Care to take part in a hillbilly wedding?
Want to witness a wild west train heist?
Got a craving for a cowboy-style country cookout?
Then you might want to take a trip on the Wheatland Express Excursion Train.
The Wheatland Express is the newest attraction on the Wheatland Railway, a short-line railway company based at Wakaw, Sask., about an hour’s drive northeast of Saskatoon.
Earlier this year, Wheatland and its operating partner, Great Sandhills Railway, launched a new excursion train service that offers themed passenger excursions between Wakaw and Cudworth, Sask.
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The Wheatland Express made its inaugural journey in early June and has already sold out all of the excursions in its original 2018 schedule.
Demand for seats has been so great that organizers have recently added six more events to the summer lineup.
The train consists of a locomotive and three antique rail cars brought in from other parts of North America.
Passengers enjoy a meal and then sit back for unique prairie entertainment as they hurtle through the heart of the prairie grain belt.
This year’s excursion schedule includes an improv train heist, a murder mystery, dinner theatres, cowboy cookouts, musical acts, comedy shows and an Elvis Presley tribute.
Details of all Wheatland Express events can be viewed online at www.wheatlandexpress.ca.
“The response has been overwhelming,” said railway manager Amy Lintick.
“I think we were like 70 percent sold out before we even officially launched the service.”
Based on demand, “we added two more excursions and they were both sold out within a week to two weeks, so we added four more.
“It’s an idea that we’ve had for a long time.… Once we (Great Sandhill Railway) signed an operating agreement with Wheatland Rail, we thought, ‘what a perfect place to operate an excursion train.’ ”
The Wheatland Railway company operates on 90 kilometres of track between St. Louis, Sask., and Totzke Junction, near Bruno, Sask.
Wheatland’s head office is centrally located between Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Humboldt and Melfort.
Passengers from those four cities are just an hour’s drive from the Cudworth-Wakaw area, the departure point for all Wheatland Express excursions.
Initially, Wheatland’s business plan was focused primarily on moving agricultural commodities, such as wheat, oats and barley.
The company handles hopper cars that are loaded by producers at loading sites in Hoey, Domremy and Cudworth.
Great Sandhills provides locomotive power and train crews and maintains cars under an operating agreement with Wheatland.
Until recently, grain shipments have served as the railway company’s bread and butter, but tourism is proving to be an ideal complement.
The excursion train now has 14 dates on its 2018 event calendar, and unused capacity on the railway is being used to generate new income.
Joan Wassill, director of marketing and sales with the Wheatland Express, said organizers have been pleasantly surprised by the interest that the train has generated.
Passenger bookings have come from across the province and occasionally from other parts of the country.
With a seating capacity of 150 passengers per excursion, the Wheatland Express has the potential to attract more than 2,000 passengers in its inaugural season.
“Before we added extra excursions to our schedule … we were 95 percent sold out,” Wassill said.
“We’ve also had fabulous co-operation from the Wheatland rail board, from both the towns of Wakaw and Cudworth,and from the rural municipalities in the area.”
Wassill described the excursion train as a celebration of Saskatchewan’s cultural heritage.
The importance of agriculture also figures prominently in the Wheatland Express’s programming.
“Our whole identity, really, is about our prairie heritage and running this interesting little train through the heart of the Prairie grain belt in central Saskatchewan,” she said.
“Everyone’s really excited to see this development in the area.”
