(Photo credit: Jenn Tanaka)

By Nathaniel Leigh

Community

New dining car to be installed at Sexsmith Grain Elevator

Aug 6, 2024 | 12:23 PM

The Sexsmith and District Museum Society is installing a new attraction out front of the historic grain elevator on Wednesday, August 7.

A dining rail car, along with an engine and caboose will be come available as a rental space for events and businesses.

Train Project Coordinator Lynda Drysdale-Hancock says the dining car was purchased to enhance a train engine donated by the Side Family.

“We started thinking about it and thought ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have a diner?’ and found a diner at Footloose Caboose just out of Tofield and convinced the lady that she needed to sell it,” says Drysdale-Hancock. “So that, is on a truck in Grande Prairie waiting till tomorrow to be delivered to our site.”

Drysdale-Hancock says trains are a significant part of Sexsmith’s history.

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“This town was the green capital of the British Empire for a number of years,” she says. “The train was instrumental in that of course. It actually ran a passenger car here until 1974. It’s got a long history, so it’s very important that we preserve that.”

She says the rail car’s purchase costed around $100,000.

“We’re actually having a raffle right now to help make the third payment,” she says. “There’s a child’s playhouse that looks like the Gran Elevator is one of the prizes, and there’s four cash prizes as well. They can purchase tickets at Anderson Hall, one of our museum buildings, and we’ll have a table set up at the site tomorrow.”

You’re invited to watch from stands set up at the elevator as the rail car is installed onto its new track around noon tomorrow.