Remarks by
The Honourable John Harvard, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
Prairie Dog Central Coach 104
100th Anniversary
Inkster Junction Station
Saturday, August 19, 2006 - 2:30 p.m.
Lovers of trains, history and good times – thank you for an invitation to this birthday celebration.
The Prairie Dog Central Railway is more than just a great place for a family gathering, a sight-seeing trip or a special event.
This railway preserves an important part of who we are as Manitobans.
The railway is our connection to the early boom years of Winnipeg, when a city sprang up around the railyards, and to the birth of thousands of towns along branch lines on the Prairies.
The railway connects us to the waves of newcomers to Canada, who stepped off railway coaches to survey a new home. It connects us to young men saying good-bye to their families when they left for the First and Second World Wars.
And then there are personal memories – I remember taking my own kids on the Prairie Dog Central – Those were the days when the train took on passengers at the old St. James station – But my personal memories go back further than that.
They go back to September 1944 when a sister of mine was married. I was only 6 years old at the time. As was customary in those days, the newly married couple left for their honeymoon on a train. I was with my parents to see the happy couple off. We were standing on the train station platform when the train, drawn by a coal burning steam engine, rolled in. For a little kid of only six years, the train was loud, noisy and kind of scary. That was my first encounter with a steam locomotive.
So much of our history is written in steel rails and wooden ties.
And it’s also written in the careful workmanship to be found in the old rail coaches, like Coach 104 on the Prairie Dog Central.
Stepping onto the Prairie Dog Central and seeing the restored oak and mahogany panels, light fixtures, and coal-burning stove is like walking into the past.
It makes for a wonderful way to enjoy a ride through the Manitoba countryside.
That combination of history, scenery and fun has kept Manitobans coming back to the Prairie Dog Central for nearly 40 years.
It has taken real dedication to make that possible. Volunteers with the Vintage Locomotive Society have worked tirelessly to keep this link to our railway past alive.
And it is thanks to their efforts – and the support of the riders of the Prairie Dog Central – that we’re all able to enjoy this 100th birthday celebration today.
And so, and Lieutenant Governor, I’d like to wish happy birthday to a distinguished senior citizen of our province: Happy Birthday Coach 104.
Thank you.
Back to July/August 2006 Speeches |
