06/07/2026
Wouldn't this be something?😀
Some ideas just feel right the second you hear them. Bringing passenger rail service back to Winnipeg Beach is one of them.
I had a great chat with new Prairie Dog Central Railway CEO Jeffrey Bannon this week, and you can hear the excitement in his voice. He hasn’t been at the job very long, but he’s already chasing a dream that Manitoba history buffs, cottagers and beach lovers have talked about for years…reviving the old Moonlight Special train trips.
And honestly? I’m fired up about it too.
Back in the glory days, Winnipeg Beach was known as the “Coney Island of the West.” Trains hauled thousands of Winnipeggers to the lake every weekend for dances and roller coaster rides.
Prairie Dog Central, home to one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in Canada, wants to bring a piece of that magic back. Bannon says there are still hurdles ahead, especially finding passenger cars, but the vision is alive.
Summer beach runs. Polar Express rides in winter. Haunted Halloween trains in the fall. A year-round attraction.
You can count me in!
