway first came through town in 1892. "When people were using the
Calgary-Edmonton Stage Coach Trail they were recognizing the
importance of agriculture. When the railway came it mushroomed. The
railway then brought machinery and more people."
In every small town in the region grain became king and the railway
played a key role in its transportation and economic importance,
stopping at the pioneer wooden elevators in Innisfail, Olds,
Didsbury, Carstairs and several other points.
The visit by Canadian Pacific's Heritage Train further boosts the
village's desire to jump on board Paul Pettypiece's Forth Junction
Project (www.forthjunction.com)
for Red Deer and Central Alberta. The project's goal is to establish
the region as a world-class heritage destination celebrating the
past, present and future of rails, trains and transit.
"We want to plug into that vision," said Jorden. "What we are doing
(railway history) is important to Innisfail and to the growth it has
had."
For more information on CP Train Ride 2011 visit
www.childrenswish.ca/cptrainride/
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