Calgary

Heritage Park chief engineer describes his 'zen zone' from the cab of a steam engine

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to run a 120-ton locomotive, Calgary's qualified conductor says it’s all about listening and keeping a watchful eye.

Calgary's trains are 2 of only 3 working steam engines in Alberta

Brian Manning, chief engineer, has been working at Heritage Park since 2001 on all things "steam related." (Monty Kruger/CBC)

If you've ever wanted to learn how to run a 120-ton locomotive, Brian Manning says it's all about listening and keeping a watchful eye.

The chief engineer at Heritage Park has looked after "anything steam related" for the Calgary-based attraction since 2001.

"I'm looking all the time," Manning said. "I'm looking at the track, I listen to the engine, listen to the exhaust, listening to the fire. That's pretty much how you run it, all by feel."

Meet the man who keeps the Heritage Park train running

6 years ago
Duration 2:19
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to run a 120-ton locomotive, Calgary's qualified conductor says it’s all about listening and keeping a watchful eye.

Rare sight in Canada

He said there are only about eight or 10 steam locomotives running in all of Canada, and in Alberta, Heritage park has two of three rolling on its mile-long (1.609 kilometre) track.

"We're pretty fortunate to be able to do this," Manning said. "It's pretty cool to be able to tell somebody you run the steam engine."

For him, driving the train is a form of therapy. And as a two-person team, with the fireman working the boiler, Manning keeps the two trains running for hundreds of passengers per day, all summer.

But he's not always sitting in the cab.

"There's a lot of inspections, regulatory stuff, paperwork to be done," Manning said.

Apart from fixing and running the trains, he also helps restore old rolling stock.

One of the projects he's most proud of is a steam roller built in 1912 and used in Fernie until about 1954.

He said it was one of the first steamrollers built by the Waterous Engine Works Co. Ltd. in Brantford, Ont.

Engine 2024 runs along Heritage Park's mile-long track. (Monty Kruger/CBC)

"We pulled it out two years ago for the 150th anniversary of Canada and I was asked to see if  I could get it operational," Manning said. "It's the only operational steamroller in Canada — Canadian built. It's quite a showpiece."

He said the restoration included hand-lettering and pinstriping the machine to get it as close to the factory reproduction as can be.

The restoration started in 2016 and was wrapped up the following year after finding and making all the parts to make the roller roll.

"It's really quite a piece of art," he said. "It just runs so nice, it's a beautiful piece of machinery."

The restored steamroller was first built by Waterous Engine Works Co. Ltd. in Brantford, Ont. (Monty Kruger/CBC)

When asked why he loves locomotives, Manning said he's been around steam engines as long as he can remember. He got his first one when he was eight, and they just kept getting bigger.

He's graduated to the biggest end of the scale.

"Being able to master something that's got that much power … I guess it's not that much different than a racecar," he said.

When Manning gets fed up with the paperwork it takes to run the massive machines, he steps into the conductor's seat, which he calls his "zen zone."

"This is my other office," he said. "I just come out here and do a lap, do 20-minutes, a half-hour in the locomotive — that's why I'm here."

Boiler is powerful

But when Manning describes how the train runs, it doesn't seem so "zen."

There are 2,500 gallons of water in the boiler, which is kept at approximately 380 degrees. He said if that pent-up energy got out in an explosion it would take out all of Heritage Park.

"I'm pretty confident that will never happen here," he said. "We've got a good fireman, good crews, the boilers are in really good shape and they're inspected every year."

Manning said you can have a bad day quick in the old engines, but thankfully this year the train has been working pretty well — nothing he can't fix.

"Hats off to the guys that did this back in the day," Manning said. "I mean, that was a heck of a job."

The train runs from Victoria Day Weekend in May, until Thanksgiving Weekend in October — shutting down Oct. 8 — and has a carrying capacity of 75 people in each of the three cars it pulls.

With files from Monty Kruger