CLICK HERE

TICKET
Prices

WHERE COMMUNITY MEETS

Fort George Railway

OPENING MAY 25, 2023

Running every Thursday all summer long
12pm – 8pm

Father’s Day (June 12)
Canada Day (July 1)
Thanksgiving Monday (October 9)

The Little Prince

The Fort George Railway is Canada’s shortest passenger railway, and the wood-burning “Dinky” steam engine on those tracks is a unique Canadian artifact, cared for and operated by The Exploration Place. Built in 1912 and arriving by sternwheeler, this 24″ gauge steam engine was present at the last spike in the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Fort Fraser.

The Little Prince runs on a 2.2-kilometre long track in the Park near The Exploration Place. The only engine of its kind left in operation in North America, The Little Prince is a rolling memory of the days when Canada completed its first transcontinental railway.

History of the Little Prince

Ticket Prices

All rates are subject to taxes.

$1.00

CHILD

Under 2 years

$4.50

CHILD

2-12 years. Must ride with an adult

$4.50

STUDENT/SENIOR/YOUTH

Youth 13-17 years

$5.50

ADULT

18+ years

$15.00

FAMILY

2 adults + 2 children (0-17 years)

FREE

LIFE MEMBERS

Punch Cards

Each Punch Card is 10 Admissions

$8.00

CHILD

Under 2 years

$40.00

student/senior/child

Child 2-17 years. Children 12 and under must ride with an adult

$50.00

Adult

18+ years

The Little Prince Steam Engine

The Fort George Railway is not only Canada’s shortest passenger railway at 2.2 kilometres, but the steam engine on those tracks is an entirely unique and important Canadian artifact. This 24” gauge steam engine was built in 1912 and was present at the last spike in the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Fort Fraser.

This engine and four others were initially built by the Davenport (Iowa) Locomotive Works to operate on coal for moving crews and materials to the railheads of various construction projects around North America. The five that were sent to Northern BC in 1912 on the back of a sternwheeler were modified to operate on wood, as that was the fuel source available in the region. The five engines were built to deliver supplies during the construction of the Grand Trunk and, after they were no longer needed, were abandoned to a scrap heap on Island Cache. Pieces were salvaged years later, fully restored, and rebuilt into The Little Prince, making it the only engine of its kind left in operation in North America. The engine sat in front of the Via Rail building as part of a garden display for 35 years.

The Little Prince finally returned to the rails on Canada Day in 1978. Owned by the City of Prince George, it was run by the Prince George Railway Society. College of New Caledonia professor Bob Martin worked with his students to design the engine’s coaches. The train ran nearly every summer until it came off the rails due to an undiagnosed gasket leak in 2007. Eventually, the City went to The Exploration Place and asked them to take over its operation. Since 2011, it has been managed, maintained, and operated by the Museum and a team of volunteers.

In addition to its four-year hiatus from 2007 to 2011, the train did not run during most of 2017 due to wildfires in the area and took a break in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. The little steam engine’s whistle is synonymous with the beginning of summer here in the North. A well-known tourist attraction, The Little Prince brings upwards of 30,000 riders of all ages to Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park each year. It is truly the last of its kind, a rolling memory of the days when Canada completed its first transcontinental railway.

Ball Python

Juju joined our Ambassador team during our closure. Ball pythons are shy by nature, but with some time and effort, they learn to trust their caregivers. She is still a bit hesitant but is slowly starting to feel more comfortable around people. In the wild, you can find ball pythons throughout the grasslands and open forests of West and Central Africa. As the most popular snake species kept as a pet worldwide, most people have had the pleasure of seeing one of these beautiful animals at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, due to their extreme popularity as pets, one of the greatest threats to this species in terms of conservation is the over-collection of wild populations for distribution in the pet trade. While captive breeding has seen an increase in recent years, most of those sold in the pet trade are still wild-caught, simply because the cost is much lower than that of breeding and raising captive specimens. For this reason, tens of thousands of these animals are collected from the wild and exported from Africa for the pet trade every year. The ball python is one of the smallest species in their genus, reaching maximum lengths of 3-5 feet, with females being larger than their male counterparts. In the wild, these snakes are estimated to live roughly ten years, while in captivity, a lifespan of about 20-30 years is typical. There have been many documented cases of captive individuals living 40-60 years, including one 62-year-old female who mysteriously produced a fertile clutch of eggs despite being housed alone at the Saint Louis Zoo for more than 20 years.

BECOME A COMMUNITY KEEPER

VIDEO

Black-Billed Magpie

Anyone who’s been to the museum in person since 2015 will likely recognize this cheeky bird. Loki has formed unique relationships with many guests and staff alike over the years and definitely isn’t shy about picking favourites. The stimulation of observing and interacting with guests of all ages is something that he certainly enjoys.

Did you know that magpies, a member of the corvid family, are some of the most intelligent birds on the planet? In fact, corvids are some of the most intelligent animals known to exist, with a brain-to-body mass outmatched only by humans, great apes, and aquatic mammals such as dolphins. Magpies have shown the ability to imitate human speech in numerous languages and voices, are capable of tool use, and possess problem-solving ability on par with that of a small human child.

Loki was rescued from a dog attack as a hatchling when he and his siblings fell from their nest. Unfortunately, he was the lone survivor of his brood. Because he is very imprinted on humans, thus not eligible for release into the wild, Loki was brought to live in the museum and was integrated into the Biome as an Animal Ambassador. He has been one of our most interactive and popular Ambassadors ever since. Loki is very intelligent, able to mimic human speech, and performs many different little tricks and games.

BECOME A COMMUNITY KEEPER