Antique railcars find a home at Aspen Crossing

Posted on: jamacsadmin

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
 
Aspen Crossing owner and train enthusiast Jason Thornhill is happy to have added five new additions to their railway collection on Oct. 13. 
“We managed to save from the torch, a caboose, and a snowplow and three boxcars. So that will bring it up to 12 railway cars that are done there now,” said Thornhill. 
“We’re going to use the one caboose as a cabin. We have one caboose now that you can sleep in and rent as a cabin and so we’re hoping to have four caboose cabins in total.”
CP Rail donated the railway cars to Aspen Crossing. Thornhill said one boxcar will be placed in the campground, and will be made to look like one of the old boxcars that had advertising on it. 
“The other two boxcars we’re hoping to use as part of a historic grain display right behind the Mossleigh elevators eventually, when the time is right,” said Thornhill. 
Thornhill said he and the staff call Aspen Crossing a historic railway destination, and said everything has a railway theme to it. It consists of a campground, a unique gift shop, and the 1887 Pullman Dining Car restaurant, the caboose cabins and of course the garden centre. 
Aspen Crossing began as a tree nursery and garden centre and has evolved into what it is today. One of the main attractions is the dinner theatre, which is held in the Dining Car. 
“It’s so neat because each show is about train travel so it really feels like you could actually be part of the action, that it’s really happening,” said Thornhill. 
“It’s a lot of fun, most days really aren’t even like work. It’s so neat to see the look on people’s faces when they come.”
Thornhill said he thinks by the end of the year Aspen Crossing will have seen about 50,000 visitors in 2011. This year they were also awarded the Alberta Rural Tourism Award, beating out the 250 to 300 applicants for the award. The new railway cars are on display for the public, and at no charge. Aspen Crossing is located in Mossleigh and more information can be found at www.aspencrossing.com.