Steam train on side line this season

Fort Edmonton renovations to cost $165 million

Fort Edmonton Park’s 99-yearold steam train will not be leaving the station this season as the park begins a $165-million transformation.

The Baldwin steam engine will remain parked as the rail yard and shop undergo construction as part of a Fort Edmonton Park enhancement project, with a grand park reopening scheduled for May 2021.

“We will continue with our regular programming for 2018 and in early August work will start on the Indigenous Peoples Experience,” said Sandra Green, a spokeswoman for Fort Edmonton Park.

“This year will be a great time for people to experience the park as it is today.

“When it reopens to full programming we’ll have some exciting new additions and opportunities for people to engage with the park.”

While visitors will still be able to visit the park during the regular season until Sept. 3, how construction will affect the 2019 and 2020 seasons remains unclear.

The multimillion-dollar project will see the creation of a new Indigenous cultural and history centre, upgrades to the midway and an expansion of the Selkirk Hotel, with the goal of doubling the number of visitors to the park to at least 500,000 per year.

The $45-million Indigenous Peoples Experience will include an outdoor amphitheatre, teepees, a Métis cabin and a lodge where visitors can learn more about treaty history.