THE BOWNESS PARK MINI TRAIN
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- This video, shows the mini-train during several trips, between 3 and 5 pm, on the last day of scheduled operation; September 5, 2016. Time and a threatening storm in the afternoon, did not allow a ride. A few frames in closeup, within the video, point out various features of the diesel locomotive.
Bowness Park is a century-old property, alongside the Bow River at 8900 - 48 Ave NW, about 8 miles from downtown Calgary. The name was picked by Englishman John Hextall, who donated the land to the City of Calgary in 1911, in exchange for streetcar service to his exclusive development. The town of Bowness was annexed to Calgary in 1964.
The park is operated by the City of Calgary as its oldest and largest. In its early days it was a popular amusement and picnic destination, with a large lagoon as the central attraction. The lagoon is still in use by hundreds, for canoeing during summer and skating on natural ice in winter. One former Bowness Park amusement ride still in full operation today, is the merry-go-round, now relocated within the Antique Midway at Heritage Park in southwest Calgary.
The first miniature train which arrived in Bowness Park in the 1950s, was a crude rendition of an Alco FA unit. It was eventually moved to Vancouver Island in 1960 and the present mini-train was purchased, operating in a variety of paint schemes over the years. A scan from a period postcard, at the end of the video, provides a 1970s view of the mini-train in yellow livery. Notice that there were 4 cars, today’s train has 3.
The model is the G-16 Suburban; built by the “Miniature Train Company”, whose logo (MTC) can be clearly seen under the headlight, in one of the sequences. Have a look about S and G models at www.trainweb.or.... The G-14, G-15, and G-16s were produced to resemble an EMD F7. The number 14, 15 or 16 represents the gauge of the track the train runs on. The “16”, being the track gauge (which I personally measured).
Over 250 G-16 train sets were produced by MTC until 1963 and some 70 locomotives remain in existence, with 50 currently in operation. The first G-16 was introduced by MTC in 1946, as #501. More, at www.southeaster.... The train consist is composed of a locomotive (Ser# 656), two centre cars and an observation car. A small plaque preserved on top of the engine, states that it is the General Motors F-7 model and built with their permission. The train runs in a loop through the trees for about 1 kilometer, with gentle curves, during the final portion of the ride.
Due to wear and tear over time, Bowness Park was undergoing redevelopment, when flooding from the adjacent Bow River in June 2013, buried the entire track and most of the storage shed, including the train, under tons of mud and debris. A grant from the Provincial Disaster Fund, coupled with some insurance payout, helped rebuild Bowness Park, including a new train shed. Rebuilding the train, shed and track, came to around $625,000.
Restoration of the locomotive and cars took 300 person-hours, carried out as a labour of love by a crew from High River, Alberta. New parts were either sourced or built. The brakes alone consisted of 1344 pieces, all refinished by hand. A brand new diesel power plant was installed into the engine, the body was sandblasted and re- painted in the classic 1950s livery of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Two of the cars were refinished in the CPR Tuscan Red and the end car, in the CPR “The Canadian” silver scheme. Where windows would be on the cars and locomotive, polymer mirror material was installed. LED lights also replaced conventional bulbs, front and back.
Thousands, including many adults who had experienced the train as children, lined up in the heat for hours on Thursday July 28, 2016, for a free ride on inauguration day. Broadcasts from 3 local stations may still be on the web, depicting the event.
The train is operated by the University of Calgary Outdoor Centre. www.ucalgary.ca...
Summer hours (to Canadian Labour Day) are daily, 11-6. Adult fare (2016) was $5 (kids under 2 ride free) or $10/family (2 adults and 2 kids). Additional operation may occur weekends in early fall. Tickets are purchased in advance, adjacent to the Tea Room, mere steps from the departure point. Weather may be a factor in a decision to undertake a run or not.
Thanks for some very kind comments. For visitors without their own wheels, Bowness Park is servived by Calgary Transit Route #1 and it is the end of the line. Route #1 operates through the downtown core. View details online on the CT site. About a 30-minute bus ride from downtown.
Great Video ! Mr. Casey (Massey) Jones ! Great History on the Train and the Park. What a beautiful park for this very scenic train ride! It looks like the little tykes are thrilled with this train. Such history. Kudo's to the restoration volunteers to get this train back up and running after the historic flooding. Lots of work and many hours of their "labor of love" for trains. They made some nice improvements to the train too. I love the engine newly painted and the three coaches are all top drawer ! Kudo's to the City of Calgary and their park system !
I know Saskatoon has a great miniature train in their city park too. (video on youtube) Great to hear Edmonton also has a miniature train at Valley Zoo. I have heard the little tykes usually want to ride these trains for hours, even forgetting about Ferris wheels or a Merry go round or other attractions. Train DNA must be in their Alberta blood. Eh ?
Sharp looking G-16 trainset
Technical video, highly recommended for those who appreciate 16" gauge and garden railroads. Riding this train in summer makes for a good adventure for a visiting family to Calgary on a sunny afternoon. Allow at least 3 hours in the park.
That's so cute! I always knew that somewhere out there, there would be a G gauge F7!
I believe the train was manufactured by the Miniature Train Company Rensselaer Indiana in the1950's two of my brothers worked there
As a kid in the 50's my father worked for a traveling Carnival . At our winter Quarters in Los Angeles we had rides set up and opened to the public on Sundays as Lincoln Amusement Park . one of the rides was a train just like this one ! My uncle Jack always operated the train and sometimes he let me drive the train well actually he would start her up and let me think I was driving I'm thinking our Train may have come from the Miniature Train Company in Indiana I believe there were other manufactures of Carnival Rides in Indiana and Ohio as well.
To Ken - I have noted your comment and will do a bit more research. What I saw online for MTC is a little bit fuzzy at the end of the mini train production, as the new company concentrated on carnival rides. By the way, some time, Valley Zoo in Edmonton had a G15 and an S15 on the property (some pix on line) but they fell in disrepair and quit running quite some time ago and are now replaced by a mock old time loco go about 3-foot gauge, with a tractor engine as motive power, I haven’t checked recently.
Nice video and fun to watch. Take care now.
Great video and really excellent photography, thanks! Just one note to your technical details. I do not believe the "G" in this amusement ride's model name "G-16" stood for General Motors, although I have seen that ascertion elsewhere online recently. I think it stood for "gasoline" powered "16" inch (track gauge) train ride. I base this on the fact that the manufacturer, MTC, also sold a smaller electric version of this ride, for use inside department stores, and marketed that as a model "E-10". It was electrically powered (E) and designed for 10 inch gauge tracks (10). Thanks again, beautiful train and excellent video!
I changed the text to please you by adding a small link, www.trainweb.org/mtctrains/
The second paragraph, delves into E, S and G MTC trains and the various track gauges manufactured, as well as where.
For the record, I've been around real trains and model trains for 60 years.
Started shooting steam locomotives action in 1953; been going steady ever since.
Thanks all, for watching my video. If it was to do over again, I would change some of the transitions but only have basic software to work with.
You read about the "G" meaning "GM" at www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM1C8R_the-history-of-the-miniature-train-company_Duluth-GA.html
"In 1946, the G-16 train set was introduced. The “G” indicating that it was modeled after a GM locomotive (the former EMC) and the 16 indicated the track gauge (16 inches). The 12” train sets were renamed the G-12s. On April 4th, 1947, the first G-16 locomotive (#501) began a 30 year run at Griffith Park in Los Angles."
Probably the same text here:
www.lat34north.com/HistoricMarkers/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=067-A21&MarkerTitle=The%20History%20of%20the%20Minature%20Train%20Company
It could also mean "Grand Scale" , the E was electric and the S we suppose was for steam locomotive reproductions (who, in my opinion, never ran on steam). And you are right about "gas", back on those days. This one is powered by diesel and reconditioned as mentioned in the text, from the ground up. Local publicity mentioned that the diesel engine was replaced, so it's fair to assume that there was always a diesel engine under the carbody.
I researched all of this on several sites before composing the text.
At any rate, try to make it to Calgary (situated an hour north of the Montana border),. Calgary is locally called "Dallas North and is a city of 1.5 million people. You'll enjoy the experience of seeing and riding the train. City Transit (Route #1 BOWNESS) has a stop almost at the entrance to the park and the first thing that is seen after entering, is the miniature train track, adjacent to the parking lot.
Why doesn’t the engineer look like one ? No striped coveralls and cap ?
Not a Bad train.
Movin kinda slow. Whoever did the latest paint job really knew what they were doing, it's very nice. PS the horn that you have is SO not right. Get a horn that sounds like a real diesel locomotive not a cartoon.
Canadian Pacific Railway has its headquarters in Calgary (Ogden subdivision) and very likely contributed the expertise ( drawings etc) and maybe the paint to restore this little gem. Hence the realistic tone and proper application. All the work was done by volunteers, including making or rebuilding several hundred parts.
As I have explained, Bowles’s Park is at the end of the #1 Calgary Transit route (current fare (2022) $3.60 exact cash.
The Route 1 follows the CPR Lagan Sub for part of the way for those further interested in capturing pictures on big trains along the Bow River get off at Point McKay) and in the 85 St NW area near Bowness Park; where there are twin bridges and the opportunity to shoot within a small park there or higher up from nearby Bowmont Park. the CPR mainline (average mile-long trains about every couple of hours both ways), is about a kilometre 0.6 mi) away at both places. Absolutely no fence or shooting restriction, within reason.
What size train is this
16 inches across the tracks, about 4 ft high and 10-12 feet long for the loco and cars.
I didn’t measure anything, but you can figure it out by the video. How many it fits, etc.
Some people here gave more details.
Thanks for watching my video.
Have a look at czcams.com/video/b338hyqvce0/video.html for the Bowness mini-train in a former livery
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