A long-running miniature railway in Charleswood is searching for a new place to lay its tracks.
The Assiniboine Valley Railway, located on Roblin Boulevard just west of Assiniboine Park, said Friday that it’s been notified it will have to vacate the property within six months.
The railway, which has been operating on the site since its opening in 1996, consists of rideable trains and “Charleswood Station,” located on a private five-acre property previously owned by the railway’s founder, Bill Taylor, who died in 2013.
Current Assiniboine Valley president Len La Rue said in a statement that there won’t be a railway season — which typically runs from June through October — this year, as the railway tries to determine its future.
“If we are to continue, we will need at least several acres to rebuild on, with hydro and water, close enough to the city that we and the public have easy access,” La Rue said.
“We cannot see rebuilding without public monetary support, that is, riders (or a rich, philanthropic benefactor!)”
La Rue said the most likely solution is that everything will be put into temporary storage while the railway looks for a new home — and failing that, it will have to sell off its assets.
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