Park board had offers of help to keep Stanley Park train on track: sources

An independent engineering firm is scheduled to begin assessing Vancouver’s shuttered Stanley Park train next week, according to one of the city’s park commissioners.

But while the step is good news for anyone hoping to see the popular attraction get back on track, Global News has learned there may have been an opportunity to prevent the train from shutting down in the first place.

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The train was shut down earlier this fall due to what the Vancouver Park Board said were “mechanical issues affecting the antique engines and passenger cars.” That forced the cancellation of the Stanley Park Ghost Train and its participation in the annual Stanley Park Bright Nights, resulting in a 50-per cent drop in donations to the Firefighter Burn Fund fundraiser.

Global News has learned park board staff received offers of help from community members — including those with industry expertise — to try and keep the train on track for Bright Nights.

But there was a feeling — by some involved — that the park board had already decided the train would not be running, sources told Global News.

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“The train is an iconic part of the park as much as the totem poles or the Seawall. People come to the park not just for one thing,” Gerry O’Neill, who operates the Stanley Park Horse Drawn Carriage told Global News.

“I understand and I’m sure a lot of people understand that sometimes you’ve got challenges, but that was not new. They were told months and months ahead, and had their regular annual checkups. Obviously someone fell asleep, fell off the train.”

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Newly-elected ABC Vancouver Park Commissioner Laura Christensen said she hadn’t heard of those discussions, but that the board remained committed to getting the train back up and running as soon as possible.

“We see it as an important part of the city and a beloved attraction,” she said Friday, adding Technical Safety BC has mandated an independent engineer assess the equipment.

“Easter would be great, but we don’t know at this time, and we’re waiting to hear back from that report.”

In November, Technical Safety BC outlined a number of issues with the miniature train line, including corrosion and damage to both the track and railcars, overgrown vegetation disrupting sight lines and decaying infrastructure.

Christensen said the train’s issues stem primarily from its age.

She said a similar train Global News reported on in Saanich earlier this week from the same manufacturer is only 20 years old, while the Stanley Park train is about 60 years old.

The manufacturer discontinued the Stanley Park model in the 1970s, she said.

“If we ask for a part, they have to specifically manufacture that one for our train,” she said.

“The park board has been working really hard to keep it running, but between COVID and just the age of the train it is getting to the point where it is quite old and it is becoming challenging to maintain it.”

The city has previously said it is also working with Simon Fraser University’s School of Sustainable Energy on long-term solutions, including possible electric trains.