Iron Horse Park

ARTember Event at Ironhorse Park, October 1 and 2, 2011.

ARTember was a great success. Here is a summary of what took place.

The program

Ironhorse Park and the Alberta Model Engineering Society participated in the ARTember events on Saturday October 1 and Sunday October 2, 2011. Between the hours of 11AM and 4PM Ironhorse Park hosted free train journeys for all. In addition to the ARTember participation, these free journeys were also being hosted in thanks to the citizens of Airdrie and visitors from surrounding communities who have supported us over the years. Here are some of the activities which were hosted at the park:

Saturday October 1, 2011:

  • Free journeys to the public between 11AM and 4 PM.
  • Saturday was also designated as our "Steam Day". On that day we will encourage our members to bring and operate their steam locomotives.
  • We also exhibited a set of stationary steam engines. These are small and very artistic, working replicas of steam engines of days gone by and are quite rare to see. All of the models displayed were hand crafted by some of our members


  • Sunday October 2, 2011:

  • As October 1, free journeys were available 11AM to 4PM.


  • On Both Days:

  • Throughout the day we had tables set up in the station where children (of all ages) were encouraged to make original railway theme drawings or ones which reflect their experience at the park. A coloring activity was also available and proved to be a favorite with most participants. Resulting art pieces were entered into a draw where 4 submissions were randomly selected. Winners of the random selected were contacted and prizes awarded.


  • Some photos from the event can be seen in our Image Gallery

    The Feedback

    During the the event we gathered some feedback from our visitors by making available index card size pieces of paper with the simple words "I visited Iron Horse Park and liked...". Here are some of the comments which were returned:
  • ...everything! What a great place. Love the train + People. (Lawson, age 3 and Ari age 9).
  • ...the scenery along the train route. (Carson)
  • ...the wonderful volunteers that helped put on such a fun event. The train ride was thrilling. Thank you Airdrie for giving families an opportunity to appreciate the Arts (Brianna).
  • ...nice park setting. Kids loved the steam trains (Ian).
  • ...we enjoy taking our family for the fresh air and train ride for the kids (Daniel L and family).
  • ...super fun place, interesting & educational for all ages, very friendly people, unique! Never have seen anything like it! (Jennifer).
  • .
  • ...Evan liked Everything. Nathan liked everything Mika liked trains & Rides, and so did dad (Jody).
  • ...this facility has continued to make improvements. They have provided great entertainment on a weekly basis for many kids. The support of the community is behind this park (J.V.)
  • ...uuhh...it was good! (Graham age 2).
  • ...the train ride, the snacks, the static train display, the people :) (Christie, Shawn, Conner, James, Paige).
  • ...nothing (Anonymous). ..oh well, there is one in every crowd I guess (Editor)

  • The Artwork

    Here is a sample of some of the 120+ art works which was submitted over the two days. The works obviously reflects the varied age and abilities of the wonderful folks who participated: