Hay River (Mar 08/04) - For Glenn Pangborn, the love of the railway began when he was a child.

"My father was a railwayman -- 35 years with CNR," says the Montreal born and raised Pangborn.

Wearing a conductor's hat once owned by his father, Hay River's Glenn Pangborn displays part of the train set in his basement. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Every summer when he was between eight and 12 years old, he used to ride with his father -- a conductor -- on train trips between Montreal and Toronto.

"It was paradise," he said. "My dad would give me an old uniform with a hat and I'd follow him around helping people with their bags and getting tips."

On those trips, he would also ride up front with the engineer.

"Those were good times," he said. "What kid wouldn't love that?"

Now living in Hay River, Pangborn expresses his love for trains as president of the Rail Fans North Historical Society, which he and his wife formed last year to promote and preserve the history of the route from Edmonton to Hay River.

The 39-year-old comes from two generations of railwaymen, noting his grandfather was a brakeman. His brother currently works at ViaRail's head office in Montreal.

However, Pangborn became a cook and now works at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre.

His interest in railroads is something to enjoy away from his work, he explains. "I may not love trains as much if I was in the business."

In fact, he says he lost some of his interest in trains when he entered his teens. It was only when he moved to Hay River nine years ago -- after time in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Yellowknife and Inuvik -- that his interest was rekindled.

Passing it on

Pangborn is also passing along his interest in trains to his two young sons.

A couple of years ago, he took his boys on a train trip from Edmonton to Montreal. "They really enjoyed that."

Pangborn and his young sons, along with his wife, have also started a train set in his basement.

"It's sort of like a family thing," he says adding it is hard to explain the appeal of trains and his fascination with the lifestyle.

"There's so much history with the rails," he says. "It's not just about the trains, but the people who work on them. If it wasn't for the rails, we wouldn't have a Canada."

He is currently working on a proposal to bring a tourist train and 125-150 passengers to Hay River. He had hoped to bring the train North this summer, but the target is now 2005.

Pangborn will make a presentation to the Alberta-NWT Transportation Working Group during its meeting this week in High Level, "This is a big step."

As for why he is working on the project, he says, "I believe in it -- the tourism aspect and the train aspect."