City council postpones Little Prince train decision
After an hour of discussion, Prince George city council voted last week to consider the costs of operating the Little Prince train during budget talks.
Tracy Calogheros, Chief Executive Officer of the Exploration Place, attended council to ask for more funding and support for the train.
While the Exploration Place is the operator of the historic train, a six-tonne Dickie crica 1912 that is now unique in the world, it actually belongs to the city.
It was donated to the city in 1971 and operational in Fort George Park by 1975 with the Exploration Place taking over operations in 2009.
Calogheros explained to council that to operate the train for four days per week the Exploration Place would need a $100,000 per year commitment for three to five years, as well as a new work shed and storage shed.
The city currently funds the train at $25,000 per year, which only sustains operations for one day per week.
With 2.2 km of track, it is Canada’s shortest railway but transports over 20,000 passengers per year, with three passenger cars, seven licensed engineers and three licensed conductors.
Calogheros explained that the Exploration Place’s financial situation is extraordinarily fragile and the museum board doesn’t want Exploration Place to operate the train unless it can pay for itself.
It made a surplus of $17,343 last year but that was the first time it made a surplus since 2012 and that number does not account for Tracy or engineer John Calogheros’ time.
“If this train is going to continue to operate, the city’s going to have to get serious because we can’t carry it any further,” said Tracy Calogheros during her presentation.
She emphasized that the train is not an amusement park ride, but a six-ton steam engine that operates under Canada’s passenger rail rules. A new storage and work shed building for the train was on the city’s capital plan for 2020 but was delayed because of COVID-19.
“I have been waiting for a decision for a decade and I’ve been putting my staff in harm’s way by allowing them to work in that space,” said Calogheros. “I would ask that this city decide whether this train is important enough to warrant proper funding or whether we should really be rolling it up.”
The City of Prince George has owned the Little Prince train for more than 50 years but hasn’t done nearly enough to monetize the gem it got for free in 1971. It’s time to change that. Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros asked city council to invest $100,000 a year in the Little Prince for the next three to five years, along with keeping a promise to build a new work shed and storage facility.
From a spending standpoint, that’s the equivalent of the average annual wages and benefits of a single city employee, so it’s not a huge ask. But why stop there? Why not spend more money on the Little Prince to maximize its earning potential for the city?
Instead of just operating Thursday through Sundays during the summer months, why not have the train running during Christmas as part of a slate of winter activities on site, with hot chocolate and tasty treats for sale? Perhaps the Railway and Forestry Museum’s annual Celebration of Lights could also be moved there, too. Who wouldn’t take visiting friends and family to that? And paying for it shouldn’t be that hard.
CN currently pays the City of Prince George $75,000 per year for naming rights to CN Centre in a deal that expires next year. Would CN pay the city $150,000 or more per year in a new deal that also includes naming rights for the Little Prince, as well as granting permission for the railway to use the Little Prince in any of its marketing and promotions material? It’s worth asking.
Furthermore, a partnership between the City of Prince George and CN could also allow for training opportunities for CN employees, as well as keeping retired CN pensioners engaged through a beloved community icon.
The business case for the Little Prince is on top of the historic and nostalgic reasons to keep the train rolling.
The Little Prince was one of the six-tonne Dickies used to build the rail line from the Alberta border to Prince Rupert. It was the only one saved and today, it operates on just 2.2 km of track, making it Canada’s shortest railway line. Those unique qualities make the Little Prince a valuable, revenue-generating civic asset worthy of continued investment support.