Sask. train tours return for another year.

The Ogema Train Tours have returned to the province for yet another year.

The Southern Prairie Railway is Saskatchewan’s first full-sized railway tour. It was first created in 2010, with tours starting in 2012. It’s located in Ogema, Saskatchewan and has tours carrying passengers between the towns of Pangman and Horizon.

Carol Peterson, with Ogema Train Tours, said that if you take part in the tour, you’ll be riding in a piece of history.

“The engine is actually a 1945 44-tonner, and we found it in North Conway, New Hampshire,” said Peterson. “It’s a yard engine, so it’s a push-pull engine. It’s got two cat engines in it. The passenger car is a 1922 Pullman, and we found it in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.”

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A tour can run anywhere between two hours and 15 minutes all the way up to around four hours, depending on which themed tour guests choose to take part in.

Peterson said this year will see the return of some fan favourite tours, as well as the introduction of some new ones.

“There’s the heritage ride, the Pangman (and) the open-air market,” Peterson said.

“A new one this year is that Jeffery Straker is going to do a prairie skyscraper concert series in seven different grain elevators, but with ours we’ll also do the train ride, go out to the elevator in Horizon, do the concert with Jeffery Straker, and then ride back to Ogema.”

There are also some tours where guests will get to sample some different foods. Peterson said that no matter what your tastes are, there’s probably something there you’ll enjoy.

“We actually have Bud’s BBQ here, and he does one of our train tours; he does the Texas-style BBQ. We also have Solo Italian, which is actually a factory where you can buy pizza and eat outside in front of it. We also do the pitchfork fondue, the settler’s supper, and Candy’s Catering, which is a local caterer, so there’s lots of good eating around here,” said Peterson.

The tours were pretty popular last year, with as many as 4,300 people taking part.