Saugeen Shores Councillors are starting to discuss the return of the North Shore Railway miniature amusement train in Port Elgin.
Scott Pearson, who owns the North Shore Park’s original steam train made a presentation to Saugeen Shores Committee of the Whole Monday. His vision for bringing the train back includes a snack bar and some small buildings that highlight the history of the railway industry.
A release from the Town says council is looking at associated benefits for Saugeen Shores including, tourist-specific development for North Shore Park and Port Elgin’s Main Beach, a new, but nostalgic community asset, and its possible positive economic impact.
In 2018, the most recent train station owners, Andy and Debbie Hess put the train station up for sale. The business belonged to the Hess’ but the land is owned by the Town.
In 2019, in pursuit of goals laid out in its Waterfront Master Plan, the Town put out a request for proposals to revitalize the land at the Port Elgin main beach.
Since then, a development called Cedar Crescent Village has been proposed which would be situated on the northeast corner of an empty lot at the beach. While it is still going through an approval process, it proposes to have a restaurant, marketplace, and some retail space. Proponents of the development also proposed to bring back a small train to the waterfront area.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau says, “Then we had this gentleman approach us.” Charbonneau points out Pearson is the owner of the original Port Elgin North Shore railroad train, adding, “He was very keen to see it run back in its original location in North Shore Park. That wasn’t something that we were expecting or something that the folks from the Cedar Crescent Village were expecting but it happened anyway.”
Charbonneau says plans for a train are still part of the lease with Cedar Crescent Village and that would be something the Town would need to work out with the developer.
Charbonneau notes, “Any direction is still on the table at this point. We’re in the early stages of taking about returning the old Port Elgin North Shore train and those conversations have to play out before we know what direction we’re heading in.”
This train, which actually runs on steam is smaller than the train that would have been operating in the 80s, 90s and 2000s.
He says he was surprised to learn during Monday’s presentation, the steam train had been in Collingwood for some time after it left Port Elgin, and Pearson came across it in Collingwood and bought it. Charbonneau says Pearson is proposing to reconstruct the existing tracks to suit the steam train (at his expense) and also to build some historically accurate small scale versions of building that would have been associated with the steam train.
The municipality says it plans to hold consultations about changes to the park over the course of the summer, including the proposed railway and its features.
Charbonneau says public input will help shape the final decision on the design of the park, as well as what amenities to include.
He says in a statement, “Personally, I’m really excited for this project,” adding, “As we repair the park and revitalize the waterfront, the opportunity to incorporate Scott’s proposal is perfect. I know how much residents and visitors loved the old Port Elgin and North Shore Railroad, so it is great to have the chance to include this cherished part of the Town’s past in our growing future.”
The release from the Town says the next step for staff is to work with Pearson to develop project details and return to Council at a future date.
Charbonneau adds, “Everybody in town was disappointed when the train stopped running several years ago, and I think folks