After 106 years of chugging around the tracks, the Fort George Railway Train The Little Prince has hit an issue.
An annual inspection of the train in the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park resulted in engineers discovering the brakes were worn down after years of use.
This is an issue because the brake shoes are cast iron and aren’t made any more, but CEO of the Exploration Place Tracy Calogheros says a solution has been presented to them by KJM Sales and CN Rail.
“They pulled the warn break shoes off the existing engine and have come up with a plan to craft a new part that will actually take a traditional brake pad, but this is of course much more heavy duty. They are essentially concocting a new part from scratch.”
The new brake system is slated to be tested next week and the Exploration Place is hoping to have the train fully operational by next weekend or the week after.
The Fort George Station is opened this weekend selling Frozen Paddle Ice Cream, but the Little Prince will not start its run.