SUBMITTED PHOTO Medalta is working to bring a train to life to connect three historic locations. Executive director Mike Onieu says this is a long term project.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Medalta is working on a long-term project that will bring a lot of excitement to Hatters.
The organization announced recently that it is slowly working toward making a tourist train a reality.
“Back in 2015, a group here decided to build a locomotive,” said executive director Mike Onieu. “The Saamis Rotary Club and the Rotary District applied for a grant and fundraised – they used that money for the build.
“We happy there’s so much excitement around this train, but we’re stressing that this is a long-term project.”
The team travelled to B.C. and purchased an old tourist train. They went to Winnipeg to take detailed drawings of an historic train called the Countess of Dufferin.
“The locomotive they purchased was in really rough shape and they ended up having to build from the ground up. They saved the wheels and a couple other parts,” said Onieu. “They got a lot of support from local businesses for welding, painting and cutting – this really has been a community project.”
Onieu says the end goal will be having the train connecting the three historic sites. That includes the Medicine Hat Brick and Tile I-XL site, Medalta and Medicine Hat Potteries.
“We’re at the point of ‘now what?'” he said. “We need to get the locomotive on the tracks and our future goal is to have people riding the rails through all of the sites.
“We don’t know when it will come together, but it’s going to be exciting to see it come to life.”
He says trains are an important part of Medalta’s history.
“Clay, gas and water created the clay industry, but it really took off when the railways came to Medicine Hat,” Onieu said. “Trains allowed people to transport their goods everywhere.”
Onieu says the spur line is not completely in tact and the group will need to traverse the creek. The group will also need to get a passenger car, figure out traffic routing, legal liabilities and environmental liabilities.
“We’ve got a lot to figure out,” he said. “We’re happy to see all of the public interest but we need to make sure everything is done right.
“We’ll update the public as we move forward with this.”
