A winding train ride through the grassy riverbanks and eroded badlands of southwest Saskatchewan’s Frenchman River Valley is the culmination of Gary Southgate’s vision.
“I guess I had a tear or two in my eye the first trip,” he said of the first public ride for Eastend Scenic Rail Tours last month.
The farmer from North Battleford, Sask., has been building a fleet and making plans to tell the stories of the “Valley of Hidden Secrets” for years.
Southgate took up collecting old trains in 2013. He said it wasn’t enough to just own them, he wanted to find somewhere to put them back to work.
“My family probably thinks I’m nuts,” Southgate said.
The interest began early for Southgate.
“My journey with trains started when I was a kid watching the train go by that was actually a steam locomotive,” he said of the old line from Biggar to North Battleford.
He started his collection with a 1929 steam locomotive that was used by Canadian Pacific Railway. Southgate said CPR trains were harder to find, so he switched to buying CN equipment and looking to recreate the feel of the old Super Continental passenger trains.
He has collected so many rail cars by now he couldn’t give an official number.
“By buying it, we’ve saved it from the salvage yards to try and restore it so it can be put back to use,” Southgate said, adding some will be used as a part source or potentially as part of a museum.
Two of Southgate’s cars were used in the Polar Express films, and he bought the Cape Tormentime rail car, which Eleanor Roosevelt had used on a Canadian trip.
Southgate said he considered options for places to run his trains, from Winnipeg, Man., to Squamish, B.C. He was also involved for a period with an operation in Cudworth and Wakaw, Sask.
He said a visit to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park led to a drive down to Eastend, Sask., and opened his eyes to the unique geography of the region.
“The River Valley is incredible,” said Great Western Railway train engineer Joe Searle. “You wouldn’t think you would see it down here in the Prairies. All of a sudden [it goes] from flat to really deep valley. The river flows through it. We saw a moose today. It’s just beautiful countryside in the middle of nowhere.”
How this farmer and train enthusiast went from collector to tour operator
Searle said he has enjoyed being part of the project and appreciates Southgate preserving the equipment.
“I think there’s a big interest,” he said. “It tells a lot of parts of the history of the province. You can see some beautiful countryside while you’re doing it. And what else is going to happen with it? It’s either going to go to the scrap heap or guys like Gary.”
Southgate ran into some big road blocks along the way. He said the COVID-19 pandemic not only cancelled gatherings, it shut down factories they needed for parts and their ability to restore the trains.
Trying to get his tour off the ground while farming 360 kilometers away wasn’t easy.
“I’ve lost 20 pounds in the last two or three years, and I don’t have room to lose much,” Southgate joked.
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Eastend Scenic Rail Tours has run four trips this year with the help of staff from Great Western Railway. They’ve scheduled four more, including a sold out ride on Saturday.
“I couldn’t ask for better people,” Southgate said of the support from Eastend. “Everybody wants it to work. It would help keep Eastend stronger and maybe even more people will come.”
Thus far, he has had visitors from across the country and even one pair from Paris, France.
Southgate already bought the motel in Eastend as a landing spot for his passengers. He has plans for an RV park at the railyard, a museum of old train equipment and a building for working on equipment during the winter months.
“I have to prove to the world that I’m right and they’re wrong,” he said. “It’s not working so far. Everything I’ve done here, it’s been rob from the farm to pay the bills. The farm can hardly pay for its own bills the way the price of grain is. Now I have to start making the train pay its own way.”
Southgate expressed optimism that he is heading the right direction after the first four trips.
He said he only wishes he was younger so he had longer to implement his full vision before his locomotive runs out of steam.
“I want to do something to save some history before I die and maybe some other people will carry on with it when I’m gone to make it unique for Eastend, the province and all of Canada with time.”
