Arsonist targets Stanley Park miniature train

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Flames have ripped through what for many of us is a beloved childhood memory.

Part of the miniature railway in Stanley Park has been destroyed by fire. Vancouver firefighters arrived around midnight.

“[They] found the Stanley Park miniature train… station fully engulfed in flames. It took us a little bit of effort to get to the actual building because we had to cut through a gate. We also had to stretch about 300 feet of hose,” explains Captain Gabe Roder.

Two firefighters were hurt battling the fire. The station has been destroyed.

Roder confirms the fire was deliberately set. “We’re very, very fortunate that we’re in a rainy season right now, because if this same fire occurred in the middle of a dry part of summer, it could have been a whole different outcome.”

“The building that was destroyed is the Stanley Park Junction Building — the station house itself,” says Krista Moyls, a train engineer at the Park. “Some homeless people called in the fire last night and it was totally gutted. It’ll have to be knocked down.”

“It’s where the big line-ups snake through, where you are just before you get on the train,” she describes. “Fortunately, it doesn’t appear the tracks have been damaged or the platform itself. So hopefully, we’ll be able to get it up and running again.”

Reporters are not allowed into the compound today, but the Vancouver Park Board is hoping the miniature railway will be re-opened by Sunday.

“The rest of everything is great; we just need to shut it down today to do an investigation,” explains Chair Sarah Blythe.

The cost of the damage is unknown.

The railway was built back in 1964; it still carries about 200,000 passengers every year.

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